Photo Album Reviews

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July 29, 2013

In last week’s article correction of an article from the previous week entitled “‘ASS’ inducted into Arcade Hall of Fame,” it was stated that one of the video game enthusiast quoted, Todd O’Neal, was described erroneously as a “Nerd.” Although we apologized, describing it as “a careless and insensitive mistake” and stated that Todd was actually more of a“Dweeb,” it turns out that “Dweeb” is more offensive than “Nerd.” Just like last week, The Peak offers its sincerest apologies for yet another error.

Five Hole For Food ends tour in Vancouver

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July 29, 2013

On Saturday, July 20, Granville Street was even busier than usual for a beautiful weekend day. Beyond signs that read “Will play hockey for food,” non-profit organization Five Hole For Food had set up shop between Robson and Smithe.

Five Hole For Food is a national, volunteer driven organization with a basic goal: to raise food for local food banks. Started by SFU MBA student Richard Loat, the team travelled across Canada from the East to the West, starting on July 3 in St. John’s and ending up in Vancouver, where they took over Granville Street from noon to 6:00 p.m. This was the team’s fourth tour.

The tour invited hockey lovers as well as those just looking to contribute to a good cause to come out and bring their hockey stick and a can of food. Over the past three years, Five Hole For Food has raised over 200,000 pounds of food to support local food banks. On this tour alone they raised over 345,000 pounds of food, blowing past their goal of 250,000 pounds. Vancouver’s contribution totalled over 70,000 pounds.

Nicole Van Zanten, Five Hole For Food’s director of digital and web, said that the energy in Vancouver was “amazing. Out in the maritimes it’s wonderful — a lot of small towns, a lot of small-knit communities — but here it’s big, and everybody comes down and social’s just been buzzing all day.”

Social media is imprinted in the identity of the organization, which has been able to reach far past its 40 volunteers to reach a huge Canadian audience. To date, the initiative has gained support from George Melville, the chairman and owner of Boston Pizza, Bif Naked, Dan Mangan, and even hockey legends Trevor Linden and Roberto Luongo.

“Trevor was a special one,” Loat said in an interview with the Richmond Review. “It’s an immense point of pride just because this has been my baby that I’ve grown year-over-year.”

The idea of Five Hole For Food was borne out of the 2010 Winter Olympics, after Canada’s gold medal hockey win and the infectious energy that came from the games made Loat realize that hockey could be used as a vehicle for change in Canada.

“We’re trying to build a social movement that is really tapping into the passion that Canadians have for the sport of hockey, and using that as a vehicle for social change, not just in our hometown of Vancouver, but across Canada,” Loat said in an interview with Burnaby Now.

For the first tour in 2010, the team set out across Canada to play nine games and travel 6,000 kilometers in just nine days, raising 6,000 pounds of food. This time around, Five Hole For Food drove 9,405 kilometers, and played 54 hours of hockey.

“For me, it’s about raising more and more every year,” Loat said, according to the Richmond Review. “Even if it’s just one pound of food more, it’s considered a success . . . The more impact we can leave on the community, the more impact we can make from year to year.”

Privacy is a myth

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July 29, 2013

There is no such thing as privacy on the internet. In light of recent news coverage of Edward Snowden and National Security Agency (NSA) spying, we must ask ourselves: What has facilitated mass monitoring online, and how can we best protect ourselves?

The nature of internet communication enables spying. If you have ever spent time on Facebook stalking your alleged friends, then you’re an accomplice.

In most of Canada, online data is legally protected by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). Beginning with the most benign privacy threat online, consider the right of access by an app developer or your email provider.

SFU’s Fair Use Policy for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) governs all online services and other university computers. This policy states that “most activities performed using university’s ICT resources are logged . . . [and] . . . routinely examined by ICT support staff to monitor the performance, reliability and security of ICT. ICT support must not disclose information learned from or contained within these log files except when authorized . . .” I do not question SFU’s integrity regarding this policy, I only mean to highlight that anything stored on SFU servers is accessible, and therefore, isn’t private.

Information technology (IT) support services for corporations with an online presence have the same access to data as SFU, but this data is also analysed for the purpose of targeted advertising, which is akin to spying. The clever programming of analytics responds to key words in emails, web pages visited, type of web browser, the brand of computer, your IP address and much more.

If you’re browsing on a smartphone, these analytics monitor where you are. Check the terms of apps and determine what they demand access to. The dictionary.com app requires geographic location. Looking up the definition of “absurd” online should not require my location.

Location monitoring is unnecessary, arbitrary and an invasion of privacy. Location data is a type of “metadata” and is argued by its proponents not to be a form of spying. The metadata of a phone call doesn’t include conversation topics, but details who you called, for how long, and from where. All things considered, if you consistently monitor a person’s digital activity, you would likely know more about them than if you searched their home.

The NSA has applied all of these online monitoring techniques, and more. This form of spying generates a comprehensive, constantly updating digital record of everything a person has done using communication technology. This isn’t simply following someone in a crowd; if an agent deems you suspicious, your digital fingerprint, backed-up across multiple servers, can be thoroughly scrutinized.

Over the last 15 years, the Government of Canada has made repeated attempts to remove the necessity for law enforcement agencies to possess a warrant to monitor a person’s online activity. A warrant is presently required, but this provides only limited online privacy, which may be eliminated with a change to the law.

What can we netizens (citizens of the internet) do about our lack of privacy online? For starters, read the terms and conditions when you agree to use apps or online services. If people refuse to use apps and communication devices because of invasive monitoring, developers will change the product.

Opt out of unnecessary data monitoring. For the dictionary.com app, I have disabled “location services.” For email, use a fully encrypted service, or one that isn’t actively analysing your correspondence. SFU email accounts are considerably more private than Gmail accounts.

For a comprehensive list of encrypted and open source online services visit prism-break.org. Finally, when any of your liberties are challenged, make noise, scream, yell and sign petitions. Government lawmakers really do notice.

TSSU files complaint over international healthcare plan

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July 29, 2013

The Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) has filed a complaint with SFU’s Human Resources department on behalf of their international student members over the guard.me healthcare plan, saying that the plan and its implementation are in violation of the TSSU’s collective agreement with the university.

Guard.me is the medical insurance plan that international students at SFU are enrolled into upon their arrival at the university. A three year contract with guard.me was signed by the Board of Governors last year, and implemented in the spring semester.

TSSU spokesperson Derek Sahota explained in an interview with The Peak that the main concern of the union is the mandatory nature of the program and the difficulty with opting out. “We had some members trying to get out of the program once they got their MSP [Medical Services Plan], and finding they couldn’t actually get out of the program the way that [SFU] had set everything up,” said Sahota.

Our collective agreement says members may elect to choose their provider, and SFU has basically forced them all to one provider.”

-Derek Sahota, TSSU spokesperson

International students are automatically enrolled in the guard.me coverage, and are given the chance to opt-out by scanning their MSP card as proof of coverage. However, Sahota said that because of the long wait time required to attain their MSP card, students aren’t being allowed to opt out of the program, meaning that those who have gotten their MSP but haven’t received their card are faced with the expense of double coverage.

International students are eligible for MSP 2 months after their arrival in BC, which covers basic and emergency medical care and costs $66.40 per month per person. Sahota noted that international students are automatically opted into four months of the SFU facilitated guard.me service, “but only need two months and remainder of month of arrival at most,” according to the complaint.

Expense is also a consideration in the complaint against the guard.me service. The cost of four months of guard.me coverage is $353.00, compared to $150 for three months at UBC, or $183.75 for four months coverage at Kwantlen.

“Our collective agreement says members may elect to choose their provider, and SFU has basically forced them all to one provider,” said Sahota. “It’s by far the most expensive provider around, even much more expensive than just going and getting it privately on your own. So that’s a big problem for our members.”

The TSSU has scheduled a meeting for September 19 to speak to the university about the complaint.

“The members have already had it charged to them. We’re arguing that they should get a full refund because they should have had the option to elect whatever [medical plan] they wanted,” said Sahota. “In addition to that, we really want to force some changes to this program to make it going forward work better.”

In terms of ideas for improvement, Sahota pointed to a program at the University of the Fraser Valley that automatically enrolls students in their healthcare plan after three months, evading the double coverage issue. Sahota also said that the TSSU will be talking with the GSS, SFSS, and other campus groups about the complaint, in an effort to “find solutions that work for everybody.”

University officials did not respond when asked to comment on the situation.

Album Reviews: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Speedy Oritz, and a throwback to The Notorious B.I.G.

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July 22, 2013

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

If you love: A) Cheesy call-and-answer background vocals, B) Lyrics that make Bono seem like The Bard, C) Lanky, sweaty, bearded men and D) Neo-psychedelic folk stripped of its social conscience, then I suggest you purchase Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros’ new self-titled LP.

Now, don’t get me wrong; I sing along to “Home” whenever it comes on the radio, and I feel that the group’s debut Up From Below had moments of pure hippie-pop genius. But the band’s latest, despite the occasional glimmer of hope, is a saccharine and ultimately meaningless throwaway.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros squanders the promise of the group’s debut full-length and its passable follow-up, Here. Ebert’s lyrics are unimaginative at best, and cringe-worthy at worst; I nominate “If I were free / I’d run into battles / With flowers and hugs” from “If I Were Free” as the most egregious offender, but I admit that the title is hotly contested.

His vocals recall the whiskey-soaked snarl of Janis Joplin and the fragile warble of Devendra Banhart, and to his credit, he genuinely sounds like he’s having fun making this music. But his singing ability is dwarfed by occasional co-vocalist Jade Castrinos, whose Southern twang is twice as endearing — and half as artificial — as Ebert’s Kentucky-fried wail.

The instrumentals aren’t much better: the lazy Afrobeat of song “In the Lion” sounds like an outtake from The Lion King’s soundtrack, and the swooning strings and gospel-style from “Life is hard” refrain dwarf the track’s lofty aspirations. “Come celebrate / Life is hard,” Ebert and Castrinos chant, but it’s hard to take them seriously.

Whether they’re making some veiled ironic statement or they genuinely believe in the transformative potential of Flower Power, Edward Sharpe and his merry pranksters’ newest LP is everything the band’s myriad influences are not: unimaginative, cheesy and just plain boring.

Speedy Oritz – Major Arcana

On first listen, Major Arcana could easily be mistaken for a Best of the 90s compilation CD. Massachusetts noise-rock quartet Speedy Ortiz are cheerfully anachronistic, borrowing cues from flannel-clad rockers like Pavement, Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth while lead singer and guitarist Sadie Dupuis channels Liz Phair and Corin Tucker.

Her lyrics read like passages from 11th grade poetry classes; her backing band sounds like one of the countless acts that used to play at The Bronze, the nightclub from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Of course, I loved every minute of it.

Greater than the sum of its instantly recognizable parts, Major Arcana is an immensely enjoyable debut LP. Dupuis’ acidic sneer and sure-footed conviction help to keep her lyrics on the right side of the Awesome / Cheesy spectrum, while guitarist Matt Robidoux and bassist Darl Ferm’s caustic, prickly interplay keep the album’s ten razor-sharp tracks at arm’s length from pop simplicity.

Most of Dupuis’ lyrics are witty, acerbic takedowns of failed relationships and false friends. Though her frequent Stephen Malkmus comparisons — another sardonic indie-rock wordsmith — are well-deserved, her singing voice is much more tuneful.

Her surprising chops benefit the album’s more muted moments, such as “No Below,” which sees Dupuis reliving high-school trauma: “I didn’t know you when I broke my knee / Spent the summer on crutches, and everybody teased.”

Major Arcana does suffer from an over-arching sense of sameness: most of the tracks follow a similar structure, and more than a few devolve into messy noise jams that begin to grate by “MKVI,” the album’s discordant seven-minute closer.

Still, Speedy Ortiz have released one of the best indie-rock debuts in recent memory, an unashamedly awesome ode to the pioneers of years past, injected with just the right amount of modern rock bravado.

Throwback: The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die

Ready to Die is as bloated and hedonistic as its creator, but those who’ve grown up listening to The Notorious B.I.G. know that’s the point. Whether he’s selling drugs or busting rhymes, Christopher Wallace is not interested in small doses.

While Ready to Die is about three tracks longer than it needs to be — and each hip-hop fan will choose to cut a different three — it’s still undoubtedly one of the strongest works the medium has ever seen.

Biggie’s persona remains ambiguous 25 years after his death, and his debut LP might be the main reason: he’s as hypocritical as emcees come.

On “Me & My Bitch,” his girlfriend is his partner in crime, doing time for conspiracy and bagging marijuana with him on dates; yet on “Friend of Mine,” he dismisses the opposite sex as untrustworthy and fickle. On the brilliant “Things Done Changed,” he longs for the carefree camaraderie of yesteryear; “Ready to Die” and “Gimme the Loot,” on the other hand, are among hip-hop’s most threatening calls to arms.

Somehow, the diametrically opposed aspects of Ready to Die are united by the rapper’s legendary flow and clever, often hilarious wordplay. Wallace reportedly excelled in English before dropping out of high school, and his talent for words is never more apparent than on singles “Juicy” and “Big Poppa.”

But the greatest success of Ready to Die is its range: over the album’s 17-song span, Biggie explores the entire emotional spectrum of his drug dealer turned hip-hop star lifestyle. One day, it’s all champagne, sex, and celebration; the next, it’s jealousy, violence and, ultimately, suicide.

That Biggie was able to make one of the first flat-out emotional hip-hop records without losing any of his well-earned street cred is a small miracle. Ready to Die may be inconsistent, dated, and more than a little misogynistic; still, despite its flaws, it stands as one of the best and most ambitious records of its time.

A case for sweating the small stuff

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July 22, 2013

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It’s easier said than done to break habits, especially when you’re rushing somewhere, caught up in life, with everyone you pass seeming so unresponsive. Yet, I hope I’m not in the minority in my belief that the small stuff is exactly what we should be sweating, and that while the end goal is certainly important, we cannot forget the journey.

Last weekend, my mother and I went to visit an old family friend that had watched me grow up. She hadn’t seen me in years, and excitedly took me upstairs to show me something she said she held dear: it was a pastel drawing portrait I had done of her decades earlier, childish both in the brightness of the colours and in the arbitrary application of technique.

I had had no idea the drawing I had done as a child could have had such an impact as to remain framed and admired by her for so many years. But it got me thinking, and it hit me that of all the gifts I have received in my life — and I’m talking material gifts for now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves — I don’t recall all of the expensive electronics that have since died and ended up in piles.

My grandmother, for example, doesn’t see me that often, and when she does, she’s in the habit of piling me with presents. However, the only one that sticks in my mind is one of my deceased grandfather’s medals — something that had cost her nothing, but represented a tiny piece of my family’s history, which I struggle to rediscover.

To get even more abstract, the most impactful experiences can be fleeting moments between strangers, significant for the very reason that they have no knowledge of our lives and (hopefully) no vested interest. A stranger’s smile when we need it most is a beautiful and pure experience; it reminds us how disconnected we have become from the world and from one another, how little of our capacity for change we are using.

Before you peg me as being just a sentimental sap, I am not alone in the belief that we need to return to the basics in order to facilitate change in the world. In 2011, People for Good, a Canadian non-profit organization, started an ad campaign to accomplish their mission of “encouraging Canadians to do everyday good deeds because frankly, our social fabric needs some mending.”

“Real men are measured by the size of their generosity,” reads one poster board. “Want to hear an uplifting story? A guy lets everyone get on the train before him. The end,” says another. The idea is that we focus so much on tangible successes and quantifiable deeds — such as career — that we’ve become, for lack of a better word, assholes to one another.

On the flip side, small things can leave a negative impact, too. Words are not “just words” — apologizing or moving on cannot undo an impression that a small gesture left. Above all, we forget the impact that we can leave with our negligence and our lack of mindfulness.

This may have been filled with inspirational calendar cliches and emotional sentiments, but it’s a genuine plea to the world: we cannot end wars and bigotry in our world if we cannot even look at one another in the eye.

It’s not the grand gestures or the expensive gifts that leave a lasting impact on us. It is a child’s drawing, a compliment — genuine in both its delivery and content — or a stranger’s smile in our darkest hour.

Letter to the Editor – July 22, 2013

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July 22, 2013

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Dear Editor,

The eloquent article written by Mohamed Sheriffdeen titled “The terrors of immigration” advocates for a universalism that is, I am afraid, incongruent with the natural mode of human life.

It’s true we all ought to share in a sense of global community, but to discount the role of local community — and therefore, local values and traditions — is a grave mistake. People naturally form communities based on the geographical, social, and religious contexts in which they find themselves.

This is not a mistake or a flaw in our nature, but is perfectly normal, and the instances of nationalism and xenophobia that Mohamed rightly denounce are really just corruptions of the ideal of universalism — just as the development of a monoculture is a corruption of the same ideal.

The reason why nations exist in the first place is precisely because the tribal groups in which humanity has lived for the majority of its existence discovered there was something common they shared. Nations, therefore, are as natural as the regions, cities and families that comprise them, and ought to be protected as the primary means of enacting the common good for the average person.

Will there one day be a world nation, composed of all the members of humanity? Perhaps. However, establishing such an entity will first require us to acknowledge and value what separates us, because it is precisely what separates us that allows us to have individual expression (a value which you advocate for, albeit incoherently) within the context of a larger community.

To increase our commonality without destroying our diversity is thus the greatest challenge facing the advocates of a “humanity-wide consciousness,” and that will certainly require more than just believing in “respect and acceptance.”

It’s interesting that he speaks of the ideal of the “Ummah” as providing a genesis for your ideal of universalism. As a Filipino-Canadian Catholic, I am quite familiar with such themes, given that my Church is an advocate of global human values (the word ‘Catholic’ is derived from the Greek word meaning ‘universal’).

Of course, this universality is predicated on a unity of values (which the Church doesn’t really hide), but then again, isn’t unity of values precisely what Mohamed seeks by looking forward to a fully global community?

Sincerely,

Juan Tolentino

Formula One deserves more credit

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July 22, 2013

Formula One (F1) racing may look just like another motorsport with a bunch of cars driving in a circle making loud noises, but it’s actually the perfect sport for everyone — even those who do not normally like sports. This can be attributed to the flawless way in which it integrates the drama of a reality show into the structure of a sport through interesting personalities who drive amazing feats of engineering toward victory.

First and foremost, F1 is a motorsport. This comes with the standard package of expectations and assumptions we all have when we initially think about racing. There are cars moving fast, and the goal is to cross the line first; however, this is only the bare chassis of what this sport is. The real heart of the sport lies in the technical aspects that must be balanced for a team to contend for the podium.

Everything matters in F1, from the weight of the driver to the wear of the tires to the exact angles of the car. There is an exact science to this sport, because it requires a refined level of skill from everyone involved. F1 is absolutely fantastic when you think about how complex it really is — there is so much more to the sport than merely driving around a circle making angry car noises.

With the precise balance required to succeed in F1, it’s not surprising things often go wrong. These mishaps and shortcomings are what make each race unique. When you have watched a few races and are familiar with the sport, you come to consider each car a ticking time bomb. At least one car will retire early, and this means that something — often exciting — will happen to the race’s outcome.

If you like a sport with action, Formula 1 provides real time crashes with a plethora of replays to show the incident from several angles. Other notable happenings may include: cars setting on fire, tires rolling off moving cars, and tires exploding. There is much suspense and mystery as you watch the drivers circle a track in a game of musical chairs, while audience members watch to see who will finish the race.

For those who are less awed by the mechanics of the car and its failures, F1 also provides unique personalities. There are twenty-two drivers on the grid this year who are in the spotlight and competing in the Formula One World Championship. In interviews and audio clips broadcast from team radios, one can get a sense of who these people are and grow attached to “favourites.” This is something that I’ve found challenging in the local sports scene; the athletes do not appear to be as much individuals as they are a team. These drivers are human, and they do sometimes act in ways that defy their team orders and expectations.

F1 is sporting and reality TV done right. The prize is the title of World Champion, and the races leading up to it are the challenges they face in the process. The drivers are contestants divided into teams of which they must work together to succeed. This leads to interpersonal drama between teammates and competitors because, at the end of the day, there can only be one winner.

Keeping up to date with F1 and all the news around favourite teams and drivers is one of the things that makes the sport so engaging. And whether or not you comprehend all of the sport’s mechanics, you do not need a grasp of the technical components to enjoy the race.

There is no grey area to sexual assault

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July 22, 2013