Clan overpowered by Wolves

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March 3, 2014

Less than a week after putting up their highest single-game point total against NCAA competition, the Clan couldn’t keep their offence going in an 82-71 loss to the Western Oregon University Wolves on Wednesday.

In the first game of their season-ending road-trip, the Clan couldn’t hold onto the ball. Fifteen turnovers plagued SFU’s efforts, especially after getting off to a rough start. It wasn’t until four minutes had elapsed and the Wolves had already put up 13 points that SFU hit its first basket of the game.

However, that kick-started a 14-0 run for the Clan, giving the visitors their first lead of the game with 12 minutes to play in the first. Unfortunately, it was short lived. After a period of trading baskets, the Wolves went on an 11-0 run of their own to pull ahead 36-30 towards the end of the first half.

SFU stuck around, trailing just 41-40 after 20, but in a battle of runs, WOU took a decisive 56-45 lead off an 11-1 run, a lead they would not relinquish.

“On the defensive end, we just wore down in the second half,” said head coach James Blake. “They started getting us on the offensive boards. Going down the stretch, that was ultimately what led to our demise.”

Senior Ibrahim Appiah grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds in the game, but even that wasn’t enough. Neither were Sango Niang’s game-high 30 points.

On that pair’s effort, Blake added, “Overall I’m happy with the effort. We have some great individual efforts and some things to build on.”

The loss drops the Clan’s record to 10-15 overall, but a dismal 3-14 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. With the season over — the Clan played their final game after press time — Blake must hope that, even with key players moving on, there’s enough to build on for next year.

Social media lie detector

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March 3, 2014

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All of you uninformed Facebook-gossipers will soon have to critically think about what you spread online! Researchers from the University of Sheffield are currently developing a social media lie-detector to separate fact from fiction on various social websites.

Pheme technology examines a source’s reliability by seeking corroborating information and by tracking the evolution of online discussions of various topics. Kalina Bontcheva, a Pheme senior researcher, said in an interview with the Deccan Chronicle, “Pheme will be able to identify false information by looking at the news source, conversations that stem from the tweet, and even the tweet’s language.”

In a world rank with uninformed web-gossip concerning every topic under the sun, this type of technology seems a little ambitious and even intimidating. If it succeeds, though, it could not only spotlight those who fall into shameless Internet gossip-traps, but also benefit media industries that have deteriorated in recent years, including today’s news media.

In a time where the state of journalism is rapidly worsening due to corporate interests, capitalist influence, and lack of thorough investigation, Pheme could be a starting point for steering mainstream news reports in the direction of truth and greater public service.

Currently, reporters all over the world, including many from the CBC, are relying on social media to write and deliver their stories. Social media has transformed the way news is created, dispersed and delivered. But, reporters are now wrongly seeking validation of facts simply through social media. I’ve even seen posts on Globe and Mail asking the public to verify the components of in-development news stories.

Pheme could provide more accuracy to those speedy, cheap-to-cover headlines.

Are the responses trustworthy? Maybe. Are they biased? More than you’d think. Most importantly, are these news sources questioning them appropriately? I don’t think so.

Social media has provided a plethora of journalists with an avenue for laziness. Before networks came into play, reporters had to be passionate about what they wrote, to independently and thoroughly investigate any story, rather than simply relying on the plentitude of shady sources available online.

Why use other, more efficient means for finding truth when you can ask Joe Schmoe on Twitter? Who cares if he’s politically biased and may not know all the facts? The story will be out real quick. Then we can move on to more pressing matters, like which celebrity has been cheating on which.

Of course, this isn’t the case for all journalists; there are many individuals and alternative news outlets dedicated to reporting the objective truth, and I applaud them!

But by instantly searching for validity in current events, Pheme’s fact-checking technology would not only help demand that those slacking, computer-based reporters think critically about their jobs, but may also help provide accuracy to those speedy, cheap-to-cover headlines.

As there is no turning back from online methods, Pheme may actually bring about new attitudes toward the subjects journalists cover, and the way they must cover them.

Put simply, I would rather have fewer reliable stories, than more of lower quality. I would rather be uninformed than misinformed. Hopefully, Pheme will discourage rumour-based reporting and aid journalists in their sometimes overwhelming pursuit of news.

Women take root in STEM studies

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March 3, 2014

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On February 21, Techcrunch published an article with the headline, “Women outnumber men for the first time in Berkeley’s Intro to Computer Science course;” it reported that 106 female students had enrolled versus 104 male students in this very technocentric course.

You might wonder why anyone is even reporting such a small statistical difference about which gender dominates in an introductory computer science course. For me, this small but significant step brings up important issues that are relevant in our current techno-savvy world.

By recognizing this gender gap, tucked away deep within the structures of academics in technology, we can pinpoint problems and create solutions to improve women’s participation in all levels of technological advancement and development.

Female role models offer examples of careers women may not have considered possible otherwise.

As a female technology user, I have had experiences where my knowledge and work have been belittled simply because I have a vagina. It’s frustrating, to say the least. The stigma that drives this belittling is an example of why women still have a low visibility in technology fields, despite being as well-educated as men.

Based on a study released by Statistics Canada this past December, women are still underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and computer science) fields. According to 2011 StatCan data, only 39 per cent of STEM graduates between ages 25 to 34 were female.

Numbers such as these are a reminder that arbitrary male-dominance still exists in these fields. However, seeing an increased number of female students in computer science programs disrupts the assumption that women are afraid of technology and are not “wired” to understand technology as well as men.

Another issue is the huge gap between male and female participation in the tech industry. Analyzing labour market outcomes of university graduates in 2011, the unemployment rate gap for men with a STEM university degree was just 4.7 per cent while it was seven per cent for women. If women are educated in technology, why are they so much less visible in the field?

My guess is that the biggest unstudied barrier for women in entering the field is that we value men in the tech industry more than women. We do this by default. This is not to say that men are better or more intelligent than women, but we have been shaped by patriarchal ideologies to think that women and technology do not mix, that women are not interested in learning about technologies. This assumption misrepresents and holds back women from participating in the industry.

Male-centric models of workplace processes and practices have been embedded within the industry and keep women from being completely successful in the world of tech: “Boy’s clubs” and gender-bias for job positions are big hurdles that women face when seeking opportunities to use their own knowledge and skills.

Personally, I have worked in a place where higher-paying and more technocentric jobs are allocated for and given to male employees while women are hired to fill in jobs that provide nurturing and assistance with lower wages.

I believe that attracting more women to STEM fields and having high-profile role models in tech such as Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg can help restructure and narrow the gender gap in the technological field today and in the future. Female role models mean women are able to take themselves out of the patriarchal ideology STEM fields face. They offer examples of careers that women may not have considered possible otherwise.

Only when we see women as legitimate participants in the industry will changes follow through.

Go Gold or go home

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March 3, 2014

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If you are anything like the members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), then you will probably say that the Olympics are not about winning or losing, or the number of medals a given country has won. And you may very well be right.

However, we competitive, greedy human beings naturally value winning and losing over much else. Especially, it seems, when we are spectators.

Because of the IOC’s view, though, there is no formal ranking on how to “win” the Olympics, or what qualifies as the official score; it varies depending your location.

If you are most of the world, the number of gold medals determines who is “winning” with ties broken up by the number of silver and bronze medals. However, if you’re in the United States or watching NBC, it’s the total medal count that matters, regardless of colour.

Counting total medals rather than gold medals implies that a gold medal is equal to a bronze one, that it is irrelevant whether you place first, second, or third; you’ve just got to place in the top three.

Although the US was fourth in number of gold medals these Olympics, according to their counting system, they cruise to second place with their bronze medal wins.

This does not make a large difference in Sochi, but in Vancouver, their system planted them firmly atop the standings with 37 total medals while the system rewarding the number of gold medals strongly favoured Canada.

You can call me biased in my belief that the gold medal system is better, as it favours Canada, but those who win truly, should win it all — not because they’re second or third.

Earning an Olympic silver or bronze medal is no small feat, and deserves proper recognition, but the system should be weighted in favour of the actual winner. At the very least the system should recognize gold medals as better than silver medals, and silver medals as better than bronze.

The Sochi Olympics, for all the concerns prior to the Opening Ceremonies, were an unquestionable hit. Russia, with 13 gold and 33 medals total, was the runaway winner by both counts.

But it won’t always be that easy — and for a two-week event that’s all about determining who’s the best, it’s a shame that we can’t properly determine who had the
best Olympics.

On the political fence

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March 3, 2014

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Over the last weekend of February, the federal Liberal party held its national policy convention. Liberal supporters waited eagerly to hear about how Justin Trudeau is going to lead us into a brave new world, while Conservatives and New Democrats stood ready to criticize the young leader.

While Liberals did leave the weekend feeling excited for their future, those expecting to hear the plan were left wanting.

This event was billed as a policy conference and one of its highlights was to be the unveiling of Trudeau’s plan to help the struggling middle class, something we have heard him repeatedly say is a priority for his government.

All we knew going into the conference was that education, trade, and infrastructure are central to this plan. With the conference over, that’s still all we know as the Liberal leader made more fluffy promises without any substance.

It will be interesting to see over the next year whether this potential PM will actually choose to have an opinion.

The little he did say made him sound like a more charismatic Stephen Harper. He wants the federal government to support provincial education policies, when the Conservatives have already dedicated the entire northern and resource strategy to skills training.

Concerning trade, the only black mark on Conservatives’ record is the failure to secure American support for the Keystone pipeline but the trade deal with the European Union more than makes up for that. Conservatives also plan to spend $14 billion in infrastructure over the next decade through the Building Canada Fund.

In other words, the three central parts of Liberal strategy for victory in 2015 are already being handled by the current government.

Much to the chagrin of Conservatives looking on, Trudeau dances on the political fence, promising a right-leaning economic program while offering liberal social policies. He suggests an expanded role for government, but says government interventions must be tightly targeted.

He also mentioned, again vaguely, that his government would spend even more generously than the Conservatives have, which means more debt or more taxes, when Canadians are so close to regaining a surplus budget.

If that isn’t enough to worry you, Trudeau still believes that “the budget will balance itself,” if only we focus on investment. The Conservatives once again jumped all over this, flooding Twitter with quotes from former Liberal Party leaders from Ignatieff to Chretien about the absurdity of a self-balancing budget.

Among the few solid policy commitments we got from Trudeau were things we already knew, or variations on a theme. The legalization of marijuana came up once again, but most Canadians already know that he’s in favour of that.

Senate reform was also a topic of discussion, and the Liberal leader said that if elected, he would appoint members from other parties to the Senate. That’s funny: a few weeks ago Trudeau said he would create a non-partisan committee to look after Senate appointments.

The big announcement, the one most likely to cause problems for Trudeau leading into 2015, was the resolution passed to call for the decriminalization of medically-assisted suicide. So far, Trudeau has continued to stay on the fence on the issue, saying that it is worth discussion and debate, but that he has reservations. It will be interesting to see over the next year whether this potential prime minister will actually choose to have an opinion.

This strategy may make him appeal to both political sides. But there is great danger: those walking on the middle of the road tend to get hit by trucks.

Why fuck is one of the best words in the English language

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March 3, 2014

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You’ve probably said it today — I know I have. Most of you will have used it as a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, interjection, and conjunction by the end of the week. Some of you will use it to describe pain, others pleasure, and others still to add emphasis to a given sentence. By the end of this article, you might even whisper it to yourself, just to hear it out loud. The word, of course, is the one mom told you never to use: fuck.

As it turns out, the story behind the F-bomb is more interesting than you might expect.

A brief fucking history

Unlike most of its vulgar counterparts — shit, turd, and arse, to name a few — fuck doesn’t have its roots in Old English. Some have suggested that the word originated as an acronym for Fornication Under the King or For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (the second having been borrowed by Van Halen for the title of a 1991 album), although there’s little evidence to support these claims.

It’s much more likely that fuck developed out of several Germanic terms for stroking, rubbing, and having sex. Its first recorded usage is in a coded poem from 1475, wherein the poet accused Carmelite friars of breaking their celibacy vows. In 1503, William Dunbar used the variation fukkit in his poem “Brash of Wowing.” Its next appearance was in a 1598 Italian-English dictionary, where it was paired with other vulgar terms of the time, such as jape, sard, and occupy.

Fuck has been a choice word of artists, politicians, and musicians for centuries.

Though the word continued to be used to describe sexual intercourse in certain circles, it didn’t find its way into our cultural lexicon until the late 19th century, where it gained popularity among working class Britons during the industrial revolution. Its status as an insult and an expletive qualified it as a swear word, and one that was not to be repeated aloud in Victorian Era Britain.

Some fucking grammar

Though fuck still literally refers to sexual intercourse, it’s more commonly used today in the figurative sense: it can be an action verb (I really give a fuck) or a passive verb (I really don’t give a fuck), a transitive verb (she fucked him) or an intransitive one (he was fucked by her). It can be an intensifier or a simple expletive. It can also take the place of almost every word in a sentence, as exemplified by Paul Fussell in his book Wartime: “Fuck, the fucking fucker’s fucked.”

Fuck also finds its way into several acronyms, most likely because of its vulgarity. Some common examples are WTF (what the fuck), FML (fuck my life), STFU (shut the fuck up), and FUBAR (fucked up beyond all recognition) — the latter gaining popularity due to its use by soldiers during World War II.

Fuck can even be used as a tmesis, where it’s inserted into the middle a previously existing word: the terms in-fucking-credible and abso-fucking-lutely sound perfectly normal to us, even though few other words in the English language can be used this way. Ultimately, fuck can be taken out of almost any sentence it’s in without affecting its syntactical meaning, making it as elusive as it is omnipresent.

Who the fuck uses it?

Fuck has been a choice word of artists, politicians, and musicians for centuries. Shakespeare famously alluded to the word in Henry V, when Pistol threatens to firk a soldier. D.H. Lawrence’s novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover attracted controversy for its repeated use of the word, as did authors such as James Joyce, Henry Miller, and J.D. Salinger. Comedians tend to use fuck more than any other performers, most notably Chris Rock, Richard Pryor, and George Carlin.

The word is also common in popular music — especially hip hop — although it’s usually censored on radio. TV shows also censor the term, and the US Supreme Court can fine stations up to $325,000 for an accidental “fuck.” Politicians seem to love the term, and we have recorded evidence to prove that Lyndon B. Johnson, John Kerry, Joe Biden, and our very own Pierre Trudeau had a particular affinity for it. (Fuddle duddle? Not a chance.)

Few words in our ever-expanding language are as flexible or versatile.

As for The Peak, we follow the Canadian Press style guide, which included fuck in its list of terms for the first time in 2005, due to its increasingly tolerated usage in other print media and in the public sphere. The Canadian Press encourages journalists not to censor the word, although it advises newspapers only to print the word if it is essential to the story. In that case, I think I’m safe.

In fucking conclusion

Fuck has had a long and storied history, and it’s arguably more popular today than ever. Unlike its more offensive cousin, which I am hesitant to print here (it rhymes with punt), fuck is used liberally in almost all English-speaking cultures, classes, and creeds. It’s not hard to see why: few words in our ever-expanding language are as flexible or versatile. It can describe annoyance, sadness, anger, elation, confusion, lust, boredom, panic, or disgust — sometimes all at once.

So if anyone tells you to watch your language: fuck ‘em!

5 Things I Wish I’d Known at 5

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March 3, 2014

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Written by Ella, Age 10

1. Golden Stars are not everything

There’s a lot more to life than just getting gold stars. Don’t spend too much energy obsessing over being the first in line or sitting the straightest, in the long run it won’t get you anywhere. In fact, it turns out these stars don’t do anything at all. In fourth grade we don’t even use them anymore, we have happy face stickers. Those are what really matter.

2. It’s okay if you pee your pants

In five years, no one’s going to remember who did and didn’t pee their pants in kindergarten. All they’ll remember is that someone did and it was really, really funny. Seriously, even if you know it was you, you can just lie and say it was some other kid. There’s no way to prove it, just ask my uncle, he’s a lawyer and told me so.

3. You are not a poopyhead

Really. That’s not even a good insult, I know the s-word now.

4. If they don’t want to pick you as goose, they aren’t worth it

If somebody isn’t going to take the time to make you the goose even once, forget them. Wait for someone who is willing to see you as more than just another duck. They’re out there, I promise.

5. How to count to 5

It’s really cool and helped me make this list. It’s a little tricky though, takes a while to remember that four comes before five.

Perogies, sauerkraut, and borscht, oh my!

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March 3, 2014

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Confession time: I have no idea how to spell perogy. Pierogi? Pirogi? Whatever the spelling, smother it in fried onions and sour cream and it’s guaranteed to be delicious, which is why I was so excited to hear about the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church’s Friday Night Supper. They offer perogies, cabbage rolls, Ukrainian sausage and borscht the first Friday of every month, and it is so worth the wait.

The church looks like something off of a postcard, all blue and white domes, except for the signs outside directing people to a specific entrance for ‘Eat In’ or ‘Take Out.’ The line up outside is usually comprised of people waiting for takeout, so go ahead and jump the queue if you have time to stay and enjoy this unique dining experience.

The inside of the church looks a lot like an elementary school gym, full of crowded tables and cheerful conversation as people from all over Vancouver get to know each other over trays of delicious food.

Friday night suppers are a great way to enjoy Ukrainian culture and meet new people.

Friday night suppers are a great way to enjoy Ukrainian culture and meet new people — when you enter you’re given a placemat and told to find an empty seat at a table full of strangers — if you’re a big group it can be hard to find enough free spaces at a table to sit together.

The menu ranges from the mini dinner (four perogies, a cabbage roll, Ukrainian sausage and a salad for $8) to the Super Dinner (10 perogies, three cabbage rolls, Ukrainian sausage and your choice of sauerkraut or salad for $15), with a vegetarian option, borscht, drinks and dessert also offered.

Everything is homemade and served by the most adorable old Ukrainian women. To order, fill out the menu card at your table, then wait in line to pay and collect your food. I had the regular dinner (six perogies, two cabbage rolls and a Ukrainian sausage) and I could barely walk back to the bus stop.

It’s a fairly straightforward 40-minute commute from SFU’s Burnaby campus, and you’ll definitely be glad you made the trip. The food is exactly what you’d expect from your Ukrainian grandma — whether you actually have one or just wish you did. It’s hearty, traditional and eaten in the company of smiling faces.

The Friday night suppers are perfect if you’re looking for a unique cultural experience, a way to meet new people, or just really great food. Sometimes a meal can be about so much more than the food on your plate.

The next dinner will take place on March 7. I’m already counting down the days.

Satellite Signals

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March 3, 2014

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Woodward’s

Howard Sapers, an SFU alumni, spoke to the challenges of managing mental illness in federal penitentiaries last week at Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. Sapers explained the need for more preventative methods, rather than relying on prisons to manage offenders with mental health and addiction issues.

Correctional investigator of Canada and recipient of the 2013 Simon Fraser University Outstanding Alumni Award for Public Service, Sapers serves as the federal ombudsman for offenders in Canada, working to “support the rights and fair treatment of those under the care of Canada’s correctional system.”

Surrey

A day-long workshop held at SFU Surrey last Saturday encouraged dialogue about regional issues between urban professionals, students, and interested members of the public. The discussions focused on pinpointing solutions the key regional challenges of BC’s south coast metropolitan region.

“The past and recent successes of governing in the Vancouver city-region have largely been a product of locals thinking about how best to resolve the challenges facing the region — from sewerage and drainage to water to transportation,” says Patrick Smith, SFU political science professor.

The goal of the day was to create ideas and “action priorities” for the region’s future.

Vancouver

Thirteen years after 9/11, Islamophobia persists throughout North American society. Nevertheless, change seems more likely to come from within Islam than from external forces.

Last Thursday, SFU’s Centre for the Comparative Study of Muslim Societies and Cultures and partners presented a lecture about the purposes of Islamic law. Ebrahim Moosa from Duke University spoke to the challenges of recovering the “ethical” in Islamic law.

Moosa, along with other contemporary Muslim thinkers, is engaged in efforts to give Islam a more goal-oriented and big-picture framework. Are the purposes of Islamic law ethical or instrumental? A worthy pursuit, or a fool’s errand?

SFU student cookbook is a raw vegan knockout

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March 3, 2014

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SFU student Emily Von Euw, creator of the popular weblog, This Rawsome Vegan Life, has created a vegan dessert cookbook for the ages. Rawsome Vegan Baking: An Un-Cookbook will be in stores March 4 through Macmillan Publishers.

The book moves away from the spiral-bound word-art cookbooks of the early raw vegan movement, instead opting for a pro-matte finish.

Von Euw is a proponent of raw veganism, which combines veganism’s avoidance of animal by-products with a focus on foods never heated above 120°F. Many foods, when heated above this temperature, lose valuable enzymes and vitamins.

In her desserts, Von Euw uses only raw ingredients: dried fruit, nuts, purported superfoods such as coconut oil and cacao powder, etc. The recipes created out of these building blocks play on consistency and are open to infinite variation.

In recreating one of her cheesecake recipes, I added a cup and a half of rainier cherries on a whim — it turned out fantastic. Rawsome Vegan Baking takes raw desserts to a new level while remaining accessible to curious newcomers.

The photography, shot by Von Euw herself, is beautiful. Her blog, which receives over one million monthly page-views, has provided great practice for the gorgeous full colour photographs included with every recipe. The recipes and their accompanying photographs are regular features on the covers of vegan magazines.

I met with Von Euw at Golden Aura, a recently opened raw vegan café located on a particularly yoga-centric block of West Broadway. The food was good, but lacked the knockout flavour present in many of Von Euw’s recipes. We talked about her vegan destiny, convincing skeptics, and eating healthy on campus.

The Peak: What made you want to become a vegetarian or vegan in the first place?

Emily Von Euw: I don’t have an amazing answer because I don’t really remember much, but I remember reading Fit for Life, which is a book that was written in the 80s. It’s not even 100 per cent accurate, but it asks very rational things like “Why are we drinking the milk of another species when we’re full grown adults.” It is a little bit weird guys! So I remember reading that and thinking, “Why am I drinking milk? Why am I eating meat? This doesn’t make sense!” Then the next thing I remember is that I decided to go vegan for 30 days. A day or two into it I thought, “This is what my fate is, this is the lifestyle for me,” and I pretty much never went back.

P: Your transition to a vegan diet was quick! Were there any factors in place that made that possible?

Von Euw: A little bit before I went vegan, my uncle got leukemia and passed away. It was pretty intense and tragic for everybody involved because we were all really tight. That was a tough time. I was into healthy eating at that point and I remember being in the hospital with him and they gave him pudding in a cup and I thought, “This is so messed up, this can’t be right!” He should have been getting like fresh juices and healthy food! It didn’t make sense.

P: Can you explain your connection to the raw philosophy?

Von Euw: When I first heard about raw food I was like, [Sir Mix-a-Lot voice] “Oh my gosh, raw diet!” and I saw it as very 100 per cent or nothing, almost from a militant perspective.

I’ve since learned that’s not the way I should look at it. It isn’t about eating only raw food, it’s just about the fact that raw food is usually more nutritious than cooked food. No matter what, it is going to be in its whole form so it has a higher water content and it makes you feel fuller. It is also just easier for your body to digest most of the time, right?

Having said that, cooked foods are great for you, too. Quinoa, steamed veggies, etc., they’re all amazing for you and I eat those as well. I just try to eat the majority of my diet raw because that’s how I feel best. I think that how much raw food people should eat varies based on what will make them feel best, you know? Have an open mind about it. It’s not an all or nothing thing.

P: Do you have any tips for eating raw on campus?

Von Euw: For people who are trying to eat raw or eat vegan, or just trying to eat healthier, I recommend bringing tons of fruit, tons of nuts, and, honestly, recipes from my book because they’re all great energy snacks. I call them desserts, but really they’re the ingredients that you have in a granola bar, so they’re great for keeping you full. Nuts have really high calories and so does dried fruit.

Another thing I tell people, if they want to save money, is to buy rice and beans in bulk, cook them in large quantities, freeze them into little servings, and then have veggies, sauces, and soups in your fridge. Then all you have to do is steam some veggies, take out your rice, beans, or whatever, and mix that with a sauce or soup, and you’ve got a great meal. It isn’t raw but it’s super good for you, super cheap, and super vegan.

P: I actually made one of your recipes once. I made a cheesecake and it was really awesome. There was definitely lots of room to be creative with it. Everybody who tried it really loved it, and I don’t think they even knew it was vegan.

Von Euw: I was catering a friend’s play the other day and this woman and her friend came up to the table and were like “What’s in this? Is it a cheesecake?” I told her I call it a ‘creamcake,’ and that it’s cashew-based and has coconut oil and lemon and lavender, and all this great delicious stuff, and that it’s good for you — and dairy free.

Then she was like, “Oh, dairy free…” and she literally stuck up her nose and turned away. We were all trying to convince her to try it, because it was really good. So she had a piece and was like “OMG, this is so good! This is really interesting!” That was a big compliment for me. It’s more meaningful when a skeptic is wowed than a vegan raw-foodie because I have more to prove, there’s more at stake in it.

P: I’ve heard you will be creating a juice and smoothie book next? Can you give us a sneak peek as to what that will be like?

Von Euw: It’s going to be about 100 recipes. There will be sweet smoothies like the classic fruit smoothie, and there will be savoury smoothies which are going to have garlic and such. “Savoury smoothie” sounds kind of weird to me, so I tell people to think of them as raw soup. Put it in a bowl if that makes you feel better! There’s also going to be sweet and savoury juices as well as some energy bars and raw and healthy snacks. It should be out in December of this year.

P: Lastly, what’s your favourite recipe from Rawsome Vegan Baking?

Von Euw: Honestly, I’m going to have to go with my super indulgent side. There is a recipe in the book that I think is called vanilla chocolate chunk cheesecake. It’s in-freaking-sane. It’s just so decadent! You can use peanut butter, or raw peanut butter, or tahini, or cashew butter. There is chocolate and delicious vanilla layers. It’s super creamy and super dense. I could probably eat the whole cake!