"Walking Eagle"

"Premier Gordon Campbell of B.C. was invited to address a major gathering of the Indian Nation last weekend in Kitimat, B.C. He spoke for almost an hour on his future plans for increasing every First Nation's present standard of living. He referred to his career as Mayor of Vancouver, how he had signed "YES" for every Indian issue that came to his desk for approval. At the end of his speech, the Tribe gave the Premier a plaque inscribed with his new Indian name: Walking Eagle. The proud Campbell then departed in his motorcade, waving to all.

A news reporter later asked the group of chiefs how they come to select the new name given to Campbell. They explained that Walking Eagle is the name given to a bird so full of shit it can no longer fly."

Quoted from the Carnegie Newsletter, April 15, 2008.
http://carnnews.org/
(Cute story but probably not true. No author or source cited.)

Beautiful Danger

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Rosa said...

"See how the night shines. But it's not real, you know. There's a void beoynd the glory and that's what I have to paint."
"To Dream of White Horses," June Considine

Wow!

Tori's still got it

Tori Amos has always had something to say, but it is usually hidden in cryptic prose and left up to the listener’s imagination to interpret. Now in her mid-40s, the outspoken American songwriter has been releasing albums for over 15 years and has never managed to break into standard radio play. It has almost been a year since her latest, American Doll Posse, was released and built on the success within her rabid underground following but didn’t further her mainstream popularity.
American Doll Posse comes off as an eccentric ploy for album sales to non-fans—and is a sure favourite for Amos-addicts. The retail album special package edition includes a number of perks to entice consumers to purchase rather than download. Along with the 23-song CD, bonus visual DVD and pack of Amos-image postcards, a 34-page booklet explains the five different roles Amos personifies throughout the album: Tori, Pip, Clyde, Isabel, and Santa. These characters share the vocal duties on the diversified tracks, and each personality has a unique appearance and form of expression (something similar to what she did for the 2001 covers album Strange Little Girls).
“Yo George” starts off the album, a blatant plea to President George W. Bush. Amos, in her blonde, rebellious Isabel incarnation, does nothing to mask her disdain for the president, singing that America is stuck with the “madness of King George…you have the whole nation on all fours.”
The first single from the album, “Big Wheel,” is a honky-tonk danceable number. Except for the midway breakdown, where Tori proclaims she is a “M-I-L-F, don’t you forget,” the clapping beat throughout the song makes it difficult for listeners not to tap their feet.
Clyde, Amos’s brunette manifestation, is the most artsy of the bunch, and it shows in the songs credited to her form. “Bouncing Off Clouds” is Amos at her dramatic best, reminiscent of her 1999 album To Venus and Back. It is easy to picture the singer floating through the sky while playing her piano during this upbeat tune. In the booklet, Clyde optimistically states, “All works of art start as potential. Similarly, all relationships start as potential.” It’s that thoughtful nature that shines through in Clyde’s other tunes, “Girl Disappearing,” “Roosterspur Bridge” and “Beauty of Speed”.
The darker and more guitar-driven tracks of the album, performed by the raven-wigged Pip, including “Teenage Hustling” and “Fat Slut,” continue Amos’s tradition of writing in girls and teens as the protagonists (or villains) in her usually abstract lyrics, apparent in the albums Little Earthquakes (1992) and Under the Pink (1994).
The sultry Santa, pictured in tight dresses and short blond tresses, performs the more fun ditties on the record (“You Can Bring Your Dog,” Programmable Soda”) until the last track. “Dragon” ends the album with more of a whimper than a bang, but still manages to round out the set well.
As has always been the case throughout her 11 albums, piano dominates the instrumental accompaniment. Along with the staple Bösendorfer, a few unconventional instruments find their way onto the record, like ukuleles and tap shoes.
Fans will greatly appreciate American Doll Posse, but those unfamiliar with her work might not even make it through the first song. The use of Amos’s alter egos is an interesting idea, but it seems rehashed since Strange Little Girls employed a similar concept.
Amos will undoubtedly continue to capitalize on her aging eccentricities until her fingers grow arthritic and unable to play her piano. She is an acquired taste—those who love her will keep listening until she is on her deathbed but those who don’t understand her now will be further alienated by her blunt behaviour and ever-maturing body and mind.

The Other Boleyn Girl looks better naked

Eric Bana, Natalie Portman, and Scarlett Johansson star in the period film The Other Boleyn Girl, a movie that has more ambition than Belinda Stronach. But despite the A-list cast, it ultimately comes across as a shoddily-edited bimbo of a flick—nice to look at but lacking any real content.
If viewers unaware of the Boleyn/Henry historical saga are looking to follow along with the movie, they might be completely dumbfounded; the editing is so poorly done that one minute Queen Catherine is on the throne and the next she disappears for good. (Historians, too, may get lost—Showtime’s drama The Tudors has far more accuracy than Boleyn Girl.)
Besides the editing, the camera work is also horrible. Perhaps the director was trying to add to the scandalous nature of the movie by filming from behind columns and through drapes, or perhaps he was just trying to be unconventional, but either way, the strange angles and obstacles in front of the camera just distract the audience.
The incredible costume design goes a long way toward redeeming the film—but even it is tarnished by the confusing editing. The Boleyn sisters sometimes wear the same outfit for days in a row, and they get to wear much fancier clothes than the other ladies-in-waiting. It all seems a bit random. One could argue that in Medieval Times women rarely washed and didn’t possess infinite wardrobes, but when the only amazing feature of a movie is glaringly inconsistent, it feels sloppy.
Bana plays a reluctant King Henry VIII, and halfway through the movie he seems to lose interest in his role completely, perhaps realizing the poor calibre of the film he is starring in. One glaring omission from the scenes is Bana without clothes. While there are short flashes of his hot, hairy man-chest, the glimpses are brief and unsatisfying; the other male cast members are definitely not gawk-worthy, so the lack of a nude king helps to sink the film.
Portman and Johansson, however, do a good job of bringing the pretty, but Johansson plays a flaky, spineless Mary Boleyn almost too well. Her performance is half-hearted, and at times it is embarrassing to watch her spit out her fake English accent. On the other hand Portman, as ambitious social climber Anne Boleyn, struts her refined acting chops as usual. But, it is interesting to watch her wear a corset and try to squish boobs out of her mammary inadequacies.
If viewers want to see a film with boring actors, frolicking children in fields of golden wheat, predictable dialogue, and a fully clothed Eric Bana, then The Other Boleyn Girl is not one to miss. Otherwise, would-be audiences can save their $11 and buy a sheet of glass to chew on––which they will probably enjoy more.

Maxim & Cosmo, featuring T.J. Dawe Surrey Arts Centre, March 14

He loves giving chocolate, back rubs, and little notes—if he didn’t look like Danny Tanner from Full House then T.J. Dawe would be the perfect husband. But according to Dawe, looks aren’t as important to women as they are to men; and if that’s true, then he gets a lot of pussy.
Dawe is an actor/comedian/writer/director and quasi-women’s rights activist who has done over 700 solo performances in his life. He performed his current show, Maxim & Cosmo, on Friday, March 14, to a mostly female crowd in the sex capital of the world: Surrey.
Perched on a stool between sparse background props, Dawe began his animated dialogue by admitting he judges people by scanning the titles on their bookshelves: literally judging a book by its cover. But by doing this, he started noticing that women all owned the same books and one day he started reading chick lit—and he discovered his feminine side, which has helped him on and off the stage.
“Here’s the thing,” said Dawe in an interview with the Other Press, “the things I describe as “what women want” aren’t hard. Backrubs—I love giving backrubs. A seemingly selfless reason for a woman to take her shirt off? And let me touch her? Sign me up! Chocolate—I used to keep a chocolate bar hidden in the apartment at all times for my girlfriend. She’d get to craving chocolate, I’d disappear into anther room, bring it out—and voila! It was as if I presented her with a diamond.”
Although Dawe admits he doesn’t like sports, dogs, strippers, or guns, (and likes Rush and foreplay), he is still very much a man—a slob who loves sex with women. Nothing is left sacred in his routine, and he talks about why North American swear words are body and church based (holy shit, asshole, cock), society’s pressure on women to face up to an impossible standard (the Virgin Mother), and why there is no patron saint of sex (“Where is Samantha, patron saint of girls who like to fuck?”).
Dawe writes his own monologue, which is inspired by personal experience. “I stopped trying to be a regular actor because I wanted to say my own lines. It’s much more fun, much more satisfying to me to talk about what happens to me or to people I’ve talked to. The everyday lives of people are incredibly interesting to me. So the show’s an extension of me talking to a friend, or a group of friends.”
The hour-and-a-half-long act also has serious overtones, where Dawe shows as much empathy for women’s plights (rape, sexism, lack of orgasms) as only a man can. But his most humorous moments come when he imitates himself having sex, and when he acts as a freshly-laid Jesus and proclaims the “second-coming.” Hearing a man yell out to a hundred people that he has “struck cunt!” or wants someone to fill him with sperm is pretty amusing, too.
There may be “no flying kicks, no falling chandeliers, no dance sequences” and “no slipping on a banana peel,” but Dawes reminds those that may crave action that “there are dick jokes” in Maxim & Cosmo; and although sometimes predictable, the peals of laughter emitting from the crowd shows his spoken humour makes up for the lack of physical shtick and banana peels.
Dawe publishes all of his previous scripts, and they are available through his website, www.tjdawe.com. (If he publishes Maxim & Cosmo, it will be the perfect stocking stuffer for any woman’s boyfriend—it should actually be required reading for guys in high school.) He is also looking ahead. “I’m memorizing for my next show (which takes months of practice), I’ve got a summer tour booked for it, and I hit the road in May.” Let’s hope Dawe strikes cunt again with his next performance.

It's not easy being green at Douglas College

Douglas College’s mission statement says, “At Douglas College, we respond to diverse community needs in a rapidly changing society.” And the college may have succeeded in some areas, like welcoming multiculturalism and providing a safe environment for students. But one thing left out of our college’s core values has been the natural environment. While the College has made a small visual effort to appear enviro-friendly (for example, by placing bottle recycle bins sporadically around the campuses) what happens behind the scenes challenges the green in the Douglas College logo.
On both the New West and David Lam Campuses, there are small changes each department can make to lessen the current dinosaur-sized carbon footprint Douglas College is leaving on the environment.
For example, expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) is used for take-out containers in the cafeteria. This material is generally bad for the environment: it takes a long time to decompose, it’s hard to recycle, and it’s actually banned as a packaging product in over 20 cities across North America—in 1990 polystyrene foam packaging was even banned at McDonald’s. Fernanda Santos, a manager of the Facilities Services Department, said although there are a number of cafeteria initiatives being looked at right now, there are no concrete plans for change—mostly due to cost.
Douglas has fallen behind when it comes to greener campuses. The University of Victoria has a system to use treated waste water in toilets, a compost program for leftover food, and a neon-green sticker on every light switch that reminds students to turn off the lights when leaving the room; Douglas College uses clean water in the toilets, has no compost program, and keeps lights on 24/7.
Recycling is important in all areas of a building, including water facilities, according to Peter Endisch, member of global warming awareness group Boiling Point Action Network (BPAN). “Water from kitchens, showers, etc, can be used for such things as flushing toilets,” he said. “The cost of the system should be easily recouped within a few years.”
“Compost—there’s no reason not to. Compost can be then used in the community gardens. Remember, there’s no such thing in nature as ‘waste’. Waste is a word invented by humans. Let’s try to at least put back into nature what we can, and avoid filling landfills with such nutrients-rich materials as compost. The GVRD is facing real issues because landfills are near capacity. It is only a question of time before institutions such as Douglas College are asked to start recycling aggressively and composting.”
Other ways Endisch suggested the College could ease its carbon output included introducing campus-wide zero-idling policies, installing energy efficient light bulbs, and expanding garden areas on the campuses.
Susan Witter, President of Douglas College, sent out an “Eco Challenge” email to all students on March 9. The email announced Witter would be chairing an Environmental Sustainability Task Force (ESTF) made up of students, staff, and administrators, who have “considered short-term priorities for raising awareness of the environmental initiatives already part of our culture, as well as expansions of these initiatives.”
Gerry Pinel, founder and president of BPAN, said a “Round Table Action Group” is the most effective way of creating changes from within. “The first task of the group should be to call for an environmental audit (carbon footprint) of the campus; a baseline is required to measure changes against. Then the real work would begin.” Some staff are already trying to turn their departments around. The Printshop recycles all of its paper trimmings and off cuts, and uses recycled paper for jobs whenever possible. It also encourages use of their online ordering system for print requests, instead of hard copy.
The Douglas Students’ Union has recently established an Environmental Action Team (EAT). EAT’s objectives are to implement change; gain knowledge via awareness campaigns and peers; collaborate with the College’s green teams, faculty, staff, and administration; and keep in contact with external coalition partners and multinational stakeholders.
“Our first Environmental Action Team meeting was held on Tuesday, March 4. All together, we now have 14 eager students that want to get involved and take initiative at Douglas,” said Ally MacGrotty, DSU and EAT spokesperson. “It was apparent that transportation, water, consumption, the earth, energy, and recycling systems were the top six topics of concern in which our team plans to address, work towards and actively gain awareness of sustainable initiatives that all students can take to fight climate change.”
But along with EAT, the DSU tries its best to lessen its impact. “We turn off our lights at all times necessary; we always recycle our pizza boxes from Pub Nights; we email rather than fax; we conserve paper by having our minutes, constitution and bylaws on the computer for students to request; we recycle our paper, pop cans and bottles; and, of course, encourage students to act with the same volition,” stated MacGrotty.
EAT has planned green events that all students are invited to attend, including a Water Taste Test and participation in the Commuter Challenge. “Our next endeavour after the Water Taste Test is to enter into the Commuter Challenge with other universities and colleges in June. Students will have the opportunity to record how many kilometres it takes for them to come to school,” said MacGrotty.
And, according to MacGrotty, change is possible. “We believe it is very feasible to implement a successful widespread green initiative at Douglas because these students are so engaged and enthusiastic.”