www.ubyssey.bc.ca Tuesday, October 1, 2002 Volume 84 Issue 9 A yahoo's beer orgy since 1918 -¥..>^______J ■;.■:. I. ■■Ai-J UBC receives millions in research funding by John McCrank NEWS STAFF In a move towards making the BC economy more knowledge-based and competitive, UBC and SFU are to be the recipients of over $7.4 million in new funding for research and. innovation. The funding was announced as part of the federal government's National Innovation Strategy by Industry Minister Man Rock at the Innovation and Engagement Summit held at UBC on September 19. "For all that we've done," said Rock during his keynote address, "our investments in research and development compared to our competitors are plainly insufficient and for every success that we've had we are still not competitive in the way we move from the laboratory to the marketplace...and our competitors are not standing still.* Over $6.8 million will be given to recipients of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada's (SSHRCC) Standard Research Grants and Post Doctoral Fellowships at UBC and SFU. The rest of the funding will go towards the Industrial Research Chair in Virtual High-Performance Machining, awarded to UBC professor Dr Yusuf Altintas. The chair was created by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). The SSHRCC grants and fellowships were chosen by way of national peer review competitions, and will support advanced training for young scholars, preparing them for their future careers. Altintas—who studies virtual machining—is one of the world's foremost experts in machining and hopes to use the NSERC chair to make UBC one of the top machine research centers on the planet. Altintas describes virtual machining as taking a computer . design for something like an automotive part and then 'making' that part in a computer environment Doing so allows for predictions, of cost, qualify and any problems that might be encountered in the creation of the product "We will be able to simulate these in a virtual environment before actually taking it to the shop and machining it. So before we spend any money, we can simulate the process and plan it in a most optimal fashion," he said. The benefits of Altintas' work are shared by almost a dozen companies around the world that See "Funding"on page 2. Uniting against globalisation *'* *kV*i-7 r . ' , * /- *•• J- :.-.■;-■■ •'4J t-n .^.tv'Y-Y'i'Y^ Vf j* -.■ .^1 • / [&* I «* % 7 **- - *_ w\ \. S /■* 4w • » > *»* ■ _, ii ^__2__&* ^^K _ -V--: -* * VOICING THEIR OPPOSITION: A large gathering of protestors in Grandview Park on Commercial Drive. MICHELLE FURBACHER PHOTO .. . Research conference a success UBC hosts first-ever undergrad conference, VPs applaud by Chris Shepherd NEWS EDITOR Last weekend the first-ever undergraduate research conference was held at UBC in the Forest Sciences Centre. Students showcased their talents for research by giving a speech or displaying a poster. There were about 100 student presenters at the conference on vastly different topics ranging from engineering to opera. The offices of the UBC vice-presidents research, vice-presidents academic and vice-presidents students helped fund the conference, and promoted the event. The idea for the conference stems from objectives found in the UBC's' Trek 2000 such as the notion that undergraduates should be given the opportunity to learn at = a research-based institution and be involved with the research being carried out. Vice President, Research Dr Indira Samarasekera attended the conference and explained why research at the undergraduate level is important. "Ultimately research is about the process of inquiry and discovery, and it's something that we all need to go through life," Samarasekera explained. "I think [research] is a skill set that I would like to think that all undergraduates would benefit from." Awards in the form of cash prizes were given for the top three posters and the top five oral presentations. The judges of jhe event were mainly volunteer graduate students. JThe presentations were judged on academic merit and the ability of the presenter(s) to make their presentations accessible to . non-experts in the field that they work in. . Dr Joan Anderson, a professor of nursing and chair of the committee that initiated the conference, described the event as a chance to showcase the talent that can be found in the undergraduate population and to open dialogue between students in various disciplines. Dr Ingrid Price, an instructor in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, was one of the main organisers of the conference. She emphasised the conference was a learning experience for the students and a part of that is learning to present their work. Students were given workshops on presentation skills and on planning to prepare for the conference. Price also emphasised how important it is for students to see and talk with people outside of their particular field of research and that having a different perspective can enrich the research being done. "Also," Price added, "we love the idea of having students that are able to communicate to a variety of groups effectively." Students agreed with Price's See "Conference" on page 2. Activists rally against war on Iraq, Israeli occupation of Palestine by Leah McKenzie-Brown NEWS WRITER A rally organised by the Palestinian Solidarity Group (PSG) was held in Grandview Park Saturday afternoon, with two prominent issues in mind: the Isreali occupation of Palestine and the threat of a war on Iraq. These and many other issues were united by a basic opposition to globalisation. "The two are inextricably linked," said Jagdeep Singh Mangat, head of external relations for the SFU Student Society and supporter of anti-globalisation. "(These conflicts] are fundamentally about oil- not just these, but every other conflict in the world." The speakers at the rafly covered a wide range of topics. Palestinian supporters described their action as a memorial, an act of resistance and See "Rally" on page 2. THIS ISSUE; NEWS: The SUB has worms! The creation of a worm composting project helps reduce waste on campus. Page 3. CULTURE: Vancouver International Film Festival Review section inside. Pages 6-7. SPORTS: The missing UBC track Why Thunderbirds train off campus. Page 11. DOMING FRIDAY: SPORTS: Glatt on defense Football defensive end Javier Glatt speaks to the Ubyssey about the upcoming Shrum bowl. FEEDBACK@UBYSSEY.BC.CA WWW.UBYSSEY.BC.CA TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2002 NEWS THE UBYSSEY CLASSIFIEDS FRONTIER COLLEGE, A NONPROFIT LITERACY ORG'N, NEEDS VOLUNTEER TUTORS to work with kids, youth and adults oa reading & other learning tasks. Email: frbntiercol- kg«03#yih§§.sa Phi 604-713-5848;' liTi ra tfUiricuiar .canemic services ENGLISH TUTOR: FOR ALL YOUR ENGUSH NEEDS .including ESL, TOEFL & conversation. Contact: ubctu- toring@yahop.com or 604-720-7354 ESSAY RESEARCH AND ASSISTANCE Any subjects A to Z. Anthropology, Business, Commerce, Drama, East Asian Studies... Zoology. Highly qualified graduates will help. Toll free 1- 888-345-8295. Fax 1-416-960-0240. E- mail: custoniessay@sprint.ca YOGA ON CAMPUS! WEDNESDAYS . at Totem park at 6:15pm; Thursdays at . Place Vanier at 4:30pm. Only $20 for 8 classes, or cheap drop-in fee. Info: 221- 6359 APPLICANTS WANTED TO STUDY PART IV OF THE URANTIA BOOK. EARN $25,000. For details Visit www.eventodaward.com SPARTACUS YOUTH CLUB FORUM: NO U.S./CANADIAN/UN INTERVENTION - HANDS OFF IRAQ! Defend the Palestinians - Israel out of the Occupied Territories! Oct 5, 3pm, Britannia Community Ctr (1661 Napier St. off Commercial Dr) Info: 604-687-0353 or email dk@look.ca AUDITIONS FOR A HOST FOR A WEST COAST MAGAZINE Oct 1, 02 at BCIT (3700 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby), Broadcast Bide, SE 10, Studio 2, 7pm. Must be willing to travel for 2 days, well-spoken & comfortable on camera. More info, call 604-767-2141. MARXISM & WORLD REVOLUTION: Fight Anglo-Chauvinism: Independence for Quebec! Oct 8, 6pm, SUB Rm213. A Spartacus Youth Club Public Class Series Readings/Info: 604-687- 0353 INTERNATIONAL HOUSE VEGETARIAN LUNCH/BUFFET Every Tuesday from 12:30-2:30. ernces "SUPPER MOVERS" GOTTA MOVEr Show your UBC ID & save. Call for details. Ramin 961-4726 UNTVERISTY DRYCLEANERS. ALTERNATIONS, Laundry, Dry-cleaning & Dress-making available at 105- 5728 University Blvd (UBC Village) ph 228-9414. Discount coupons accepted. Some handcrafts & gift items also available for sale. CLASSIFIEDS Fq|ul|sf|iiENT|! Looking for a ropnifliareSY" Cot something!- sellP Orjustjiaifean 7 I anriouncementto mako? If you are a st|dent,yoii can j 7 nlace classifieds for FREE* For more information, or to nlace a classified, visit Room 23 in tlie SUB (basement) or call 822-1654 Days 2002 October 2 & 3, 10 am - 4 pm SUB, Main Concourse students, ubc.ca/careers Sponsored by: Shaping the Future A Weyerhaeuser The fiilure is yrvuiny~* Some Attending Employers: Vancouver Police - weicosning students • from diverse backgrounds IBM Canada HRDC/PSC Bel! Canada Enterprise Rent-A-Car Scotiabank What's new this year: UBC Career Services will be offering same day "Career Fair Preparation Sessions" in Brock Hall Rm 2001 (Oct. 2, 11:00 am-1:0'0 pm, Oct. 3, 11:30 am to 1:30 pm). Make a point of dropping in prior to attending the Fair for helpful advice, support and assistance to get you started! ■'pic] AIESm tik Uniting the Left a dead issue in BC by Kevin Groves NEWSWRITER BC's two left-of-centre partie's have no plans to form a coalition, despite new polling data suggesting a united left could defeat the current provincial government A recent IpsosJieid poll has found that support for the NDP in BC sits at 28 per cent of the provincial electorate, while the Green Party's approval rating sits at 19 per cent The two parties make a collective share of 47 per cent, four points higher than BC Liberal support, which has fallen to 4 3 per cent since the government took 77 of 79 seats in the BC Legislature last year. But provincial NDP leader Joy MacPhail dismissed the idea of an NDP-Green coalition. Macfhail said much of the Green Party's support lies in the protest vote, or those constituents who showed their anger with the scandal- prone NDP government by voting Green in the last election. That will change in the next three years, as constituents in BC see how the NDP renews itself, said MacPhail. "Eventually the proof will be in the pudding that [the NDP has] demonstrated we've changed," MacPhail said. "So people won't be voting for the Green Parry or what they stand for [in the next election]." John Tennant, a UBC political scientist, agreed. Tennant said the Green Party could become a viable alternative to the BC Libera!, if the NDP complete ly collapsed but he said that outcome is unlikely. This is because the Green Party's large popular support did not translate into any seats in the last election, said Tennant. He added if the Greens had won seats their position would be comparable to the BC Liberals in 1991 when they became the official opposition after BC's Social Credit Party collapsed. "That gave [the BC Liberals] a constant political presence and credibility to continue on," Tennant said. "That hasn't happened with the Greens and there's no real sign that the protest vote that came their way will continue to stick with them in the future." That fear of flagging support is precisely why the Green Party will also avoid an NDP-Green coalition, said party leader Adriane Carr. "[The Green Parry] has as many people who would be traditionally right on the spectrum as left," Carr Said. "So if we're not prudent and don't understand where our support's coming from we could stand to lose support by allying with [the NDP]." Instead, Carr said her focus for the nest tws years will be on electoral reform. She said her hope is to eventually have proportional representation in BC, an initiative her party attempted to force a referendum on earlier this year but failed to push through because of lukewarm public support. "The only solution to polarised politics and vote splitting is to bring in a government where people's votes count," Carr said. In a 68-seat Legislature matching the province's federal riding boundaries, under proportional representation BC would have elected 43 BC Liberal seats, 16 NDP, and nine Green in the 2001 provincial election Tennant said anything could happen in the next two years and he makes no predictions about what BC's electoral future could be. "The nice thing about politics is that people are often wrong about what they think," he said. ♦ Protesters gather at Grandview Park "Rally" from page 1. a celebration. This year marks the 20-year anniversary of what they called particularity brutal massacres attributed to Israeli President Ariel Sharon. Israel accepted indirect responsibilities for the massacres, which occured at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon in 1982. Then Defence Minister Sharon resigned after the attack came to public light Participants called the rally called an act of resistance against US support of Israel and a celebra- jion of the current intifada—a resistance against Israeli occupation, including suicide bomber attacks. The crowd's response to the intifada was varied however, as was indicated by dwindling applause when the topic was mentioned. Riad Mosle, an Iraqi community activist and speaker, directed his message towards the US. "We are not against a regime change. Most support it [but] we are vehemently against you doing it...," Mosle said. Anti-globalisation sentiments were at the heart of the. protest. With examples given of people hurt by globalisation, ranging from marginalised people in the Phillipines to the squatters in Vancouver's own Downtown Eastside, the issue economic disparity was central. "You have to look at the fundamental causes of the world's problems* said Rachel Rosen, a member of Grassroots Women. Passers-by looked on as a march of about 200 progressed up Commercial Drive. When asked what he thought of the rally, one man who prefered to go by the name 'Ali' said, "It's okay, but it should be more." By about 3:30pm participants quietly dispersed. According to Eileen Mosca, media spokesperson for the Commercial Drive community police, actions of this sort are common practice in the park. "It's like a little Hyde Park Corner over here" she said, "We're very tolerant" ♦ Undergrads recognised "Conference" from page 1. sentiments. "When I did my poster...everything made sense to me," said fourth-year home economics student Joanna Tang. "But when other people come they have different perspectives from different disciplines—they have different concerns, and that really helped me to think about what I could do more to help my project." Many professors attended the conference and were impressed with the quality of the work that they saw. Price said that the conference went very smoothly but that there were some difficult challenges in the planning. One such challenge was convincing some communities at UBC that what they do constitutes research. "Research is really just a thinking and an analysing and interpreting— it's not always collecting new information," she said. Price and Anderson are hopeful that there will be similar conferences in the future. "This is the first of many to come," Anderson said. ♦ Funding for new research chair "Funding" from page 1. cooperate with his lab, including Pratt and Whitney Canada, the later of which is contributing almost 50 per cent of the funding for the chair. "All of this money is coming from outside of the province," said Altintas. The funding from Pratt and Whitney is being spent on research and government funds are covering salaries. "Instead of UBC paying my salary, [the] government is paying my salary, so UBC can hire another professor with the money they are saving," Altintas explained. Another benefit of the funding is that the number of graduate students training in Atlintas's lab will be doubled. ♦ fmidwt^ THEUBYSSEY NEWS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1,2002 *» ttf a. : * UBC Bike Co-op helps students build their own bikes by Kathleen Deering NEWS EDITOR Some of the bikes you see around campus this fall might be built from the very hands of their riders, with the introduction of the Build Your Own Bike (BYOB) program this fall at UBC's Bike Co-op. UBC student Melissa Niemeyer became a Bike Co-op member this summer, and is currently building her own bike from a frame she found in the pile of bikes near the Co-op building. "I'm new to bike mechanics," she said. "I have no bike mechanic experience whatsoever." To enter the program, a UBC student doesn't need experience—but does need to first become a member of the Bike Co-op, which costs $10. Then, for $40, he or she selects a potential steed from the non-functional carcasses of bikes and begins work with help from experienced bike mechanics at the Co-op. Thursday nights at the Co-op are set aside specifically for Build Your Own Bike members. Erica Mah, president of the Bike Co-op, said the program was created because of thefts and vandalism of the purple and yellow bikes lent out by the bike co-op. "We just thought, why don't we just let people keep the bikes because that seems like what they want to do," she said. Mah is the mechanic who helps BYOB participants Thursday nights. Due to limited shop space, only five people at one time can participate in the program. Four people have finished so far, Mah said, taking roughly three weeks each to build their bikes. "Build Your Own Bike is...designed to capture the segment of the community that doesn't want to participate in a shared bike program," said Jesse Jackson, who is on the Bike Co-op Board of Directors, "but who is not inclined or cannot afford to purchase a bike at the Bike Kitchen." Currently, Jackson said, the program recognises that some of the programs the Bike Coop has offered in the past just don't work for everyone. "It fills a niche," he said. "[BYOB is good because you are] able to buy your own bike, but still participate in the recycling of discarded objects." "There's a billion bikes," he said, "just thrown away. We're just trying to find another way to use them up." Many of the bikes built in the Co-op are used solely for campus riding, similar to the way the Bike Co-op's purple and yellow bikes are used. Jackson admits the quality of the bikes built in the program is not usually up to commercial calhbre. "We would be hesitant to try and sell a bike like that It's just not up to the level of functionality that a bike store demands." For most, however, tooling around campus with their home-made bikes will suffice. "I'm doing mine a bit differently," Niemeyer said. "I'm building mine to a level that I can actually commute with, which is really cool for me because then I can know how it works, and if there's a problem I can fix it" Jackson said there is a hump bike-owners have to get over before they're willing to work on their own bike, and the BYOB program facilitates a better working relationship between bike and rider. "A lot of people are very afraid of their bikes, but if you're forced to dive right in as soon as you get it..bikes are pretty easy to work on. It's hard to make them perfect, but as far as just basic things, it's pretty straightforward," he said. "For me personally," Niemeyer said, "Build Your Own Bike is something I can do to gain another skill, something I didn't know before, in an easier format and from people who are your own peers—so it's not someone who's going to look down on you." "People here really love their bikes," she added. ♦ "if i ... vi \ A. ■ \ ■■■ !r. 7-TY^' %**■■ -W ■*»■ WE DON'T MIND GETTING OUR HANDS DIRTY: Bike co-op member Melissa Niemeyer is building her own bike, nic fensom photo The SUB has worms, ready to compost by Parminder Nizher NEWS STAFF UBC and the Alma Mater Society (AMS) are heading further towards sustainability by creating a larger vermicomposting bin in the SUB. The new vermicomposting (also known as worm composting) bin will be located in the west side of the SUB. The AMS food and beverage department—which includes the Pendulum, the Pit Pub and Bernoulli's Bagels—will be the largest user. Some departments in the SUB have been composting since last year, but a larger composter was needed to incorporate the growing demand. AMS Food and Beverage Manager Nancy Toogood explained that improper cleaning of the previous composter is why it fell through. "It was a bit of a victim of its own success," Toogood said. "Everbody likes to put things into the composter, but nobody wants to dig it and aerate it. It needs work and maintenance for it to work." Abram Moore, the administrative coordinator for the Student Environment Center, wants the SUB to become a model in composting. "The SUB [has a] combination of work space, student space, social space and business space," Moore said. "If we can get a composting system working in all of these areas of the building we can do it on any building on campus. We're trying to create not just a model for compost- BC Premier to come to campus Premier Gordon Campbell is scheduled to attend an announcement "regarding the future of learning in British Columbia" on Thursday, October 3. No other information about the event is available, other than it is scheduled to run from 1 lam to lpm at the Main Library. The Other guest listed for the event is Irving Barber, a BC industrialist who lastyear donated $25 million dollars to establish a diabetes research fund at UBC. Her Majesty visits UBC Queen Elizabeth is fitting in a visit to UBC on Monday, October 7 as part of her royal visit to Canada. Her itinerary begins in Iqualiut, Nunvut, and from there she heads to Victoria before heading to Vancouver where she'll drop the puck at an NHL pre-season game on October 6. Her Majesty will take part in a 'literary event' on campus while her husband. His Royal Highness Prince Phillip will attend a 'sustainable environment event' ♦ ing but a model for sustainability." Moore also said that the Environment Center is in a better position than the AMS to lead this project. "We have more expertise and the right kind of background to do a program like this. We really need the AMS's support and we hope that they'll give us their support, but we really need to take it on ourselves." There are seven necessary components of a worm bin: a container, air, bedding, moisture, soil, worms, and food. To keep a composter healthy a fair amount of work is required. It is important to stir the composter, add mulch, sawdust and newspaper, and aerate the bin. A large composting bin can require up to two hours of work each week. Vermicomposting is the preferred method of composting because it takes three to six months versus six to 12 months using a regular composter. Vermicomposting emits less odour, therefore it attracts fewer rodents and can possibly be done indoors. Lead by Waste Management, vermicomposting began at UBC in 2000. Large composting bins are located throughout campus, includ ing at Green College, Acadia, and St. John's College. Waste Management Project Coordinator Terri Skelton explained why composting is necessary on campus. "70 per cent of the waste at UBC is compostable, including food scraps, newspaper, grass clippings and landscaping. Last year four tonnes of material [from UBC] was composted." Skelton feels that composting is becoming increasingly popular. "The main difference we've gotten towards is we're reaching a lot more people. Over time there is increasing registration at every workshop, [and] questions are being asked." UBC is not the only university in Canada using this form of composting. UVic has a composting system, as does the University of Guelph. Toogood explains that the process is one step at a time. "I think it's baby steps for sure, because we do have to change a lot of people's thinking," she said. "I think I get a lot of support from the students because people are growing up in a world where this is important. I think we meet tlie most resistance from the older people." ♦ TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2002 CULTURE THE UBYSSEY Sf Student Work Aiiroad Progn Here is your chance to have th© adventure of a lifetime! A v.ork abroad experience is a fantastic way to enjoy an extended holiday and gain an entirely new perspective on life! Programs are available in many countries including Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand. Find out-morel Come fo an Information session. Wed Oct 2nd - SUB Km 206 Two seminars: 12:30 & 3:00 See the world your way LBOSUJ 604-322-6830 Marketplace 604-653-2860 i^M^i^B^iMJM^Wiil^Bii^aisii^ imMSmM PROGRAMME Live and Jcacti ih japan* - -* -- . •>■ t #7 ' Free Information Sessions V- S 1 Thursday, October 10 -12:30 to 2:00 PM Buchanan Building, Rm B332 and Tuesday, October 22 -12:30 to 2:00 PM Asian Centre Auditorium Experience adventure, friendship and first-hand knowledge of one of the world's most vibrant cultures with the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme. The JET Programme is a one-year, exchange programme for university graduates to work in Japan as Assistant English Teachers or Coordinators of International Relations, beginning August 2003. Applicants must be a Canadian citizen, hold a Bachelor's Degree by July 2003, and be under the age of 40. Application forms and information UBC Career Services www.vancouver.ca.emb-japan.go.jp Consulate General of Japan/Tel: (604)684-5868, ext 223 culturalcentre@consuljpnvan.com Application Deadline: Postmarked by November 22. 2002 Co lege of Health Disciplines \ A HEALTH CARE TEAM CHALLENGE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2002 12:30-1:30 pm Woodward IRC. Lecture Hall #2 TTie objective of the Health Care Team Challenge at UBC is to enhance students' knowledge about other health professions, and each other's professional roles in the clinical arena. The Challenge will be held before a live audience. A case study will be given to two student teams from each of the participating programs in advance. Each team will be challenged to develop a team approach for the management of at least two issues and present that information, followed by a question from the faculty representatives. Team performance will be 'popularly evaluated'. Participating programs include: Audiology & Speech language Pathology, Dentistry, Food, Nutrition & Health, Human Kinetics, Medicine, Nursing Rehabilitation Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Social Work & Family Studies. Come and support students from your program! For further information, please call the College of Health Disciplines at (604) 822-5571. ^___§-_^ t_l Cirque Quebecois acrobats astound CIRQUE EOS at the PNE until Oct. 6 by Kathleen Deering NEWS EDITOR A looming tree bathed in turquoise light set the eerie first scene in Cirque Eos's performance. As we watched, a decorated character with cone-breasts and a wide- hooped skirt plucked an apple from a branch—lightning flashed and the stunning action from this Adam-and-Eve connotation began. The - members of this Quebec-based acrobatic circus, performing at Vancouver's PNE until Oct 6, perform an endless supply of mind-boggling stunts and with each separate act, never fail to amaze their captive audience. Also notable was the lack pf netting, foam landing-pads, or any other protective device designed to prevent terrible injury. Only those under the age of 14 could truly enjoy the show—the rest of us were just waiting for one of these people to inadvertently kill them- ir bodies through the air in a staggering display of strength and grace. A male and a female, who both seemed to have their costumes painted on them with swirls of pastel spandex, performed a sensual dance that defied gravity on a table in the middle of the semi-circular stage. They ended up literally balancing their combined weight on only the man's arms: the woman lay on her back (on his back!), legs pointing straight out over his head, parallel to the ground. Besides acrobatics, the creative variety of characters that came from inside the background treehouse to play made this show interesting to watch. The big-bellied goatish character, for example, was constantly picked on by his fellow players for his lack of athletic prowess, but his panache drew the love of the crowd. Another exciting acrobatic number had three cat-like characters clambering and stretching their contortionists' bodies inside the frame of a cube, lifted high above the stage (note: no net). Yet another act had triple-appeal for this former gymnast two giant men supported a bendable plank between them on their shoulders while a little woman used it simultaneously as a bar, beam and trampoline to flip herself through the air. Mauve gauze hung from the ceiling of the portable big top, while women rolled themselves upwards in the fabric, swathed in a cocoon of purple silk. Then, they plummeted directly towards the floor, rolling down at break-neck speeds before stopping just feet above the ground. A heart-stopping, excellent show—this circus may lack tigers and elephants, but it's certainly not lacking animal ability. ♦ Reinventing the piano Random Acts of music lack edge RANDOM ACTS II at Western Front Sept 27 by Simon McNaily CULTURE WRITER Last Friday night. Western Front hosted Piano Explorations, part two of the Random Acts series. The evening consisted of four performance pieces linked by their questioning of traditional musical forms. The work was mostly experimental and often drew on jazz and atonal techniques. John Cage's work for prepared piano must also have been an important reference point for these artists. The first piece was called "Improvisations for Piano," and was performed by Chris Gestrin with live audio processing and an amplified piano. The ambient sounds of this piece were thoroughly transporting. Although aesthetically rich, this piece was highly abstract and very introverting. The autonomy of Gestrin's work was promptly disrupted by the theatricality of Rodney Sharman's 'spoken piano' piece "The Garden," performed by UBC doctoral music student Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa. Iwaasa dressed as a man for her performance, which was about the sexual politics of love. As the piece moved from jazz to atonality to 1950s pop idioms, the work's central assertion was that brief experiences of emotional communion are equally valid displays of love as the traditionally accepted notions of long- term commitment. Also in this piece, fixed sexualities were challenged by more dynamic 'polysexualitie s.' The third performance of the evening was Marguerite Wivoet performing "Postcards From Our Futures" by Robert Pritchard. Conflating past and future into personal imagination in the present, this piece read as a kind of pastiche of the 20th century. An effective counterpoint to the abstract piano work was the visual imagery evoked by the pre-recorded audio samples. The piano music had a very physical quality, almost sculptural, and was well handled by Wivoet Although colourful in character, this work seemed somewhat inflected with nostalgia. I was interested to learn from the program that the scores for the piece were marked with per formance commentaries written only for the performer's personal enjoyment The last performance was a collaborative work between Montreal- born pianist Marilyn Lerner arid Winnipeg audio artist Ken Gregory. Marilyn embarked on a sensitive exploration of the physical body of the piano. Probing it with a variety of kitchen utensils and found objects, she discovered new ways to make sound and rhythm from the traditional instrument Lerner dumped a bowl of ping- pong balls into the piano, and when the hammers started popping them up into the air, people started grabbing, at them and throwing them around the room. Overall, the work was quite diverse and the older crowd seemed informed and receptive. Although I support the tradition of critical art-making, I found that these artists used mainly 20th century van- guardist strategies which by now are somewhat Tiousebroken' and lacking a certain edginess. Even still, I would support these artists in continuing to question their practices and exploring new ways to ask questions about our society and culture. ♦ THE UBYSSEY CULTURE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2002 Two rock groups speak the gospel: book of '%P %_& I ] Spencer THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION with the Liars and Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the Commodore Ballroom Sept 25 by John McCrank CULTURE STAFF A triumvirate of New York City bands took over the Commodore Ballroom on Wednesday, September 2 5, with the Liars and Yeah Yeah Yeahs backing up the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The show was slightly delayed, as the guy driving the bus that carried all three hands was held back at the border. Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner later told me that the ordeal was "idiotic and torturous...[the driver] got into a bar fight fifteen years ago and that was it* Somehow, the bands managed to get themselves and their equipment to the Commodore, where they put on one of the best shows that I have seen in a long, long time. The Liars are punk rock—so punk rock that the lead singer Angus Andrew wore an undersized muscle shirt and was cultivating a kick-ass mullet. Not many people could carry that off, but he did, strutting around on ar^ x'eSf 7 life J;. ■ -M •£_■ 4M tb^-' ' *■ -k*_ I . ' *■"*£ ■ *F *Bf *H2'm_T'*? 3 I _?■ . 1-1 "SWEET AND SOUR": Try moist and non-breathable. Judah Bauer gets all hot 'n' sweaty at the Commodore last Wednesday, michelle furbacher photo stage to a fusion of eclectic sounds that were both raucous and easy to dance to. By the time the Yeah Yeah Yeahs took the stage, the Commodore was full to capacity, people were loosening up, and thick, sweet, pungent smoke was rising from the living sea in front of the stage. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a trio with a good straight- up alt-rock sound, consist of Zinner on guitar, playing melodies over echos and samples of his own riffs and Karen 0 on vocals, backed up by Brian Chase's hard driving drum beats. After their set, I ran into Zinner in the beer line and asked him what influenced the band's makeup, which includes no bass player. "The only band without a bass that ever influenced me is this one", said Zinner, happily nodding at the stage where Jon Spencer (ex-Pussy Galore) and his bandmates had just sauntered out. I first heard the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in a quiet little town near the Golden Triangle on the Thai side of the Mekong river, where a guy named Toe in the' TeePee Cafe cranked-up the band's Acme, annihilating the tranquility of that otherwise peaceful day. I was impressed. On Friday the band was in Vancouver promoting their latest release, Plastic Fang, which is more of the same loud, hard-rocking blues/r&b/rockabilly/funk that they are known for. Seeing them five was a real treat. These guys had more stage presence than all of the wannabe rockstars on American Idol combined, with Spencer, Judah Bauer, and Russell Simins immediately churning the crowd into a frenzy with their infectious sounds. As Spencer howled "I crave the taste of blood. Good Lord almighty. My soul is lost, I said I curse the day that I ever was born," the audi1 ence responded with screams and whistles, and I doubt that there was a single person in the room that didn't count themselves lucky to be there. ♦ THE BOOK OF FISHBONE FISHBONE at the Pit Pub Sept. 26 by Matt Whalley CULTURE WRITER Fishbone came to the SUB to preach the gospel of intensity and every aspect of their show had the energy and feeling of a gospel revival. Singer Angelo Moore began the show by chanting down Babylon with power and rage. He gestured toward his theremin and ranted using George Clinton-style puns and innuendos. His theremin screamed as he calmly explained Armageddon. He was comforting the crowd before he unleashed the funk apocalypse. With style and seriousness, he joked and played as he explained that love is good and this world is mad. When the band took the stage, looking like something conceived in one of Sly Stone's cocaine nightmares, it was easy to see how the world could have gone mad. The world seemed crazy when a shirtless man from South Central Los Angeles with a single feeler coming out of his head started |o slap his bass. The rhythm was heavy and it all came together. : Angelo Moore was joined on stage by a menacing-looking singer in dark shades, a small grimace on his face. Without the mic in his hand it would have been easy to confuse him for security. The show started out with a solid funk jam, reproducing Funkadelic's signature sound without flaw. Both singers added to the sing-along chorus as the bass rolled. Throughout the show. Fishbone switched from genre to genre with ease and without warning. It had a fantastic jarring effect that kept things from falling into place and settling—nothing was anticipated or expected. Very rarely do you see a band switch from intense big band music to Bad Brains-style hardcore. Fishbone's influences were very clearly on display. Metal mixed with funk on a classic cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead" hinted at their signature sound. After the revival- style preaching at the beginning of the show, "Freddie's Dead" was the perfect song to explain a world falling apart Throughout the set the inconsistency was their only mainstay. It Was beautiful to see people jumping and dancing with the rhythm, then be shocked out of the groove by fierce hardcore. The music was smooth, no matter what they did. This strange edge that Fishbone has seems to be a very prominent part of their stage show. It wasn't rock star showmanship; it was just a bunch of guys throwing themselves into the music. There was very little separation between the crowd and the band. Before and after the show, the band was just standing at the bar talking and accepting offerings of marijuana They kicked out the jams on stage and were just regular fun guys off stage. They seemed to repel bullshit, doing what they came to do. Near the end of the show, Angelo Moore climbed onto the speaker cabinets and began pulling at the chords on one of the hanging televisions. Immediately, a swarm of security guards gathered below him but none had the balls to confront the singer. The television had been showing sports highlights throughout the show and it was bothering him so he dealt with the situation. The jolly cop killer that stood behind Moore just yelled out, "Tear the roof off this motherfucker!" Fishbone easily led the revival and converted any of the non-believers. They were able to dp justice to every band that had ever inspired them. The mysterious singer in shades demanded that the crowd learn from them: "It's easy," he said, "I want you to send us tapes of you guys getting nasty.-You best learn from us." Fishbone was keen on spreading the word and it was openly received, because they didn't just make you want to buy their album or want to see them in concert. They made you want to be them. ♦ WricouverAutdcbm Buy-Sell-Car? [Write for the Ubyssey Culture Department "Obviously. ■ I Meetings: Tuesdays at noon j E-mail: culture® ubyssey.bc.ca \**&^ IN THEATRES OCTOBER* i i t m '* a-."""' t . ■ -'a*. ■■,i* - i.. '&'._ Come to SUB Room 23 (in the basement behind the arcade) to receive a COMPLIMENTARY PASS to a screening of: Moonlight Mile showing Wednesday, October 2 at 7pm at Silvercity Metropolis #1 (4700 Kingsway Ave, Burnaby) UBYSSEY V E A W A Y &SS* VOLUNTEER PAID PARTICIPANTS NEEDED CroMedica Prime Inc. is a Phase I research company located in Vancouver General Hospital. Our research studies require that volunteers take 1 or more doses of an investigational medication. We are currently looking for: HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS to participate in a 28 day study of a medication that may be used for the treatment of diabetes. You may be able to participate if you are: ♦ between 20 and 60 years of age ♦ a Caucasian or Japanese Male ♦ not taking any medications ♦ within acceptable weight range for your height Drug testing will be done. Volunteers are financially compensated upon completion of a study. For more information, please contact our Research Recruitment Coordinator, Monday to Friday: 9:00am - 5:00pm at 604-875-5122, or email: volunteers@primetrials.com 790 West 10th Ave., Heather Pavilion, Ward A5, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9 www.primetrials.com T TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2002 CULTURE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2002 The THE UBYSSEY ancouver International estival \ i cf'Atvo.l J WALKING ON WATER Oct. 1 Don't be fooled. Other reviews may try to sugar-coat this film as "a moving story of friendship and loss." Walking on Water is a gritty and honest look at death. Best of all, it's funny, and you don't have to feel guilty for laughing. Charlie (Vince Colosimo) and Anna (Maria TheodoraMs) make a pact to help their terminally-ill best friend Gavin (David Bonney) die. When the morphine overdose they give him doesn't do the job, Charlie smothers him with a plastic bag. The remainder of the film examines the grief that Gavin's friends and family go through, and how these emotions change their relationships forever. While the synopsis of this film reads like a bad made-for-TV movie, the end result is refreshing, introspective and surprisingly original. We see the fallout from Gavin's death lead his loved ones to infidelity, drug- addiction and everything in between. The characters in Walking On Water don't experience your typical polite, stiff-upper lip grief—they get selfish, angry and self- destructive. First time feature director, Tony Ayres, has succeeded in bringing his experience as an Australian short-film maker to the international market. The acting is also great, with a notable performance from Nathaniel Dean, who plays Gavin's wide-eyed, childlike younger brother. Walking on Water has an independent spirit, but isn't too out there. Think of it as provocative, without being controversial. In short, if you aren't sure what you're looking for at the festival, it's a sure bet ♦ —Cait McKinney t's that time of year again: The Ubyssey dives headlong into this year's film fest. Our critics have been hard at work, tirelessly attending screenings to review a cross-section of the festival's 300 films. All for you, the reader. Happy viewing! CRY-WOMAN Oct. 5 and 7 At first, I didn't know what to think about Cry-Woman. Let me explain from where my confusion stemmed... The film follows the life of a Chinese woman, Guixiang, whose no-good, mahjong-playing husband gets arrested for assaulting his friend. While Guixiang would have no trouble making enough money to scrape by, it would be nearly impossible for her to make enough to pay the medical bills for her husband's victim. At this point, I didn't understand the context of the film. I narrowed it down to the fact that I didn't know how to interact with the actors. This was because the acting was so good that the film took on a docu- mentaiy-like quality, following the life of a single woman in China. The actor playing Guixiang shows her grief and stress so realistically through the tragedies of the first half—her husband's arrest, a child being abandoned with her by a friend, being rejected from various places of employment and by a past boyfriend—that I had trouble believing that this was acting. It is only when Guixiang starts training to become a 'Cry-Woman' that you get a glimpse of the actor behind the character. A Cry-Woman is a woman who goes to funerals and, for a fee, will cry and sing sorrowfully for the deceased, whom she has never met. Obviously, this method of employment is dependent on emotional control. The issues of emotional manipulation and emotional repression ribbons through the film. Often, directly against this dark theme of emotional control and. repression, the author places some clever black humour that breaks up the serious themes illustrated in the film. The character of the enterprising funeral wreath-maker and lover to Guixiang provides a relieving screen presence, and the child actor playing the abandoned baby gives a seamless performance. This was most impressive given the extremely young age of the child. My message to anyone who is intrigued by this film: Cry-Woman is a film that builds a window to a foreign culture. Graceful, powerful and entertaining, it challenges Hollywoodised movie perceptions. ♦ —Lauren Emberson Look for more reviews in GE FRIDMJhe Ubyssey Magazine this Friday. ROADMOVIE Oct. 8 and 9 This debut feature from director Kim In- Shik is captivating, from its sexually explicit opening scene through to its dramatic finale. The film seems to be set during the financial crisis that hit South Korea a few years back. Suk-won is a broker who has just been ruined by a market crash. In a drunken state, he ends up sleeping in the subway among Seoul's homeless community, his wife having rejected him. There, he quickly meets Dae-shik, a homeless ex- mountaineer who takes the newcomer under his wing. Together, they embark on a cross-country trip down to Pusan on the south coast. - On the way, they meet H-joo (a waitress or prostitute, it's not really clear) and she promptly falls for Dae-shik. But unfortunately for her, Dae-shik had already fallen for Suk-won. Brokenlives form a theme of Roadmovie and while the tone of the film is lightened through some humour, the pain resulting from the failure of the main characters to find love is always felt. Gradually, as the journey gduth continues, Dae-shik's feelings become clearer, while Suk-won tries to ignore his own. The director isn't content just to "show the destructive shame resulting from homosexual desire and the reality of economic pressures in Korean society. The power of the film comes from the central love story, which is very credible. The characters—with their weaknesses honestly revealed—evoke compassion and one is completely engaged watching the drama unfold. By the end of the film, the melodrama is heavy, but one can't help but get caught up in it Don't say you weren't warned! ♦ —Erik Hers If?-.-* ». .., * \. * * ft "\ \ A" "Y ':■* v. V, ■ v V. K -. V J. i'i v 'J *i J i - ' ? ;i. v 1 THETRACKER Oct. 8 and 9 Have you ever questioned why an ordinary Hollywood flick is called a 'movie,' while something shown at a festival is a 'film?' I had always wondered where the distinction was, until I had an epiphany while attending a screening for The Tracker. Since this work clearly shows the amount of creativity, thought and skill that went into its creation, I feel that it would deserve nothing less than 'film' status, above the everyday, plainjane 'movie.' If heed be, the best way I could classify The Tracker would be by the label 'artsy Aussi western.' The characters struggle with deep issues and undergo realistic and extremely well-acted character development, while riding on horseback through the Australian outback looking for a native who they feel has committed a crime. There are scenes when these government-funded cowboys pull out theirs guns against the natives in the name of imperialistic glory (you can tell it is not set in modern day). The theme of imperialistic racism and violence is prominent in the film. For those of you who have the precon ceived notions that film festivals are too inaccessible. The Tracker definitely does entertain in a 'movie' way, while providing more meaning behind it than, say, the latest Harrison Ford flick. Then, for those of you who feel that watching stereotypical festival works is what a film festival experience is all about and nothing that could entertain could satiate you, The Tracker is planted with some very unique creative approaches. This makes what could be a cheesy romp through the outback with bigoted men into an 'artsy Aussi Western.' One unique approach by the director is that, during violent scenes, the screen switches from the film to a simple painting of the scene. Another interesting aspect to watch for is the fact that the characters are not given names—in the credits they are simply called "The Fanatic," "The Follower," "The Veteran" and "The Tracker." The whole film is a minefield of filmmaking creativity. Those of you who are thinking, "For such a resoundingly positive review that makes me want to see the 'film' the review must be dating the director or getting a free trip to Australia." If only, if only... ♦ —Lauren Emberson STEALING THE FIRE Oct. 2 and 4 Arms dealers have undoubtedly played a role in warfare since the first Neanderthal club was raised in anger. Regardless of the players, these niche entrepreneurs have always flogged their wares to the highest bidder. Even they, however, have enough of a conscience not to deal in weapons of mass destruction, don't they? Oh yeah, right, and Santa Claus is real. In 1999, Karl Heinz-Schaab was extradited from Brazil to Germany to stand trial for high treason, ostensibly for peddling nuclear secrets to Iraq. Specifically, he sold plans for building an ultracentrifuge, a device that allows regular uranium to be turned into bomb-making material. Looking into Schaab's dealings, documentary filmmakers John Friedman and Eric Nadler stumbled upon a complex web of relationships that began with the rise of Nazism and implicated a German industrial powerhouse and the German government Degussa, a German multinational and Schaab's former employer, was a three-tier company until they absorbed several Jewish companies in the late 1930s. Degussa served as the official processor of precious metals stolen from the Jews (including gold from their teeth), and produced Zyklon B, the gas used to eradicate millions in death camps. Amazingly, no one from the company was ever tried for war crimes, and sever al high-ranking members of the S.S. stayed on with the company after the war. Flashback to Degussa and the company's "exports iiber alles" mindset: they openly supplied both Pakistan and Iraq with information that was crucial to achieving nuclear capabilities. Degussa's former vice president notes, "we didn't do anything illegal according to export regulations," but skirts the question of Iraq's intentions. A former Iraqi scientist, however, states unequivocally that company executives acknowledged with a wink and a nod that they saw through the Iraqis' cover story and were anxious to sign a contract Stealing the Fire wanders at times, but it needs to in order to explain the depth and complexity of the conspiracy. —Greg Ursic GAZA STRIP Oct. 1 and 7 Gaza Strip is an exhibition that will unsettle you. Filmed in the Spring of 2001, about a half-year after the eruption of the second (and ongoing) intifada, Gaza Strip endeavours to convey the quotidian experience of ordinary Palestinians struggling to persevere within the infernal misery occasioned by a corrupted peace process and the malign Israeli occupation. In fact, the existence the camera witnesses is horrendous. Just about everyone has heard certain Palestinians and Israelis appropriating the terms "settlements,* "closures," "checkpoints," and (of ■H SP ? ^^ A fr T * - _ -SF r ~£ ."<7 I 8 .»**# course) "terrorists" to countenance their countervailing acts of iniquity, but rarely are these realities presented as they affect the lives of Palestinian ' families whose only conspiracy is the hope to survive. This film, therefg>re, will surely be enlightening for anyone who's motivated to consider the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more thoughtfully than is typically done on the evening news or in Southam newspaper editorials. A warning though: while the sound and photography are excellent, the footage is extremely intense and several scenes might haunt more squeamish viewers. This film might also provoke in you some possibly disturbing introspection; ask yourself, for instance, how much humiliation and abject hopelessness you could bear before you began to consider acts which an undisturbed conscience would never assent to? If there is one heartening aspect to this film however, it is the consideration that those who imperil their souls by unjustifiable acts remain in a minority among Palestinians, despite the fact that the majority of them continue to suffer hardship and bitter frustration that most film-festers don't begin to understand. In this respect, Gaza Strip attests indirectly to the resilience of good in most people, even while evil is ubiquitous. ♦ —Tieg Martin THREE Oct. 4 and 6 Three short films from Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong. Three thrilling mysteries crafted with traditional and innovative techniques of fear production. One great pan-Asian collaboration? Almost. Kim Jee-Woon's Memories is an extremely we_Ycrafted thriller. This tale of a husband who has lost both his wife and parts of his memory makes use of every audience-jolting trick, from dizzying cinematography, chilling score, to the most obvious, gore. Elements of the film are similar to those of The Sixth Sense, but the film is so far beyond this comparison. The theatre (occupied by film reviewers) was filled several times with the uncomfortable laughter of those suddenly frightened. Needless to say, Kim Jee-Woon holds his own. The Mieeiis a film about puppets. Director Nonzee Nimibutr, who studied the art of hair-raising through the infamous Chucky technique, obviously didn't acknowledge the ramifications of a movie like Child's Play. The pros and cons of the movie are as follows: Pro, from the costuming, music, and scenery, you are able to get a quick taste of Thailand's beautiful cul- - - - H 4'. tare. Com, The Wheel is a film about puppets. Pro, all three films run consecutively without intermission; therefore, make your own intermission. Con, the film contains a dream sequence, which includes the puppets. The collaboration should really have been titled "Two," but on the other hand, it may be comforting to .'. .'4 :' '1 Ji some that horrid things can in fact survive. Speaking of which, it's nice to see that John Tesh is still around making those delightful CDs. With a strong start, it's only fitting that Three finishes just as well with Going Home. Hong Kong director Peter Ho-Sun Chan possesses the skill and vision to apply unconventional resources with traditional conventions. He is able to take a large city, children and a touch of broad daylight, and craft it into a horrifying concoction. The plot follows a familiar template, but due to the uniqueness and originality of the plot's concept, it's hard to walk away and think about anything else. Chan uses cinematography, and the talent of his actors to put forward a film that delivers horror and comedy, as well as tragedy. Three is definitely worth watching. Both Kim and Chan are able to sup- . port Nimibutr's film, and will easily fulfiLyour satisfaction quota. ♦ —John Hua FLOWER & GARNET Oct. 6 This debut feature film from BC director Keith Behrmann has many things going for it, but is—ultimately—let down by its resolution. The film, despite the title, centres on eight-year- old Garnet His mother died giving birth to him, and he is cared for mainly by his older sister Flower, his father unable to emotionally connect with the boy. Garnet is a sensitive little boy, extremely observant of the world around him. Quiet and withdrawn, he is very attached to his sister as his father is only ever distant with him. The problems start when Flower gets a boyfriend and longs for more independence. When his father buy> little Garnet a b.b. gun in an attempt at father-son bonding, we see more danger on the horizon. Behrmann gives a wonderfully detailed picture of the world of Garnet and many images stick in the mind, from the collecting of worms to the eating of breakfast cereal. Colin Roberts—in the role of Garnet—is amazingly natural, and it's a credit to him and the director that both the pain and curiosity in his world are so vividly portrayed. Callum Keith Rennie is brilliant in the role of the father, along with the strong performances of the rest of then seem to be become forced, finally culminating the cast The film's tone is patiently set and the in a resolution that appears cheap, almost too easy despair and burden is made very palpable. It is after all the heaviness that comes before. ♦ only when the problems come to a head that the film starts to bog down. The plot developments —Erik Hers V i / i v_£V 7 ^ * * 8 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2002 CULTURE THE UBYSSEY A double order of satire DOUBLE EXPOSURE at the Capilano College Centre for the Performing Arts Sept. 21 by Ted Chen , CULTURE WRITER Going to .see "Double Exposure" was something that was kind of foreign to me, because I'd never heard of "Double Exposure." I'd never even been to see a live Canadian comedy show, so I was skeptical about just how funny these performers were. However, any doubts that I had previously harboured instantly vanished when the dynamic duo of Bob Robertson and Linda Cullen appeared on stage. They lampooned everyone from North American politicians and media" personalities like Don Cherry, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Martha Stewart to the Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chretien. Let's start with Bob Robertson's take on Don Cherry^ the Canadian host of "Hockey Night in Canada." Robertson mades Cherry sound and look like he's a Noo Yawk (New York) mob ster from the 1940s, with that thick Brooklyn accent and double-breasted pinstriped suit that he dons. For a moment I thought I was going to get shot Robertson portrays Cherry as being disgusted with Russian hockey players and Russia itself. The character went so far as to claim knowledge of Russian history, with laughable results. (He suggested that the 1917 Russian revolution was initiated by a certain John Lennon.) Robertson's rendition of Clinton's blocked nose' Arkansas accent was also hilarious. The caricatured Clinton loved Canada, saying that he came to British Columbia during the Vietnam War so that he could test some BC bud (although he claims he didn't inhale—yeah, right). Clinton went on to claim that he enjoyed the Olympics when they were held in Calgary, but remarks that he's "never been that cold since [his] relationship with Hillary." Guffaws from my direction ensued, as I couldn't help but appreciate the depth of Robertson's satirical portrayal of Bill Clinton. The mimicry of George W. Bush was just as funny, as Robertson has perfected the familiar nasal Texan accent of America's current President Linda Cullen compared Bush Jr to Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting that "President Putin is part of Russian Intelligence, but President Bush was never part of Intelligence." Cullen's take on Martha Stewart was great. She came on stage decked in a moppish blond wig resembling Stewart's shabby hairdo. Stewart's insider trading predicament is highlighted when Cullen put on a garage sale, asserting that, "you can make a lot of money by selling off those stocks, er, I mean socks." Last, but not least, the highlight of the show was Robertson's absolutely mind-boggling imitation of Jean Chretien. Robertson pulls off Chretien's heavy, growling French accent with ease, and at the same time creases his lips to a side to simulate that twisted facial expression that is just so characteristically Chretienesque. A few examples of Chretien's heavily mispronounced English were reproduced as Chretien expressed his discontent with the "hoposision" parties, such as like the "Appliance Party." I thought I was in Parliament—I must say that Robertson's rendition of Chretien was absolutely top-notch. "Double Exposure's" Robertson and Cullen should in fact be far more exposed, as they aire certainly talented in lampooning just about any noteworthy personality. It's a Canadian thing, eh? ♦ UBC BOOKSTORE *i»rv;o ... . ra^nputerC COMPUTER ■■'! i K ,G «._ __■. / '«!>'*&&&*. '•TCI 111 if:) -iw '* - October 4 Wondering about wireless? Want to see the latest Apple and IBM laptops.? Have your questions answered by the experts. In-Store Hardware/Software Specials Save 20% on non-course Computer Books Demos • Displays • Draws • Giveaways Details @ www.bookstore.ubc.ca Authorized Reseller Business Partner M^j UBC Bookstore Computer Shop, 6200 University Blvd., Vancouver peaturI J/RitjinC 3a_5H6ut!r 4features senunar/wediY oct. 2@4:30pm/u|>/ssey office for; infpv; talk: to duncart of^ ennailYfeatures@ubyssey,bc.c* Y^ HP THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 1IF Cecil H. & Ida Green Visiting Professor John Broome White's Professor of Moral Philosophy University of Oxford Fellow, Corpus Christi College Reasons Friday, October 4 at 3:30pm Buchanan D306 Weighing Lives: The Value of Being Alive Vancouver Institute Lecture Saturday, October 5 at 8:15pm Woodward IRC, Hall'2 Why Economics Need Ethics Monday, October 7 at 12:00pm Buchanan D225 Is it Better to Preserve Life then to Create it! Fireside Chat Tuesday, October 8 at 7:30pm Graham House, Green College ave* .FREE Hr _ I'/- f>-_ fi *lh pla\ing as part of the mmm film festie on Friday, October 4 at 7pm at Ridge Theatre (31B1 Arbutus Street) Come to the llpej Business Office SU ROOM 23 01 THE BASEMENT BEHIND THE ARCADE) to take advantage of this fantastic giveaway! THE UBYSSEY CULTURE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2002 A streetcar named STactory Small flaws hamper performance A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at the Frederic Wood Theatre until Oct 5 by Lauren Emberson CULTURE WRITER "Fifty per cent of a woman's charm is illusion. But when there is something serious to say, I am honest" This line from "A Streetcar Named Desire," playing until October 5 at the Frederic Wood Theatre, seemed to me to be a fitting analogy, since half of the play died beyond the surface, but it all solidified for the finale. Now, before more criticism ensues, let me say that the set was fantastic; most- supporting actors were the same; the main character, Blanche, was enthralling; and, as is expected from a Tennessee Williams play, the dialogue was simultaneously tight, hilarious and shocking. That being said, let the criticism recommence... First on my list is Stanley, Stella's abusive husband, played by Joel Redmond. Stanley's character is second only to Blanche in complexity and depth. However, Redmond seemed more comfortable within the character's skin than his mind. At the moments in the play where Stanley relied on his primitive brutality, Redmond seemed completely comfortable with the character—but when the rage was stripped away, he wasn't able to show Stanley's cunning and calculating mind clearly. Another aspect of the play that seemed muddled was the accents. Stella started out with a squeaky, thick Southern drawl that was somehow beaten out of her in the middle of the play and then remembered as the drama ensued near the finale. Stanley seemed to be born in the Bronx and Stella also picked up this accent occasionally during their fights. Aside from the two 'lovers,' the accents were well done. Lianne Seykora, who played Eunice, had the most amazing voice and superb drawl—listen for it booming from off-stage. "A shot never did a coke any harm." This line of Blanche's would definitely be the advice I would give Sadie Odette Kime, who played Stella. Perhaps she was saving up her energy for the dramatic last scene, but she didn't seem to show the bipolar nature of her life with any real (ahem) drama. When the character switched from extreme joy to screaming sorrow, Kime seemed to hold back. She played the exuberant Stella with more familiarity than she did the shattered Stella. Which brings me to Sarah Groundwater, who lives as Blanche DeBois for a few hours a night in her performances. I don't think I could say enough good things about Groundwater. Besides an appropriately cloying Southern accent and charismatic stage presence, she played the character as impeccably as she played the audience. I couldn't decide whether to feel sympathetic or condescending towards Blanche throughout the whole play and even as I write this review. All of Miss DeBois's intricacies, as written by Tennessee Williams, were captured and amplified by Groundwater. She carried the play and pieced it together—dare I say that she was the duct-tape that bound it all? Of course, she had help from supporting cast members, specifically a superb Mr Mitchell, played by Ryan Egan. To put it in a nutshell—the set was a dream; the scene changes were not well done; Stella and Stanley could have be much stronger, but they did get the message across; the supporting actors were refined; and Blanche was the leading light of it all. Despite my criticisms, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this play to anyone who wants to see a classic. ♦ 3h gw5w*j» bookings lineup,. feedbacks ams.ubc.ca • www. ams. ubc. c. ' Attention: Clubs, Constituencies, Service Organizations and Resource Groups! Bookings line-up for January to April 2003 term is happening on October 1 st. First come,first serve! Come early to book your space in the Student Union building for events, meetings and displays for this year. Hie line-up starts at 7:00 am,and a representative of your organization must be present during the entire bookings line-up (finishes at 10:00 am). Roll call will happen every half an hour. If your group does not have a representative present during all times,you will lose your spot in line. Show up at the SUB by the main doors at 7:00 a.m.and someone will let you in to the bookings line-up area. If you have any questions, call SAC at: 604-822-2361 or contact the AMS Bookings representative in SUB 230 A, phone:822-3966. groat trekker awards <■ Each year the Alma /Water Society presents the Great Trekker Award to a UBC alumnus.This award was established in 1950 to commemorate the Great Trek of 1922,and recognizes individuals who have achieved eminence in their respective fields,made a special contribution to the community, and maintained a continued interest in UBC. Past winners have included former Prime Minister John Turner, author Pierre Berton,and philanthropists Cecil and Ida Green. We a re currently accepting nominations for this year's recipient This year the theme is "achievement in health science." Please forward any nominations to Paramjit Raj: '822-3971,SUB 238 as soon as possible to ensure consideration. This year,the award ceremony will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 19th and is an invitation only dinner event. email newsletter Have you signed up for the AMS bi-weekly email newsletter? If not,you are not accessing all the latest on bursary information, tuition, events & concerts, speaker series and the best jobs on and off campus. To sign up, go to www.ams.ubc.ca. Best of all, once you sign up,you can email us with your event information or news and it may appear in print. minischoolx Almost Too Much Fun to Be School! Courses include: African Drumming, Bartending, Bellydancing,Introduction to the Film Industry,Web Design, First Aid, Massage Therapy and Wine Tasting. Spaces are limited - sign up early!! For more information, visit www.ams.ubcca. Register from Sept. 16 to Oct. 4, at the AMS Administration Office,(2ndFloorSUB). tslbm /■ community safety watch \ The Sexual Assault Center (SASQ is now open in the lower level of the Student Union Building, Room 58. Feel free to phone: 604-827-5180, or drop by d uring the hours posted on door. All our services are free and confidential. Safety Whistles are available at a number of locations: Speakeasy Information Desk, Campus Security, Equity Office, Counselling Office and Safewalk. Whistles are free of charge. ANNONYMOUS REPORTING: You may report any incident anonymously by logging on to: www.security.ubc.ca. You can also phone the RCMP at: 604-224-1322, or Campus Security at:604-822-2222 and state that you would like to make an anonymous report. In case of an emergency, or if you see a crime in progress, -phone 911! ^"■■"■"p lllllli'llillilBI'IIWMIHIIIlilllillllWIIIillllilHIII llilillilllllllllllillllllilll"^|pPPa*^M.MP™a™a—"""■l ""'"^ on the fringe \ On the Fringe Hair Design is now open in the SUB. At "the Fringe" we strive to give you high-end quality service in a relaxed atmosphere that reflects the attitudes of our contemporary clientele. All at an affordable price! Call 604-221 -0320 to book an appointment,or stop by for a free consultation. SUB lower level across from Travel Cuts. We offer a 10% student discount on all services and retail products. ams games room n Need to work off a little steam before your mid-term? Want to have some fun? Then stop by the Games Room and play with some of the latest games around, like Soul Caliber Version 2. Soon our popular games: Counter Strike,Warcraft III, Urban Operations, Jedi Knight 2 and many more will be internet ready. Call us at: 822-3692 for more details. 10 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2002 EDITORIAL THE UBYSSEY TH1 UBYSSEY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2002 VOLUME 84 ISSUE 9 EDITORIAL BOARD ACTING COORDINATING EDITOR Kathleen Deering NEWS EDITORS Kathleen Deering Chris Shepherd CULTURE EDITOR Michael Schwandt SPORTS EDITOR Sarah Conchie FEATURES/NATIONAL EDITOR Duncan M, McHugh COPY EDITOR Anna King PHOTO EDITOR Nic Fensom PRODUCTION MANAGER Hywel Tuscano COORDINATORS VOLUNTEERS Jesse Marchand RESEARCH/LETTERS '' Parminder Nizher The Ubyssey'is the official student newspaper of the University of British Columbia. It is published every Tuesday and Friday by The Ubyssey Publications S-Cietjt- We are anj._t_nomi._s, democratically run student organisation, and all students are encouraged to participate. Editorials are chosen and written by the Ubyssey staff. They are the expressed opinion of the staff, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Ubyssey Publications Society or the University of British Columbia The Ubyssey is abounding member of Canadian University Press (CUP) and adheres to CUP's guiding principles. All editorial content appearing in The Ubyssey'ts the property ofThe Ubyssey Publications Society. Stories,, opinions, photographs and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the expressed, written permission of The Ubyssey Publications Society. Letters tp the editor must.be under 300 words, Please include your phone numbet; student number and signature (not for publication) as well as your year and faculty with all submissions. ID wil! be checked when submissions are dropped off at the editorial office of The Ubyssey, otherwise verification will be done by phone. "Perspectives" are opinion pieces over 300 words but under 750 words and are run according to space. "Freestyles" are opinion pieces written by Ubyssey staff members. Priority will be given to letters and perspectives over freestyles unless the latter is time sensitive. Opinion pieces will not be run until the identity of the writer has been verified. It is agreed by all persons placing display or classified advertising that if the Ubyssey Pubfications Society fails to publish an advertisement or if an error in the ad occurs the liability of the UPS will not be greater than the price paid for the ad. The UPS shall not be responsible for slight changes or typographical, errors that do not lessen the value or the impact of the ad. EDITORIAL OFFICE Room 24, Student Union Building 6138 Student Union Boulevard Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 tel: 604-822-2301 fax: 604-822-9279 web: www.ubyssey.bc.ca e-mail: feedback@ubyssey.bc.ca BUSINESS OFFICE Room 23, Student Union Building advertising: 604-822-1654 business office: 604-822-6681 fax: 604-822-1658 e-mail: advertising@ubyssey.bc.ca BUSINESS MANAGER Fernie Pereira AD SALES Karen Leung AD DESIGN ShaEene Takara 'Attention passengers, we are about to crash,* said pilot Leah McKenzie-Brown. The two lonesome passengers, Jesse Marchand and Parm Nizher peed their pants. They smashed into Sarah Conchie Mountain. 'Holy Cheese, Louise!" yelped Kathy Deering to fellow rock climbers Laura Blue and Ted Chen. John McCrank ran to Anna King after seeing the fireball 'I fee! warmth," said Duncan M. McHugh. 'Maybe the ice is melting off of our bodies/ thought Hywel Tuscano. Chris Shepherd's 'stache had fallen ofTa long time ago. "Now we can use the fire to cook what's left of Michelle Fujbacher and Michael Schwandt* said Erik Hers to fellow Conch dweller Lauren Emberson. Tieg Martin and John Hua slipped over the melting ice and bumped Cait McKInney and Greg Ursic off a cliff and into the fire. "Mmmmm, more food," said Matt Whalley eyeing Nic Fensom. Simon McNalley decided to run for dear life. He fell and caused an avalanche which ceased the fire and buried everyone- Rescue 911 pilots Billy Cheung and Roberto Witman arrived minutes after their deaths. They ate the frozen remains. V Canadian University ' Press Canada Port Sah* Aoraamant Numbar 0732141 . (-■ e t a 01, a,-.- i » i i- <■ i> (• Olympics deserve debate This week, Premier Gordon Campbell asked a small audience at Whistler to consider the gk>w: ing spectre of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, stating that he was speaking on behalf of British Columbians. He spoke about "excitement on the horizon/ as well as the "creativity" and "federal dollars" that the province will solicit to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, should Vancouver be chosen by the International Olympic Committee next July to be the golden city. But which British Columbians was Campbell speaking about, exactly? Surely not those in the quiet communities that will be adversely affected by the proposed $600 million highway upgrade. Surely not the thousands of British Columbians who are outside the small group of private investors who will directly benefit Surely not those who are in danger of losing their homes and residences. Despite government promises that social housing will be one of the lasting legacies of the Games, history is not so reassuring. At Expo '86, to which many point as Vancouver's shining debut as an international city, an estimated 500 to 950 people were evicted from residential hotels to make room for tourists. In the preparation years between 1978 and 1984, almost 2000 housing units were lost, and hotel dwellers were evicted because of a cunning loophole: the inhabitants were not considered tenants under the Residential Tenancy Act. At the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, even after the Olympic organisers promised to prevent evictions, 100 low-income tenants were squeezed out by skyrocketing rent. London's The Guardian reported that those renters who normally paid US$100 to $200 a week were asked to fork over US$700 a week, or get out. Closer to home, early discussions with UBC Housing indicate that if Vancouver gets the Olympics, large areas of the campus—including Gage Towers, and parts of Wesbrook Mall, East Mall and University Boulevard—will be made inaccesible to students. Many students living in residence would be forced to move elsewhere for the month of the Games, either being shunted into billeting arrangements or compelled to find alternate housing at a crucial point in the academic term. The municipal political parties have waded deep into the Olympic muck, polarising the debate and using it as a platform for the looming November 17 elections. Several groups in Vancouver are calling for a referendum, and discussion of issues such as taxpayer dollars, social housing and community impact in a public forum. The Coalition of Progessive Electors (COPE), has nominated Jim Green, who is also the chair and spokesperson for the Impacts of the Olympics on the Community Coalition (IOCC) watchdog group, as a candidate for City Council. In May of this year, COPE proposed a bylaw that would prevent landlords from converting or demolishing residential hotels in order to profit from the Olympics. The Nonpartisan Association (NPA), however, quickly quashed the bill, and allied itself with the business community. According to her campaign literature, Jennifer Clarke, the NPA's mayoral can didate, feels that the Games will "provide Vancouver with another international showcase" and, more importantly, "a place to invest and do business." It is no wonder that there is hesitation onthe part of the Bid Committee to open up the floor for discussion. The recent thumbs-down from the citizens of rival Olympic bid city Bern, Switzerland, demonstrates the potential for public disapproval. Even more telling is the fact that almost 80 per cent of the city voted against funding the Olympics with taxpayer money because the economy is in trouble, and the money might be better spent improving social programs. . The premier has said no to a referendum, but this hasn't stopped the IOCC from planning a city-wide vote. The organisation hopes to hold a referendum after the release of the official bid plans onjanuary 10, 2003, and the BC Auditor General's report on the costs of hosting the Games. Although the results would be non-binding. Am Johal, one of the organisers of the IOCC, says the results would send a resounding message. The potential for using the Olympics as a means to address and remedy some of the- issues that face the community is huge; improved transportation and renewed infrastructure come to mind. Alone, the promises of a bustling economy and an elevated international reputation for Vancouver are not worth the many costs of hosting the Olympic Games. If, and only if, the event brings benefits for all British Columbians, will hosting the Games be worth the Olympic effort. ♦ You think we're, kidding? Write. u.<; f. lei far J m^*m%:m&W '^v-^Mi-mt^' ''^l4_"_AU^y THE UBYSSEY SPORTS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2002 11 Lack of track draws flak By John McCrank SPORTS STAFF UBC has a rich tradition of producing high calibre athletes in every area of sport National level athletes have come here and thrived in their respective events, developing into world-class competitors, largely due to the opportunity to compete with their peers in top-notch facilities. The success of the UBC track team over the years, however, has happened in spite of their campus environment, which is sorely lacking in one important element to a track team's success—a track to practice and compete on. From 193 7 to 196 7, a track existed inside of Varsity Stadium, which once stood where the SUB is now located. A new track was included in the plans for Thunderbird Stadium, which was built in 1967, but the. work was never completed, leaving UBC as the only major university in Canada without a track and field facility. Up until last year, there was an old track that was in a constant state of disrepair—known as Logan track—but it was leveled to make way for a new field hockey artificial turf field. The presence of a championship field hockey team helped to speed up construction, and the newly christened Wright Field was officially opened the first week of September. According to Director of Athletics and Recreation, Bob Philip, the university officially abandoned the track on April 1,1994, since the site was not large enough for a future regulation size track. However, Philip said that the university and the Department of Athletics have identified a new track as a priority and are considering installing a track in Thunderbird Stadium. One person that would like to see the track installed in the stadium is UBC head track and field coach (as well as the 2000 Canadian Olympic team coach), Marek Jedrzejek, who was influential in forming a committee that is lobbying for the track. Jedrzejek is optimistic about the future of UBC track and field, saying UBC finally seems to be "back on track with track." The 'Back on Track' committee is comprised of former alumni and track supporters such as former Olympians Doug Clement and Charmaine Crooks, (also a member of the IOC), who have examined the possibilities of a future UBC track and field facility. ; The committee has identified over 30 potential track and field events that could be held at UBC, and they point to Minoru track in Richmond as a prime example of a successful Staff Meeting Agenda 1) Introductions 2) Staff membership 3) Social 4) Athletics 5) Caucus meetings 6) Features seminar 7)PWRCUP 8) Staff t-shirts? 9) Other business 10) Post mortem Meetings are open to everyone. If you attend three out of five you become a staff member (hence STAFF meeting). THE UBYSSEY MEETiN'ITUP SINCE 1918 Women's rugby learns the hard way BIRDS ON A WIRE: The UBC women lost to Nanaimo 19-0 Saturday, and are now 0-3. Roberto wittmann photo by Anna King COPY EDITOR A third loss for the women's rugby team hasn't ruffled the team's feathers, and while the Nanaimo Hornets walked away with a 19-0 win Saturday, most of the game was a close race. After a try by Nanaimo off the opening kick and then again a few minutes in, the Thunderbirds held their eggs for a good half an hour before finally losing a third . try at the beginning of the second half. Coach Spencer Robinson said while the game's outcome was disappointing, the game—like the past two games—have been good practice for the upcoming Canada West Cup tournament in Edmonton on October 19. "We're trying to put some systems in place so we peak in two weeks time in Edmonton," Robinson said. "So we're looking at different combinations of players and seeing what works." Co-captain Teresa Jackson said she thinks the team has been improving every game. The Birds lost their first game of the season to UVic and the sec ond to Douglas. "We need a little more belief in ourselves, more focus and more desire. We get 80 yards up the field and then lose it But there's a tonne of talent on the team," said Jackson. "We've been playing different combinations [of players] almost every half- game. It takes a while to find the best combo," she said. The Birds will get a chance to prove their mettle in Edmonton, where five teams will fight for one position in the Western Division. ♦ facility. The Minoru track is booked 1500 hours per year for both sporting and non-sporting events. Maintenance and oper: ating costs of a new facility would be covered by fees paid by user groups. Alumni of the UBC track and field include former Prime Minister John Turner, Percy Williams, Rick Hansen, and Jeff Schiebler, who currently holds six Canadian distance running records. If all goes well, the committee envisions a track in place by 2004. ♦ Purchase Apple Computers t Discounted Educational Prices li •vY(>i I :■*' • ■: \ 7? >U • iHia: Computer Week.02 (on NOW 'til October 4) Authorized Reseller UBC Bookstore Computer Shop 6200 University Blvd., Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z4 12 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2002 SPORTS THE UBYSSEY Soccer The UBC women's soccer squad didn't let a single goal into their net this weekend, shutting out Regina, . Alberta and Saskatchewan. Now sitting second - in the country for the third week in a row, the Birds are entering into territory not seen since the 1993/1994 season, when UBC won the CIS National championship. Beating Alberta was no small achievement for the 7-0-1 Birds, as the Pandas have an impressive CIS history of their own, sweeping the gold at the 2001/02 CIS championship on the strength of a perfect season. The Thunderbirds, howev- *-_i" \ «**£ •; <_' *"•' 4 f » -' ' _J er, also have a gleaming trophy case, having won two gold, two silver and two bronze medals since 1987. Playing against the league's youngest varsity team next Sunday, UBC visits the Trinity Western Spartans on their Langley turf. The men's team has been having a tougher time of it, but is still clutching the fourth and final playoff spot in the Canada West Division after a 1-1 weekend in the Prairies. The Birds will also be on the bus out to Langley for a 2pm match against the Spartans. Football The hapless Thunderbirds took another hit this Friday with their 24-18 loss to the Calgary Dinos. UBC is still at the bottom of the league, but they're not lonely, as the Alberta Golden Bears, at 0-4, are in a similar predjcament. Unfortunately, by the time the Birds and the Bears square off, it'll be the last, desperate game of the regular season. With four playoff berths in the Canada West, and seven teams, UBC's chances rest on their remaining four league games. The 1-3 SFU Clan comes down from the mountain next Friday for the annual Shrum Bowl, and the Birds will have to outrun the Clansmen without speedy tailback Julian Radlein, who was injured in Calgary. Kickoff is at 7pm. Hockey The men's hockey team hosts the defending Canada West Champions—the Alberta Golden Bears—this weekend. Alberta has ten championship banners fluttering in their halls, while the UBC hockey team has yet to win a title in the 39 years they've been on the ice. AU bets are off, however, as UBC seems to have skated over a 13-year slump with the hiring of coach Milan Dragicevic, who has so far seen his bench battle the Canucks' Prospects, Calgary and a long-ingrained can't-do attitude with plucky results. The puck drops Friday at the Winter Sports Centre, 7pm. ♦ £V