The merging of western and non-western science Research & Technology 6
Editorial 7
Perfectionism
The cycle that never seems to stop
Comment 8
Respect the artform
Animation an incredibly underrated form
Arts & Culture 17
The art of journalism
New WAG exhibit celebrates 150 years of the ‘Free Press’
Sports 19
Bisons make splash
Herd swims to podium finishes at CanWest Championships
Diversions
Horoscopes
‘Toban Tips
Sports Schedule
of Manitoba Students’ Newspaper
of Manitoba Students’ Newspaper
Historian engagement in health policy
History prof receives grant to study history of health and disease
Elah Ajene, staff
From the historic 1918 influenza spread to the ongoing global COVID-19 outbreak, pandemics throughout history have always shaped health structures and policies, and have impacted all areas of society. In Canada, historian engagement in health policy discussions has become more widespread.
According to University of Manitoba history professor Esyllt Jones, “history helps to create context for the situations that we face and to provide insights, not necessarily straightforward lessons per se.”
These insights into past experiences with historical diseases expand ideas and influence decisions in present-day health policies, while emphasizing both the successes and failures of public health in the past.
“I always try to think of it in terms of both contextualizing the conversation that we’re having about where to go next with health care, and providing and dealing with problems of historical amnesia so that there isn’t a sense of starting from scratch on things,” Jones said.
Jones has always been interested in the histories of health issues, labour, the working class and gender.
“A lot of my work talks about the importance, for example, of trust between health providers and members of the public, and that’s a very long-standing issue with health,” she explained.
This past October, Associated Medical Services Healthcare — an organization that seeks to promote medical history research in Canada — announced Jones as one of its five research grant and fellowship award winners in 2022. Jones’s project focuses on the history of health and disease.
Alongside teaching, Jones has been researching the his-
tory of infectious diseases for a while. In this research, she has collaborated with scholars across disciplines, ranging from cultural studies to sociology to health sciences. The bulk of this work was focused on developing changes and recommendations to government policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jones explained that her current project “arises from [her] COVID pandemic experience,” as her earlier historical works centred on the influenza pandemic from 1918 to 1920.
“It’s been interesting during the pandemic to see how much historical input has been sought out by, say, the media for example, who were very interested in learning about how societies came through infectious disease outbreaks in the past,” she said.
Over the past few years, Jones has published books on the history of Medicare and worked on possible improvements to health outcomes. She further noted the underrepresentation of historians in health policy.
“All of these things sort of came together during COVID,” Jones explained.
“We’ve had so many challenges with both public health itself and how under resourced public health is, and also with the health-care system, which is now struggling after three years of ongoing challenges with infectious disease, with human resource issues and so on.”
Ultimately, Jones said that her project “tries to look at all these various ways that historians can take advantage of
opportunities to become more involved in public policy discussions, both at the public level and with stakeholders.”
“It’s important to provide knowledge and support and research evidence for public perspectives that might influence government policy,” she added.
Starting in 2023, Jones and her research assistant plan on taking a comprehensive approach by developing and analyzing literature to determine the best practices in policy discussions. Additionally, Jones aims to organize public sessions and a conference paper next spring.
At the end of her one-
year research project, Jones hopes to receive additional funding that will allow her to continue creating, supporting and building a network of historians in health and diseases.
“I’m thinking about providing toolkits, for example, for people interested in having that kind of dialogue, both for policy makers but also for historians,” Jones said.
“It is an issue I care a lot about,” she continued. “So, I’m going to try to find a way to build it into all the projects that I’m working on.”
It was the season of light, it was the
Living in Winnipeg’s winter wonderland 12
The Official University
The official University
Winter! It’s not as bad as you think
Despite its bad rap, winter has its merits
Braden Bristow, staff
It is cold outside, which is a sure-fire sign that winter in all its terror and splendour has arrived. While winter technically arrives on Dec. 21, for all intents and purposes we are living it currently. It is not hard to see why some people are critical of the winter season, especially with temperatures in the negative 30s being commonplace.
Living somewhere where it gets so cold that if you go stay outside for too long you risk hypothermia can be difficult. However, in the Northern Hemisphere, the frigid winter season — like death — comes whether we like it or not, so we might as well try to see the positive.
While being equated with death is not a glowing comparison, there are great aspects to the winter season. As it stands, it is a stage of nature that we should learn to live with. Most situations, winter included, have silver linings that continue to make life enjoyable even if they seem overbearing or difficult.
need is each other’s company.
The ceremonies of gift giving that are common to these holidays are just plain fun, and while the seasonal festivities are great, so too are the foods.
Peppermint candy canes might not be my favourite, but I feel a twang of excitement when I open festive candy regardless of how much I actually like it. But peppermint and other winter flavours pale in comparison to eggnog, which is unfortunately only sold in the few months surrounding the holidays. I can hardly think of something more enjoyable than pouring a cold glass of eggnog and watching snow slowly fall while being faintly illuminated by the dim streetlights.
from its quality.
Of course, there are negative aspects of winter. Trudging through two feet of snow just to get home is far from luxurious, but it helps to look at the positive aspects of these things sometimes.
Being able to appreciate winter is a very human pleasure, and it makes an admittedly difficult season tolerable to the point of enjoyment, which is certainly worth something.
We are only on Earth for a certain amount of time, and the reality is that there will either be a winter every year you live in Winnipeg, or the season will eventually disappear due to the climate crisis.
It helps to look at the positive aspects of these things sometimes
Which brings me to my next point: winter is a beautiful season.
A prime example of this silver lining is that during winter, there are numerous festivities and celebrations. Winter solstice, Hanukkah and my personal favourite, Christmas, all land in the cold and snowy season this year .
These holidays are a great time to get together with friends and family. They’re an important reminder of how valuable these people are in our lives, and that all we really
Of course, come the later months the muck and grime stains the snow and the roads are covered in black ice. But at least in November and December, the blanket of snow covering the rooftops and fields is undeniably beautiful. The long bus rides I take on my way home from school are made more bearable by the scenery of the Winnipeg winter.
The beauty of winter is a simple thing, as in general the season is pretty much just a blanket of white, but I do not think its simplicity takes away
Regardless of the outcome, winter is going to be here for quite a long time, and I plan to enjoy it as much as I am realistically able to.
While you are free to disagree with me or to do differently, I hope I have at the very least made you think a little more positively on the season, and reflect on some of the good times that it brings.
comment@themanitoban.com
Colonizing outer space ignores problems on Earth
Sarah Cohen, staff
The promotional video for NASA’s Artemis I mission depicts a return to the moon as being about learning how to live on other planets, in order to venture further out into space. To me, it sounds like the search for an escape route for when our time as earth-bound humans runs out due to the climate crisis.
NASA sent the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket out into the darkness with no complications on Nov. 16, 1:47 a.m. EST, as the first phase of its Artemis missions. Artemis I is unmanned and will
orbit the moon, mostly to make sure the trip is possible without malfunction.
The next mission, Artemis II, will carry astronauts in the deep-space-equipped capsule around the moon as another test, before Artemis III puts the first woman and person of colour on the surface of the moon by 2024. Following this third mission, NASA hopes to send people to the moon on an annual basis.
The Artemis program will also establish a lunar station known as the Gateway,
as well as the Artemis Base Camp. The Gateway will allow astronauts to live and work in space, conducting research to help put astronauts on Mars and advance the exploration of deep space. Artemis Base Camp is planned to include lodging on the moon’s surface capable of sustaining human life for as long as two months at a time.
Either we will die out or venture into space for extraterrestrial living
As the possibility of astronauts living on the moon inches closer to reality, countries like the U.S. are becoming increasingly interested in the economic potential that the moon’s resources hold for things
like manufacturing.
Additionally, NASA expects Artemis missions to begin new industries and create new jobs. New jobs and industries are good economically, as they raise GDP and lower unemployment rates. This is good, however this kind of growth also has the potential to further raise emissions through the construction of new facilities and by fuelling the planes and cars needed to get people to work.
The interest in outer space has even extended to the military industry, as there now exists a U.S. Space Force. Actually. I’m not sure if its purpose is to defend the U.S.
in intergalactic battle or to defend the planet against incoming space junk. Who knows if Artemis will eventually pave the way for a Space Force base on the lunar surface — see Steve Carell’s Space Force for an idea of what that could look like.
All of this development certainly makes it seem as though the groundwork is being laid for the colonization of outer space.
However, I think that a scientific organization as prominent as NASA should be more concerned with keeping our planet from overheating. Cont’d p. 13 / Artemis >
graphic / Dallin Chicoine / staff
Internal conflict, silence and snow
SAD and sadness between changing
seasons
LJ Fulugan, volunteer
he metal handles of
TIsbister’s doors are freezing against my ungloved hand. My breath is visible through the vapour on my glasses, but as it begins to float away from my mouth and up into the night, the roar of the BLUE line rips it and the snow falling alongside it down Dafoe Road.
The street lamps bathe the bus stations in orange to create something like warmth, but no lightbulb could win in a fair match against a Manitoban flurry’s chill. Yes, I think to myself as I turn from the bus station to the parking lot, it’s cold again. I’ve done this plenty of times in the past.
One more cold season in Winnipeg is just that — one more cold season. No matter how black the ice on the highway gets, and regardless of how fast it becomes night now. Even after my home has been reduced to a place to sleep, bathe and store my extra books, the notion that this is “just one more cold season” is repeated like a clapper striking inside a bell.
Although the thought of cold is so loud in my head, outside it is nearly silent. Did you know that snow can actually have an effect on the sounds you hear? The vibrating particles that make up the wave that’s supposed to reach your ears becomes trapped in the open spaces left in the gaps of a snowflake’s fractal pattern. It’s comforting to know I’m not the only one for whom “quiet” has become even quieter.
Though short, the outdoor transitions that mark my movement between buildings and buses and cars become marathons when the white landscape casts isolation over the city. When your environment inspires strife, it tends to be pervading.
I notice more than usual when familiar faces fail to return a wave, or turn away when we make eye contact. It’s not that it’s happening more. Instead, the silence that the snow provides gives ample opportunity to think about these moments in greater clarity.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a brutal game.
For those afflicted with SAD, the changing of the seasons involves a number of factors that can incite or aggravate depressive symptoms. Our circadian rhythms wage a vicious conflict against the darkening sky, while the few molecules of serotonin you have left attempt to keep your mood afloat.
Coupled with the exam season and the deadlines of final assignments, which loom only a handful of weeks ahead, differentiating between sadness and SAD can become difficult — like trying to make out voices in a snow storm.
It might seem that my perspective on this skews negatively, but it’s not like there are only bad things when it comes to the onset of winter. I can stomach the windchill for a little bit more to appreciate the way I can clearly see snow falling thanks to the artificial lighting that occasionally dots
the gloom.
The thing about winter I appreciate the most is the silence. It can’t be fully displaced from being the basis of my negative thinking, but it isn’t an inherently negative thing itself.
Although the symptoms of SAD can play a role in disrupting your mood as the year winds down, the discomforts of winter are issues that all who live in this climate must face in some measure. Silence is not necessarily an isolation, it’s only reflective. When frost and fog cover the mirror, it’s common — if not fair — for perspectives to skew negatively.
Being conscious of this context is ultimately not enough to completely alleviate the feelings of SAD. It’s only the first step in creating a narrative of mental health that isn’t fallible against the cold. Winter can be dark, and not only in terms of daylight. In the past, the season has served as a period of hibernation, a time for hiding in silence and licking the wounds left by frostbite.
These days, an option to completely stop and rest through winter sounds like a luxury, so being aware of your own condition can be what makes the difference between making it to spring or remaining trapped by the snow of “just one more cold season.”
comment@themanitoban.com
Artemis I starts missions to delve into research of the moon and beyond
< Cont’d from p. 12
The continued rise in temperature of our planet has the potential to be detrimental to the human species. Rising sea levels, hotter and drier summers and more catastrophic weather patterns will all contribute to the deterioration of the space humans currently take up.
There was a time before humans, and there will be a time after. I think that prioritizing expansion into space over solving climate change has the potential to contribute to the human species going extinct.
To me, the current focus on
outer space expansion suggests a future where either we will die out, or venture into space for extraterrestrial living. Kind of like the plot of Wall·E
Okay, quickly, let us ignore all the theoretical avenues I’ve taken. If the Artemis missions do what they are intended to do, research into deep space and our neighbouring planets could give us answers to questions that have been in circulation since the time of Greek gods. Astronauts touching down on Mars’s surface might finally discover if life truly ever existed there. Space is vast and may be humanity’s next home. On
the plus side, NASA’s Artemis missions have the potential to create jobs, grow our understanding of the universe we are situated in and maybe even establish another place for us to live. However, we need to make sure we are not prioritizing outer space expansion over the liveability of our planet.
comment@themanitoban.com
“Sorry, doctor, I’m going to have to come in on a different day-I have another appointment that would be really hard to move, in terms of the kinetic energy requirements.”
To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely In Straits, like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a “straight.” A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how “straights” are formed. In Hidato, fill the board by continuing the chain of numbers from 1 to 100 moving any direction or diagonally to the next number.
Sudoku Puzzle by Syndicated Puzzles
Hidato
Puzzle by M.J.D. Doering
Straights Puzzle by Syndicated Puzzles
Horoscopes for the week of Nov. 30
Zodiac tips for navigating life at the U of M
Damien Davis, staff
ARIES
Your tarot card for the week is Strength. What does it mean to be your own saviour? Your ability to be headstrong in any condition will benefit you when you’re swamped with assignments, finals and inner strife. You are adept at never losing your footing. As the fall term comes to a close, ask yourself one question while picking at your lunch in the food court of University Centre — are you in control?
TAURUS
Your tarot card for the week is the Devil. What are you holding yourself back for? Something haunts the walls of University College, the ghosts of students who were too amenable in pursuit of far too much. Being consumed by others isn’t something you are known for, why be known for it now? Seek out the company of what soothes you most, and don’t be seduced by taking on more than you can handle.
GEMINI
CANCER
LIBRA
CAPRICORN
Your tarot card for the week is Temperance. By nature, you are caring and empathetic, but it’s possible you’re not extending the same treatment to yourself. Temperance asks you to treat yourself with the same divine kindness you give to others, and to meticulously balance your course load. Foxes run wild in the prairie fields, but you will win the race to winter break if you remember to put yourself first when the time comes.
LEO
Your tarot card for the week is Judgement. You are currently experiencing a reckoning in your life and you’re unsure of what you’ll be like when the sun rises. Remember, at your core you are loyal to the cause and the envy of the sun itself. Hard times do not last for- ever and neither do final exams. The image of a lion was a symbol of nobility and valour. Honour that symbol by believing you will be more than fine come the holiday season.
VIRGO
Your tarot card for the week is the Star. You are being encouraged to have faith. Stars might eventually die, but the comfort they provide as you thumb through your textbook late into the night is eternal. Yes, nothing in life is certain, but that isn’t a bad thing is it? You cannot bear the burden of balance all the time. It is more than fine to simply do your best.
SCORPIO
Your tarot card for the week is Death. Do not be afraid, death is not the end. This card symbolizes the end of a journey and the start of a new one. You govern your own transformation and destruction — you are in control, and you always have been. If you are dissatisfied by the type of academic you are, this card encourages you to simply change. You are the herald of your own change.
SAGITTARIUS
Your tarot card for the week is the Lovers. You are known for being the oldsoul, wise and ahead by a century. The Lovers acknowledge you as a beacon of harmony and romance. Words flow through you easily this week when you bring your pen to paper, but love isn’t defined merely by romance. If you look closely among your peers, you’ll find that there are many forms of care and love surrounding you.
AQUARIUS
Your tarot card for the week is the Empress. You asked the oracles and they answered, but are you nervous about dependency? You’re struggling with lack of progress and back-toback classes. You never thought caffeine dependence was real until this term. Your idealistic nature is your enemy this week. The Empress reminds you — giving birth to new ideas is only positive when there’s nothing else on your plate.
PISCES
Your tarot card for the week is the Hierophant. You are possessed by tradition and knowledge. You should remember, as a Gemini you are your own twin first. Your connection with your inner self this week will help you create the foundations of your future after graduation. Let the voices of past generations sing to you. The Hierophant asks you: is it such a bad thing to secretly desire conformity?
’Toban Tips
Dear Toby,
I am a year away from graduating and have to move out in a matter of months. I wake up at night with anxiety about how I will function in the world post-university. What should I do?
Sincerely, Anxious student
Dear Anxious student, I think a lot of people are in the same boat as you. University is a big part of early adulthood that helps us structure
Your tarot card for the week is the Hermit. It’s time to return to society. The work will always be there, but it’s time to emerge from the quiet dwelling of Father Harold Drake Library and remem ber what it means to be part of a community again. Your chances of getting good grades won’t slip if you get coffee with friends; in fact, a fun academic discussion with no grades attached might be exactly what you need.
our lives. Entering the next stage of life without a plan can be scary, but you will be okay. When faced with anxiety or stress about something in the future, I find it helpful to take stock of my situation by doing things like keeping track of my finances and savings with a spreadsheet, and reminding myself of potential opportunities. Remember to always keep your receipts!
Taking the situation by the horns, so to speak, can help you regain control of how you feel about it. Also, reminding
Your tarot card for the week is the Moon. Secrecy is your ally this week. Your love of freedom and independence could be your undoing should you forget that you are not immune to miscommunication and misinformation. Cite your sources, not just in your essays. What do you gain from anxiety about being with others?
Your tarot card is the High Priestess. The moon is in its first quarter phase, and with it in Pisces you will experience an abundance of prosperity if you keep everything in order. You’ve done well to move within spaces unnoticed, but perhaps now is the time to break out and take what you want by the reins. Keep a quarter in your back pocket to manifest income.
yourself that you are capable of success might seem like simple advice, but positive affirmations can go a long way. It is always helpful to find someone trustworthy to talk to. Expressing these anxieties is always easier with someone by your side. Stay calm, remind yourself that you will be alright, do some research for the future and make sure to take a deep breath when you are feeling overwhelmed.
Best of luck, Toby the Bison
To ask ’Toban Tips a question, email comment@ themanitoban.com.
Arts & Culture
An evening of blunders
UNRAVEL exhibit showcases disrespect for student art
Ellen McGregor, volunteer
Walking into the opening for the University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) UNRAVEL mental health art exhibit was startling. I had submitted one of my paintings for the show and was excited to see it publicly displayed for the first time. My excitement quickly turned to shock, then dread as I walked around the exhibition.
The show was held Nov. 15 in a multipurpose room on the second floor of University Centre — a large, echoing space with wood panelling and yellow lighting. Music blared from speakers in the corner loud enough to drown out thought, let alone allow for conversation.
Pieces were crudely hung with visible command strips. In place of placards describing the works were hand-cut labels tacked onto purple construction paper, which listed the artists’ names but not the titles of the artworks. The labels also did not include the year the work was made or the dimensions, and some didn’t list the medium either.
Two digital pieces were projected onto crumpled screens, too dark in the bright room to be visible. One image was misaligned, part of the projection illuminating the wall behind it and showing the settings menu at the bottom of the screen.
A hanging sculpture of a cloud was strung up on what looked like a damaged stand that would collapse at any minute. One painting was sat on a small table and leaned up against the wall in the corner. My own painting was propped
up on a flimsy easel.
The paintings of my classmate and fellow bachelor of fine arts honours student Maryam Bagheri were attached to black metal tripods, displayed at waist height. The sticky note that organizers had asked artists to attach, ensuring a return of work was still stuck to the back of one of her paint-
ings. Her phone number, student number and full name were visible to anyone in attendance.
The exhibition was a disservice to not only the art pieces shown, but to the artists themselves
As the opening went on, a speaker came onto the stage set up on the other side of the room and asked for the people
Department of Psychology Teaching Award CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
The Department of Psychology at the University of Manitoba has established a Teaching Award to recognize outstanding psychology teachers. Academic staff with faculty rank in the Department of Psychology are eligible.
The Teaching Evaluation Committee of the Department of Psychology invites students and faculty to nominate academic staff for this award by completing a confidential nomination form. Nomination forms are available on the psychology website via the link or QR code below.
Nominations are encouraged and accepted year-round; Those received by April 15th 2023 will be considered for the current academic year.
The Psychology Department Teaching Award is awarded in the spring of each year. Last year’s Teaching Award recipient was: DR. ED JOHNSON
in attendance to sit. I assumed we would hear a short speech from the organizers about the artworks, or a presentation from someone from the university on the subject of mental health.
Instead, we were introduced to comedian Adam Grabowski, who on his website bills himself as a “mental health advocate and lecturer” who performs “socially conscious comedy.”
Having a comedian perform at an art opening about mental health was already an odd choice, but Grabowski made sure it was a bad one too as he spoke to audiences members in an awkward, uncomfortable way.
While I was worried about being called out by Grabowski, I left near the end of his very long set, apologizing to the friend I had brought with me.
I spoke with Bagheri the next day about the show, and her thoughts mirrored my own, saying she felt embarrassed by the exhibit and that the displays showed a disrespect for her work.
UNRAVEL was promoted as a mental health exhibit, and the call for artwork was sent out to university students of any faculty. For stu-
dents outside of the school of art, this may have been their first opportunity to show their work.
The resulting show was unprofessional and disheartening. The curation felt like an afterthought, if it was thought about at all. It’s hard enough to put yourself and your art out there, especially when speaking on a subject as sensitive as mental health. The exhibition was a disservice to not only the art pieces shown, but to the artists themselves.
The UMSU organizers did not involve me in the installation of my works. They could have reached out to the school of arts’ student association for assistance in planning the event, or contacted the school of art gallery’s curatorial team for advice. But it seems like they didn’t even bother to Google search “how to hang a picture.”
Once the opening was dismantled, the artworks were moved to room 102A, University Centre, a small room across from the UMSU Service Centre. There, artworks sat on the floor, not hung up for a time.
arts@themanitoban.com
photo / Faith Peters / staff
Looking back at 150 years of the Winnipeg Free Press
Upcoming exhibit looks back on decades of fact-based journalism
TDamien Davis staff
he Winnipeg Art Gal-
lery (WAG) is holding an opening celebration for a new exhibit commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Winnipeg Free Press this upcoming Friday, Dec. 2.
Headlines: The Art of the News Cycle will feature a plethora of mixed media pieces in relation to the 21st-century news cycle and the history of local news.
Doors for the free event open at 6 p.m., and attendees will hear from editor of the Winnipeg Free Press Paul Samyn, WAG-Qaumajuq director and CEO Stephen Borys and head of collections & exhibitions and curator of Canadian art at WAG-Qaumajuq Riva Symko.
relation to the Winnipeg Free Press in particular,” Symko told the Manitoban
Each contemporary artwork in the show will have a corresponding deep dive activity. Attendees will be provided iPads with poll questions ranging from how much time they spend with a newspaper to stories they would like to see in the Free Press.
“Halfway through this exhibition planning, I started to see the space myself as just a space to actually meditate
take on something that is different for someone like me, who is involved in art every day, who of course consumes media but isn’t involved in the actual making of it,” she said.
“So I’m interested to see what some of our local reporters, local journalists [and] local newsmakers have to say too.”
“They have paint, we have ink”
Paul Samyn, editor of the Winnipeg Free Press
“What’s unique about this exhibition in particular is that it’s kind of a blend between a meditation on the media and news itself, whilst also thinking about the local context, in
on something that we consume every day, whether we want to or not, and just space to think about how and what we’re consuming,” Symko explained.
She later added that she wants to know what journalists themselves have to say in regards to the exhibit.
“I’m interested to hear their
’Toban turntable
When asked what he hoped attendees would take away from the exhibit, Free Press editor Samyn said he thinks “there is a bit of similarity between art and journalism in the sense that there’s a way stories can be told, and ideas expressed.”
“Obviously art tends to move by way of a canvas,” he said. “They have paint, we have ink.”
Samyn believes the exhibit will also showcase a duality of both the growing awareness and growing concern regarding the importance of “independent, fact-based journalism.”
“As much as this exhibit in part is marking the 150th anniversary of the Free Press and our history in this province, I think it’s also about the future,” Samyn said. “Democracy is under threat, in part because there’s a lot of disinformation and a lot of misinformation, and people are able to exploit people’s lack of knowledge, lack of awareness.”
“This exhibit lands at a place and a time where there needs to be a really good dis-
Dangler — ‘Sunny Day Lake Music’
Alex Braun, staff
4.5/5 stars
Sunny Day Lake Music is both a completely apt and ironic way to name the debut compilation EP from Dangler. There is a sort of musical
breeziness to some of the tunes and arrangements, but thematically it could not be any further from a sunny day on the lake.
Dangler is the newest pseudonym for Lino D’Ottavio, who has gone by
many other names, perhaps most notably releasing a number of drone projects under the pisces// moniker.
D’Ottavio was also a member of the great band Baseball Hero, and is a fairly prolific producer and engineer, working on projects by Jamboree, meadows and Viewing Party.
ground screams after the song’s concluding lament that “everything hurts.”
“Grody” is an unappealing title for what is a quite pretty piece of slowcore-in-
cussion and understanding and appreciation of a newspaper like the Winnipeg Free Press, and the role that newspapers and fact-based journalism play in our society.”
Headlines: The Art of the News Cycle will be on display at the WAG from Dec. 2, 2022 to May 21, 2023.
arts@themanitoban.com
well into the gorgeous ambient interlude, “Sand,” that drops us straight into the bubbly final track.
Some of the most detailed, spirited and exciting indie rock to come out of Winnipeg this year
Sunny Day Beach Music is the first real solo pop record he has released. It compiles songs from the past five years, most of which were written long ago but modified recently.
Opening track, “But I” is a quick burst of desperate, self-lacerating energy. It eventually builds from its stark guitar and vocals, opening to an overblown noise folk middle section reminiscent of Elephant 6 recordings.
“U Know” opens as a breezy indie rock strummer, but eventually builds to a loose guitar solo and a mess of back-
flected balladry that verges on anthemic, despite its defeated tone. Gang vocals and soaring lead guitar lines intertwine in the song’s uplifting middle section for a real lighters-inthe-air rock moment.
“Ear” is possibly the highlight of the record for me. A pop song with a massive chorus and a bouncy, slightly bossa nova verse section that is made just the right amount of obtuse, with loose, lo-fi drum tracks and another dose of overblown production in the song’s climactic final chorus.
“New Wave” is a sharp left turn into synthpop, and leads
“Beach Song” is almost a love song, and notably more self-assured lyrically than the other tracks. It’s a great closer, feeling genuinely climactic on an album filled with high points.
Sunny Day Lake Music is some of the most detailed, spirited and exciting indie rock to come out of Winnipeg this year. Rock fans of all stripes, listen up.
Sunny Day Lake Music is available on major streaming services arts@themanitoban.com
photo / WAG / provided
Four books for thinking critically about love
Critical theory for coping with cuffing season
Jessie Krahn, staff
Cuffing season is upon us, that time from late fall to early spring when couples seemingly pop out of the ground. At times like these, and with my eye on the socially exhausting holiday season ahead, I turn to nerds to cope. Here are four books that encourage lonely, loveless and lovelorn readers to think critically about their notions of love. Each one is available through the U of M libraries.
A Lover’s Discourse: Fragments by Roland Barthes
Who better to get the ball rolling than the unrestrained Roland Barthes?
A Lover’s Discourse is a maniacal meditation on love. Barthes gathers quotes or “fragments” from literature and life, systematically sorts them into categories based on romantic ideas and muses about them grumpily.
On top of reading like the diary of a jilted English major, the book roves through its over 80 concepts like “adorable” and “tenderness” in an
absurd alphabetical order.
I read this during Valentine’s weekend in 2021 instead of focusing on coursework. Before that, I had never read such a bitterly soft examination of love. Barthes writes out the thoughts you might keep to yourself, such as “should I telephone or shouldn’t I?” and he is good at making you feel a little less alone with them.
Desire/Love by Lauren Berlant
Have you ever caught yourself daydreaming about bumping into a stranger so gracefully that they fall in love with you, and you both frolic into the sunset? That is probably not a fantasy you came up with alone.
There are ideas about love that come to us externally, according to Lauren Berlant. Part of the reason for this is that the people seeking to realize fantasies are also paying customers in the making.
Berlant’s writing is rife with knifelike insights on tender subjects. In this book, they work through the ways that notions of love and desire come to us from a homo-
phobic and consumerist culture.
Berlant thinks the aesthetics of love work like the engine of some industries — love aesthetics generate demand for solutions by producing single people who are desperate for them.
Berlant will help you wonder who benefits from your daydreaming.
The Cultural Politics of Emotion by Sara Ahmed
Sara Ahmed does not just write about love in this book, but love is an important part of her project. She notices that we extrapolate our ideas about love from interpersonal contexts to national politics.
For Ahmed, love is a recognition of likeness. We love someone or something because they seem to be close to our ideals.
She examines rhetoric from right-wing fascist groups, which frames those groups’ violence as love for their nation. A lovable nation for fascists is one which approximates white supremacist ideals.
As grim as the content of
Ahmed’s book sounds, she fills it with light. Ahmed is one of the few living philosophers who I am a sincere fan of. She will get you to sideeye those popular representations of love that usually seem to appeal to everybody, and wonder why they are so easily co-opted.
All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks
The author bell hooks is an inevitable feature on lists like these, and that is for good reason. Her book is a grounding intersectional intervention in the genre of self-help literature.
In surveying other influential self-help works, hooks points out the ways these texts overlook the influence of class, race and gender in our relationships.
Most of all, she stresses that finding love is not just up to individuals’ self-improvement, as much as self-help literature might suggest that it is. Loving relationships are reciprocal. They are built through conversation, courage and collaborating through conflict.
What sung to me in hooks’s work was her reminder that there are other kinds of love in our lives besides romantic love, and our romantic relationships should abide those other loves.
We fuse fragments of stories we tell about love into a bricolage of stereotypes and unattainable myths. No wonder the prospect of finding love in a season when it is apparently in abundance stresses people out!
There is no shame in being single. Romance is not a magical thing, it is a human experience susceptible to the same distortions as anything else.
That does not mean you should cull the hopeless romantic in you, though. It is okay to be open to possibilities, and to be hopeful that you will experience them. We all have love in our lives. Who is to say a little more is not on the way?
arts@themanitoban.com
Bisons swim team take s on Canada West Championships
Herd have multiple-podium finishes at annual championship
TQuinn Mayhew, staff
he Bisons swim team attended the yearly Canada West Championships this past weekend. Hosted this year at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, the championship yielded a varying array of results spanning over the three-day swim meet.
With the high expectations to perform leading up to this swim meet, the herd swam as to be expected when going from low-altitude training to high-altitude racing. Despite this challenge, the herd performed well.
The meet was a success for veteran Bison swimmer Dora Modrcin, who achieved three podium finishes and contributed 63 points to the team’s overall score.
Modrcin’s success can be seen in the 50-metre butterfly, the 50-metre backstroke and
the 50-metre freestyle. Finishing second in the butterfly and third in freestyle, she took time off both of her preliminary runs.
Placing third in backstroke, however, came as no surprise for the sprint backstroke phenom, who placed first in the same event in last year’s Canada West Championships.
Third-year swimmer Megan Mozill also met expectations with her backstroke podium finish.
Mozill — another backstroke phenom — achieved her podium finish in the 100metre backstroke with a final time of 1:01.06, placing third.
Both Mozill and Modrcin were indispensable this meet, achieving multiple podium finishes and contributing the greatest number of points for the team.
Another notable perform-
ance was swum by secondyear swimmer Kelsey Fillion, who achieved a fourth-place finish in the 100-metre freestyle with a time of 56.37, taking off an impressive 0.53 seconds from her prelim time.
The men’s portion of the team stepped up to the plate this championship meet, with fourth-year swimmer Carson Beggs performing well in his 200-metre breaststroke. Beggs placed 11th with a final time of 2:19.19, reducing his preliminary time by a whopping 3.27 seconds.
Rookie Ella Howe also stood out this competition, consistently making finals and stepping up to the plate as an instrumental part of the team.
This year, the swim team finished the meet with a total of 365.5 points, falling short of last year’s 2021 Canada West Championships where it
The herd swam as to be expected when going from low-altitude training to high-altitude racing
racked up a total of 575 points.
The women ranked fourth overall and the men ranked seventh, mirroring last year’s championships results exactly.
With the team finishing this year’s championships with significantly less points than the year before, it can be assumed that the lack of points was, at least in part, an altitude problem.
The team really persevered in this competition despite the less than ideal circumstances — earning medals and placing well in several events
despite not achieving all the podium finishes that were expected.
With the 2022 Canada West Championships now over, the Bisons can look forward to more fast racing and training going into the holiday season, as the team’s next competition is just around the corner. Swimming fans can look forward to the annual Prairie Winter Invitational swim meet back home from Dec. 16 to 18.
sports@themanitoban.com
Sports teams’ schedules
U of M Bisons — Track and Field
The women’s Bisons hockey team played host to the Saskatchewan Huskies this past weekend.
