Leaving Vancouver for the Hammer see page 9 McMASTER UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER / THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2009
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The Silhouette VOLUME 80, NO. 3
Est. 1930
A new hope: Bike co-op in Hamilton’s east end is giving old bikes new life, see page 9 for more
SFU joins NCAA Chad Klassen The Peak
of McMaster’s Mechanical Engineering and Management program. The World Solar Challenge sends cars from around the world from Darwin to Adelaide over the vast continent of Australia. The event, which is in its tenth year, bills itself as “the ultimate challenge in sustainable energy.” The 2007 winner was the product of a team from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Although the first World Solar Challenge (WSC) took place in 1987, an urgency in the event’s search for more efficient transportation alternatives came in 2005, when Australia experienced its warmest year since reliable temperature observation became available in 1910. The nation’s
BURNABY (CUP) – When Simon Fraser University opened in 1965, Chancellor Dr. Gordon Shrum fanaticized about the school competing for the Rose Bowl and lived for the day when his ambitious vision would come true. It’s not the Rose Bowl, but Shrum would be proud to know that SFU will be playing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, as the university was granted its official acceptance into the world’s most prestigious collegiate association last Friday SFU is now the first non-U.S. school in the NCAA. Starting in the 2011-2012 academic year, Clan varsity teams will compete in Division II’s Great Northwestern Athletic Conference against schools from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. “It means a high level of competition and challenge for our athletes,” said President Michael Stevenson. “As has always been the case, our primary concern is that our athletes succeed as students. The NCAA has strong academic requirements and we will maintain the high academic standards that SFU has always demanded from all Clan teams.” For Athletic Director Dr. David Murphy, while there are no concerns about National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics teams being able to compete in the NCAA, having already faced similar competition, the next two years will be a scramble to build up the talent level on the CIS teams making the transition from Canada West. “Right now, all of our
• PLEASE SEE SOLAR, 3
• PLEASE SEE SFU, 3
PHYLLIS TSANG / ASSISTANT INSIDEOUT EDITOR
New Hope Bike co-op helps give back by teaching people how to fix their own bike, with low cost parts and free tools.
Mac Solar Car Project launches Phoenix II SAM COLBERT SILHOUETTE STAFF
The challenge: A race across 3,000 km of Australian Outback in a car powered only by the sun. This is what faces team members of the McMaster Solar Car Project, a group of students from several faculties at McMaster, including Engineering, Science and Business. From October 2531, they will compete in the World Solar Challenge with Phoenix II, a car they unveiled in late July.
“These students are smart, fearless and environmentally aware,” said David Wilkinson, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. “They represent the next generation of engineers and professionals. We’ll be cheering for them.” The 5 x 1.8 metre Kevlar aeroshell of Phoenix II is covered with 402 solar cells. The cells, which can together produce up to 1250 Watts of energy, feed a lithium-polymer battery pack. The 215 kg car is capable of travelling at 130 km/h. The chassis
of Phoenix II is made of a KevlarNidacore composite, which makes for structural stability and minimal weight. In designing the vehicle, the McMaster Solar Car Project (MSCP) aimed to develop most if not all components within McMaster. “Building the car has been an excellent hands-on learning experience and given us the chance to promote the benefits of alternative energies,” said Keelan White, project manager of the MSCP. White is a recent graduate
high five
InsideOut Editor Lindsay Jolivet takes a look at the latest from Sacha Baron Cohen.
Phoenix II, was unveiled in front of the Student Centre last Friday.
PHOTO C/O MIKE LALICH
Andy, P16
THE SILHOUETTE • 3
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2009
SFU first Canadian Toxin detection by a University in NCAA piece of paper • CONT’D FROM 1
NAIA teams are competitive. They already compete against Division II and Division I competition, and they do quite well. Men’s basketball, football, and certainly women’s volleyball will be a challenge,” Murphy said. Helping that process will be SFU’s ability to entice outstanding athletes from across the country and elsewhere abroad with full-ride athletics scholarships, which are not allowed at Canadian universities in the CIS. Money will certainly be required for teams to offer scholarships, but Murphy disputes the claims that the athletic budget will have to increase dramatically in order for the varsity teams to compete in the NCAA, saying it’s all a fallacy. In particular, the cuts on travels costs for the teams playing in the CIS will free up money that can be spent elsewhere, as
well as lower registration fees for belonging to Division II compared to the Canada West – it’s $44,000 cheaper, according to Murphy. Among the preparations over the next two years, building a new stadium for SFU is a definite requirement with admittance and participation in the NCAA. The expansion of a new basketball and volleyball gym was completed in 2006, and Murphy and the athletic department have started to work on seating arrangements for Terry Fox Field, where all teams will be playing in the fall. “We already started the program ‘Bring Our Teams Back Home,’” said the athletic director, who hails from Boston. “If you look out there now, we have a scoreboard. We have a number of stands that will be coming on [Friday, July 24]. We’ll start playing all our home games up here on the Mountain and hopefully we’ll get the support of residence and all the students.”
Solar project’s new Phoenix • CONT’D FROM 1 transport sector contributed about 80 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions the year before, and projections showed that amount increasing. The WSC looks to showcase examples of sustainable energy practices that could have viable commercial applications. As the name suggests, Phoenix II isn’t the first attempt at solar car construction
by the MSCP. Phoenix I competed in the North American Solar Challenge in 2005. The new model builds on the design of Phoenix I, as well as Fireball I and Fireball II. Of the three cars, the team’s greatest success has come with Phoenix I, and they believe that Phoenix II addresses the shortcomings of its predecessor and will be their best car to date.
Using an inkjet printer, Mac researchers were able to produce biosensor paper, a simple and cost-effective tool with uses in Bioterrorism. SAM COLBERT SILHOUETTE STAFF A McMaster research team has developed a simple and cost-effective method of detecting pathogens and neurotoxins that could make for significant advances in bioterrorism defence, sanitation in the developing world and the global food economy. The sophisticated equipment that was once required for toxin detection has been set aside in favour of a mere strip of paper. The team has used a FujiFilm Dimatix inkjet printer to produce a biosensor on paper. The technology is similar to that of a home pregnancy test, but in many ways, it’s a fresh feat of innovation. The printer deposits two inks onto a piece of paper. The first ink contains silica nanoparticles, while the second contains an enzyme. The enzyme is immobilized on the paper, making the product bioactive. In the presence of a harmful substance, the enzyme will trigger a colour change on the paper. Although bioactive paper is not new to this decade, this is the first time that inkjet deposition, as well as the combination of silica nanoparticles and enzymes, has been applied in this way. The research team is led by Dr. John Brennan of McMaster’s Department of Chemistry, and has worked as a part of the SENTINEL Bioactive Paper Network to create the paper. The SENTINEL Network was formed in 2005, and its researchers represent 11 Canadian universities. The Network has been looking for new forms of and uses for biosensor paper. McMaster is home to the group’s administrative centre. According to Dr. Brennan, the need for bioactive paper in Canada really emerged out of the SARS outbreak in 2003, when the medical community was searching for a quick and efficient way of verifying the presence of the disease. But from that need, other possibilities emerged. “So the idea was,” said Brennan, “can we create paper products that can rapidly detect pathogens [with] no need for
power, no need for any kind of sophisticated instrumentation? If you can do that, then it starts to become possible to use this technology in the developing world, and that’s been a really big area where bioactive paper is seen as a potential breakthrough. “If you have an outbreak of an infectious disease, or if you want to test something like water quality or food quality, this is important.” Although the FujiFilm printer can use many types of inks, Brennan’s group has worked with the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Because it is a relatively unstable enzyme, it is an accomplishment in itself that, with the team’s methods, it can be printed and stored for several months before deactivation. AChE inhibitors, which the paper would detect, include organophosphate pesticides. This is of particular interest to countries where many types of these chemicals are banned, such as Canada and the US. The paper offers a simple and inexpensive method for testing crops at the source in locations around the world. AChE inhibitors can also prevent neurotransmission, and severe exposure can result in many health problems, including cardiac arrest. For this reason, they have become popular nerve agents in bioterrorism. As a result of these uses, companies and government organizations have taken notice. Brennan says he has already received calls from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and from military groups on both sides of the US border since a research article describing the new technology, which he co-authored, was published in the July 1 issue of Analytical Chemistry. Now that the paper has been developed and the patent is in order, commercialization is the next step. Brennan will present his work to SENTINEL’s corporate partners in October. Because the paper can be produced in great volume and requires little to no energy or equipment once printed, he believes a scale-up in commercialization will follow and that this method could become widely popular.
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EDITORIAL McMaster University’s Student Newspaper
The Silhouette TheSil.ca
Editorial Board Executive Editor Jeff Green Managing Editor Bahram Dideban Senior News Editor Selma Al-Samarrai Assistant News Editor Lily Panamsky Features Editor Paige Faber Opinions Editor Peter Goffin Sports Editor Brian Decker Insideout Editor Lindsay Jolivet Assistant Insideout Phyllis Tsang Photo Editor Will van Engen Staff Photographer Terry Shan Multimedia Editor Ava Dideban Production Editor Katherine Marsden Web Editor Jason Lamb Health Editor Sarah Levitt Ad Manager Sandro Giordano
Silhouette Staff
Sam Colbert, Joey Coleman
Contact Us
Volume 80 2009-10 • McMaster University Student Centre, Room B110 McMaster University 1280 Main Street West Hamilton, ON L8S 4S4 • Fax: (905) 529–3208 E–Mail: thesil@thesil.ca Newsroom (905) 525-9140, extension 27117 Advertising (905) 525-9140, extension 27557 • 5,000 circulation • Published by the McMaster Students Union
Welcome day, indeed Welcome Day, indeed You’re probably one of many green-faced to-be Marauders, coming to visit your future school in the month leading up to September 10. You can’t wait to get your Ikea furniture and McMaster track pants, movie in and find new insta-friends.You’re the norm. It’s okay, I’m not making fun of you as much as just stating a fact. Nobody cares what you did in high school. Nobody cares if your nickname was “moose” or “anal girl” (500 Days of Summer joke kids, see page 16 for a review of the movie). They really only care about a few things: what program and residence you’re in, do you like to play poker, do you want to watch the office with us every Thursday and how many beers can you drink before you pass out. You are the norm. You don’t have to be, but you probably put a definite answer to all of those questions, and thus fill a nice little box. It’s cool being in a group; don’t worry. Like most, your next four years will be a blur of parties and short-distance friends. Some people are very satisfied with that. They’ll find a middle of the road job in sales somewhere in the GTA, and marry the last person they dated in University. I hope I haven’t killed any excitement you had built up leading to your visit to McMaster. It’s an amazing school, but you already know that because you picked it to come here. This is merely your fair warning to get out of the box that some people find themselves in four years down the line. If that means getting involved with a club, volunteering in the east end, or painting yourself maroon every home game – go do it. Just make sure you’re not the person who only has a piece of paper at the end of your four years. • Jeff Green
editor’s extension 22052 letters: thesil@thesil.ca
Worth Repeating:
Banging to the beat: Montreal sex columnist rings a new flava in your ear Carolyne Weldon The Link (Concordia University) MONTREAL (CUP) – Angelica LeMinh is hard-headed. When the head honchos at Montreal’s Nightlife Magazine told the Vancouver export that they already had all the music writers they needed but had an opening for a sex columnist, LeMinh decided to take the gig and just write about hip-hop anyway. The product of that union, “Sex Talk,” has delighted and shocked readers since its debut in early 2007. It’s the kind of sex column that’ll serve you an incest special for the Christmas issue, followed by an anal sex exposé just in time for Valentine’s Day – titled “Cupid Takes It In The Ass” – while keeping you current on the vagaries of rap stars. “One thing that worked out good for me at first was the editors were French,” LeMinh said. “My friends could never believe the stuff I’d get published.” Her piece on anal sex, however, had to go through eight rewrites before entering the realm of publishability. Even after vigorous whitewashing, the column caused quite a stir. Amidst talk of enemas and lubes, it broached the topic of figging, or inserting pieces of ginger or garlic in the anus for pleasure. She says people are still talking about that one. “But I always try to bring it back to hip-hop,” said LeMinh, who also contributes to Pound, a Toronto-based hip-hop magazine.
“It’s sort of become a running joke over at Nightlife.” Luckily for her, few entities make for more likely bed companions than sex and rap. Indeed, what more auspicious gateways exists to delve into the eternally fresh topic of getting down – be it oral, anal, inter-racial, group, or exhibitionistic – than Ludacris, Foxy Brown, Plies, or 2 Live Crew? As a sex columnist, LeMinh has established a full exlover typology based on rappers – “Do you tend to date and dump the Will Smiths, or the ODBs?” – and has liberally sprinkled her work, irrespective of topic or tone, with all types of hip-hop innuendos. It’s not often you read about love letters and Soulja Boy in the same sentence, let alone in a piece on food and sex, but in “Sex Talk,” that’s just same old, same old. If you ask LeMinh, she’ll tell you the wonderful thing about being a writer in Montreal is that you have the luxury of time. “Here, you can’t take your sweet time to write stuff you care about,” she said. “You won’t have a lot of money. But in Montreal, you don’t need a lot of money.” And with times getting tougher, there’s one form of entertainment that’s both easy on the wallet and carbon-neutral. That’s right: hopping in bed for a bona fide round of hanky-panky, bonus points for the bangin’ soundtrack.
Write Us Opinions: Up to 600 words Letters: 100 to 300 words Submit via email by 5:00 p.m. the Monday before publication.
Legal The Silhouette welcomes letters to the editor in person at MUSC B110, or by email at thesil@thesil.ca. Please include name, address, and telephone number for verification only. We reserve the right to edit, condense, or reject letters and opinion articles. Opinions expressed in The Silhouette are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial board, the publishers, university officals, or Ricter Web Printing Ltd. The Silhouette is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the McMaster Students Union. The Silhouette board of publications acts as an intermediary between the editorial board, the McMaster community, and the McMaster Students Union. Grievances regarding The Silhouette may be forwarded in writing to: McMaster Students Union, McMaster University Student Centre, Room 201, L8S 4S4, Attn:The Silhouette Board of Publications. The board will consider all submissions and make recommendations accordingly.
to being able to walk again. to raf and the new couch! to new computers on the way, thanks dad.
to not having a two floor office and a pool. damn you varsity. to super lame people. to hot chili on hot days. ugh.
to super rad people.
to waiting.
to football. i forgot how much i love you. what are you doing friday? a double header? my o my.
to b.o. - you know the 91’s have it.
to ava, v.i. and s.g. to the mac physio people.
to exams on the best day of the summer so far. to forgetting to eat. it reminds me of griddle cakes. mmm.
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OPINIONS
production office: extension 27117
Is vegetarian the way to go?
Point Stacy McLachlan The Peak (Simon Fraser University) BURNABY (CUP) – Why go vegetarian? Here’s a better question: Why not? If you love or even just have a healthy respect for animals, the planet, or your body, switching to a plant-centric diet is pretty much the best move you can make. And being an ethical member of Team Human Race doesn’t mean you have to pass up gastronomical delights; vegetarian fare can be diverse and delicious, and is much more than just varying consistencies of tofu. But it’s more than a push — going veg is clearly the best option out there. The first big one is health. Cutting meat out of your diet doesn’t just keep you slimmer and trimmer than your carnivorous counterparts; vegetarians have been shown to have lower levels of cholesterol, and experience lower incidences of certain cancers, diabetes, and dementia. The tried and true argument of well-meaning mothers and steak-loving boyfriends everywhere is that it’s simply impossible for anyone to dare to obtain iron or protein from a source other than sweet, sweet bovine rump. Sorry, loved ones, but you’re full of lies. Like any specialty lifestyle, all it takes is a little bit
Counterpoint of planning to ensure a healthy and balanced diet in any stage of life — that means you too, babies! Any practiced vegetarian knows that a liberal sprinkling of beans can make pretty much anything — chili, curries, pudding, et cetera — a protein powerhouse more than equivalent to precious meat. Take that, Mom! And don’t forget the dollah dollah bills, y’all: meat is expensive. Why not buy carrots instead, and put the money you save towards a Playstation or whatever you kids are into these days?
Maybe you can use some of that extra cash to call up Captain Planet, and tell him what a good job you’re doing. Not only does growing food for farmed animals take up 80 per cent of America’s agricultural land according to the USDA, the amount of food it takes to feed one cow could feed 10 humans. I don’t think a pie chart is necessary to depict the significance that a reduction of factory farming would have on world hunger issues, partially because the numbers speak • PLEASE SEE VEGETABLES, 7
Graham Templeton The Peak (Simon Fraser University) BURNABY (CUP) – Salad is murder. Yes, you read that correctly. Leafy, no-good-withoutanimal-derived-oil-dressings salad, the torchbearer for the veggie movement, is cruel and inhumane. What, you think that just because lettuce doesn’t have big, watery sad-eyes that it doesn’t feel? What separates a plant form an animal, qualitatively? Plants
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION AVA DIDEBAN / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
have immune systems, after a fashion, and they have the ability to detect and repair physical damage. We can see plants stretch towards nice things, like water and sun, and we can see them recoil from harm. We can watch the chemical signals run distress calls to various structures of the plant’s body, not unlike human sensory neurons; in every meaningful sense, plants experience pain, and they experience alarm. Plants are blind, deaf, and mute; they have no voice, but can they not still scream? Plants are alive, with everything that that entails. And what do we do? We rip them from their moorings with bare hands, or enormous mechanical contraptions. We keep them alive for as long as possible, place them, still living, on our cutting boards, and amputate whole portions — “ick, not the rind!” — before slicing them into nice little shapes and gobbling them up. Revolting. Or is it? The fact is that despite all of that, not one sane person alive has a moral crisis over rhubarb. Is it just that they are so shallow that only bilateral, vocalizing life is worthy of empathy? Certainly that’s a huge part of it, as evidenced by the lesser care for sand dollars than dolphins. But it’s more than that; on some basic level, we understand that despite all • PLEASE SEE SALAD, 6
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2009
Salads have feelings too
Standing up for Shona Holmes Matthew Dugdale Opinion
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION AVA DIDEBAN / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
• CONT’D FROM 5 the mechanical similarities, plants simply lack the traits, whatever those traits may be, that would make them worthy of our moral concern. So, having illustrated that all life is not equally worthwhile, the question becomes not how to value life, but how to arrange the spectrum of importance, and the only reasonable rubric is intelligence. Plants lack a brain, and so the physical reality of pain is never interpreted by a conscious psychology; torturing a plant is like shouting into the void. It’s so meaningless as to be impossible. So, is a brain the basic requirement? Well, that’s a bit silly. After all, even the tiniest of insects have brains, and we don’t overly concern ourselves with the suffering we cause to dust mites, as we fold pages of notes. Again, it goes beyond their being out of sight and mind; we really do understand that their lives
are essentially worthless. We will set out bug traps of almost unbelievable cruelty — what, you thought that those ant traps included a microscopic lethal injection syringe? The fact is that we don’t care about them all that much, nor should we. If having a brain isn’t enough, then what sort of brain would be? Is a fish brain worth caring about? How about a chicken? How about a chimpanzee? It’s not entirely arbitrary, and can be quantified in any number of ways, from length of memory, to capacity for innovation in problem solving. Present a goldfish with a food-dispensing switch, and let it feed itself, and it will simply starve to death. Fish are, almost without exception, simply bundles of conditioned responses. They have the illusion of intelligence, but not of the reality.They respond to pain, but remember: so do trees. I’ll skip to the end: I feel a bit guilty eating pig. In fact, I even
make a halfhearted effort to avoid eating pig. Pigs are smart, arguably as smart as some dimmer breeds of dog, and their life experience is more worthy of our mental energy than that of a chicken. There’s no doubt that a chicken has more worth than a plant, but let’s be serious — the chicken is an animal made infamous by its ability to live quite happily, for some time, without a head. For me, pigs are right around the eatable cutoff. Each person’s cutoff will be a little different, but how rational is it to get worked up over the differences between a cow, a species that started dumb and was bred to be almost infinitely dumber, and a salmon? How rational is it to draw a huge moral distinction between a salmon and a dust mite? For instance, put a salmon in a tank, and it will swim around quite happily, if its needs are attended to. Put a modern cow in a pen, and you’ll see the same. It’s simply not valid to
The summer is usually the slow time for news. Parliament is not sitting. The Ontario Legislature is out. School is out, which leaves me wondering who is reading this. However with the Toronto Garbage strike, our crazy summer weather and an on-going health care debate, the summer has proven to be anything but restful. Enter Shona Holmes, a Waterdown woman who has became the centre point of health care reform in the United States. Mrs. Holmes has been appearing on US news programs and advertisements speaking out about her experience with the Canadian and United States healthcare system, she also has a warning for those supporting United States President Obama’s plan for Health care reform. If you are unfamiliar with the story I will sum it up quickly here. In March 2005 Holmes began complaining of headaches and disturbed vision. After a 7week wait for an MRI, Holmes was told she had a tumour in her brain. However according to the
anthropomorphize these animals to the point that we worry about keeping them cooped up — they really don’t mind. Pigs, however, do; they are intelligent enough that keeping them locked in tiny pens actually drives them mad, and it’s a pigfarming truism that if you keep a pig cooped up indefinitely, it will eventually attack you. That’s not a trivial distinction between the pig and the cow. The keeping and killing of the cow is, quite simply, not all that meaningful. There are various other issues brought up by vegetarians, but they all take a back seat to the moral argument, which simply doesn’t hold water. We should care about the suffering of animals, even dumb animals, but we shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking that their suffering is in any way equivalent to that of a human. They’re just animals, after • PLEASE SEE HEALTHCARE, 8 all.
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Vegetables are better for everything, including celebrities • CONT’D FROM 5 for themselves, but mostly because it would probably be insensitive to construct infographics with a dessert theme when discussing topics like malnutrition and starvation. Also: not to be totally crude or anything but the methane (read: farts) of the artificially inflated cattle population represent more greenhouse gas than all the world’s transportation combined. Gross and fascinating! And speaking of gross – eating the dead flesh and muscle of another creature is just that, with or without barbeque sauce. If you love animals, why do you want them dead or in your belly? More importantly, though, why do you want to subject them to a lifetime of cruelty? Maybe it’s not your golden retriever specifically shut up in a cage for her whole life, with barely enough room to turn around, and maybe your kitten has been lucky enough not to have her, uh, beak and claws cut off with a hot knife and no anesthetic, but why should that mean you don’t need to care? Millions of other animals are suffering, or have suffered, so that our society can enjoy McNuggets at low, low prices. Just because you don’t know them
doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter. I’ll get “real” with you for a second: Popular chicken movies such as Chicken Run or Chicken Little or . . . Uh, Chicken Run may exaggerate the self-awareness of our fine feathered friends. In real life, they don’t have fingers or wear bifocals or feature the vocal stylings of Mel Gibson. In fact, they aren’t very smart at all. But does the intelligence of something determine its rights?
Does this apply to the human world? Should toddlers, the mentally disabled, those in vegetative states, or people who wear Crocs in public be subjected to cruelty just because they might not understand what’s happening, or remember it afterwards? Pigs have been said to have the intellectual capacity of a three year old. Imagine that pig is your baby! Imagine! A single person cutting
meat out of their diet certainly won’t bring the slaughterhouse industry to a halt, nor will it save the world or automatically get you in shape. But saying “if I don’t eat this value pack of drumsticks from Safeway, someone else will” is just ignorant. Supply and demand, baby. We live in a plutocracy, like it or not, where every dollar you spend, or don’t spend, means you’re casting a vote. And if P. Diddy has
taught me anything, it’s that every single voter can make a difference, or something to that effect. By eliminating meat from your diet, you’re making a statement to producers, and joining the effort to reduce the demand for meat products. More importantly, though, you’ll earn the respect of PETA superstars like Alicia Silverstone and Pamela Anderson. Case closed.
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Know your student representatives, Healthcare syetem is two-tier, admit it and they’ll work for you • CONT’D FROM 6
Casey Park SRA House Leader In conversations I’ve had with undergraduates that have to begrudgingly pay into the MSU year after year, the overall perception is that the Student Representative Assembly (SRA) are shills. Students think that most, if not all, SRA members simply promote the glory of the MSU in a half-assed fashion to get the perks and ego boost that come with being a “student leader.” To others, the SRA has stopped representing students and instead, have focused on appeasing the powers that be in the hope that one day, they will be like them. I hope you’re ready for some heinous and abhorrent news, but I’m detecting a glimmer of hope that this year’s SRA will actually do their job. If the only thing that SRA members do throughout the year is talk to the students they represent on a nigh-daily basis and actually vote on what you want, then I’ll be happy. I genuinely think that students care about what’s happening
Hamilton Spectator (July 23, 2009), she needed to wait anywhere between four to six months just to get a consultation. Unwilling to wait that long, she did what many people in our nation must do; she went to the United States for treatment. That led her to the Mayo clinic in Arizona where Mrs. Holmes had the in the MSU. Whether it be an issue with a procedure. In order to secure the funds club they’re involved in, how their dental for the operation she had to re-mortgage plan got them a free cleaning, or what her house to the tone of $100,000. The the MSU is doing about the ever-changing operation was a success and now Holmes is student loans system, MSU members do attempting to get the money from OHIP in give a shit. The problem is that whenever a lawsuit launched by herself and fellow US they have advice or complaints, they don’t Health care seeker Lindsay McCreith who know who to reach. SRA members have had a similar story. The Holmes story is unique in the been cooped up in second-floor MUSC for too long; it’s time they come to JHE, CNH, sense of the media coverage it has obtained. MDCL, and wherever else students choose Proponents on both sides of the argument are talking about this woman who has now to congregate. Let’s make a deal: if you actually become a focal point of debate. People on know who your student representatives are, one side say she is the key to showing the will you approach them with your issues? downside of socialized health care whereas Barring that, keep in mind that you are our others call her a fraud, a liar and worst yet a traitor to this country. Mrs. Holmes boss. If a SRA member isn’t doing their negative criticism is unwarranted, unfair job and you feel that they aren’t representing and un-Canadian, and quite frankly some of you, you can easily get some signatures the critics I wish to point out are the true and recall their ass and replace them with traitors to this great land. Canadians like to believe our health someone who will. Stay in contact with us and remind care is great. I mean who would complain? us who we represent; student leaders are It’s free, accessible to all and the quality is top notch right? Wrong. Mrs. Holmes is not stubborn folk. the first Canadian to seek treatment in the US, nor will she be the last. Just as recently as June 27, 2009, the Spec ran an article on how Natalie Paquette and Richard Stinson were forced to take their newborn baby to Buffalo because there were no beds in Ontario to house them. However it does not stop there, our top supporters of Canadian health care have been accused of seeking treatment elsewhere. In September of 2007 former Liberal Leader hopeful Belinda Stronach went to the US in order to obtain treatment. During the 2006 federal election Jack Layton was accused of using a Private Clinic (although he still claims that he never knew it was a private clinic!); Former Prime Minister Paul Martin also visited a private clinic based in Quebec. I could go on, nevertheless I believe the point has been made. Those who are the most vocal of the Canadian health system seem to be the ones who don’t mind accessing private care when it is convenient for them and when they need to jump the line. “But Canadian health care is free! We don’t have to pay for it like the Americans do! It’s about who needs, not who can afford!” Again not the case, according to the June 2005 edition of the Medical Note (Montreal Economic Institute) Canada spends $2048 per person on health care. Compare this to the $2364 per person in the United States. Additionally, according to the US Census Bureau 84.4% of Americans have health insurance. Over 60% of Americans have their insurance through work. Now if Canadian health care is free, why do we get coverage through our employers? Why do I need insurance through my union? Why do you, the students, have access to insurance through the Student’s Union? That’s simply because we pay for health care, with every purchase, with every dollar of tax we pay for
health care and even then it doesn’t cover everything. This is way I argue that Canada already has a two-tier system and no one will admit it. Here is just a short list of some of the things that OHIP does not cover, and if you do not have private health insurance, you better not mind paying (list from the Collingwood General Hospital): Ambulance transportation, Cast sandals, Fiberglas casts, Soft collars, Knee immobilizers, Aero chambers, Shoulder immobilizers, Air Cast foam walkers, Ankle splints and Crutches. Many services in the Canadian system are not free. We need dental insurance because OHIP doesn’t cover my dental needs. If I had to get glasses I need to go through my private insurance because I can’t access that through my public health care. Do you need pills? Hope you have insurance in Canada because you have to pay for that too. You also better hope you don’t need an eye exam because that was recently taken off OHIP coverage as well. Need chiropractic or physiotherapy? Better get private care because I hear it is not cheap, nor is it covered by OHIP. Canadians need to wake up to the hard reality that private health care is here and it is here to stay. Canada does not have a 100% public system, it is not free and people need to wake up and get over it. Mrs. Holmes critics have pulled out all the stops in their response to her campaign. Facebook groups state, “lets deport Shona Holmes”, there is a website set up called “Shona Holmes is a cu*t.” Furthermore a July 23, 2009 edition of the Spec revealed that Holmes has been getting phone calls at home from angry people, calling her a lair, a fraud and worse. She has been called un-Canadian because of what she believes are true faults with our system. Since when has it been ok for a person to speak out against injustice and be called a traitor because she refuses to tow the party line? Even former Federal health minister Ujjal Dosanjh called Holmes case an “exception” to the norm. However the sad truth is how many “exceptions” must there be until Canadians realize that this country needs more private input in our health care? Jim Meek in the Chronicle herald called Mrs. Holmes a traitor for her actions. This country has its roots based in individual rights and freedoms, more specifically the right to dissent and be the whistle blower. Even John Stuart Mill in “On Liberty” demonstrated that a free society must include those whom disagree against the most popular held opinions because we lose some truths in ourselves for silencing them. So to all the Jim Meek’s of the world who wish to silence a brave woman’s struggle for a cause worth fighting for, to those who would rather live in a world filled with unquestionable state interference, for those who will attack me for standing next to a woman whose cause I agree with, to those I say grab a ticket and kiss my ass. I choose the society where we value things such as dissent, choice in health care and the betterment our health regime and not fall back on dated stereotypes and nonsensical anti-Americanism.
THE SILHOUETTE • 9
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2009
InsideOut
production office: extension 27117 insideout: insideout@thesil.ca
When life gives you lululemons Manori Ravindran THE SILHOUETTE
It is thirty-five degrees in Vancouver today. The city is experiencing a heat wave that is demolishing records left and right, kicking ass, and taking names. The temperature has been in the thirties for the past four days, setting the entire population is in disbelief. For a city known for its temperate summer climate and easy-peasy winter, a heat wave is not proper city etiquette. Vancouver, you understand, is well-adjusted, easy-going, and photogenic: people in Vancouver don’t sweat, they merely perspire. And this city definitely doesn’t experience identity crises. Yet, here we are, hot and bothered, buying fans over the internet because stores are sold out, and hiding out in our basements in comatose conditions. At least, some of us are doing those things. Canada views Vancouverites in a certain light. You know, the exercising, nature-loving, Lululemonsporting, slightly smoky kind of light. This is continually reaffirmed by friends from the East who visit and aren’t the least bit surprised when, on their cab ride from the airport, they spot at least thirty people out for a run during a trademark downpour. But the time has come to unveil Vancouver’s dirty little secret (it’s okay - I’m avoiding crucifixion by moving to Hamilton next month): not all Vancouverites were created equal. Some us hate Lululemon, would take the MOMA over mountains any day, and
absolutely curse the Olympics. We’re the ones hiding out in basements while the die-hards are outside embracing skin cancer on Mexican blankets. In recent years, yoga has become a way of life. Virasanas and downward dogs have taken the city by storm. People tote around pouches for their yoga mats and hold self-important discussions about their yamas. These days, you don’t need to ask anyone in Vancouver where their clothes are from: Lululemon is our urban uniform, and the iridescent omega symbol does all the talking. But not everyone is a fan. I became a pariah among my sociologically-minded peers when I received a Lulu hoodie in January. “B-bbut it was a gift! I’m not running off to an ashram anytime soon!” I stammered. My friends turned their backs to me and stalked off. No more stretchy pants for me. Another confession: Vancouver is so vaingloriously proud of its proximity to nature that it is downright snobby about it. I recently overheard a conversation between an Edmontonian and a Vancouverite. The former was making a concerted effort in proving that Edmonton had more to offer than a mall, but the Vancouverite was having none of it: “You fool. You actually think Edmonton can compete with all of this?” He made a sweeping motion with his arm, threw his head back, and laughed. I wondered why he never mentioned the incessant pitterpatter of rain for the other nine months. To hear people talk, you would think that • PLEASE SEE VANCOUVER, P11
New hope to restored bikes and community Phyllis Tsang ASSISTANT INSIDEOUT EDITOR
“This is the stage I like the most about fixing bikes,” Sid Slotegraaf, Coordinator of New Hope Bike Co-op and a soft-spoken downhill mountain cyclist, said while dusting off a “preloved” bike, “you don’t always know how they would turn out. It’s like giving them new lives again.” New Hope Bike Co-op, a program which focuses on giving back to the community by helping people to fix their own bikes, and providing low cost parts, free use of tools and low cost refurbished bicycles, is the brainchild of Jeff Naven, a cyclist and a father of four who could only ride when kids are put to sleep. The idea of a bike co-op came after the success of a couple single-day bike repairing events by New Hope Church at Gage Park
in the last three years, thanks to the generous help from Mac Cycle, McMaster’s cycling cooperative. This summer, New Hope Bike Coop finally becomes a reality. Since its opening in June, the bike coop has been very busy at both of its locations: a bar-turned-bike-shop at the East side of Hamilton which opens on Thursdays and Fridays and at Ottawa Street Farmer’s Market during Saturday mornings. In this purple-ceilinged bike shop with red-leathered booth, people’s hands are always covered in black. According to Sid, “The best way to learn about bikes is to get your hands greasy and work on one.” “The greatest thing about this co-op is that people not only get their bikes fixed, • PLEASE SEE BIKE, P11
PHYLLIS TSANG / ASSISTANT INSIDEOUT EDITOR
- PA I D A D V E R T I S E M E N T -
- PA I D A D V E R T I S E M E N T -
THE SILHOUETTE • 11
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2009
Bike co-op more than restoring bikes New Hope Bike co-op teaches skills, giving • CONT’D FROM 9 but they also bring home a new skill,” he believed. For some, like Darrell Sanderson, who donated time at the bike shop, walked home with more than a new skill, but a bike which he had his fingerprints all over it. “You love being here, don’t you?” Asked Darrell’s mom, Janice, who came to pick up her son after work. The shy teenager smiled and nodded. The three bike stands in the shop never stand empty. Whenever a bike is off the stand, another one is up. “This is our next project,” Sid picked a dusty classic-looking cruiser out of more than 130 donated bikes this time. Restored bikes are put
at the store front awaiting their new owners. As much as sales are welcomed, they could be heartbreakers for Sid, who has to let them go unwillingly at times. One time as he watched one of his beloved bike leaving, Sid held out his arms like a child whose favorite toy had been taken away from him. “That’s my bike…” Those were Sid’s last words to a bike that was no longer his. Originally a summer program, the Bike co-op will extend its operation till the end of this fall, and potentially be opened again next Spring and Summer at the same location (1429 Main St. E.,). “Are you ready to take part in this restoration project?” Sid looked at me and my clean hands as he mounted another forgotten gem on the stand. PHYLLIS TSANG / ASSISTANT INSIDEOUT EDITOR
Vancouver is nice, but I won’t miss the stretchy pants
PHOTO C/O DANIEL BASSILI
• CONT’D FROM 9 everyone kayaks to work and goes on hikes to blow off steam. In reality, I know more people interested in the new Sephora downtown than torturing themselves in the Great Outdoors. And have you heard? The Olympics are coming to town! I don’t know about you, but I think it’s an inspired idea to dish out millions of dollars for a sporting event while thousands of people fight for their lives in the Downtown Eastside. Ever since Vancouver won the bid in 2003, homelessness has steadily been on the rise and, due to heavy gentrification, low-income housing units are being axed
in favor of Olympics-catered businesses. I’m only glad I’m going to be across the country when this corporate circus comes to town. So, here I am. The sun is setting at last and it’s a few degrees cooler. I’m surrounded by packing boxes holding all my worldly possessions, ready to be shipped out to Hamilton. I can’t believe I’m leaving this city. As much as I gripe about hating health-nuts and the ocean, I’m certainly going to miss everything. They say you need to move away from a place in order to really appreciate it. Well, I don’t know if I’ll ever appreciate the Olympics or Bikram Yoga, but one thing is for sure: I’m ready to make some lemonade.
12 • THE SILHOUETTE
Greening that time of the month
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2009
What to use, and why we need to use eco-friendly feminine hygiene products Derek Taylor MACgreen Director For approximately one week of every month, the majority of females are visited by a friend, a friend often regarded as Aunt Flow. For those who are unfamiliar with Aunt Flow, this monthly visitor is also known as the women’s menstrual period. A typical response to receiving one’s monthly menstruation would be the insertion of a tampon or the use of a pad to ensure that those around do not become aware of your friends visitation by a potentially embarrassing accident. Although tremendous advancements have been made in both tampons and pads to ensure greater absorbency and a lessened feeling of a foreign object in one’s body, very few innovations have occurred to ensure that tampons and pads are friendly to the environment, as well as the consumer. According to gladrags. com, a leading organization in the promotion of reusable feminine hygiene products, a female may use approximately 6800 tampons or pads in their lifetime. Although 6800 tampons or pads may not
appear to be a significant amount when used over an entire lifespan, when multiplied by the approximate five hundred million women who use disposable feminine hygiene products around the world, it totals an astonishing 3.4 trillion tampons or pads in our landfills. On top of the 3.4 trillion pads and tampons in our landfills, we must also factor in the packaging of the goods, as well as the plethora of resources required to produce both the product and the packaging. Contrary to popular perception, there are many alternative options for those who decide that they no longer desire to use disposable hygiene products. As I am not an expert in the field of feminine hygiene products, I consulted Virona Ibrahim, coordinator of SHEC at McMaster, about which environmentally friendly options women have when it comes to dealing with their monthly friend. After indulging me with a multitude of environmentally friendly options, Ms. Ibrahim concluded that the three options, which were best for both the environment and the consumer, were the “Diva Cup,” “Lunapads”
7
and biodegradable tampons or pads. The Diva Cup is a reusable rubber cup which women can insert into their vagina, similarly to the way in which they would insert a tampon. The Diva Cup would collect the blood, which would be produced by the menstruation, which could then be emptied into a toilet. According to Ms. Ibrahim,
the Diva Cup can stay in the vagina for up to twelve hours and is barely noticeable to the woman. A Lunapad is similar to a disposable pad, except that it is 100% cotton and reusable. The Lunapad also helps to reduce potential irritations or infections because they are much more breathable than their disposable counter parts.
Biodegradable tampons and pads are similar to traditional disposable tampons and pads, except they will biodegrade in the landfill. Ms. Ibrahim stressed that the Diva Cup and the Lunapad are the best option because not only are they environmentally friendly, they will also save you money in the long term.
THE SILHOUETTE • 13
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2009
SPORTS
Mac hoops ready for ‘09 Ticats finally on Recruiting classes announced for upcoming season comeback trail DAVID KOOTS THE SILHOUETTE
The 2009 CFL season is only five weeks old and already the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have equalled their win total from last year. Following back-to-back three-win seasons, the Ticats have started off 3-2 and are tied for the second best record in the league with the Edmonton Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders. Hamilton beat the B.C. Lions 30-18 on Friday night for their second win over the Lions this year. With the victory, Hamilton completed the season series sweep, something they have not done since 1992. The Ticats offense was led by rookie running back DeAndra’ Cobb who ran for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Cobb came into the season as the team’s 4th string running back, but has been forced into action after starters Kenton Keith, Tre Smith and Terry Caulley all suffered early season injuries. Hamilton will now play the Eskimos on Saturday night at Ivor Wynne Stadium. The winning programs and have had Eskimos are on a roll after beating great coaching so their basketball the previously unbeaten Montreal intelligence and court sense is very, Alouettes on Thursday. Saturday’s very good and they will all be able game matches together two of the CFL’s hottest teams and a win on to contribute right away”. Despite losing six players Saturday for the Ticats would go to graduation and one CIS All- a long way towards establishing Canadian to injury from the 2007- themselves as one of the CFL’s top 08 OUA Championship team, the teams. This year marks the women’s team finished 2008-09 with a sporty 14-8 record, good first time that Hamilton has had for third place in the OUA West a winning record since the end division. Fresh off a dominating of the 2004 season. That season 43-point performance in the first was the first for former Marauder tournament of the season, fifthyear forward Lindsay DeGroot (Thedford, ON) went down with a collegiate career-ending back injury, leaving the Marauders without their star as well as six graduated players. 2009-10 will see just one more player graduate from the Marauder women in guard Amanda D’Ortenzio. D’Ortenzio proved to be a clutch performer in her final season with Mac, averaging 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the 2009 playoffs. Both the Marauder teams will kick off the 2009-10 season November 6 against Royal Military College, and will come back to the Burridge Gym on November 13 for their home opener against the University of Toronto. CAMERON DUNLOP / MCMASTER ATHREC
BRIAN DECKER SPORTS EDITOR
After solid but unspectacular 20082009 seasons, the McMaster men’s and women’s basketball teams will be boosting their stock with their recruiting classes for the upcoming season. The men’s team will take on four new players, all from the Hamilton area, while the women’s team will add seven players from across the province. Coming to the Marauder men this season are Ryan Christie (Hamilton, ON) Paul Hart (Ancaster, ON), Sean McGrattan (Ancaster, ON) and Victor Raso (Hamilton, ON). Both Raso and McGrattan have strong family ties to athletics; Raso is the son of longtime Marauder basketball coach Joe Raso, while McGrattan is the cousin of Calgary Flames bruiser Brian McGrattan. Hart’s impressive resume includes being named two-time Provincial Basketball High School Player of the Year, and before taking the court, the 6’0” guard will don the maroon and grey for the football team. Christie comes to the Marauders with an enormous amount of potential, boasting a
massive 6’7”, 240 lb. frame and having been recruited in both the United States and Canada for football and basketball. Said Raso of Christie, ““Ryan is a tremendous athlete who has the ability and quickness and strength to guard all 5 positions on the court. This is a statement I’ve never made before about a recruit.” The 2008-2009 edition of the Marauders finished the season with a solid 13-9 record, and defeated the Laurier Golden Hawks in the first round of the OUA Playoffs. Joining the women’s squad are Vanessa Bonomo (Hamilton, ON), Liz Burns (Hamilton, ON), Jacklyn Nimec (Stoney Creek, ON), Nicole Rosenkranz (Niagara Falls, ON), and Canisius College (NCAA Division 1) transfer Hailey Milligan (Brantford, Ont.) Women’s head coach Theresa Burns commented that “the 2009 recruiting class will bring three important dimensions to our program: size, depth and desire. We now have the size and depth in our frontcourt to compete for 40 minutes hard every game. Each of our incoming players bring an intensity and desire to win to the court each day. They all come from
head coach Greg Marshall and was the last time the Ticats made the playoffs. In a league where six of the eight teams make the postseason, missing the playoffs four consecutive years is an accomplishment in and of itself. The past four seasons have seen the Tiger-Cats win only fifteen of a possible seventy two games, but now Ticats fans are hoping that the losing ways of recent years are finally over. However, with this season’s good start, fans are once again thinking about the postseason, possibly even hosting a home playoff game, but lessons learned from past years have left fans cautiously optimistic. With the arrival of McMaster standout running back Jesse Lumsden in 2005, it appeared the Tiger-Cats were turning a corner. But while Lumsden showed flashes of brilliance, he was hampered by injuries. After four injury plagued seasons, Hamilton traded him this offseason to Edmonton, where he has once again been sidelined by a shoulder injury. The 2007 season marked the arrival of All-Star quarterback Casey Printers. Printers, winner of the Most Outstanding Player award in 2004, was returning after spending time in the NFL and was thought to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league. His time in Hamilton, however, was disappointing and after failing to deliver results he was released in 2008 and is currently out of the league. Now, in 2009, the • PLEASE SEE TICATS, P14
SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO
14 • THE SILHOUETTE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2009
Ticats off to solid start in ‘09
• CONT’D FROM 1 quarterback role has fallen to the ever improving Quinton Porter. As well, for the first time in years, the Ticats have a proven backup in Kevin Glenn, a QB who has shown in the past he can win in the CFL. Glenn can be called into action whenever Porter falters and provide a necessary spark to the offence. With an emerging offense led by Cobb, Porter and new addition Arland Bruce III, the Ticats can put points up on the board. They also have the CFL’s third stingiest defence in terms of points. In the first five games, the Ticats have scored more points and given up fewer than both
the Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In order to make the playoffs, Hamilton needs to finish ahead of one of these two teams. After this week, only a third of the season will be over but with their early strong play, the postseason seems a realistic goal for the Tiger-Cats. While the Montreal Alouettes appear to remain the class of the East, the Ticats are doing a good job of cementing themselves as the number two team in their division. For the first time in years, fans at Ivor Wynne have a team they can be excited and proud about. It seems there is finally light at the end of the tunnel.
THE SILHOUETTE • 15
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2009
INSIDE
andy
arts and entertainment
just another sexist new romantic comedy
andy takes a look at a ‘gem’ starring katharine heigl The Ugly Truth Directed by Robert Luketic Starring: Katharine Heigl, Gerard Butler
H I had the recent displeasure of seeing “The Ugly Truth,” starring Katharine Heigl and Gerard Butler – this is truly the worst movie I have seen in a long time. The story follows Katharine Heigl as Abby, a successful producer on a television new program, who is looking for the perfect man. Gerard Butler is Mike, the star of cable access show the “Ugly Truth” where he bluntly dispenses chauvinistic advice and “tells it like it is.” Mike winds up with a regular spot on the show Abby produces and their personalities clash repeatedly, until Mike bets Abby that he can help her land the guy of her dreams if she follows his advice. Thus follows the sexed-up makeover Mike gives Abby, the vibrating underwear that lands in a predictable (and suspiciously resembling a scene in the actually hilarious The Oh in Ohio) physical comedy scene, and the intriguing sexual tension between Abby and Mike. For the majority of the movie, Mike, the sexist pig that is supposed to change or be revealed as a truly great guy comes on too strong. While the seventeen-year-old boy sitting next to me seemed to find the crude, sexist jokes humourous, they left me with my teeth clenched for the first half of the movie. While occasionally the banter between Heigl and Butler provides truly clever and witty sexually charged jokes, the sexism is too much. Although overt sexism or ignorance is in style in comedy right now (think Michael Scott in The Office), it does not work here. Katharine Heigl’s character is rightly outraged, as is the viewer, which makes her a character easy to identify with – for the most part. However, while Heigl lowered her standards for slacker/loser Seth Rogen in
Knocked Up, she sets her standards slightly lower in The Ugly Truth by falling for a guy, who regardless of whether he believes what he says, consistently demeans and degrades women every time he opens his mouth. I’m having trouble with Heigl, who has been criticized for voicing her opinions about Knocked Up, and her values. In Vanity Fair, she described Knocked Up as “a little sexist. It paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys. I’m playing such a bitch; Why is this how you’re portraying women? …it was hard for me to love the movie.” Okay, great. So why did she move from slacker Rogen to chauvinist Butler spewing misogyny all over the place? What game is Heigl playing? I’m not calling her sexist, so I guess I’m calling her a hypocrite. I understand that Heigl wants to act in more comedic roles, which I think is a good decision because I don’t think I can take her seriously anymore. I can admit that the film has its funny moments; Heigl did have some very well played physical comedy, and the witty banter did provide some hilarious dirty jokes. But the predictable ending, exaggerated sexist commentary and lack of chemistry between Butler and Heigl detract significantly from the film’s entertaining factor. Basically, I do not understand what the target audience for this film is. In the same way I don’t believe for a second that Heigl’s character – as a strong, independent woman – would fall for this asshole; I don’t believe that a lot of self-respecting women would find this entertaining. Seventeen-yearold boys maybe? My advice? Don’t bother wasting your time watching a supposedly smart woman fall in love with the host of Keys to the VIP.
16 • THE SILHOUETTE
the end of summer
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2009
A tender, off-beat romance that attempts to be this century’s annie hall (500) Days of Summer Directed by: Marc Webb Written by: Scott Neustadter Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
HHH
One of the most gut wrenching moments a person can experience is the dissolution of a relationship, the dreaded breakup. Comparable to the wind being knocked out of you, it marks a transitional divide in every person’s life, for better or for worse. 500 days of summer evokes the specific phase of a relationship, observing with more maturity than the usual romantic picture. The film limits itself within the time constraints of 500 days as two twenty something’s, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel meet shyly, developing an attraction through similar tastes and eccentricities, yet never allowing the labeling of a couple. The story strikes a cute tone in the early scenes as Levitt’s character Tom banters with co-workers about the new girl, relating rumors of smugness to her otherwise unknown personality. When both do meet, she contradicts all expectations. He’s instantly smitten by her, constantly devising ways for her attention. At first it begins as pleasant small talk and then, as weeks pass, attractions deepen and are eventually revealed at a staff function. I believed in these characters for the most part, acting silly and infectious when in public, sexy yet normal in more inmate moments. They talk just like anyone else and
hold back feelings as well; never over exerting the boundaries of a real couple into heighten caricatures of more lighthearted fair. The film is called 500 Days of summer, giving itself an expected time span and also inevitable outcome. The female complexities
of Zooey Deschanel’s character Summer are intriguing. She appears as an independent female, soft features shrouded by long, black hair and big empty eyes. We learn very little about her, and when snippets are divulged it only adds to her mystery. Even Tom remarks after entering Summer’s apartment for the first time, months of already dating, “It’s a world little have seen.” What we don’t know about Summer also adds to the distain for her character in the conclusion of the film. Her choices have us scratching our heads as to ask, “why?” Either they underlie metal instability or just reinforce the indefinable nature of some women, of course not all though. No, I’m not upset with the outcome, just the way it was handled. We are exposed to characters that adhere to certain values and principles throughout. Yet both characters break that mould in their
a whole lot of Brüno sacha baron cohen’s newest film may make you think, albeit briefly
Brüno Directed by Larry Charles Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen
HHHH
Sacha Baron Cohen’s second shameless mockumentary, Brüno, leaves nothing to the imagination, and no one has failed to notice. Viewers needn’t worry about seeing a repeat of Borat, because this time, Cohen has pushed the envelope so far it has exploded.
It’s practically pornographic. This film is not your average blockbuster; it’s a cultural phenomenon that isn’t likely to disappear anytime soon. A quick glance through the film’s website reveals numerous shocked responses, among which is that of renowned journalist Barbara Walters. She finds the film’s pornographic displays appalling and denies that Cohen’s outrageous behaviour holds any satirical value. She stated, “I think this
last meeting. Looking back, you can see that Summer wore a mask to conceal something that we are never fully aware of. But Tom, the poor sap is betrayed by his own story. When he should be standing up for himself, he accepts facts even though the reasoning is totally absurd. For a film to start off so promising, it almost tries to sidestep the difficult questions its poses in the second half, answering with mere flashbacks that seem like the films budget had dried up by that point. The film is funny though. Tom’s job as a greeting card artist provokes some laughs, while Tom’s friends, that seem to appear for the sheer purpose of comic relief, also provide some genuine nerd humour. This is not your conventional romantic comedy though. From a stylistic standpoint director Marc Webb and writer Scott Neustadler employ the use of a narrator to add a fable
like quality, while black and white montages,
will make people, if you’re not homophobic, it could make you.” So Brüno has lost Walters’ vote, but honestly, I don’t think anyone over the age of 30 could possibly appreciate Cohen’s brand of satire—or humour. However, this could be considered a problem with the film’s social message. As a population that is new to the idea of universal acceptance, middle-aged North Americans are precisely those who need to catch on to Brüno’s message—that it’s time straight, white, English-speaking Americans took a good look in the mirror instead of judging everyone else. That said; perhaps Miss Walters needs to look a bit closer, because the film does not overlook American hypocrisy, (not that Canada’s should be ignored) and the bitter taste it leaves in our mouths isn’t due entirely to vile humour. In one series of scenes, Brüno consults two Christian “Gay Converters.” It’s difficult not to feel sorry for these mislead individuals as they attempt to “convert.” But it’s more difficult not to judge these fools for undertaking such a hopeless career. With unrestrained brutality, Brüno reveals that even now, some people just don’t get it. Brüno’s beauty lies in its main character’s naiveté; like a flamboyant Gulliver, he cannot help but question what he observes, because he doesn’t understand any of it. But the concept of someone misunderstanding
our society isn’t unfamiliar to anyone who has seen Borat, and only stays fresh in this film because it is paired with even more outrageous humour than its predecessor. Credit must be given to this film for sheer hilarity. Its broad sexual farce, down to launching contraptions and bondagegone-wrong, will have you bent double with laughter, even you consider yourself too “mature” for such base humour. If that doesn’t do it for you, watching Sacha Baron Cohen dumbfound snot-nosed TV producers with full-frontal nudity and disgust Janet Jackson is candid comedy at its most brutal— and funny. The trouble is that it becomes difficult to tell where Brüno’s reality ends and its staged aspects begin. One of the funniest scenes in which he tells the leader of Al-Aqsa that his king Osama looks like a “dirty wizard,” or a “homeless Santa,” as seen in previews, is very funny, but would Cohen really put himself in danger for a laugh? The satire is lost once viewers are forced to question how much of Brüno was developed in a studio rather than in the real world. For Borat lovers who were hoping for as many memorable one-liners and cruel pranks as that film had, Cohen’s latest nosedive into reality will not disappoint. Brüno is painful, hilarious, and vile—and that’s exactly the way it’s supposed to be. • Lindsay Jolivet
split screen perspective and a perky dance number (ala Ferris Buller) add a quirkiness to an already off beat love story. It’s a mixed bag though. While the stylistic experiments work in moderation, a recurring sub plot involving Tom’s sister reeks of stale left over’s from a Diablo Cody screenplay. The believability of a 12-year-old giving romantic advice to her older brother is neither relevant nor useful. I guess it’s supposed to be funny, but all I saw was a cry for originality. Aside from its cowardly ending and obnoxious gimmickry of being thrown back and forth between weeks and months, 500 days of Summer reveals that we all yearn to love, live and sometimes break up. Like Rob Orbison once sang, love hurts. • Myles Herod