The Concordian Vol. 31 Issue 10

theconcordian Volume 31 Issue 10

Independent student newspaper at Concordia University. Since 1983.

October 29, 2013

Concordia receives Chomsky with pleasure Page 4

Photo by Keith Race

In this issue // life arts

music

sports

opinions

Women and homoerotica p. 8

Crystal Antlers profile p. 15

Hockey team wins p. 19

Online ed isn’t for all p. 20

MTL International Film Festival p.11

We tell your stories. Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

theconcordian.com

news 2

//

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

Write to the editor: news@theconcordian.com

CITY Sloane Montgomery Co-news editor

>> Montreal

boutique victim of robbery Heritage-Inheritance shop on St. Laurent was victim to what CBC is calling a “Hollywood style robbery,” last month, when over $40,000 of men’s wear was stolen from the store. The store owner, Jonah Leslie is still trying to turn the page. The most astonishing part is how the thieves managed to enter the store. They broke in through the upstairs wall via an empty apartment in the adjacent building, meaning they had to break through two thick brick walls and gyproc. “They came prepared, they knew what they were doing, obviously,” said Leslie.

>> 71-year-old

man detained for bomb material A 71-year-old man on his way to Los Angeles was detained at Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport on Sunday Oct. 27 after bomb material was found in his carry-on luggage.“He had numerous parts of an explosive device, except the explosive itself,” said Montreal police spokesman Commander Ian Lafrenière, according to CBC. Police furthered the investigation to the man’s home in Lasalle, where over 20 homes were evacuated as part of the search. Very few clues were found, however the police did say they found some documents they hope will provide some answers. The man is to appear in court on Oct. 28 with potential charges of endangering the safety of an aircraft, and possession (of explosives) without lawful excuse.

>> Noise Complaints New community members moving to the Plateau are said to be ruining the borough’s traditions. The Plateau of Montreal is known for having great nightlife and live musicians. After a series of noise complaints, long-time residents are saying the newcomers are destroying the very events that make their neighbourhood vibrant.

The bar Les Bobards, located on St. Laurent was fined $1,250. StephenOng, the musician playing that night, inspired residents to write to the borough’s mayor, Luc Fernandez, in the bar’s defense but the reply stated that the borough has no control over how police handle noise complaints, according to CTV News.

Municipal election // news

Montreal municipal politics in the spotlight Mayoral candidates debate issues at Oscar Peterson Hall Paula Monroy Staff writer

W

ith the Nov. 3 election day fast approaching, Richard Bergeron, Mélanie Joly, Denis Coderre and Marcel Côté spoke about the changes that needed to be implemented by Montrealers in order for the city to prosper at its full potential.

On Friday Oct. 25, Montrealers gathered at the Loyola campus, where CJAD Radio and The Gazette had organized a debate with the mayoral candidates in order to raise awareness of the importance of politics among young voters.

Mayoral candidates debated in English, addressing the future of the city of Montreal. The discussion opened with a question on reforming the municipal administration.

Coderre started off by saying transparency and a zero tolerance policy needed to be implemented, and Joly added that making information public should be mandatory..

“The best defence against corruption is a well managed organization,” said Côté.

Bergeron pointed out that compliance among civil servants is a concern.

Tightening the belt in regards to possible increases in revenues was foreseen by Côté. Joly, however, pointed out that 70 per cent of Montreal’s revenue comes from property tax, while only 39 per cent of Toronto’s revenue comes from property tax.

Bergeron spoke about the 25 years of economic drama in Montreal. He explained that as a result, in the last 12 years, Montreal had lost 22,000 people and between 6,000 and 8,000 young families.

“2.5 billion dollars a year are invested by Montrealers outside of Montreal,” said Bergeron. He suggested that increasing the number of collective transit operations might keep young families from moving away to the suburbs.

The candidates also addressed multiculturalism, although it was bilingualism that received the most controversy from the audience.

“Montreal has to be run by all Montrealers,” said Côté when alluding to what some English speakers in the city consider to be strict policing on language. “We cannot let the Quebec government be the only actor.”

Bergeron, on the other hand, considered that linguistic balance has prevailed in the municipality.

“We need all to be united and work together,” Kofi Sonokpon, mayoral independent candidate,

Oscar Peterson Hall was full of Concordia students interested in municipal politics. Photo by Keith Race

told The Concordian after the look [municipal politics], [but] it’s neighbourhoods — and Summerevent. here at the local level that people land Village.

“We need to have a massive can make big changes,” said ArIn an interview with The Conturnout at our pools because this is senault. cordian Arsenault admitted that the deciding moment for Montreal Arsenault is currently working it was the corruption and admin[…] this is not the time to be cyni- on means to increase walkability istration problems in city hall that cal — cynicism is a trap that we and active means of transportation lead to his candidacy. need to avoid.” at Loyola, along with finding solu“There are so many important Sonokpon urged people to find tions for the needs of residents in things that need to be looked at in the right leadership that can raise the Walkley/Fielding area — one the Loyola district that used to be the spirit of the city and change it of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce’s poorest ignored.” for the better.

Université d’Ottawa | University of Ottawa Julia Vera, a political science student at Concordia voting for the first time in municipal elections, sees hope for Montreal.

“In every society there are issues,” said Vera.

“By going to the elections and seeing the candidates’ positions is the Meet professors. Visit facilities. only way to Learn about scholarships. know there And much more ! is actually a solution and Thursday, November 7, 2013 a way to find 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. it.”

Christian Arsenault, 25, is the youngest Projet Montreal city councillor candidate running for Loyola’s district and shares Vera’s sentiments.

Registration and travel subsidy info at “A lot of discoveruOttawa.ca young people tend to over-

GRADUATE STUDIES

OPEN HOUSE

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

Encouraging English-speaking youth to take iniative in upcoming voting polls

W

ith the municipal election growing closer, Quebec Community Groups Network’s (QCGN) Vote it Up campaign encourages students and youth to go to the polls on Nov. 3.

“QCGN is a not-for-profit organization bringing together 41 English-language community organizations across Quebec. Its mission is to identify, explore and address strategic issues affecting the development and vitality of English-speaking Quebec and to encourage dialogue and collaboration among its member organizations, individuals, community groups, institutions and leaders,” explains Director of Communications and Public Relations Rita Legault.

The Vote it Up campaign was

created just before the 2012 Quebec provincial elections out of QCGN’s concern that young English-speaking Quebecers were not included in any of the other campaigns encouraging youth to vote.

“We made a proposal to the Directeur général des élections du Québec (DGEQ) to build a 2.0 campaign seeking to encourage young English-speaking Quebecers aged 18-35 to vote. We renewed our partnership with the municipal elections and look forward to continuing this collaboration over the next few years,” said Senior Project Manager Roseline Joyal-Guillot.

According to Creating Spaces, a 2009 study by the QCGN, Englishspeaking youth in Quebec face lower political participation and representation and higher unemployment rates compared to their Francophone counterparts.

Joyal-Guillot insists, “Vote it Up aims to spark youth interest around voting because voting is the first step in understanding the political landscape and actually contributing to some important decisions that affect their day-today lives.”

The main spokesperson for Vote it Up campaign is Rosanna Tomiuk, former national water

polo Olympian, singer-songwriter, and young entrepreneur. The campaign has been working hard to recruit young ambassadors to spread the word on the importance of an English-speaking youth vote for Montreal.

“Youth are more inclined to get out and vote and get involved when they are engaged directly by someone they know. We have proposed a series of activities our young recruits can implement in their community to educate their peers about the importance of voting,” explains Tomiuk. “Youth aged 18 to 35 represent 25 per cent of the population of Quebec, but less than 30 per cent of us went to the polls in the last municipal elections.”

To stimulate further interest in English-speaking youth, Vote it Up is reaching out to young people where they gather most: on social networks such as Facebook, Youtube and Twitter.

For further information visit voteitup.ca.

CSU // news

CSU regular council meeting in brief

Appointments made, discussion over new ownership of Java U location, and stickers Kelly Duval Co-news editor

At the Oct. 23 regular council meeting, the Concordia Student Union planned to deal with upcoming matters including using stickers as promotional material and whether a student-run initiative should take over the Java U space in the mezzanine of the Hall building.

The Community Food Coalition had requested a question on ballots for the November byelections at the CSU special council meeting on Oct. 16, asking whether a student-run co-operative can take over the current Java U location.

The café’s contract at this site will expire in May 2014.

Council voted to pass this question to the Judicial Board, asking whether they mandate the CSU to establish a co-operative café or restaurant at this site that’s mainly controlled by students either through membership or through the board of directors.

“I don’t want to listen to two hours of council playing junior lawyer and discussing this,” said CSU Councillor Wendy Kraus-Heitmann, regarding who should consider this question. “It’s their job […] I really would like [the question] to go to JB, they can think about it and get back to us.”

The JB’s role is to interpret the validity of the CSU’s regulations and bylaws and to settle disputes between members.

Council then discussed the question of whether stickers should continue to be used as pro-

3

Political participation // news

Vote it Up campaign for municipal election Sloane Montgomery Co-news editor

//

motional material, though not all scope of this referral to the camDuring the lengthy closed executives considered it to be an paigns committee and Concordia’s session of the meeting, several urgent matter.

Sustainability Action Fund. The students were appointed to comUpon being asked to approve union chose to put a hold on stick- mittees such as the Sustainability CSU spending on stickers, VP Fi- er purchases and reimbursements Action Fund, the events commitnance, Scott Carr prepared and until the next meeting, where tee, the policy committee and the sent a document to council mem- these groups would make a report external and campaigns commitbers that addressed ethical ques- for promotional material similar to tee. Three students were appointed tions regarding stickers as a source stickers. to the JB. of communication, and where the proper usage and sustainability concerns were outlined.

“We used [stickers] for our campaign and me seeing that they were all over the place and vandalizing things doesn’t really make me super comfortable or super proud that those were our stickers,” said Carr.

Carr explained it should be discussed since referendums are coming up in which stickers could be used as promotional material and that the opinions of council members on the issue were important.

He proposed for the council to decide whether to continue using stickers as promotional material, find other ways of promotion, or to use stickers with weaker adhesives that did not require a toxic cleaning product to dissolve, as they do now.

“With many campaigns promoting sustainability, our credibility once again comes into question,” Carr wrote in his summary.

The CSU adopted the Councillor John Talbot at the Oct. 23 CSU meeting. Photo by Keith Race amendment to expand the

NATION Kelly Duval Co-news editor

>> Ford dodges media

On Oct. 23, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford avoided questions from a group of city hall reporters about controversial reference letters he wrote for men with criminal records. According to a CBC news article, when the reporters asked him about the letters, Ford said, “You know what? If you guys want to ask me about the letters, it’s the end of it. It’s over, okay?” One of the two letters in question was written for Alessandro Lisi, who was convicted for threatening to kill his girlfriend and was arrested on drug-related charges.

>> Imposing on First Nations schools

The Conservative government unveiled reforms for the First Nations Education Act on Oct. 22, without first consulting First Nations. The government is proposing to bring schools on First Nations reserves up to provincial standards, with Ottawa to temporarily take over such schools. The chair of the Assembly of First Nations’ chief committee on education, Morley Googoo, said the problems with the proposal draft could have been prevented if the First Nations had been allowed to help write it.

>> Investigation on CN credibility

According to a CBC News investigation, CN Rail has underreported minor derailments across Canada and the U.S.. Former CN employee Tim Wallender claims in court documents that CN covered up derailments to improve the company’s ratings, prompting CBC to investigate the matter. The company is also accused of falsifying stats on train arrivals and departures.

>> Fake BBM reviews?

More than 10 million people signed up for Blackberry’s messaging app for non-Blackberry users in the first 24 hours of its release on Oct. 21, but many of the positive reviews on the Google Play store appear to be fake, according to an article on CBC. Several reviews, most of which give the service a five star rating, are identical.

Communications director for BBM at BlackBerry, Victoria Berry, told CBC, “​We do not approve of or condone such activities and are committed to working with Google to resolve this.”

4

//

theconcordian

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

Speaker // news

WORLD Timothy Weynerowski Contributor

Audience at Concordia enthralled by Chomsky Students from many Montreal universities impressed by seminar Keith Race Photo editor

>> Russell’s Revolution

British comedian Russell Brand sparked controversy during BBC’s Newsnight interview with the actor Wednesday night. Jeremy Paxman criticized Brand for not voting, and Brand stated he has never voted because he believes the existing political system doesn’t offer any real solutions. “It is not that I am not voting out of apathy. I am not voting out of absolute indifference and weariness and exhaustion from the lies, treachery and deceit of the political class that has been going on for generations,” said Brand.

>> Syrian Regime Meets UN Chemical Weapon Destruction Deadline The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are working in a war zone for the first time and have come under sniper fire. However, “Syria has met all the deadlines,” stated Michael Luhan, a spokesman for the OPCW.

By Monday inspectors will have visited 20 out of 23 chemical sites.

America claims it has proof Sarin gas was used by the Syrian regime and killed a minimum of 1,400 people. America was threatening strikes against the regime, but came to an agreement with Russia allowing Syria until the middle of next year to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile. This was backed by a U.N. Security Council Resolution.

The OPCW has yet to make a statement as to where they will destroy these chemical weapons.

>> EU Confidence in US Leadership Waning Germany, France and others are concerned about the recent disclosure of documents from Edward Snowdon revealing America is spying on its allies. Elmar Brok, the chairman of the European Union’s foreign affairs committee has proclaimed, “the balance between freedom and security has been lost.” Europe is losing faith in US leadership, and America must restore its confidence. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Rome and Paris to talk about Syria and Iran, but was greeted by anger and disapproval over the extent and reach of the U.S. spying network.

The E.-U. have approved new data protection rules to strengthen online privacy, and have called for the suspension of an agreement that grants American authorities access to bank data required for terrorist investigations.

Noam Chomsky came to Concordia on Sat, Oct. 26 as part of the Concordia Student Union’s ongoing speaker series, delivering an oration to an enthralled audience on the topic of his choosing; the neoliberal assault on the population.

Concordia students were so eager to hear Noam Chomsky speak that the event sold out in under an hour.

On Facebook alone there were 1,190 people confirmed as going, and considering the D.B. Clarke Theater seats a maximum of 387, it’s no surprise the seminar was a quick sell. There was so much disappointment about the limited seating that the CSU set up a live video feed to accommodate both an overflow room on campus and live streaming at home.

Those in attendance, in person or as part of a digital audience, listened as Noam Chomsky advanced his theory that the canons of contemporary politics are in dangerous disharmony with the general population and pose an existential threat to the entire world. He proposed that the high-minded rhetoric of our western democratic institutions is merely a veil that shrouds the plutocratic manipulations of our system.

He terms the factual state of our political system as a “Really Existing Capitalist Democracy,” or RECD — pronounced “wrecked” — for short.

The audience was enraptured. Several times during the speech bursts of laughter rolled through the auditorium. One instance came at the off-hand comment that western democracy is more aptly defined as a

kleptocracy. can’t really implement them in real speaks about incremental change The crowd was absorbed by life and I thought that he really had than revolutionary change. I think Chomsky. After its end, and after that kind of optimism and that fun- it’s more realistic, and I was sura standing ovation, students filed damental belief in human nature; prised and happy that that was through the auditorium foyer, buzz- that we’re capable of change all what he said.”

An online video of the seminar ing and star-struck. while being realistic.” will be made available soon on Kristifer Szabo, a geography maAnother UdeM student, Olivier CSU’s youtube at youtube.com/ jor at Concordia, has been reading Jacques, shared the same sentiCSUmtl.

Chomsky since he was fifteen. It ment, saying, “I prefer when he was his first time seeing Chomsky in person and he felt the seminar was a worthwhile endeavor, calling it, “Probably the single best use of Concordia’s resources in recent memory.”

“I know you shouldn’t be so concerned with the personality of the person, it’s the ideas that matter, but I’m just struck by his breadth of knowledge and the way he can relate contemporary problems to things that were happening hundreds of years ago, because its all the same themes,” said Szabo.

His description of the status-quo is antithetical to the conventional narrative and his often adversarial tone has been known to deflate passions more often than it inspires. Often, Chomsky’s detractors describe him along the lines of a delusional academic who offers only criticisms without hope or solutions. This was not the case on Saturday.

“He was more optimistic than I thought he would be when he was answering the questions, and very down to earth as well,” UdeM student, Emilie Rochon-Gruselle said, “Some people think that his theories are Noam Chomsky speaks at Concordia University. Photo by Keith Race kind of out there, that you

Access to information act // news

Access to information system not up to par Complaints against institutions failing to meet basic responsibilities Keith Race Photo editor

T

his October, Canada’s Information Commissioner released a critical report of the country’s access to information system, stating that there is significant deterioration in the federal access system and institutions are failing to meet their most basic obligations.

There was a nine per cent increase in complaints lodged against institutions who failed to properly address Access to Information (ATI) requests compared to the year before, bringing the number of new complaints to 1,596.

Complaints responded to in the 2012-2013 year were down 12 per cent, however the average

turnaround time for closing an ATI request complaint is 380 days.

The report catalogued almost two dozen instances of what it characterized in a subheading as an “All-round failure to meet the duty to assist.”

National Defence took a 1,100day extension on a request for information about the sale of surplus military assets to Uruguay.

Broken down, that’s a total of two years, one week and one day for the institution to fulfill its legal obligation to the public.

The extension included 230 days to process approximately 3,000 pages, and 880 days to consult other government institutions.

In the commissioner’s investigation, it was discovered that intergovernmental consultations would only take approximately 160 days; well short of the 880

days claimed necessary. The investigation found that National Defence could not justify the extension, and its actions were determined to be wholly unreasonable and invalid.

Transport Canada took a 540day time extension on a request which they made didn’t pursue for almost a year. Its claims that the request constituted a large volume of records and that it would unreasonably interfere with operations was determined to be invalid by the commissioner.

In attempting to resolve Transport Canada’s outstanding information request, the commissioner appealed directly to the Transport Minister to obtain a response within the legislated due date after standard avenues failed.

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) disposed of documents requested in an active in-

formation request. The institution refused an information request citing the obligation to withhold documents under the mandatory exemption for personal information.

The CSC was determined to be guilty of irremediable harm to the rights of a requester as delineated in the Access to Information Act. The documents were never actually retrieved or analyzed before the refusal, as the law requires, and were disposed of during the commissioner’s investigation.

Criticisms included in the report questioned if the access to information process was meeting the intent of the program.

The Information Commissioner has pledged to issue reform proposals to parliament in 2013 in hopes of resolving the litany of failings plaguing the access to information system.

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

//

5

Bill C-2 // news

Health organizations claim Bill C-2 infringes on rights Federal health minister reintroduces bill that aims to prevent supervised injection sites Kelly Duval Co-news editor

F

ederal Health Minister Rona Ambrose has defied the Supreme Court of Canada by reintroducing a bill on Oct. 17 that aims to prevent the existence of new supervised injection sites (SICs) in Canada.

Ambrose introduced Bill C-2 as an amendment to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and is identical to Bill C-65, tabled in Parliament on June 6, which spurred organizations such as the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition to release a statement calling for SICs to be recognized as life-saving services.

In these statements, the organizations described the bill as “an irresponsible initiative that ignores both the extensive evidence that such health services are needed and effective, and the human rights of Canadians with addictions.”

The bill itself states that a supervised consumption service can only exist in exceptional cir-

cumstances. Thus far the only exemption granted was in 2003 to Vancouver’s Insite, the first legal supervised injection site in North America. Despite the Supreme Court’s declaration that ‘Insite saves lives. ...[And] its benefits have been proven,’ it remains the only SIC in Canada, in

contrast to over 90 worldwide.

In 2011, the Supreme Court similarly declared that the federal health minister had violated the Charter rights of people who needed access to such facilities and ruled against the federal government’s decision to withhold offering services like Insite.

“Bill C-2 is an attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court Ruling of 2011,” said Connie Carter, senior policy analyst of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition.

The organizations called on Ambrose to take into account the benefits of supervised consumption sites and outlined the

Bill C-2 aims to prevent the existance of supervised injection sites in Canada. Photo by Rae Pellerin.

benefits they bring, such as a decrease in drug-related deaths, injuries, and infections (like HIV), and decreases in public drug use and risky behaviours associated with HIV — all without increasing the negatives associated with drug use, like crime.

Earlier, on Sept. 30, the aforementioned health organizations co-wrote an open letter to Ambrose, backed by over 50 other Canadian health organizations.

“It is unethical, unconstitutional and damaging to both public health and the public purse to block access to supervised consumption services which save lives and prevent the spread of infection,” the letter read.

They urge Ambrose to “stand up for people’s lives and take the leadership to ensure that supervised consumption services become a part of the continuum of care for people who use drugs in Canada.”

Other organizations supporting SICs are the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Nurses Association, the Public Health Physicians of Canada, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, and the Urban Public Health Network.

Politics // news

Charter of values continues to receive mixed reactions Women’s group in Quebec supports legislation; the Quebec Human Rights commission disagrees Kalina Laframbroise CUP Quebec Bureau Chief

MONTREAL (CUP) — The proposed charter of values would aim to promote secularism in the public sector, but has divided many in Quebec and led supporters and opposition to the streets in downtown Montreal.

The Parti Québécois’s project serves to promote equality and a separation of church and state by banning “ostentatious” religious symbols as well as limiting time off for religious holidays for civil servants. The proposal would ensure that government employees — such as doctors, teachers and police officers — would not be able to wear religious garb while working. There is also the option of applying for a five-year opt-out clause for hospitals and educational institutions.

The proposed charter of values would also amend the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms regarding religious accommodations.

According to Montreal’s La Presse newspaper, Minister for Democratic Institutions Bernard Drainville said the PQ was considering the opinions of the 25,000 citizens who wrote emails concerning the charter. Many

took issue with allowing the crucifix to remain in the National Assembly.

La Presse also reported last week that the PQ might choose to harden its stance by retracting the opt-out clause; that means hospitals and educational institutions would have to enforce the charter should it become law. Civil servants in these workplaces would be given a transitional period to adjust to the new law but would no longer be able to apply for an exception to the rule.

Over the last month, McGill University and Dawson College publicly denounced the charter while most other post-secondary institutions, such as Concordia University, Vanier College and Bishops University, have yet to issue statements Vanier College’s media spokesperson Marguerite Corriveau said that the CEGEP would issue a public statement this coming week in an interview with Canadian University Press.

Corriveau was unable to explain what kind of stance the English college would be taking but when asked why Vanier would issue an announcement now, Corriveau explained that it would “be clear” next Tuesday.

Concordia University will only issue a public statement when the provincial government pres-

ents the legislation later this fall according to spokesperson Cléa Desjardins.

“There’s nothing new on that front,” said Desjardins. “We will see what happens.”

French universities and colleges — including Université du Québec à Montréal and Université de Montréal — have largely decided not to comment on the proposed charter for the time being.

A group of well-known Quebec women referred to as “Les Janettes” wrote a letter addressed to women in support of the proposed charter that calls for equality of the sexes. The group, with the stated goal of promoting equality, includes radio and television host Janette Bertrand and television producer Julie Snyder.

“At this moment, I believe the principle of equality between the sexes is compromised in the name of the freedom of religion.

I would like to remind you that men have used and still use to this day religion in the goal of dominating women, to put them in their place, which is to say beneath them,” states the letter in French.

Conversely, the Quebec Human Rights Commission, a government agency, condemned the proposed charter in a 21-page commentary issued Thursday,

Oct. 18, stating that the proposed Quebec Charter of Values is “contrary to the spirit” of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

“The government’s proposals are cause for serious concern.

They represent a clear break with

the text of the charter, a quasiconstitutional law adopted by the National Assembly in 1975,” said the commission’s president, Jacques Frémont, in the statement. “It is the most radical proposal modifying the charter since its adoption.”

Photo from Flickr

6

//

Tuesday, OCTOBER 29 , 2013

life

Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com General interest // Life

Strangest top ten hair-raising fatal freak accidents Everything from a fatal bouncy castle to a deadly dishwasher Angela De Cicco Staff writer

A

ccidents happen everyday. The coffee spill on your shirt isn’t that unusual, but a beer spill flooding the streets of London? The weirdest accidents are sometimes the most interesting and the ones that leaves us questioning how and why.

1. Bouncy castle blast Dreamspace V was an inflatable maze/ bouncy castle created to celebrate 10 years of the inflatable attraction’s business during a London festival in 2006. It was all fun and games until a freakishly strong wind got underneath the attraction, unhooked its hinges and caused the entire bouncy castle to take flight 50 feet into the air. It travelled a total of 150 feet, with families still trapped inside, before finally hitting the ground. This unusual incident caused 13 injuries and two deaths. Next time, hire the clown.

2. Lightning strikes twice

never

They say lightning never strikes twice, but they may be wrong. During a soccer game in Congo in 1998, all 11 players of the Bassanga soccer team were struck dead by lightning in one strike. The home team was oddly untouched. Witchcraft was blamed for the adverse natural phenomena as many soccer teams have been known to hire witchdoctors to place hexes on their opponents.

3. BYOB? Floods are common natural disasters. But a beer flood? In 1814 in London, England, a vat of beer in a brewery mysteriously exploded, forcing 550,000 gallons of beer to spill onto the streets. The wave of beer destroyed two homes and crumbled the walls of a local pub trapping a teenage employee under the rubble. Eight people drowned in the flood.

The disaster was ruled to be an act of God.

4. Bye-bye birdy Hollywood experienced a freak acci-

dent on March 31 1993 on the set of Alex Proyas’ The Crow. There were eight days left of shooting when lead Brandon Lee, son of famous martial arts fighter and actor Bruce Lee, was killed as Michael Massee (a villain in the movie) fired a gun at Lee as part of a scene they were filming. A bullet from a dummy round was lodged in the barrel of the handgun. The bullet was not noticed and the gun was loaded with a blank cartridge. When the blank was fired, the bullet shot out and hit Lee in the abdomen.

Lee was replaced by a stunt double to wrap up the final scenes and the movie still came out. Rumors have circled that the footage of Lee’s death is still out there.

5. Crocs on a plane A somewhat different version than David R. Ellis’s motion picture, Snakes on a Plane; a passenger smuggled a crocodile onto a small airline in a sports bag. The scaly beast broke free from the bag and chaos ensued. A freaked out flight attendant ran towards the cockpit and panicked passengers followed, throwing the plane off balance and causing it to crash. 21 people walked into a plane, one guy and a crocodile walked out. Very suspicious.

6. Hart stops beating World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has grown into a multimillion-dollar business, but even the fakest sport sees some of the most real accidents. Wrestler Owen Hart fell to his death in 1999 during his entrance on WWE’s pay per-view special, Over the Edge. Hart was supposed to descend slowly and dramatically, but the equipment malfunctioned and he plummeted 78 feet into the ring. This all happened live where thousands of fans witnessed the wrestler’s strange and unfortunate death.

7. Haunted park freak accidents seem extremely unusuual given their highly unlikely circumstances but lightning apparently can strike twice. photos from flickr user world of oddy and jeffery beall.

On June 9 1991, death stalked the Kings Island amusement park in Ohio. In one incident, a man fell into

a pond; a friend and an employee attempted to rescue him, but all three men suffered from electric shock, killing two of them.

The park was overrun with helicopters and emergency responders. Only an hour later, 32-year-old Candy Taylor fell off the Flight Commander ride in an attempt to wave to her friends below and point out the helicopters. The park has been rumored to be haunted and in 2012, an episode of Ghost Hunters was filmed there.

8. All jacked up The famous Jack Daniel’s liquor has been known to cause some accidents when in the wrong hands, but Mr. Daniel himself was dead sober the morning he tried opening a locked safe. Unable to remember the combination, the godfather of whiskey did the next best thing. He kicked it open and broke his toe. He eventually died from blood poisoning after contracting a deadly infection from the broken toe.

9. Guitarthritis Baseball player Joel Zumaya, missed three games during the 2006 American League Championship Series as a result of injury. However, this was no baseball related accident, but one caused by the famous game Guitar Hero. Rocking too hard on the guitar left the pitcher with an inflamed wrist, forcing him to sit out. Luckily, he recovered in time for the World Series. XBOX 360’s version of Guitar Hero II plays on this situation by including a disclaimer, “No pitchers were harmed in the making of this game. Except for one.” While this incident may not be as outrageously bizarre as the others on the list, it’s pretty funny that Guitar Hero was to blame for a baseball player’s injury.

10. Death by dishwasher My mother always tells me there’s a specific technique to loading the dishwasher. I always thought it was hogwash but it seems that she was right. In North Lanarkshire, Scotland — like a scene from Final Destination— a woman in her thirties slipped in her kitchen and was stabbed by the upright knives from her open dishwasher. Safe to say I’ll wash my own dishes from now on.

theconcordian

Tuesday, OCTOBER 29, 2013

//

7

Nutrition // Life

Caution: ten of some of the worst foods to eat Some surprising, and not so surprising finds Hanna-Joy Farooq Contributor

T

here is so much information on which foods we should be eating and which we should avoid. So here’s a list of some evil foods that aren’t just bad for your waistline but bad overall.

POUTINE Most of us hold it to be true that fries, cheese, and gravy are a winning combination. But few of us know that fries contain acrylamide, a carcinogenic substance formed when white potatoes are heated at high temperatures. Cheese, arguably the best part of the dish, is typically a great source of protein and calcium. However cheese can be just as unhealthy, especially if it’s the processed and packaged cheddar cheese curds that are typically melted over this Montreal classic.

PROCESSED MEATS Processed meat is a source of saturated fat, which raises blood cholesterol, and is high in sodium. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health have found that eating processed meats such as bacon, sausage, or deli meats, was associated with a 42 per cent higher risk of heart disease and a 19 per cent higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

MARGARINE Margarine proponents think it’s health-

CRONUTS Half croissant, half donut, the cronut was invented by Dominique Ansel of New York. Croissants and donuts are rife with trans fats which are linked to cancer, heart and brain diseases. Try the tasty treat if you dare at D Liche on St-Denis and La Cornetteria in Little Italy.

ier than butter but there is no evidence supporting this. While margarine has less saturated fat than butter, it’s full of trans fats that raise levels of bad cholesterol. Did I mention that without artificial colouring, it’s naturally grey? Use olive oil as a healthier alternative.

SODA Soda doesn’t just rot your teeth. These bubbly drinks, whether sugar-free or sweetened, have been linked to obesity, depression and diabetes. Coke Zero may seem like a healthier option given the no sugar and no calories. However most no-calorie and no-sugar sodas contain aspartame that, although approved by the FDA, have been argued to have negative health effects.

MICROWAVE POPCORN Researchers at UCLA suggest that perfluorinated chemicals (known carcinogens found in the lining of popcorn bags) may be associated with female infertility. Microwaving causes the chemicals to migrate into the popcorn. Many manufacturers have decided to phase out PFOA by 2015. Until then, avoid this food.

HOT CHOCOLATE A 12 ounce cup of decadent hot chocolate — that is to say a mixture of melted cocoa and cream, as opposed to the wellknown cocoa powder with milk formula — is upwards of a thousand, empty, useless calories. Try one on your cheat day at Suite 88.

FOODS HIGH IN SUGAR The Harvard Medical School found that sugary snacks stimulate the same areas of the brain as hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. The finding supports the possibility of food addiction which increases the risks of weight gain and health issues.

MCDONALD’S OATMEAL Disguised as a healthy option, this McDonald’s offering contains more sugar than a Snickers bar, and only 10 fewer calories than a McDonald’s cheeseburger. Oatmeal, normally a stand-alone ingredient, contains seven other ingredients in typical fast food fashion (one being “natural flavour”).

POTATO CHIPS Like fries, potato chips contain acrylamide. The Harvard School of Public Health ranked potato chips first in a list of foods that contributed to the most weight gain.

Smartphone apps // life

Counting down some of the best time-wasting apps How quickly two minutes can turn into two hours Christina Rowan Copy editor

I

f you have a smartphone you know that having apps basically comes as a packaged deal. Today, you can find an app for just about anything. Sadly, for a lot of us, we use these apps just to kill time. Here is a compilation of the top 10 best time-wasting apps out there: 10. Snapchat: Take photos and videos and share them with your friends. The catch: you can only share them for up to 10 seconds. Talk about taking it all in in a matter of seconds.

This app can help kill the time by getting creative in your conversations with friends. Show them instead of writing to them what you’re up to.

9. iBooks: Download and read books straight from your iPhone for free. It may not literally be a page turner, but this app will do the trick if you’ve got some free time while on the go. Catch up on some reading from a selection of bestsellers, classics, fully illustrated books and more.

8. Flow: This puzzle-like game has over 1,000 levels where the main objective is to connect matching colours with pipe. Pair the colours and cover the grid. This game starts out simple, but definitely picks up as you move

on, passing the time while testing your puzzle skills.

7. Hanger: This game app is very SpiderMan-esque in nature. Guide your stick figured buddy through 2-D levels by holding and releasing cables. Hit anything — I mean anything — and your buddy will suffer serious injuries, dribbling blood the rest of the way. But fear not, as long as your figure has a head and an arm to hold the cable you can still make it to the finish line.

6. Vine: These videos may only last a few seconds, but they get to the point of the message they’re trying send in a timely fashion.

Vines, tending to last between five seconds to a full minute, display something either hilarious that everyone can relate to or instantly recognize, or merely capture a memorable moment.

5. Twitter: Thoughts and feelings expressed in 140 characters or less, Twitter has a whole world of opinions waiting to be noticed and retweeted. Short and to the point, Twitter

Candy crush is played over 700 million times a day on android and ios devices. photo from flickr. user themeplus.

tweets can be funny, informative, and sometimes downright weird or offensive. But with hashtags and trends forming every day, it’s an easy app to find exactly what you’re into if you need to kill time.

4. Buzzfeed: Get the stories and lists that interest you first on this app by customizing your own feed. Whether it’s 100 things you need to know or 25 things you must see, Buzzfeed will be a great source of news and entertainment to pass the time.

3. Instagram: The app that takes photos to a whole new level of creativity. Enhancements, frames, and focus capabilities offered with 20 different filters to choose from allow us to make our pictures that much more eyecatching. With hashtags as a key aspect of the app, people can search whatever they are intrigued to see.

2. Facebook: Let’s face it. Facebook is a never-ending story that you can easily get lost in for hours if you want to and even when you don’t. With more friends come more bios, pictures, pages, statuses, and — lest we forget — games. The time-killing capabilities of Facebook are truly endless.

1. Candy Crush Saga: If you aren’t already playing this game, know that you are saving yourself copious amounts of time. This addictive candy themed game is similar to the legendary game Bejeweled. The goal: line up three or more candies to either clear all the jelly or bring down the ingredients. You can also see how many you can line up in a designated time span. With hundreds of levels to play, this app is sure to keep you hooked for as long as your lives last you.

8

// Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Culture // Life

Women’s knees are weak for gay romance and erotica From 50 Shades of Grey to homoerotica novels, Damon Suede explains what has women so hot Anne Kingma-Lord Contributor

W

ith over 70 million copies sold worldwide and a movie on the way, you would need to live under a rock to be unaware of the 50 Shades of Grey mania, by author E. L. James, that has been going on around us since 2011. Women in particular, regardless of age, love to read about romance and sex. In fact, about 80 per cent of buyers were female, according to a Bowker Market Research analysis (and that goes without counting the men that bought the book not for themselves, but for their lady).

However, another fact has also come forward in the midst of the “50 Shades” explosion. Straight women do not restrict themselves to typical heterosexual love stories: they also love male on male romance and erotica books.

“By following on the heels and fandom of Twilight, E.L. James put kink on strip-mall shelves at a moment when public sexuality is permitted to go further and farther,” said Damon Suede, bestselling author of gay romance novels Hot Head and the recent Bad Idea.

“The impact on romance audiences has been seismic. The minute readers could access the atypical love stories they wanted without fear of censorship and reprisal,

erotic romance exploded internationally.”

Suede’s first novel, Hot Head, sat at number one in its category on Amazon for six months and even made it into the general romance bestsellers list. His biggest fans are, yes, straight women. In fact, his biggest fan club, named Damon’s Bitches, is mainly female, “a group of sassy young women in killer shoes.” But why does male-on-male culture, love and sex stories appeal so much to straight women?

According to Suede, the easy explanation is that straight women are extremely curious about male feelings, but can’t get information about them from their emotionally silent heterosexual partners. They then turn to gay friends or literature for insight.

“Hetero ladies dream of big, rugged, brutal men…who can also cry and snuggle with that one special someone. They crave books that give them a window into the mysterious male psyche and romances offer that view in spades,” explained Suede.

To him, the difference between women and men growing up, and how it affects their views of things, is another explanation. Since gay men are born in a certain “male” way but adopt new “female” views growing up, they possess both sexes’ perspectives, a “double vision of the world” which is why they are so fascinating to women.

In a Yaoi Research analysis of Geoffrey Knight’s Why Straight Women Love Gay Romance, fantasy author and magazine editor Dru Pagliassotti also explains that straight

women love male-on-male romance and erotica for many reasons. Some like it because it avoids gender stereotypes (especially the damsel in distress), because it’s arousing, more complex, and because women can relate to both male heroes and not be “annoyed by the weak heroine” often found in heterosexual romance novels.

Suede agrees saying, “Male vulnerability, tenderness, ferocity, and vulgarity get unleashed in gay erotica. All that Miss Manners courting gets tossed out; dudes get down to business without any need for niceties.”

One may ask then, “Well, if it’s so exciting,

why aren’t all women reading gay romance?” According to Pagliassotti’s research, there are three ways to answer this question. It can either be because there is a lack of exposure, since gay romance and erotica is still not a mainstream genre.

It can also be because women are afraid of what they will read or are afraid of getting “caught.”

Finally, it could be because of the spiral of silence revolving around the genre; perhaps not all gay romance readers are willing to admit their literary preferences in public. Nonetheless, the genre is being read, whether privately or publicly and books like 50 Shades of Grey have definitely enticed some women to come out of the closet.

Women are coming out of the closet with their gay romance novels. Photo from flickr user laser2k.

Restaurants // life

Taste MTL serves up some of the city’s best food Get ready to participate in 11 days of gastronomic goodness Nicole Yeba Contributor

Enjoy Taste MTL, a delicious from nov. 1 to nov. 11.

culinary

F

rom Nov. 1 to 11, Taste MTL offers the opportunity to visit more than 125 restaurants and receive their table d’hôte at a discounted price of either $19, $29 and $39. Yes, you get an entrée, main course and dessert for a very decent price from some of Montreal’s best restaurants that are otherwise pricey.

This initiative was put together by Tourisme Montréal and presented by Produits d’érable du Québec in collaboration with the SAQ. Tourisme Montréal is a private and non-profit organization whose goal is to promote the city as a great travelling destination. It started as a contest of circumstances, led mostly by the growing popularity of fine food.

According to Pierre Bellerose, vice-president of Tourisme Montréal and spokesperson for Taste MTL, the culture of “foodies” has grown. He and his colleagues have come up with a strategy to make Montreal a gastronomical experience for both tourists and citizens.

Bellerose also noticed that since the summer of 2012, the “cahier gourmands” are now as popular as the arts sections in newspapers such as La Presse and The Gazette. What was merely an article a decade ago, is now a section of its own.

In order to participate in the events, the restaurants need to be members of Tourisme Montréal.

Many restaurants have joined them after the popularity of the experience first edition. There has been a 25 per cent increase in the number of

participants.

“Restaurants reflect the culture of a city,” explained Bellerose.

Taste MTL offers culinary tours in four areas in the city: Old Montreal, the Red Light District, the Mile-End and St-Henri. A guide will accompany a group of at least six people around the neighbourhood for $35 where they will hear anecdotes and taste some yummy food.

November is usually a hollow period for restaurants. With Taste MTL, they have an opportunity to offer their menus at decent prices where anyone can try what they have to offer.

There are already four restaurants that are booked for this edition: Europea, Restaurant Toqué!, Chez Chose and Les 400 coups. Bellerose suggested two French cuisine restaurants that he discovered last year, Bistro Cocagne and Laloux.

“It is an opportunity to reach a new clientele,” said manager of Laloux,Fanny Alaizeau, about her restaurant’s participation.

Alaizeau added that they wish to revitalize their clientele with their $19 table d’hote promotion. It is not about making great revenue, but more of a long-term investment for the restaurant.

“I think it’s a wonderful, a great initiative,” she added.

Here are a few participating restaurants : Deville Dinerbar Newtown Birks Café par Europea Le Pois Penché Kyo To view the entire list of restaurants, visit the Taste MTL website at tourisme-montreal.org/tastemtl/restaurants-en.php or visit their Facebook event for updates.

theconcordian

Tuesday, OCTOBER 29, 2013

//

9

Experiment // Life

A timeline of information is enough to know Two strangers learn about each other through Facebook Candice Yee Contributor

T

hink back to when you first created your Facebook page. Now think of all the information that has accumulated over the years. There’s your basic information: hometown, date of birth, work and education, relationship status. But then there’s the extras: events, birthdays, breakups, job promotions, Christmas with the folks, pictures of the kitty. Facebook literally has a timeline of your life — but what does that mean for us? Well, we at The Concordian wanted to run an experiment. Get two strangers to add each other on Facebook and have one write a biography of the other person to see how accurate or inaccurate it would be. Do we share too much of ourselves on Facebook? Is it possible to write a full biography of a complete stranger? Concordia students Candice Yee and Camilo Gonima tried it out. Here is Candice Yee’s biography of Gonima, followed by his reaction.

Camilo Gonima was born August 2, 1991 in Cúcuta, Colombia. Before attending Concordia University, he studied at the Universidad de Ibague and the Universidad Autonoma de Occidente Cali, both located in Colombia. He is attending Concordia as an exchange student for one semester. Moving

from a place of year-round tropical weather to Montreal’s harsh winters will be a difficult transition, and Gonima has never seen snow. He speaks four languages: English, Spanish, Finnish and Euskera. In terms of religion, he is a follower of “Papitas fritas,” Spanish for French fries.

Since arriving in Montreal, he has taken photos of everyday scenes in the city. Gonima’s preferred subject matter is strangers; he photographs buskers in the metro and Montrealers on the streets. More recently, he documented Montreal’s annual Zombie Walk. In addition to photography, Gonima enjoys making films. He produces documentaries, as well as 2-D and 3-D animated shorts. He likes watching Spanish martial arts and drama movies.

Earlier this year, he took part in a 30day drawing challenge, eight of which he managed to complete. Gonima’s friends are also involved in the visual arts. His friend, As Ray, is involved in animation and cartooning. Another friend, Laura Londoño, featured Gonima as a character in her comic book. Moreover, a few of Gonima’s favourite visual artists include Felipe Bedoya, Ordure Bizarre and Laura Laine. Their work shares a similar whimsical, cartoon style.

Gonima is also interested in journalism, and runs a personal blog. He is currently a member of Concordia’s Journalism Student Association.

In terms of music, Gonima has a diverse taste. He listens to electronic, indie groups such as Foster the People, The XX, MGMT, Daft Punk and Crystal Castles. Alternately, he enjoys Spanish artists Cadaveria COL,

Horizontes Ignorados and Juan Mazista. For partying, Gonima likes to rave to Dubstep and Knife Party.

In addition to his artistic interests, Gonima enjoys sports. He played ultimate frisbee in Colombia for the RYU Ultimate Club, and goes on jogs. However, he is a soccer fan at heart. Jason Moledzki and Wilder Madina are two of his favourite soccer players.

Socially, Gonima balances time with his family and partying with friends in Colombia. He values spending time with his grandmother, Leonor Giraldo de Gonima, and his dad, Jorge Gonima. He is well connected, and has 1,518 Facebook friends from his hometown and Montreal. His friends see him as an easy going guy, and a jokester.

They play pool, drink, play video games and go paintballing together.

Reaction from Camilo: I guess Candice had it hard. Everything on my Facebook is in Spanish and so I was surprised by how accurate she was with so many things. I don’t really keep track of everything I post on Facebook and sometimes a lot of it is just trash. So I was really excited to see what she was going to find. Because of the language barrier, Candice

apparently went through my pictures which apparently say a lot more than I thought.

Aside from the evident things like my birthday, I was surprised that she found out my interest in photography — particularly that I like to take pictures of strangers. something I never thought was that obvious. She knew I was into soccer, something I only spoke about when Colombia qualified for the World Cup. Candice was also able to name my current favorite soccer player and my ultimate frisbee team name back in Colombia. She also noticed things about my friends. Two of my friends are artists and Candice went as far as describing their artistic styles.

She believed my Facebook lie of how many languages I speak. Also, years ago I put my religion views as ‘French fries’ and never changed it. Besides that, Candice did a good job at capturing me.

With files from Sabrina Giancioppi

Sleep // life

When nightmares lurk the walls of your bedroom How to fight the midnight terrors and have a restful night Christina Ransom MacMedia (Mclaughlin College)

TORONTO (CUP) —You’re running…running…you know you have to run faster…it’s catching up…must run faster…suddenly you’re tripping…and falling….

And suddenly you bolt upright in bed, still breathing hard from the terrifying run-for-yourlife that never actually happened. This is what the world of nightmares is all about.

Virtually all of us have survived the experience of a terrifying nightmare at some point in our lives, whether it’s a chase scenario like the one described above, a devastating fall from the top of a steep cliff or the sudden realization that we showed up for our PSYC 101 final in nothing but our underwear (or less). Whatever the form they take, nightmares can set our heart racing, have us frantically reaching over to flip the light switch or, in some cases, interrupt our everyday functioning.

Given that almost all of us have experienced nightmares at one time or another, many people are curious to know more about this late-night phenomenon, including what causes it in the first place. Unfortunately, for the most part, researchers are still just as curious as the rest of us; although much research Photos has been done on the causes of nightmares, little is known for certain. For example, one study found that among university students, those who went to bed well past midnight had almost twice as many nightmares as those who

went to sleep at an earlier time. As interesting as this finding is, the researchers behind the study were unable to determine why this is the case. Their best guess is that because levels of the stress hormone cortisol peak around 7 to 9 a.m., people who went to bed late and were still asleep at this time may have vivid dreams or nightmares triggered by cortisol.

In addition, late-night snacks have been found to bring about nightmares, possibly because eating increases your metabolism, encouraging the brain to be more active.

Despite this uncertainty about the causes of nightmares in the general population, the causes of nightmares for some groups of individuals are more straightforward, as many medications and psychological disorders are widely associated with nightmares — includ-

ing antidepressants, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep apnea and substance withdrawal.

The five most common types of nightmares are, in ascending order: failing a test; damaging your house or other property; having car trouble; suffering an illness, injury or death; and, the most common, being chased or pursued Some people are more likely to have nightmares than others. Nightmares are most common in young children over five and teens (although 50 per cent of adults still have occasional nightmares), and are more common for females than males in all age groups. Interestingly, while men are significantly more likely to dream about sex than women, when women do dream about sex, it most often takes the form of a nightmare.

Although they can be frightening and un-

Some researchers believe that nightmares may be the brain’s way of releasing stress.

Photo from flickr.

nerving, most of the time nightmares aren’t a big deal. However, for about two per cent of people, nightmares significantly impact their lives. These people are most often diagnosed with a sleeping condition known as nightmare disorder. While 85 per cent of the population has nightmares less than once a month, individuals with nightmare disorder frequently experience nightmares at least once a week.

For some people, nightmares may not be abnormally frequent, but may have unusually strong effects. Researchers have identified a very rare condition known as REM sleep behaviour disorder, which leads individuals to act out the nightmares they experience, causing them to kick, thrash around, and scream.

Unfortunately, researchers have also found that this disorder is often an early warning sign for neural diseases like Parkinson’s and dementia.

Luckily, most of the time, nightmares are nothing to be concerned about. In fact, some researchers believe that nightmares may be the brain’s way of releasing stress and anxiety experienced during the day.

Researchers have divided the experience of what we would commonly call nightmares into two distinct categories: nightmares and night terrors. Although both can leave you with your heart pounding, night terrors are different from nightmares in that they are experienced as feelings rather than dreams — meaning you wake up with a profound sense of fear, but can’t recall why you are afraid. In contrast, nightmares are usually vivid dreams that we remember for quite a while afterwards. Plus, nightmares occur during rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep, but night terrors don’t — so while we usually don’t have nightmares until the early morning hours, night terrors can occur only a few hours after we fall asleep.

arts

10

//

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

theconcordian

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com

Exhibit // arts

Dialogues of the past and present, eyeing the future Artist seizes this time of tension in Quebec to talk about collaboration and inclusion Natalia Lara Díaz-Berrio Contributor

A

n Aboriginal man converses in Mohawk to a silent and attentive audience, he is performing a ritual of gratitude for all elements in life: people, earth, water, animals, plants, wind, sun and stars.

Visitors don’t comprehend the language but they stand in silent contemplation. The ritual was held by Philip Deering, a Mohawk, at the opening of the exhibition Native Immigrant by Chilean artist Carolina Echeverria. The exhibition comprises 25 paintings, three sculptures and three participatory installations, all dealing with the experience of immigration.

In Echeverria’s opinion, everyone is an immigrant in Canada, with different arrival dates (except for the First Nations people). However, she feels “culturally closer to First Nations than to the settled people of the country,” because Native people, despite having different languages and cultures, identify as a single nation. Thus, through her work, she attempts to bridge the gap between immigrants and First Nation peoples.

Paintings are colourful, playful and symbolic. She depicts the connection of immigrants to the land through her imagery: women in nature, with trees, plants, animals, water and earth. Deering mentioned that for Aboriginal people, the myth of the creation begins in the sky; it involves a woman, birds and earth. Similarly to Echeverria’s work, Deering

considers “that nature is a key element” for his Aboriginal culture.

Along with the paintings, three participatory works by Echeverria invite viewers to contribute with personal objects in the creation of the art.

“Immigrant Dress” invites the visitors to get together and sew a dress with fabrics, clothing or other symbolic objects of sentimental, multicultural values,” Echeverria explained.

For the artist, it is a way to construct culture inclusively. She wishes that the activity of creating the dress “could become a national activity, besides hockey and curling.” She dreams that all airports in Canada would have a dress to welcome immigrants.

“The Charter of Immigrant Values” is an ongoing creation of a mural where visitors

Echeverria’s art exihibt, Native Immigrant, has a message of unity for Canadians in times of division. Photo by Natalia Lara Díaz-Berrio

can write their own “manifesto of Native immigrants.”

Echeverria explained that “it is a creative and inclusive response to the proposed Quebec Charter of Values. The time where the country [is] divided in French and in English is over, it is very outdated.”

The participatory installation “We are all in the same boat” is composed of a handknitted, eight-foot long boat and several glass containers.

“The boat navigates in the ocean of memories and I am inviting the viewers to get detached from their memories by putting personal objects in the container with St-Laurent River water,” she said.

Echeverria is influenced by the work of the Brigada Ramona Parra, a Chilean leftist art movement and by the artist Norval Morrisseau who created a visual language for native people. The exhibition has a rich vocabulary of life and rooting through different mediums. Paintings, sculptures and installations invite contemplation, imagination, healing and contribution.

All her work intends to empower immigrants. She considers art political, and that it is connected to people and permits social change.

Furthermore, she wishes that artists would be fighters for ideals and for culture because culture is organic and alive.

“Imagine if that charter of values would have been written together, how amazing that would have been,” she said. “Instead of everybody fighting, we would all be excited about creating a new society or creating an identity based on common values.”

Native Immigrant runs until Nov. 3 in the Rialto Hall Theatre located at 5711 Parc Ave. Those who are interested in collaborating in “Immigrant Dress” can attend the specific sessions taking place from Wednesdays to Sundays from 12 to 6 p.m.

Graphic novel // arts

Traveling through our lost ghost and horror stories Ray Fawkes’ latest graphic novel, The Spectral Engine, weaves together Canadian mythology Nathália Larocerie Staff writer

A

black train travels across Canada, collecting souls. It travels over land and rivers, beyond the limits of time, carrying the stories of those who board it.

Welcome aboard The Spectral Engine, the ghost-train that haunts the pages of Ray Fawkes’ new graphic novel, published earlier this month.

The Toronto-based artist and writer is also known as the author of the acclaimed graphic novel One Soul, winner of the Harvey Award and the Eisner Award.

Fawkes offers us a collection of 13 reported ghost narratives that are part of the Canadian collective imaginary. The Spectral Engine is not a physical machine — it is made of memories and myths that have

been retold for generations.

Each stop of the train is the story of one of the ethereal passengers, in the moment they encountered death. They all revolve around the themes of remembrance and redemption.

As the train carries its incorporeal passengers, they have a chance to look at their own life and death, and to evaluate the things they have done such as a Newfoundland alcohol-dealer wanting to redeem himself for all the suffering he had caused, a lonely and shy girl that haunts the tracks of an abandoned Toronto train station, and a ghostly nun that is always seen in the surroundings of Alberta’s Dunvegan Bridge.

Fawkes’ book is a celebration of Canadian culture. It makes us rediscover almost forgotten stories and myths of our history.

It also touches on rooted human feelings of fear, redemption and hope. Various cultures are represented, such as First Nation tribes and Chinese immigrants.

As the written material is rather scarce, the nebulously crafted illustrations are responsible for transmitting to the reader the feelings and personality of each character. It is a more personal approach to these myths, focusing on the particular people and events that are the origin of these legends.

Fawkes’ artwork blends perfectly with the dark content of his narrative. Shades of black and white, rich in details and careful brushstrokes, help involve the reader in an eerie journey of historical fiction. Some of the drawings are very elaborate and the reader is forced to slow down and examine the details carefully in order to understand what is going on. Nevertheless, Fawkes maintains the fluidity of the narrative which is the very essence of The Spectral Engine’s expedition. It is always moving, always vanishing and reappearing, through the borders of time and space.

The Spectral Engine, featuring a glowin-the-dark hardcover, is published by

McClelland & Stewart and is available for sale at Amazon.ca

Many have seen the impossible train floating above the ground on its eternal mission.

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

//

11

Theatre // arts

Across the landscape of loss, down the rabbit hole An all-Montreal cast and crew bring the Pulitzer Prize winning play, Rabbit Hole, to the stage Tomer Shavit Contributor

Halloween is a time to revel in all things spooky, scary and unnatural. But for most people the greatest fear is common, and grounded in reality: the fear of losing a loved one.

Rabbit Hole, a Pulitzer Prize winning play written by David Lindsay-Abaire, deals with the debilitating grief experienced by a family coping with the death of their four-year-old son.

This play is being brought to Montreal by director-actor Simon Anthony Abou-Fadel and actress Miranda Handford. Abou-Fadel has had an extensive background as a TV actor in Hollywood, with roles in shows like 24, Law and Order and Veronica Mars.

“I did TV in Hollywood and I was also a member of the actors’ gang […] I wanted to go into directing for a while and this will be my third play directing.”

Abou-Fadel and Handford play the parts of Howie and Becca, a married couple that recently lost their child in a car accident. Jean Nicolai plays the part of Izzy, Becca’s younger sister and Dawn Ford plays Nat, Becca and Izzy’s mother. Newcomer Jason Smiley completes the cast, playing the part of Jason Willette.

In Rabbit Hole every character is plagued by the question, “what if?”

What if Becca had latched the gate? What if Izzy hadn’t called Becca and distracted her?

What if Howie had watched the dog? What if Jason had driven down any other street but theirs?

Haunted by their individual role in the tragedy, every character finds their own way to deal with their grief and guilt.

A

For many people, Rabbit Hole is considered an almost therapeutic experience because it helps them deal with grief in their own lives.

Abou-Fadel said: “I dealt with grief in my family before, losing a brother at a young age.

It’s a process, and it’s kind of always there. That is what attracted me initially to this play.”

Nicolai believes that the subject matter is

family deals with the loss of their four-year-old in

David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole.

Photo by Tomer Shavit.

universal, “I think it just touches on a fear that is so common, even if you haven’t experienced it yourself. It’s the biggest fear to lose a child.

Even if you haven’t lived it you can feel that fear.”

Fear is a key aspect of the play, and it was also a deciding factor with the actors who chose to tackle it: “This play scared the crap out of me; I just had a son,” said Abou-Fadel with a smile, “but it was incredible. So I gave it to [Handford].”

“It took me two months to read it,” said Handford, “I was scared to read it too. I finally read it and agreed. Obviously we [had] to do it.”

A Hollywood movie adaptation starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart was made in 2010. Ford, the only cast member who watched the film, says that although it’s nearly identical to the play, watching it in theatre is an unrivaled experience, “the adaptation was very similar to the play, but a play is always so instant, you’re in it, you’re there, you’re with it—the impact is so much more with a play than with a movie.”

Abou-Fadel is very excited about the launch of this play in Montreal.

“It’s just a stellar cast, with some really seasoned actors. It’s a beast of a play, it’s gorgeous and it’s beautiful, we’re working hard to rise to the challenge.”

Rabbit Hole will run from Nov. 1 to 10 at the Free Standing Room – 4324 St. Laurent, suite 300.

Festival // arts

This is that documentary time of the year The 16th edition of the Montreal International Documentary Festival is back in town Marc-Olivier Laramée Staff writer

Next month, the Arab spring, Occupy protests and the oldest women’s group in Québec will be among some of the many topics to be showcased from Nov. 13 to 24 at the Montreal International Documentary Festival. The festival will present 135 movies from 43 countries.

“Students must know that all screenings before 5:00 p.m. are free for them during the week. They should not think that documentaries are only for the elite,” said Charlotte Sab, the director of programming for the festival.

The 16th edition of the festival is the biggest of its history. It gives the opportunity for filmmakers to meet people from the industry and give them a chance to receive distribution offers through the Docu Circuit, the only bilingual market in North America for documentary professionals. The festival’s other mission, of course, is to present the films to the general public.

Opening the festival is The Square (Al Midan) by Jehane Noujaim. It is 99 minutes of almost all live documentary footage of the Egyptian protests. Starting from January 2011, where the protests resulted in the ousting of President Mubarak, to this year’s protests that saw the fall of President Morsi.

On a similar topic of protests, Vers Madrid (The Burning Bright!) by Sylvain George from France, revolves around the Occupy movement in Madrid. The filmmaker worked with only one camera to produce a newsreel depicting how people in the streets protested against global capitalism and the austerity budget in Europe.

At the festival, there are several official competitions such as the International Feature Competition, where 12 films will compete such as E agora? Lembra-me by Joaquim Pinto. This documentary film won two awards at the prestigious Locarno festival in Switzerland. Pinto, who suffers from HIV and Hepatitis C, takes us through his journey of dealing with the disease, and his experience during clinical trials. Inspite of hardship, Pinto remains strong, battling with his diseases on film—all for the art of the documentary.

In the Canadian competition, the world premiere of the documentary À jamais, pour toujours by Quebec’s Alexandra Sicotte-Lévesque, should not be missed among the 11 others in this category. The documentary presents the

religious tensions between southern Catholics and northern Muslims in Sudan.

Finally the International Short and Mediumlength competition, with 20 films, concludes the competitions. A short film, Da Vinci by Yuri Ancarani, is about incursions in the human body. The film documents surgeries conducted by robots, and shows how live surgeries are performed. It is one of the must-see projects.

The closing movie is quite different and aims to make you laugh. Fermières, by Annie St-Pierre from Québec, presents the oldest women’s group still in existence, Les Cercles des Fermières du Québec. During the course of one year, the film follows the president and members of the group in the preparation of activities, the nature of their meetings, and even

the preparation of their recipes.

The festival offers more than just documentaries. Debates, discussions, photo exhibitions and around 20 free concerts are held at the festival’s headquarters on 3450 St-Urbain Street.

The festival wants to let the public participate in projecting the films. This is why, every night from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., an interactive installation, Kino-Pedals, at the St-Laurent metro exit, will make the audience pedal to let the shorter films roll.

Films of the Montreal International Documentary Festival will be played from Nov. 13 to 24 at Cinéma du Parc, Cinéma Excentris and at the National Film Board of Canada. For ticket info and the full program go to ridm. qc.ca

Opening the Montreal International Documentary festival this year is The Square, while Fermières (pictured above), will be closing it at the end of November.

12

//

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

Cinema politica // arts

Extreme dose of animal cruelty—in the name of science An eye-opening look into experimentation methods, told through former laboratory workers Ayan Choudhury Staff writer

“It’s sad that I’m only 23 but animal death doesn’t do anything for me,” says one former research scientist early on in Karol Orzechowski’s Maximum Tolerated Dose. The title itself refers to lab experiments in which animals (or “research models”) are dosed with pharmaceutical products and certain chemicals in order to find a physical threshold. However, while many of these scientists have already proven the efficacy of the product, they repeatedly test high concentrations of certain medicines on lab animals until a fatality or a near fatality occurs.

There are in fact, several facilities specifically designed and created to breed animals such as rodents, macaque monkeys, and even beagles, all in order to supply experimental research. Thus, many of these animals, including monkeys and dogs, are brought into the world for the sole purpose of being used for scientific experiments.

The film does a convincing job in recreating the horrors of such aforementioned animal breeding facilities. For example, the IsoquiemInterfauna Breeding Facility in Spain specifically breeds beagles, who remain packed in cages all throughout the day, as their cries for help can be overheard echoing in the background, cries which seem to be desperate and helpless.

In one particular experiment, beagles were used to research radioactive tracers, which were injected into them. Afterwards, the dogs were all put down, placed on the operating table, as their hearts were removed and dissected in order to inspect the effects of the tracers.

Dr. John Pippin, a former research cardiolo-

gist admits that, “if you subscribe to the notion that this kind of research is essential to advance human medicine, and your career and your life revolves around advancing human medicine, then you come to see it as a necessary evil.”

The sad irony in Dr. Pippin’s story is his own love of dogs. He admits that he would consider killing anyone who would dare hurt his dogs at home, and yet, he consistently went to work every day as a scientific researcher where killing beagles was part of his job.

Orzechowski, known more for his photography, manages to locate and interview a hand-

ful of former lab workers and authors on the subject of animal cruelty. The film is told in five separate chapters, as the director focuses on individual lab animals and individual former workers for each segment.

The pulsating, ominous music heard throughout the film has an almost frightening effect. If there is such a thing as a ‘nonfiction documentary horror,’ that which is unimaginable and revolting, then Maximum Tolerated Dosage is it. In addition, the heavy sense of guilt felt by nearly everyone interviewed in the film is accentuated by years

of moral justifications on the part of these workers.

An anonymous worker simply puts it, “To the animals, I feel horrible. I could only say that I’m sorry and I will advocate to change this industry.”

It’s never too late to say you’re sorry.

Maximum Tolerated Dosage screens Monday Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. in room H-110 – 1455 de Maisonneuve W. Director Karol Orzechowski will be in the audience. For more information, visit cinemapolitica. org/concordia

Maximum Tolerated Dosage is a hardhitting documentary about the powerless animals sacrifieced for scientific advancement. Photo is a still from YouTube.

Film // arts

Beloved anime space opera classic gets a live-action update Based on the Japanese sci-fi anime made in 1974, Space Battleship Yamato gets a new life this year Jocelyn Beaudet Staff writer

North America got one of its first tastes of Japanese animation with “Star Blazers,” known in Japan as Space Battleship Yamato, in 1979.

The adaptation from the graphic novel was dubbed in English and was among one of first pieces of Japanese animation to hit the western world. Space Battleship Yamato tells the story of humanity’s last hope against an invading alien force called the Gamilas. With the live action version of this story hitting theaters next month, fans of the series and those wanting a taste of hard sci-fi are in for an adventure.

When ex-military pilot Susumu Kodai leaves the underground shelters under the earth to salvage metals on the surface of the radiation-laden planet, he is wounded by a crashing ship and awakens outside of his ra-

diation suit. However, he’s unaffected by the hostile environment and he finds an alien pod by his side.

The pod found with him is picked up by the crew of Captain Juzo Okita’s ship, the last surviving battleship during the biggest altercation with the Gamilas.

The pod contains schematics to a superweapon and a location far off in space, to a planet called Iskandar. With the government recruitment drive in full swing after this revelation, all civilians capable of serving aboard the newly built ship are brought onboard and prepped for the dangerous journey across space to Iskandar on the newly built battleship, believing that the coordinates will lead them to a device that will erase all radiation on earth.

Space Battleship Yamato is written like a classic space opera: action, drama and suspense are on the menu. While the live-action rendition remains somewhat faithful to the original material, some of the characters in the

movie felt underdeveloped in comparison to the animated series. Given the time constraints of the film medium, this isn’t entirely surprising.

The film provides a very balanced amount of action and dialogue and sets a very comfortable pace for most of the movie.

On the other hand, the female cast was woefully underutilized, spending most of the movie crying, worried or being all around vulnerable. For a movie released in 2004 (in Japan), this kind of trope doesn’t exactly belong in modern tellings. While it’s true that this remains faithful to the original material, it ends up harming the quality of the movie in the long run, taking it down from something that could have been great, and making it only pretty good.

When it comes to the presentation and sound though, the movie is beyond stellar. The special effects were phenomenal and the space dogfights were action-packed and full of inten-

sity. The score added the right tone to every scene and provided just the right amount of emotions to the high-end acting. Although the movie was not dubbed in English, the tone and expression of the cast speaks leagues for the intensity and drama that the movie conveys.

The movie’s 132 minutes may seem long, but the only sequence that felt tacked on was the final scene before the credits. Running for almost fifteen minutes, it felt like a lot of the dialogue could have been cut and the ending would have been no less dramatic.

Nonetheless, Space Battleship Yamato doesn’t disappoint. While it doesn’t bring anything new to the table, this retelling of an old fan favorite hits all the right chords and despite its flaws, the movie is never uninteresting. It may not move mountains, or be a contender for movie of the year, but it’s a competent, enjoyable space opera that’s worth your time.

Space Battleship Yamato will be out in Cineplex theatres on Nov.11.

An adaptation of the original series that set the precedent for Japanese sci-fi anime genre, the film is a journey into space, in hopes of saving the human race from extinction

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

//

Literature // arts

A hologram of success amidst desert sands

Dave Eggers’ novel, A Hologram for the King, delves into the subject of failure and success Shereen Ahmed Rafea Staff writer

In the heat of a desert country, an American businessman is desperately trying to succeed in a new venture, or risk going home empty handed.

Dave Eggers sketches a portrait of a character struggling with the economic effects of globalization and the emotional roller coaster of a mid-life crisis in his novel, A Hologram for the King.

Alan Clay is lost, his confidence is shaken and he is slightly paranoid. He has to pitch an IT project to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah or he will be unable to pay off his debts and his daughter’s tuition.

Clay is hired by an IT company, called Reliant, to pitch its services to the King, in an attempt to provide technology to the new developing “King Abdullah Economic City.” Clay arrives in Jeddah to find that his team was designated a tent to prepare for their pitch and are seemingly isolated from the other business employees.

The air is hot and the people around him don’t seem to fit the images in his guidebook.

He expects the natives to be conservative and reserved, however he finds a few that are liberal and go against cultural norms.

He tries to prove himself to the three young people working with him by pushing for better air conditioning and Wi-Fi reception. Meanwhile they shuffle back and forth between the tent and the hotel, lazily waiting for the King to arrive. The plot centers around the time spent on the preparation of the hologram.

We learn through short, thoughtful prose the

emotional toll of Clay’s failed career and failed marriage. Clay is divorced from his wife Ruby and feels close to his daughter Kit. However, he only communicates with Kit in the form of email drafts he never sends.

Clay had tried to start his own bike manufacturing business in the United States, but was unsuccessful because most production projects were overseas. Reliant is a possible remedy to that failure.

A Hologram for the King delves into Clay’s head with short, rich details. He floats back and forth between his memories and his observations of Jeddah. Clay doesn’t plan on staying in Saudi Arabia forever, yet he feels a pull to it. The complexity of wanting to succeed, to prove that you are worthy is an echoing sentiment in this story.

When he has a cyst removed from his neck in Jeddah, Clay is sorry it is not cancerous. At least then, he would not have had to worry about paying Kit’s tuition fees.

The writing style is simple, yet aims to be provocative throughout most of the novel.

“They were married in a breathless hurry,” writes Eggers on Clay’s former marriage, “but Alan felt early on that she was looking through him. Who was he? ... He tried to rise to her level, to broaden his mind and see things as she did, but he was working with crude tools.” Eggers writes in short sentences, sometimes repeating his pronouns to highlight emotions.

Life is a complex web of people, who carry their past and their present with them. A Hologram for the King takes us on a journey, wandering in a middle eastern country, trying to find a way to mold the flawed past into a new beginning, or to simply survive.

Poetry // arts

Poet’s Corner Trick or Treat?

By: Kevin Savard

Trick or treat. Human feast, Table set. spirits eat, Transcend in reality.

Sexy spell, serpent skin, Sick scab scurvy, scary screams soar, Salem style state, sacrifice.

Fire burns hilly peaks, Calling spirits in space, Blood fussed is time, Psychic seeding mind.

Day of dead, sirens red, Devil’s bed, Witches initiation party, Crowley gathering night.

Ethereal ecstasy enveloped, Topsy turvy twirling, Vigilantly vexing vileness, Melancholy morgue master.

CHOOSE YOUR CERTIFICATE ADVERTISING – MEDIA MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION EVENT MANAGEMENT FASHION MANAGEMENT & PROMOTIONS FINANCIAL PLANNING GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT MARKETING MANAGEMENT PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

APPLY NOW!

POSTGRADUATE CERTIFICATES business.humber.ca/postgrad

AT ITS VERY BEST

13

14

//

theconcordian

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

Comedy // arts

Comedians and booze make for the best of parties Adam Devine’s House Party is the newest, most rambunctious show on Comedy Central Olivia Ranger-Enns Staff writer

P

laying the quintessential narcissistic jerk, pushing the buttons of his director, insulting his guests and always trying to play the badass, Adam Devine stars in Comedy Central’s newest TV show, Adam Devine’s House Party.

The eight-episode season is expected to wow viewers when Devine (known for his role as Adam DeMamp on Workaholics) gets free rein of a Los Angeles estate and throws massive parties.

Of course, things immediately go awry as Devine’s favourite comedians stop by for a drink (or two) and conduct stand-up performances on stage. It’s your quintessential silly-meets-comedy kind of entertainment show.

In the premiere, aptly titled “Ex-Girlfriend,” any expectation of Devine being that cool/sensitive/awesome party-host is shattered. Devine smashes a beer bottle over his head and welcomes guests with an overbearingly excited attitude. During the rest of the episode, Devine’s head is draped in a bloody bandage as he unsuccessfully hits on his ex-girlfriend who arrives accompanied by one of Devine’s friends.

The premiere sets the tone for the entire series: this show is about wasting money.

Big time.

The absurdity of the show is highlighted when Devine tells the camera, “I don’t know how I convinced Comedy Central to

give me another show, a Hollywood man- “badges” made of “trash” (pictures of gar- grating and annoying (just how fun is it sion and a paycheck for hanging out with bage and the like). It’s hard not to laugh really to watch people getting drunk, at friends. I hope they have a good lawyer and at the expression on the girls’ faces. When least when sober?) but chances are the the fire department on speed dial.” the girls request beer, Devine grimaces, show will thrive thanks to the stand-up That said, the comedy is what makes exclaiming, “You’re ten years old … and comedians and Devine’s sassy attitude. If the show work. In a nutshell, this is how you have never tried beer?” The episode anything, the show will give you a sound the show functions: between brief episodes concludes with the girls getting very drunk break from studying. where Devine humiliates himself at his frat on beer and smashing bottles over each Adam Devine’s House Party premiered party, three stand-up comedians take to the others’ heads. on Oct. 24 on Comedy Central, and runs mic. All in all, 24 of Devine’s funniest comic The whole thing can at first appear Thursdays night at 12.30 am. friends will be featured on the show.

In the first episode, comedians Ahmed Bharoocha, Andrew Santino and Barry Rothbart take the stand, while Liza Treyger, Josh Rabinowitz and Sean Donnelly draw out laughs in the second episode.

Joke themes range from dolphin rape to Chicago accents.

Watch out.

Things get interesting as Devine discards (for the moment) his ostentatious attitude and gets a group of ten-year-olds to clean up his house.

When he orders them into a file, Every episode mixes scripted storylines with real stand-up, and features an exciting lineup of up-and-coming talent Devine hands out

Television // arts

How to watch TV and still have friends – A guide Shh! Learn how to keep it to yourself with these necessary tips to television spoiler ettiquette Kyle Darbyson The Fulcrum (University of Ottawa)

OTTAWA (CUP) — Now that the fall television season is in full swing, it’s probably a good time to talk about a distasteful social phenomenon sweeping through university campuses everywhere: spoilers.

Many have fallen victim to whispers of unwanted plot information regarding their favourite TV shows. Luckily, these kinds of spoilers are easily avoided if you remain cautious and vigilant. Here are three tips on how to establish spoiler etiquette for the fall TV season: 1) Establish spoiler quarantine zones If you are forced to talk about highly sensitive plot information in a public forum, it’s probably a good idea to quarantine your friends and yourself in a designated spoiler zone. These spoiler zones can be small rooms or other self-contained areas that have relatively impenetrable, soundproof walls. Ideally, these areas should only be accessible to those who are up to date on the topic of discussion and should exclude those who have fallen behind. The study rooms available in the library are good examples of effective spoiler zones.

2) Speak in ambiguous terms

* SPOILER ALERT * If you feel compelled to talk about your favourite TV shows outside of these spoiler zones, it’s probably a good idea to try to mask specific plot details using precise language. Speaking in general or ambiguous terms is key to creating a spoiler-free environment. For example, a statement of general enthusiasm like, “The third season of The Wire is amazing!” is perfectly acceptable. However, something along the lines of, “You won’t believe what (character A) does to (character B) at the end of season three of The Wire!” contains way too many plot details for the uninitiated viewer.

3) Be conscious of what you share via social media There’s nothing wrong with passing around funny memes or GIFs through social media sites, but before you post these humorous images, make sure to select your audience

carefully. These fun distractions usually rely on vital plot information and character development as the meat of their humour, and this can easily constitute a spoiler for specific recipients. In any event, please be cautious of what you post and who is receiving it. At the very least, please issue some bright red “spoiler alert” text on your post if it’s going to be sent to the masses.

If however, you are the potential victim of episode spoilers, here are two good tips for avoiding having spoilers ruin your day: 1) Beware of the Internet You should probably avoid the Internet altogether since it’s basically the Wild West in terms of unfiltered plot information. This is especially true for shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, which have been building up spoiler discussions online

for several years because of their origins as a book and graphic novel. So, if you’re behind on your favourite show, the bottom line is this: stay the hell away from Google.

2) Make sure you know the language of spoilers Unfortunately, not everybody chooses to adhere to this kind of spoiler etiquette.

Thankfully, there are ways to intercept a potential spoiler in everyday conversation if you know how to anticipate specific trigger words or phrases. For example, when a careless friend says something like, “This detail isn’t important, so…” or, “This really isn’t a spoiler, but…” be sure to expect an incoming spoiler.

To successfully defuse this situation, be sure to give your friend a good scolding and then calmly escort them to the nearest designated spoiler quarantine zone.

music

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

//

15

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com

Profile // music

Bringing in the beauty of ambiguity Crystal Antlers elated to return to Montreal Jessica romera Music editor

Somewhere in North Carolina, Crystal Antlers are driving down a long stretch of road in their vegetable oil-powered diesel van, jamming to Link Wray’s self-titled album.

The California-based trio released their latest album Nothing Is Real earlier in October and have been steadily touring since then to promote it. Instead of their usual studio set up in San Francisco, Calif., Crystal Antlers recorded at vocalist and bassist Jonny Bell’s Southern California in-home studio.

“We got to spend a little bit more time [on the album]; we weren’t like, under any pressure,” said drummer Kevin Stuart, “we were hanging out, working on the record, having a good time.”

Although the general vibe of the production process was a relaxed one, Stuart admitted that him and Bell, along with guitarist Andrew King, did encounter some creative differences.

“It can be pretty hard, you know, to come to a consensus on things when you’re working in a group,” he said.

Despite any garage punk, neo-psychedelia classifications or comparisons to artists like Cornets on Fire, Crystal Antlers pride themselves on not actually knowing how they would describe their own sound.

“We’re always drawing inspiration from different places,” said Stuart. “All we’re trying to do is just make some new interesting music rather than just trying to do what’s already been done a million times before.”

Since the band’s inception in the mid 2000s, they have wanted to allow their listeners the opportunity to make up their own minds about the music. “I’d rather just say ‘give a listen’ and come to your own conclusions,” said Stuart about the latest record.

“What we’re trying to do is not really like, rehash what has been done before.”

In the true spirit of this outlook, the band released the video for their latest single off the album, “Licorice Pizza.” With a pizza

trio chose their band’s name based on aesthetics and acoustics.

“For me, I liked that it was two words of similar length … it doesn’t really make people think of something specific in general, I thought it was like a non-sequitur,” said Stuart. “I like the way it looks and sounds.”

While Nothing Is Real was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, Stuart admits that it does get difficult to balance tour life with their personal lives.

“We normally wake up at like, noon, go get some breakfast and then sit in the van all day driving until we get to the venue and then check in, do our sound check, play the show, and then you know, whatever might happen after that,” said There’s a very delicate Stuart. balance to be able to do “Sometimes we go out and all this stuff. We’re doing do something fun afterwards, or what we love. sometimes we just hang out at the - Kevin Stuart club all night. Either way, we don’t get home until around 3 o’clock in the morning … then you know we layered in what appears to be Fruit Loops kind of fall asleep, take a shower and do it and American bills spinning on a turntable all over again.” as the opening sequence, the video, directed Despite the long drives and limited days off, by their longtime friend Michael Reich, dis- the boys in the band would not trade it for anyplays some pretty ambiguous images. thing else.

“We were trying to do literal imagery “There’s a very delicate balance to be able to from the lyrics,” said Stuart. “I don’t think do all this stuff,” said Stuart. “We’re doing what we’re trying to make the listener think or we love.” feel anything in particular as a whole.”

This leg of their tour will have them rolling The idea for the video and song came through Montreal where they are happy to report from the American record store aptly named they have played several memorable shows.

Licorice Pizza. The store’s namesake is actu“We stay out late and drink a lot,” said Stuart. ally a clever designation for a vinyl record.

“Montreal’s the best...especially around Hallow“A lot of people didn’t know what it een time.” meant,” said Stuart of the nickname.

Crystal Antlers will be performing at Il No strangers to slick word choice, the Motore on Oct. 30.

“

Jessica Romera Music editor

>> Metallica heads South for the winter As of December, Metallica will have officially played on every continent on the planet. The heavy metal-rock veterans will put on a show near the Carlini Argentine Base to a select group of diehard fans from Costa Rica, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Mexico who enter a contest through Coca-Cola Zero. In order to win the 10-day round-trip Antarctic cruise ticket, fans must prove why they deserve to be selected via Twitter. The only other group to ever perform on the continent, Nunatak, was a five-piece collective of scientists to an audience of 17.

>> Tom Hardy cast in Elton John biopic Tom Hardy, most known for his roles in blockbuster mega hits Inception and The Dark Knight Rises, has been cast as Elton John in the upcoming biopic. Although the film company’s CEO Peter Schlessel has no doubts about Hardy’s performance and portrayal of the legendary musician, Hardy was not their initial pick. Sir Elton allegedly had pop prince Justin Timberlake in mind. Rocketman will be directed by Michael Gracey and is said to begin filming next fall.

>> The Who call it quits To mark their 50th anniversary, The Who have decided it’s time to stop touring in 2015. The British rockers told The Evening Standard that they will likely go perform in cities they have rarely played in the last several decades. “For the 50th anniversary we’ll tour the world. It’ll be the last big one for us. There are still plenty of places we’ve not played. It would be good to go to eastern Europe and places that haven’t heard us play all the old hits,” said guitarist Pete Townshend to The Evening Standard. Along with the release of Sensation, a documentary based on the band’s legendary rock-opera Tommy, The Who will release a special box set edition of the film.

>> Chris Brown arrested on felony charges

California rockers Crystal Antlers released their latest album Nothing is Real on Oct.15. Photo by Mary Bell.

Infamous singer and performer Chris Brown is making headlines once again for his bad behaviour. According to CNN, Brown was arrested in Washington D.C. Sunday morning along with his bodyguard. Police told CNN that “[Brown and bodyguard] were allegedly involved in an altercation with another man outside the W Hotel at 4:25 a.m.” Currently still on probation from an assault involving ex-flame pop singer Rihanna in 2009, any subsequent arrests could lead to Brown facing jail time.

16

//

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Profile // music

Mussels and pneumonia: an interview with Matthew Good Canadian rocker goes back to his roots on his latest album Alexis Lawton-Smith The Peak (Simon Fraser University)

BURNABY (CUP) — Upon meeting Matthew Good for the first time, few people would be surprised to find him withdrawn and somewhat sullen. After all, this is the man who sold shirts embossed with the message: “I Heard Matt Good is a Real Asshole.” Good’s music isn’t exactly bubblegum pop either; he is well known for his introspective yet anguished lyrics.

It is a rainy afternoon in downtown Vancouver and Good fits in with the atmosphere. Today, however, he is sullen for a reason.

“He’s sick,” says Paula Danylevich, Good’s publicist, as we walk into his hotel room. “But don’t worry, he’s not contagious.”

Remnants of room service litter the doorway.

By the looks of it, Good enjoys mussels — there is a tower of shells piled high on a plate. He sits at a small table, wearing his signature glasses, with his laptop open in front of him. Like the carnage of shells heaped outside the door, Matthew looks as though he has seen better days.

“I have borderline pneumonia and I am on a ton of medication. It’s not fun,” Good sighs as we shake hands, but he brightens up once we begin talking about his new album, Arrows of

Desire.

Unlike Good’s current condition, his new album has a lot more pep. Departing from the slower, ballad-filled albums like Hospital Music or Vancouver, Arrows of Desire gets back to what made Good famous in the first place: rock n’ roll.

“It’s a back to basics record. Coming off how heady Lights of Endangered Species was, it was something I wanted intrinsically to do,” he says.

“When I sat down to write it, I wanted to get back to the roots of the matter.”

Arrows of Desire does exactly what Good in-

Matthew Good Kris Krug.

tended. Fundamentally, the album is quite reminiscent of Matthew Good Band, which dissolved in 2002. Good’s solo work has careened away from good old-fashioned rock for quite some time and a return to his roots could have proved disastrous. Reflecting an earlier sound can often come off as repetitive drivel or make the artist seem as if he is trying to recapture his glory days of yesteryear and escaped youth.

Arrows of Desire defies the odds though.

With punched-up, slightly distorted guitars, basic drumming, and a powerful vocal performance, Arrows of Desire is an anthem of a piece that

goes back to basics on his latest album

Arrows Of Desire. Photo

by

is familiar, but not exactly so. Good has managed to do what others have failed at: return to an original sound without eliciting a completely cringe-worthy response.

Songs like “Via Dolorosa,” “Arrows of Desire” and “Hey, Heaven, Hell” — all with religious references — seem to dot the album, but Good shakes his head, waving off any notion of spirituality in the album.

“I am secular humanist,” he states. Almost as if to emphasize his rebellion from rigid guidelines, Good lights up a cigarette and inhales deeply. “’Via Dolorosa’ has the historical context of Christ,” he explains. “But it also has a literary sense of the passage into suffering. This song is more about the crisis of humanity. It’s about any kind of trial that you have to endure, or any trial that you cause others to endure. It’s [about] the madness that resides in those realities.”

Brimming with metaphor, Arrows of Desire is a not your average sex, drugs and rock n’ roll album. But, then again, Good isn’t exactly a normal rock star, either. He currently lives on a ranch in Mission, BC with his wife and three children. Instead of tales of drunken shenanigans and pretty women, Good shares stories of family life.

Don’t expect Good’s simple, less-than-rock star lifestyle to stop him from making music, though.

“You don’t have the choice to stop when you are an artist. It’s not just something you can shut off,” he says. “As long as I can somehow make records, I will make records.”

Quickspins // music

Quick Spins

Eliza Moore - Everything To Me (Independent;2013)

Mark Berube - Russian Dolls (Bonsound Records; 2013)

Best Coast - Fade Away EP (Jewel City; 2013)

Katy Perry - Prism (Capitol Records; 2013)

Folk-pop violinist and songstress Eliza Moore released her third EP Everything To Me in September, an album she describes as having “a more exposed and authentic sound.” The Montreal-based musician’s latest offering consists of five tracks, including the charmingly whimsical title track.

Songs like “My Longing Knows You” and “Call You Inside” showcase Moore’s pitch-perfect vocals and her ability to create a warm and inviting atmosphere through her honest lyrics and soulful melodies. “Humanity” propels you back in time and sits you down at a dimly lit Chicago jazz club in the early ‘20s with its smoky sound and smooth background percussion. Everything To Me is a well rounded, pleasant album that exhibits Moore’s ease and ability as a musician.

Canadian folk darling Mark Berube and his instrumental collective from The Patriotic Few have returned with their latest eclectic album, Russian Dolls. The album boasts nearly a dozen carefully crafted tracks, spanning across a multitude of genres. On the record’s first single “Carnival” subtle ska elements can be heard while “Confessions To A Streetlight” is a playful—and slightly seductive—folk infused ballad. “Mississippi Prom” stays true to its name; the Southern-style track is layered with powerful piano and chorus-like backing vocals.

Russian Dolls offers a plethora of different genres perfectly packaged into one full-length album recorded here in Montreal at Breakglass Studios. The official album launch will be free of charge and takes place on Nov. 5 at Cabaret du Mile End.

“I won’t change, I’ll stay the same,” is perhaps the most revelatory lyric off of Best Coast’s newest EP, Fade Away. In that simple phrase, the California garage-pop duo have perfectly summarized the experience of listening to their newest release. Singer-songwriter Bethany Cosentino remains preoccupied with the same vapid inspiration: boys, drugs and laziness (and her cat) as in the band’s debut.

However, unlike Crazy For You, (the band’s 2010 debut), the whole thing just feels tired and uninspired. The production on Fade Away is much more polished and Cosentino’s vocals are more confident. Unfortunately, each track employs the same predictable chord progressions and seems to drag on needlessly, draining the album of its vitality and charm. If this EP is any indication of what’s to come for Best Coast, ‘fade Away’ may ultimately be the band’s epitaph.

Following up a double Platinum-selling album that spawned five Billboard number one singles is not an easy feat, but it seems Katy Perry managed to do just that. There’s a reason this album is called Prism: it showcases the many different sides and colours of Katy. The popstar’s third album comes after her divorce from comedian Russell Brand, which is reflected in her music.

She explores themes like heartbreak, self-discovery and finding new love; the emotional ballad “By The Grace of God” could very well be the most intimate track she has ever released.

Though the album may not have the same bubblegum pop feeling as Teenage Dream, that doesn’t mean it necessarily lacks the party jams Katy’s fans have come to expect. Prism has a perfect balance between upbeat and heartfelt— making it ideal for both hitting the clubs and mourning a lost love.

Trial Track: “Baby I’m Crying”

Trial Track: “Walking On Air”

Trial Track: “The Good, The Bad and The Photograph” Trial Track: “My Longing Knows You”

7/10

- Jessica Romera

8/10

- Jessica Romera

5/10

- Paul Traunero

8.5/10

-Marco Saveriano

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

//

17

Profile // music

Cardilli explores many musical avenues

Concordian juggles school, music and teaching high school Jessica kenwood Contributor

The Ben Cardilli Band will be playing at the Centre Fusion Culturel on St-Hubert street Nov. 1 for a combined celebration of the band’s EP launch, Cardilli’s birthday and Halloween. I sat down with Cardilli in his home studio at his parents’ house to discuss the new album and his long history with music. Cardilli met me outside of his parents’ house and explained that he had had a horrible day teaching music to grade 7 students at Cote Saint-Luc’s Bialik High School.

Cardilli, a Concordia student studying in communications, was offered the job by a friend’s mother. Although he does not have the qualifications to teach high school, his knowledge of music and the high demand for teachers made it possible.

“I like my job,” he assured me, “but sometimes there’s one or two kids that just really make it hard to stay motivated.”

As we walked up the stairs and into what was once his bedroom, I was bombarded by around 10 guitars placed in the middle of the cozy bedroom.

Cardilli laughed explaining, “this is nothing, you should see my place!”

He began showing me some of the guitars, explaining that these were mostly old and out of tune.

As I sat down on the couch closest to the door, Cardilli took a seat at his computer,

between the stand up mic and the mixing board. Lucky Me, Cardilli’s newest EP, is a continuation of Seen It All released in 2012.

Although it is still not finished, Cardilli explains that the music will stay true to what his fans are used to; a six song acoustic EP with a 90s feel that lyrically “is real but also up for interpretation.” He explains that he never wants to be too direct in his lyrics; if he spoke directly to his own life then it would be harder for people to connect with him on a personal level.

Cardilli has been in almost 15 bands since early high school and has ventured down many routes musically. From heavy metal to pop and now electronic dance music, Cardilli makes a point of exploring all musical avenues to understand music in all of its forms and have an appreciation for not just what

he likes, but music in general.

Cardilli and his bandmates Chris See Hoye (lead guitar and vocals), Michael Kamps (bass) and Pascal Beauregard (drums), honed their talents with ‘90s style music “before music was too mastered and controlled,” the type of music Cardilli loves most.

Cardilli acknowledges that being in bands like Red October and The Honest Family allowed for him to grow as a musician and have taught him a lot about writing music and collaborating as a group, as well as the importance of connections and promotion in the music world. However, his main focus is on his own projects and collaborating with his band members.

“With the [Ben Cardilli] band we are always working together. Before Pascal joined

the band, our old drummer had the same love for the nineties but was more reggae influenced. Now, with Pascal, the sound is completely different. We’ve taken a more folk-country route. It’s all about working together and coming up with something we all love.”

Whether it be in his solo project or his band, Cardilli’s music is honest and his talent shines through. Coming from a musical family, where all of his three brothers are involved with the industry to some degree, Cardilli’s ability to play any instrument is astounding. His lyrics are sincere and his voice is something that you would have to hear to truly understand the pure talent of Ben Cardilli.

The Ben Cardilli Band will be playing at the CFC on St-Hubert street Nov. 1

Photo by Félicité Anaïs Roy

Mixtape // music

It’s Halloween! The ghosts, ghouls, and vampires have come out to play. What better way to celebrate the spooky season than to shake your bones to some scary tunes. Side A of this mix is composed of some go-to Halloween songs, many from classic movies and artists.

Side B is a little more unconventional. Songs that aren’t necessarily about Halloween, or related to the holiday, but have that eerie feeling to them. That feeling that just sends tingles up and down your spine and forces the hairs at the back of your neck to give the song a standing ovation. I threw Backstreet Boys in there because everyone remembers dancing to that Halloween video.

Everyone.

Happy All Hallows’ Eve! Side A: The Obligatory Halloween Karaoke

Halloween Edition Compiled by Casandra De Masi

1. “Time Warp” - The Rocky Horror Picture Show - The Rocky Horror Picture Show 2. “This is Halloween”- The Nightmare Before Christmas - The Nightmare Before Christmas 3. “Jump In Line (Shake Señora)”Harry Belafonte - Beetlejuice 4. “Thriller” - Michael Jackson Thriller 5. “Superstition” - Stevie Wonder Talking Book 6. “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” - David Bowie - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) 7. “Ghostbusters”- Ray Parker Jr. Ghostbusters 8. “Ghost Town” - The Specials Single 9. “Monster Mash” - Bobby “Boris” Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers - Single 10. “I Put a Spell on You” - Screamin’ Jay Hawkins - Single

Side B: The Not-So-Obvious 1. “Heads Will Roll” - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It’s Blitz!

2. “Running Up That Hill” - Placebo - Sleeping With Ghosts 3. “People Are Strange” - The Doors - The Soft Parade 4. “Somebody’s Watching Me” Rockwell - Somebody’s Watching Me 6. “ My Body’s a Zombie for You” - Dead Man’s Bones - Dead Man’s Bones 7. “Dead Hearts” - Stars - The Five Ghosts 6. “Point of Disgust” - Low - Trust 7. “All Fall Down”- OneRepublic Dreaming Out Loud 8. “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” - Backstreet Boys - Backstreet’s Back 9. “Creep” - Scala & Kolacny Brothers - On The Rocks 10. “Cinderella” - Aqualung - Memory Man

sports 18

//

Tuesday, october 29 , 2013

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com

Rugby // sports

Sports in the ConU falls in finals against Martlets News Women’s rugby team loses in Championship game against McGill Christine Beaton Staff writer Chris Cordella Staff writer

>> Late fourth quarter heroics in Motor City The Dallas Cowboys faced off against the Detroit Lions in Michigan on Sunday. This was a game that saw lots of adversity for the Dallas Cowboys. The first three quarters were relatively quiet points-wise, which led to a frustrated Dez Bryant (Cowboys Wide Receiver) who decided to yell at his quarterback (Tony Romo) on the sidelines to show his displeasure of his limited touches of the ball. The day belonged to Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson, who finished the game with 14 receptions, one touchdown and a career high 329 yards. That wasn’t even the most shocking part of the game, that part goes to the Cowboys for blowing a 10-point late fourth quarter lead to end up losing 31-30. The Cowboys only needed one first down to chew up some clock but a holding penalty on a third down play negated that and stopped the clock, which gave the Lions just over a minute to get down the field and score. They did, with only 12 seconds left on the clock. The Lions improved to 5-3 while the Cowboys go to 4-4.

>> First big NHL trade of season The hockey world got some buzz late Sunday night when the Buffalo Sabres took the next step of their rebuilding process, as their goalscorer and co-captain Thomas Vanek was traded to the New York Islanders for forward Matt Moulson along with a 2014 first round pick and a second round pick in 2015. Signs are all leading toward Buffalo looking to trade its roster players to help to rebuild for the future.

The Sabres have a league-worst 2-10-1 record to start the season, one point behind the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers.

>> Impact squeak into MLS playoffs

After the Montreal Impact lost to Toronto FC 1-0 on Saturday afternoon, they had to rely on other teams to help get them into the playoffs during the handful of Sunday games. The team they need to thank is the New York Red Bulls for beating the Chicago Fire 5-2 which clinched their spot into the playoffs. The Impact will now face the fourth-place Houston Dynamo in a one-game playoff at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston on Thursday.

“It wasn’t our day,” said captain Hughanna Gaw after the Stingers women’s rugby team lost the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) finals against the McGill Martlets 41-34 last Friday night.

The first half proved hard for the Stingers. McGill scored their first try two minutes into the game with no conversion. Concordia only answered back to it six minutes later with a try scored by Jenna Giuliani after an impressive run to the try line.

The McGill forwards dominated the Stingers in rucks, pushing them over like they weren’t a team that ended their regular season with a 7-0 sweep. Concordia’s lineouts in the first half were unbalanced but they made it work. Their saving grace was their scrums; their force and power has nothing on McGill’s forward pack.

However, they seemed to know McGill’s defensive line would knock their backs further down the field so they made the choice to end many of their scrums with quick pick-and-go’s by Gaw. Meanwhile, McGill’s true strength lied with their backs. They lined up perfectly on defense, eliminating gaps and making sure they took the wind out of the maroon-andgold. They never gave up on a tackle, proving in the first half that it takes more than one girl to bring down Alexandra Tessier, a powerhouse centre in the Stingers backline.

After a missed opportunity for a penalty kick, McGill came back with a vengeance, scoring two tries and, subsequently, two conversions within a minute and a half of each other, bringing the score to 19-5 for McGill.

With three minutes left to the half, Concordia brought the ball ten meters from the McGill try line, pushing it even closer with a driving scrum. Darcie Largan, one of the Stingers backs, got her hands on it and bolted to the try line. The try was eventually scored by prop Solange De Blois and converted by Alexandra Ste. Marie, bringing the score up by seven points to 19-12.

With one minute left of the half, McGill scored and converted, making the score 2412.

By halftime, it was clear that changes needed to be made on the Stingers end of the field. After a couple of player positions were switched around, Concordia came back with a newfound determination.

“The first three-quarters of the game we simply made too many mistakes, be it dropped balls or missed tackles. They were mistakes that we couldn’t afford to make in the finals,” said Gaw, who was moved from No. 8 to centre in the second half. “We came back in the second half, cleaned up our mistakes and got back to our game plan.”

Six minutes into the second half, Ste. Marie scored a three-point penalty kick,

making the score 24-15. Right after that, McGill scored and converted another two times, which left the score at 38-15.

The two tries were answered by Stingers lock Samantha Ewing and Gaw. Both conversions were made, making the score 38-29. McGill scored a penalty kick quickly after, leaving Gaw to bring the final score— with an unconverted try—to 41-34.

Concordia fought hard for the last 20 minutes of the game, never giving up and hitting back when McGill knocked them down.

Gaw, the lead try-scorer for her final game with Concordia, put it best, “It isn’t the way that you ever want it to end, but

we definitely didn’t go down without a fight.”

“I thought we played very poorly in the first 30 minutes and that was the difference in the game as we did not have enough time to come back all the way,” head coach Graeme McGravie said. “[It’s] hard to win a game when you only play half of it.”

“It is a disappointing end to an otherwise very good season,” McGravie continued. “We saw a lot of people come of age on the field this year and I am excited that most of them are eligible to return back for the 2014 season. Our tackling needs to improve across the board if we are to be considered challengers for next year.”

Stingers lose just second game of season against McGill in Finals. Photo By Keith Race

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

//

19

Hockey // sports

Stingers dominate Royal Military College Paladins Concordia controlled the game and earned a win in home opener at Verdun auditorium Tim Lazier Staff writer

The Stingers looked comfortable in their home opener at the Verdun Auditorium on Friday night as they beat the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins 10-3.

Concordia improved their record to 2-1-2 on the season and sit tied for fourth in the East Division of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) standings.

From puck-drop, the Stingers played a relentless offensive game that put the Paladins on their heels. Although the game was tied 1-1 for most of the first period, after goals

by Stingers right-winger Jessyco Bernard and Paladins forward Chris Smerek, Stingers centre Hugo Vinatier and left-winger Taylor Lambke scored in the last five minutes of the first period. Heading into intermission up 3-1, the Stingers never looked back.

As Concordia’s last four games were all decided by one goal, Stinger’s head coach Kevin Figsby wanted his offense to step up and build some momentum. Hopefully, Friday’s win was a sign of more things to come.

“We had some guys who were struggling to find the net, but tonight they found the back of the net,” said Figsby. “There seemed to be a different groove going up front and

it was good.”

The second period was much of the same as the Stingers continued to control the pace. The Stingers got goals from centres George Lovatsis and Olivier Hinse and defenseman Sean Blunden and went into the third period up 6-2.

A big part of Concordia’s success was that they stuck to their game plan. Although RMC managed a couple of goals, the Stingers were focused for the whole 60 minutes.

Offensively they wreaked havoc, and defensively they played a composed and positional game. Stingers goaltender Antonio Mastropietro anchored the defense with a solid performance. He turned away 18 out of the 21 shots that he faced.

“We did what we wanted to do tonight,” said Figsby. “We stayed in our game plan, and didn’t change it. We didn’t start chasing pucks, we stayed in our positions and scored 10 goals as a result.”

In the third period, left-winger Dany Potvin scored late, while Bernard, Hinse and Lambke all added their second goals of the night. Concordia’s top line composed of Potvin, Bernard and Hinse were the difference makers as they combined for 16 points.

Hinse, who had two goals and three assists, has been lighting up the scoreboard early this season. He is tied for top scorer in the country with 14 points through five games.

The Stingers’ special teams was another

positive aspect of the game. Concordia killed off all of their penalties as RMC went 0-for-6 on the power play. On the other end, the Stingers went an impressive 3-for-5 with the man advantage. The Stingers’ special teams actually contributed to four of the team’s goals as Potvin scored a short-handed goal

in the first period.

Concordia is at home for the next three games, starting with a game on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. against rivals McGill.

Home games will be at the Verdun Auditorium until renovations are completed at Ed Meagher Arena.

Stingers break three game losing streak with win over RMC. Photo by Tim Lazier

Basketball // sports

Varsity Reds take game on the Stingers court Concordia’s men’s basketball team comes up short against UNB for seventh consecutive loss Paul Molpeceres Contributor

T

he University of New Brunswick (UNB) Varsity Reds handed the Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team their seventh consecutive loss Saturday Oct. 26, as the Stingers fell 80-70 on home court.

Concordia got off to a good start. Stingers centre Zach Brisebois opened the scoreboard with a two pointer, and despite appearing slow defensively, Concordia was successful at picking up fouls in offensive territory with forward Taylor Garner capitalizing on those penalties, scoring four points on four free throws.

The Stingers brought the first period to a close with a lead of 20-13.

Garner later proved to be once again clutch early in the second quarter, and after a timeout called at 6:52 of the period, Concordia resumed play appearing to be the fresher and more active of the two teams.

Late in the quarter, however, there appeared to be a change in momentum, as the Reds buried a three-pointer and netted two more points off of a successful free throw following a Concordia foul. Capitalizing on Concordia’s lack of focus, UNB took the lead and the half came to a close with a score of 39 to 35.

UNB guard Javon Masters took the reins for his team in the second half, while Stingers guard Jean-André Moussignac came up big for his side, sinking a three-pointer to bring Concordia within two points.

Despite missing his first free throw of the night, Garner redeemed himself and scored off of a huge drive by Stingers forward Mukiya Post, making it a tie game at 52 points

apiece.

Concordia briefly regained the lead after experiencing what seemed like a sudden spurt of energy, but the Varsity Reds scored again shortly after, ending the third period with the lead.

Brisebois remained active in the fourth until a minor hand injury momentarily forced him out of the game.

After a UNB player put the ball in the Stingers’ hands, Garner went crashing into the sideline chairs in an attempt to keep the ball inbounds, while Stingers forward Zander Jean made sure the tumble wasn’t in vain and scored to make it a one point game.

The Stingers later denied the Reds a scoring opportunity before a timeout was called with just over two minutes left in the game. The scoreboard showed a lead of 7069 for the visitors.

Concordia had given it all they had at that point. However, the Varsity Reds prevailed with a final score of 80-70, as they seemed to be the better conditioned team in the end. Reds guard Daniel Quirion proved to be the game’s leading scorer with 30 points, while Garner netted a total of 15 for Concordia.

“I think we played pretty well to start the game. We lost our composure offensively a little bit, took some bad shots, and allowed them back in the game,” said Stingers head coach John Dore when asked about the game. “Defensively, we‘ve got a bit of work to do.”

This was the third and final non-conference game of the season. The Stingers will now head south of the border to play the University of Vermont Catamounts next Sunday in Burlington, in their final exhibition game of the season.

Stingers basketball team look ahead to game against Vermont. Photo by Paul Molpeceres

opinions 20

//

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

Write to the editor: opinions@theconcordian.com Editorial // opinions

Students don’t deserve special treatment in elections As adults and citizens, students shouldn’t have to be coddled into voting, they should just vote If you haven’t already heard, it’s important for young people, (citizens 18 to 24-years-old), to vote.

Candidates and mainstream media are constantly pushing the importance of the “youth” vote in the electoral process. According to Elections Canada, “When politicians know in advance that most young people don’t vote, they may be less interested in making the effort to be responsive to issues that matter to younger Canadians.”

However, there is a fundamental issue with the terms “youth” and “young.” The age at which a Canadian is eligible to vote is 18. Although, the age of majority, (the age at which a person is considered by law to be an adult), varies by province between 18 and 19, at the age of 18, a person is an adult not a youth.

And yet individuals in Canada between the ages of 18 and 24 are constantly addressed as

“young.”

There are numerous campaigns trying to encourage the “youth” to vote because, according to the numbers, not many 18 to 24-yearolds do. Elections Canada reports individuals in this age category had a turnout rate of 38.8 per cent in the 2011 general election. However, there was a total turnout rate of 61.4 per cent.

This means that the “youth” made up nearly half of the number of voters.

Therefore, the issue is not so much that the youth aren’t voting, but that Canadians in general aren’t voting.

Eighteen to 24-year-olds are not babies; they are adults. They do not need to be coddled. Rather than addressing this age group as special and devoting energy and resources to get them to vote, more attention needs to be paid to Canadians as a whole.

Although your age may make you one of

the younger Canadian voters, you are still an adult. You are still a Canadian citizen whose right to vote influences the way Canada is run, what decisions are made and who gets to make them. If, by the age of 18, you don’t understand why voting is important for a democracy to function, then it is the Canadian school system that has failed. However, if you do understand the importance of voting but don’t bother to inform yourself about the candidates and the issues and don’t vote, then it is unfortunate that you don’t want to participate in Canada’s electoral process. Hopefully, you’re willing to accept whatever results come about as a development of the people elected.

Furthermore, to divide issues into categories such as “issues that matter to younger Canadians,” is to imply that only the youth are concerned about issues that involve young Canadians, and that these same Canadians are

not interested in issues that involve other age groups or Canadians as a whole. Canadians of any age should be concerned about issues that affect those younger than them and those older than them. You can’t separate yourself from an issue because it doesn’t involve your age group. One day you may be a senior, one day you may have kids, one day you may need certain services that you don’t need right now but that are currently being voted on. Therefore, the focus shouldn’t be on candidates addressing issues that concern younger Canadians, because these issues should be a concern for everyone, no matter their age.

Campaigns should be devoted to encouraging Canadians of all ages to get involved with the way their country is run and not on overindulging “young” voters, who if they are adult enough to vote, are adult enough not to need someone to pander to them.

Education // opinions

The curious case of keeping up with online classes Why online education isn’t as simple and revolutionary as it seems George Menexis Staff writer

In an age where the simplest of tasks are being made easier through online access, it would only seem natural that even our education would adopt a place online. Well it has, for a while now, with online classes.

Although it does have its advantages, it also has certain issues that have some students, including myself, thinking twice before registering for them.

There are two types of students who take online classes. There are the disciplined ones, the ones that set a day to complete assignments and go over the weekly chapter. Then, of course, there are the ones who can’t learn a thing without teachers constantly reminding them what their homework is.

“Courses delivered solely online may be fine for highly skilled, highly motivated people, but they are inappropriate for struggling students who make up a significant portion of college enrollment and who need close contact with instructors to succeed,” said a New York Times editorial from earlier this year.

Online classes are much more difficult for the second kind of student. A lack of discipline when taking an online class is like travelling down the most slippery of educational slopes. Therefore, it isn’t recommended if you have trouble staying on

top of assignments, even when you have a teacher to constantly remind you.

Getting in touch with the teacher can sometimes be exceedingly difficult. Due to the fact that there is no face-to-face contact throughout the semester (except perhaps during final exams), getting questions answered is more difficult than one may think.

Teaching assistants become overwhelmed with the number of emails they receive, and some may end up going unanswered. The last thing a student really needs is to end up on a wild goose chase looking for their TA or their teacher for a simple question that can be answered in two minutes.

Also, what if a student has connection issues during a quiz and ends up failing because of it, despite their best efforts?

This is a serious issue that deserves the professor’s attention, and yet can take weeks to fix.

“I’ve had so many issues with online classes, I don’t think I’ll be taking one again any time soon,” said JMSB student Panagiota Papagrigoriou, who enrolled in Concordia’s “Chemistry in our Lives” (CHEM 208).

“I missed a quiz once because of scheduling issues, and didn’t get an answer for weeks,” she said. “It’s stressful not knowing what’s happening with a huge chunk of your grade.”

Montgomery College located in Maryland, just outside Washington D.C. recognizes the

disadvantages to these classes, and makes them known to those interested in enrolling in an online class through a top “Ten Disadvantages of Online Classes” list on their website. This type of precaution is a good idea for classes that are still somewhat new to our education system. On this top 10, the warnings vary from procrastinators beware, to the fact that these classes often create a sense of isolation for the student. The main warning is to be careful what you do with the excess freedom these classes give you.

According to Columbia University’s Community College Research Center, which has completed nine academic studies on online classes, results show that they do not provide a better education than traditional classes, and that online classes aren’t more advantageous for low-income students.

Overall, make sure you know what type of student you are before you enrol in one of these ever-popular online classes. It just might be the opposite of what you expected.

Tuesday, october 29, 2013

//

21

First Nations // opinions

No fracking with the Mi’kmaq Community Canadian media continues to use damaging stereotypes to portray First Nation’s people Jessica Deer Contributor

On Oct. 16, the Harper government revealed its agenda for the new Parliamentary session through the Throne Speech. In addition to the paternalistic tone throughout the speech, it also spewed the usual vague promises aimed at First Nations, like promises to work towards building better relationships.

A day later, Elsipogtog happened. For weeks, an anti-hydraulic fracturing encampment was set up outside of a facility owned

by SWN Resources in Rexton, New Brunswick. The Mi’kmaqs of the nearby Elsipogtog First Nation were peacefully protesting SWN, which had been conducting seismic testing, a precursor to fracking, a controversial process of extracting natural gas from shale deposits that can lead to land and groundwater contamination.

On the morning of Oct. 17, hundreds of heavily armed RCMP officers raided the group’s encampment and road blockade to enforce an injunction. The RCMP’s actions were overkill to say the least. They arrived dressed in camouflage and assumed sniper positions in the forest surrounding the protesters — protesters that included women, children, and elders.

Beanbag rounds were fired, pepper spray was used, officers had police dogs, and more than 40 demonstrators were arrested, including a band councillor.

Ignorant Canadians and certain mainstream media only focused on the arrests, alleged violent protesters, the images of the burned police cars, and a small group of protesters’ questionable behaviour towards two news agencies’ crews.

As a First Nations person, I tend to wonder why many of our stories and struggles are largely ignored by Canada’s mainstream media. That is, unless violence is involved.

In the instance of Elsipogtog, only after the RCMP’s military-style raid did violence surface.

The overabundance of racist articles that present distorted accounts of the situation also paint the people of Elsipogtog as terrorists and capture mainstream attitudes towards Aboriginal people in Canada.

Recent examples of this can be seen by

the intolerant and paternalistic writings of Rex Murphy at The National Post and Anthony Furey at Sun Media. Their use of images to accompany their articles emphasize the stereotype of violent First Nations people. The images featured with Murphy and Furey’s articles are of the burning/burned police cars, an image that is used throughout many news articles regarding Elsipogtog.

However, the photograph of Mi’kmaq mother Amanda Polchies, kneeling in front of a line of riot police, a photograph that certainly paints a very different story of what was happening in Elsipogtog, accompanies very few articles.

Nonetheless, the sensationalized response from the media is not a surprise. Since 1990, certain Canadian media corporations have regularly stereotyped protest actions by First

Nations within a framework based upon the Oka Crisis. That is, the portrayal and perpetuation of damaging stereotypes, such as that First Nations people are violent and savage.

In their 2011 book, Seeing Red: A History of Natives in Canadian Newspapers, authors Mark Cronlund Anderson and Carmen L. Robertson argue that when it comes to news coverage about Aboriginal people, Canadian English-language newspapers have turned all of Canada’s distinct Aboriginal nations into “one heavily stereotyped monolith” rooted in colonial ideology.

Perpetuating the stereotype of First Nations inciting violence and terrorism does not do any justice to the complexity of the issues surrounding these “protests.” I use quotations because is it really protesting?

While people like Furey believe otherwise, the Mi’kmaq never ceded their traditional terri-

tory. The Mi’kmaq people were exercising their right to protect their land in light of a legitimate concern about the environmental harm caused by fracking.

The bottom line is that what happened to the people of Elsipogtog could have been prevented if the government fulfilled their obligation to consult First Nations and took their promises of forging better working relationships seriously. However, actions certainly speak louder than words. It is clear that the government has put First Nations issues on the back burner, something exactly opposite from what Harper preached in January during the height of the Idle No More movement.

Jessica Deer is a proud Mohawk from Kahnawake and is currently working towards her Graduate Diploma in business administration at JMSB.

Fracking can lead to land and groundwater contamination. Flickr, ZOLA MTL

Column // opinions

Tunneling under the hope for peaceful existence Why concrete tunnels found between Gaza and Israel hinder peace between Israelis and Palestinians Michelle Soicher CAMERA fellow

On Oct. 13, a cement tunnel was discovered leading from Gaza into Israel. The next day, a second tunnel was discovered, rigged with explosives. The tunnels are 1.7 km long and 18 meters deep so they could allegedly facilitate military travel. The 500 tons of concrete that were used to build these tunnels of terror were building materials delivered by the Israeli Defense Forces to help rebuild homes, schools and other civilian areas in Gaza.

This manipulation and misuse of humanitarian aid shows Hamas’s priorities quite clearly: they are more concerned with causing Israeli terror then putting

roofs over the heads of Palestinians. This warped perspective of values is one of the main hindrances to peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Living in Canada, where citizens can enjoy equal rights, it is possible to comfortably imagine two states for two people: an Israel where Arab citizens enjoy equal rights as Jewish citizens and a Palestine where Jewish citizens enjoy the same rights as Arab citizens. Fortunately, the first one exists. Israel is a democracy where Arab citizens vote, work and hold government positions, whereas the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization Mahmud Abbas has stated, “In a final resolution, we would not see the presence of a single Israeli — civilian or soldier — on our lands,” he told the media back in July.

The responsibility of finding peace falls

on both sides. As Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu stated at the UN, “You say it depends on me, that we promised peace [but are not delivering it],” he began. “But you also need the other side...

It doesn’t only depend on the Israeli side,” he said in an Oct. 15 article for The Times of Israel. The Prime Minister is asking that the PLO acknowledge the existence of Israel.

Israel has made offers in the past. In 2000 Israel offered up Gaza and 97 per cent of the West bank as a potential Palestinian state in exchange for peace. In 2005, in an effort for peace, Israel removed over 8000 Jewish citizens from their homes in Gaza but this only increased rocket attacks. There has never been a compromise reached because many Palestinians deny the historical or legal right of Jews to live

in Israel. In many songs and chants the line can be found, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” calling for the complete control of what is currently the Jewish state.

As a moral country, Israel is caught in an immoral situation: providing aid and support to civilians who need it, but delivering it to a government who calls for their annihilation. The tunnels discovered earlier this week tunnel through and destroy any hopes for peace in the near future. All Israel can do now is defend her borders and wait until the second state in the two state solution is ready to acknowledge the first.

Michelle Soicher is a Concordia Student and a CAMERA fellow. CAMERA is the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America.

22

// Tuesday, october 29, 2013

Column // opinions

Confessions of a 20-something I’m not a tease, I’m just not interested in you anonymous

Listen up gents, and listen close. As many of you have probably already experienced, your smooth lines and romantic advances are not always positively met. If you get turned down, you proceed to call this girl a “bitch” or a “tease,” simply because you thought they were “down,” but it turns out they were really just being polite with you.

It happens all too often that a girl is labelled a tease, post-rejection. I was at a bar one night with some girlfriends when a group of guys approached us and asked us — basically pleaded with us — to have shots with them. Despite using the Rico Suave line of “beautiful girls like you shouldn’t have to pay for your own drinks,” we sized them up and decided they were harmless and nice enough. After about an hour of laughs, conversation and probably three or four rounds of tequila, one of them started getting fresh with me and asked me to leave with him. After smiling,

politely declining, and thanking him for the drinks and the company, we decided it was time to jet. As I’m thanking them and saying goodbye, Rico Suave stops me and shamelessly says, “I dropped all those bills, and I get nothing?” For the sake of not causing a scene, I contained my rage and got the hell out of that bar with my girls. Just because you have a weenie, doesn’t mean you need to act like one.

Why is it that so many guys equate po-

liteness and friendliness with “wanting the D?” I mean, just because a girl is nice to you, doesn’t mean that she wants you to be her Prince Charming and sweep her off her feet.

Maybe she would rather maintain a friendship with you instead of having awkward — and slightly intoxicated — regret.

Don’t get me wrong; there are those girls who play into this frame of mind and love keeping members of the opposite sex wrapped around their manicured finger. She might

even have you on her list of “nice guys” that she’ll text when she’s feeling bored, drunk, alone or insecure, but I assure you, this is not the general norm for the female sex.

If this confession were to be posted on Twitter, it would probably be hashtagged under “prettygirlproblems” or reduced to a humble brag. In all honesty, it’s just plain unfair for a girl to have to change her amicable personality, or the way she speaks to men, just to spare a testosterone fuelled ego.

Thankfully, not all members of the male species adhere to this mentality. There may be some truth to the notion that girls love a bad boy heartbreaker and that good guys finish last or automatically get placed in the friend zone, but is it really so bad just to be friends with the opposite sex without any uncomfortable tensions? Despite what I’ve been told, I refuse to abide by the idea that men and women cannot maintain a mutually platonic friendship.

So unless you’re James Franco — and if you are, please call me you beautiful specimen of humanity — the next time you assume a girl wants to jump your bones because she smiled or said something nice to you, think first then act, and remember to tread lightly.

Halloween // opinions

Halloween: chocolate, costumes and shenanigans Why the spookiest time of year may also be the most memorable Casandra de masi Opinions Editor

The overpriced costumes, smell of face paint, and miniature chocolates that make you feel less guilty about eating them, and the parties — oh Halloween, how wonderful you are.

Halloween is one of those commercial holidays that is hard to hate, because it can be so darn fun for just about anyone, regardless or their age or their personality.

It is also one of those holidays that comes with ridiculous stories of costume malfunctions as a child and drunken adventures as a teen.

I still remember my triumphant 15 minutes of fame in elementary school, when I wrote a Halloween carol and had to sing it to the tune of “Gloria in excelsis Deo.” Laugh all you want, but it was so good that my teacher made the whole class learn it. We had to sing it in front of the whole school and our parents at the Halloween assembly.

Halloween could have made me a rockstar recording artist! My non-existent celebrity career aside, Halloween is a holiday where something ridiculous is bound to happen. I asked for people to share their funniest Halloween experiences, and here are some of the responses Concordians gave me: I had a bit too much to drink at a Halloween party and spotted a guy in a Batman suit, and I was dressed as a witch. So, being in a drunken state, I of course, logically put bat + witch together = bat is witch’s pet. Hence, I went up to him and said, “You are my pet, Mr. Bat. I command you to fly!” and took some random thing I found at this house party, used it as a wand, and started

waving it in front of him. “FLY MR. BAT. FLY, FLYYYY.” He ACTUALLY began flapping his arms. We both began hysterically laughing so much that we fell on top of each other and broke the crystal stick-thingy...not sure what it was really. Good thing the kid who hosted the house party never found out it was me. I would have probably paid a good sum.

-Barbara Madimenos

A friend of mine had a stepmom who put on these elaborate haunted houses and I would act for them. One year I was a fortune teller, another year I was a person who had no legs, with blood spewing out all around me. We were rewarded with huge chocolate bars. It is safe to say that some of my best halloween memories were from acting in these haunted houses...and scaring people.

- Amanda Shore

So, right, it was cold as shit. And my friend was dressed as a ninja, even though he didn’t plan out his costume properly so it was kind of just a black tablecloth wrapped all around him in weird ways. So anyway we get our candy at a bunch of places and its all going great and then he tried to adjust the costume in the middle of the street and ended up taking it apart and the tablecloth just fell away, and he started crying there in his underwear. I think we were probably about six.

I just remember laughing at him even though he was obviously upset.

-Anonymous

So, my elementary school went on a field trip to a local high school. This high school always put on this crazy haunted house...well it was crazy to a 10-yearold. As a kid I was always a bit of a scaredy-cat and I hated small, dark spaces. However, everyone else was going into this haunted house, so I didn’t want to be left out. I ended up going in with one of my teachers behind me. I passed the exorcism and Frankenstein and I thought “hmm...well this isn’t so bad.” The second part was worse. The only light was from glowsticks on the ground, and this guy just jumped out of nowhere and grabbed my shoulders, shaking them roughly.

Some of my best Halloween memories as a kid were my costumes. I love dressing up, and even if I usually work on Halloween I still put together a costume to wear.

Now, I grew up in an Italian household, and money was sometimes tight, so splurging on an expensive Halloween costume for your 4-year-old wasn’t really a priority. But my parents never made me miss out on anything, and my mother took it into her own hands to make some of my costumes. They were endearing in the sense that people had no idea what the hell I was supposed to be.

I remember one year my clown costume turned into a wizard costume somehow, put together with some weird potato sack material and glitter…lots of glitter. I was a young female clown wizard.

-Casandra De Masi

I flipped out and started screaming, and I couldn’t stop. Before I knew it tears were streaming down my face and they had to secretly take me out by the emergency exit.

Not my proudest moment.

However, it wasn’t as bad as the girls after me. They were so scared that they grabbed onto the walls, bringing them all down. The haunted house had to be closed for repair. Safe to say we were not invited back the next year.

-Anonymous

Recipe// opinions

Pumpkin Cookies With Brown Sugar Glaze

OK. So someone really needs to explain the comeback that BBM made this week.

Our Facebook timeline was filled with people’s PINs, and it seriously felt like high school and 2009 all over again. Twitter users seem to be having the same types of questions and comments... @Jmeza10: For everyone getting BBM...you’re about 5 years late @baileymillerx:IF U HAVE BBM ON UR IPHONE UR SOFT. @AlexanderKendo1: everyone has bbm again and akon is releasing a new album, it feels like its 2009 @PeejeT: The best part about BBM is not downloading it @LewisTattersail: I’m getting good at this bbm thing I’ve got 20 contacts and only spoke to one. @lucytindall_: bbm is full of desperate flirts who needlessly beg for attention and start chaos.

casandra de masi opinions editor

It’s pumpkin season, and if you’re tired of the same old pumpkin pie (although I personally could never tire of pumpkin pie) you could try pumpkin cookies! I did not come up with this recipe myself, and there are many versions online, however it is rather easy (despite all the ingredients) and makes a very yummy cookie. The cookies are a little more on the cake side, at least mine always are.

What you need: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ginger 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened, leave it out for a bit) 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar 2 large eggs 1 cup pumpkin puree (I use real pumpkin when I can, small to medium sized. But it is a lot more work, you have been warned!)

2 teaspoon vanilla extract Frosting : 2 cups confectioner’s sugar 3 tablespoons milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup walnuts (chop them up, or put them in a sealed Ziploc bag and smash it around. Great stress reliever.)

together, and then add your eggs, pumpkin and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients from your small bowl. (Some recipes call for walnuts INSIDE the cookie, I don’t really like that, but if you do, you can put them in here.)

4) Roll into balls that fit the middle of your palm and drop onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Leave enough space between them, as they will expand.

5) Bake for 12 minutes — these are very soft, cake like cookies.

Frosting Steps 1) For frosting, mix sugar, milk and vanilla together in a little bowl.

2) You’ll need to melt your butter in a little pot over the stove. I would say about 3 minutes, but keep an eye on it and be careful, it’s HOT. 3) Once that’s heated up, mix it with your other ingredients. It should be creamy.

4) Once your cookies are cooled, you can top them with the icing. I use a BBQ brush to brush it on. Then I top it with some crushed walnuts. (The walnut is optional, but does make it look nicer. However if you put walnuts inside it may be overkill)

Amanda L. Shore Editor-in-Chief editor@theconcordian.com Nathalie Laflamme Production manager production@theconcordian.com Kelly Duval Sloane Montgomery News editors news@theconcordian.com Sabrina Giancioppi Life editor life@theconcordian.com Roa Abdel-Gawad Arts editor arts@theconcordian.com

TIP: Make sure the cookies aren’t too hot when you brush your icing. I made that mistake for the first few and the icing was very runny.

Jessica Romera Music editor music@theconcordian.com

Now you are set! Let the icing dry before transporting them because it can get sticky.

These cookies stay fresh for a few days, but they are best eaten within two or three days.

Samantha Mileto Sports editor sports@theconcordian.com Casandra De Masi Opinions editor opinions@theconcordian.com Keith Race Photo editor photo@theconcordian.com Natasha Taggart Online editor online@theconcordian.com

Note: My frosting usually comes out a little more on the liquid side.

Steps 1) Preheat oven to 375 fahrenheit.

2) Combine first six ingredients in a small bowl 3) In a larger bowl, cream butter and sugar

Jennifer Kwan Graphics editor graphics@theconcordian.com

Chocolate (because that’s what Halloween is all about)

Elizabeth Tomaras Christina Rowan Milos Kovacevic Copy editors copy@theconcordian.com Marilla Steuter-Martin Besher Al Maleh Philippe Labreque Production assistants 7141 Sherbrooke St. Building CC-Rm 431 Montreal, QC H4B 1R6

@Tomlinbucks: why did I download bbm i don’t have friends

514-848-2424 ext. 7499 (Editor-in-Chief)

@Rickonia: I downloaded BBM because I needed another thing to ignore people on

Pascale Cardin Business manager business@theconcordian.com Tyson Lowrie Cindy Lopez Ruben Bastien Board of directors directors@theconcordian.com

@Shawtaysuzie: If you’re using BBM on your iPhone, you’re a douchebag...

Like the guy who orders a burger @ a Mexican restaurant. @Follow24Hodge: For all the fellas putting their BBM pins on social media: I hope Jason Collins catfishes you all.

Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 Vol. 31 Issue 10

Contributors Paula Monroy,Timothy Weynerowski, Christina Ransom,Angela De Cicco, Hanna-Joy Farooq,Anne Kingma-Lord, Nicole Yeba, Candice Yee, Shereen

caramilk M&M hersheykisses marsbar coffeecrisp

crunchie twix aero kitkat smarties

Ahmed Refea, Nathalia Larocerie, Tomer Shavit, Marc-Olivier Laramée, Ayan Choudhury, Jocelyn Beaudet, Kevin Savard, Natalia Lara Diaz-Berrio, Olivia Ranger-Enns, Kalina Laframbroise, Kyle Darbyson, Jessica Kenwood, Tim Lazier, Chris Cordella, Paul Molpeceres, Christine Beaton, George Menexis, Jessica Deer, Michelle Soicher,Marie-Josée Kelly

theconcordian

From our kitchen

Concordia’s weekly, independent student newspaper.

ART: Native Immigrant @ Rialto Hall Theatre until Nov. 3 Modified @ Studio Mauve until Nov. 23 Coven Ring @ Articule until Nov. 24

THEATRE: A Brimful of Asha @ Usine C until Nov. 1 Rabbit Hole @ Free Standing Room until Nov. 10 The Lamentable Tragedy of Sal Capone @ MAI until Nov. 10 Seeds @ Centaur Theatre until Nov. 24 The St. Leonard Chronicles @ Centaur Theatre until Dec.1

MUSIC: Crystal Antlers @ Il Motore- Oct.30 Jazz Studies Faculty Ensemble @ Oscar Peterson Hall- Oct. 31 Amon Tobin @ Société des Arts Technologiques- Oct. 31 Sparks @ Le National-Nov.1 Braids @ Société des Arts Technologiques- Nov.2 Kreator @ Club Soda- Nov.2 Ouditisque @ Cinquime Salle- Nov. 2 Eliza Moore @ Le Cagibi- Nov.3 Mark Berube @ Cabaret du Mile End- Nov.5

OTHER: The Haunted Book Store @ Drawn & Quarterly Library- Oct. 30 Ladies First Art Show and Tour @ BBAM! Gallery- Oct. 31 All Saint’s Day @ BBAM! Gallery- Nov. 1 Maximum Tolerated Dose @ Cinema Politica- Nov. 4 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word- Nov. 4-9