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University Briefs

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EIC
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By Graham Cook

SFU researchers receive new grants

Teams led by Simon Fraser University researchers Fiona Brinkman and Cenk Sahinalp will use Genome Canada grants in order to create tools to analyze the DNA of cancer patients. The funds stem from Genome Canada’s 2012 Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Competition, which distributed money to 17 projects across Canada. Alongside the Public Health Agency of Canada and BC Public Health Microbiology and Reference Lab, Brinkman’s team will work on new ways for health investigators to use and share genomics information. Sahinalp’s team will use a method called compressed sensing/sparse recovery to investigate the role of alternative splicing in cancer and will work with the Vancouver Prostate Centre.

With files from SFU PAMR

BC government offers ideas for universities to save money

To combat the recent $46 million funding cut to post-secondary education the BC government has created the Post Secondary Administrative Service Delivery Project. It outlines ways that British Columbia’s numerous universities can cut costs, including combining things such as information technology, purchasing, and libraries. The main idea is that more favourable rates can be achieved if multiple universities are combined in one contract. The project is similar to BC Campus which creates products like ApplyBC which helps streamline the university application process.

With files from The Ubyssey

U of A eco-car held up at American border

A University of Alberta team hoping to compete in the Shell Eco-Marathon competition had their dreams dashed as the car was not able to make it through customs. According to the team, Affiliated Custom Broker Ltd. (the company they chose to get the car into the US) was unaware of some of the rules around importing vehicles. The main issue overlooked was that the package did not have EPA approval, which is required 30 days prior to shipping. Six of the 11 team members will be graduating this year meaning that they will be unable to ever race the vehicle.

With files from The Gateway

Tuition freeze to remain for students in Newfoundland

The provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador has, in their new budget, decided to maintain the tuition freeze for students at the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) and the College of the North Atlantic. This decision is largely a result of both MUN’s Student Union and the Newfoundland and Labrador branch of the Canadian Federation of Students lobbying to keep the freeze in place. In addition, Joan Shea, the Provincial Minister of Advanced Education, also sees affordable post-secondary education as a priority for the government.

With files from The Muse

Fringe Fest

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EIC
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A rough guide to BC’s alternative political parties

Written by Rachel Braeuer
Illustrations by Eleanor Qu

Got the elections blues, SFU? Feel like you’re just picking between the lesser of four equally dull evils? Worry not fair citizens! We found 12 alternative parties to float your vote if you’re not a fan of Dix, Cumming, MILF-y Clark, or relatively unknown Stark and compiled them all into a handy guide that isn’t nihilistic in the least. After all, nothing sends a message to big government to watch itself quite like voting for a party that doesn’t even have a website.

bible
The Christian Heritage Party

The CHP BC’s main objective is to “restore and preserve our Great Canadian heritage, granted by our Creator, which is the foundation of our democratic system of government, in order to bring effective and accountable government to British Columbia.” Quick, change the history textbooks, we seem to have democracy because Sky Man gave it to us! Based on traditional Christian values, the party believes in the importance of traditional learning methods (aka private faith-based education), traditional families (aka a man and a woman and definitely no abortions), and wealth creation above wealth redistribution. They also want negotiations with First Nations groups to move forward, ideally getting rid of the Indian Act altogether, so that “our Aboriginals [can] take their rightful place alongside other British Columbians, fully equal to all other British Columbians in all respects,” which is a nice way of saying get rid of Aboriginal rights and land claims.

 

You should vote for them if: you believe it’s Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve, you don’t see a problem with calling Canada’s First Nations “our Aboriginals,” and / or the Conservatives just aren’t conservative enough for your liking.

 

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BC First Party

Citing its roots in the fight against the HST, BC First is looking “to build methodically and carefully lasting change in government . . . to create a new system that builds a coalition of MLA’s, who are directly responsible to their constituents.” Ultimately they’re hoping to achieve a “Hybrid Swiss System” which basically means they want to move towards a direct democracy where any citizen can change any law or make amendments to constitution through referenda. Immediate changes they’re trying to make include regulating genetically modified food, eliminating hospital wait lists, and getting rid of bridge tolls. If you have questions about any of this, the party’s leader can be found “campaigning throughout his riding of Vancouver-False Creek . . . making history by connecting with voters from his 10-speed bike.”

Vote for them if: You still haven’t forgotten the HST, you really think this whole fixie trend is going nowhere fast, and / or you can never remember if produce codes starting with 8 or 9’s mean GMO.

 

commusit

 

Communist Party

“Isn’t that just the NDP?” Good one, idiot. The Communist party, unsurprisingly, is advocating for a socialist Canada by uniting the “most politically advanced and active members of the working class and of other sections of the people exploited by monopoly.” If you’re left-leaning, the party’s platform shouldn’t be too surprising or offensive, including buying more buses, stopping fracking, taxing the wealthy and corporations more, decreasing tuition fees, and ensuring all schools adopt protective policies for LGBTQ teachers and students. Sounds pretty good. Maybe a little too good. Like, maybe unsustainable outside of a theoretical context. I don’t know, let’s ask Cuba.

Vote for them if: red is your colour, you’re really into sharing, and / or you wear a Che Guevara shirt everyday.

gold pan

 

Advocational International Democratic Party of British Columbia

Global News calls it “the richest political party you’ve never heard of.” The Advocational Party has raised over $4 million in assets since their creation in 2006. However, the party has only two candidates running in small districts this election, this is the first time anyone has ran in the past two elections — the minimum necessary for the party to avoid being deregistered as a political party. According to a document released by Johanna Zalcik, one of the two candidates running, the party “believes that the government might best serve the citizens of a nation by becoming a republic and dividing democratically elected representatives into two separate government bodies with distinct advocational roles: 1) an elected Lower House and, 2) a selected Upper House (a Senate).” So basically they’re passionate about governmental reform, which is why their activities have been limited to investing their assets in precious metals, not like, advocating for the public.

Vote for them if: the theme from Team America really speaks to you, all your savings can be measured in gold bars, and / or if you just really hated the royal wedding.

 

 

 

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Work Less Party of BC

Born out of research in Europe that demonstrated a shortened work week produced a happier more socially conscious an involved populace, the Work Less Party has been advocating for a 32 hour work week to replace our current 40 hours and for worker’s rights in general since 2007. Other interests include carbon footprint reduction, and increases to minimum wage (necessary to offset a reduction in hours worked). The party had some trouble filing necessary documents by deadline and voluntarily deregulated federally, but maintains status in BC. According to a close friend, they also know how to throw a damn good party.

Vote for them if: Eight days a week is your least favourite Beatles song, you would actually use that extra day off a week to participate in culturally important events for BC, and / or you want to make Rebecca Black’s contribution to musical history no longer applicable in BC. Everybody be working for Thursday. 

 

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New Wave Party

Surf’s up, brah! No really, their slogan is “catch the wave . . . for change” overset on a photo of someone surfing. The New Wave Party believes that democratic representation is on the decline and that politicians should be held accountable for their platform claims and actions. While other parties talk about moving towards a true democracy and then have a bunch of their own pre-determined goals they hope to achieve once elected lined out, the New Wave Party wants to represent you and your vision of democracy. That’s it. That’s their only claim. There isn’t even a candidate named on their website.

Vote for them if: you’ve always wanted to be on The Dating Game — which leader is behind door number two? — you’re most concerned about candidate’s ability to hang ten, and / or Talking Heads for life! Burning Down the House!

old bc flag

Reform Party of BC

Unrelated to the former federal Reform Party of Canada, the Reform Party of BC is a neoconservative party who had two candidates elected to the legislative assembly in ‘96. They’ve been around for more than 25 years, working to “bring clarity, transparency and accountability . . . to the citizens of British Columbia.” Their platform includes income tax reform, “fake Olympic debt” reconciliation, recovering public equity in BC Investment Management Corporation, a public sector pension fund that benefits BC Hydro and BC rail (to name a few), and driving a provincial enactment of the 1960 Canadian Bill of Rights

Vote for them if: you think the Olympics was an inside job, you’re worried about pensions, and / or who needs modern rights and freedoms for minorities anyway?

nike runner

B.C. Vision

“Join us and you will join a revolutionary change that is the need of the hour for British Columbia,” says the BC Vision party’s website, after what looks like angelfire graphics and photos of the party leader, Jag Bhandari. The party talks a lot about connecting three generations; making use of technology; keeping BC beautiful; having upto-date [sic] medical facilities; and running a bunch of local races like the Sun Run to keep fit. The party’s actual platform, as well as their political message, is available in the form of a song on their website (yup), the major tenet of which appears to be “Chak de Fattey” which is “a Punjabi motivational phrase that means ‘just do it’.”

Vote for them if: you’re really in to Bollywood music, you own a “no fatties” T-shirt, and / or Nike is your favourite sporting goods brand.

matrix

 

BC Refederation Party

As its name suggests, this party is looking for the eventual refederation of Canada, presumably because everything was OK in the world in 1867. Their philosophy stems from the work of Richard Moore, as outlined in his book, Escaping the Matrix: “If a movement makes demands, then it is admitting that power resides elsewhere. If a movement creates solutions, then it is asserting its own power.” Their plan for BC’s power assertion is summarized as their copyrighted “TheRefedPlan” or the 1,2,3 [sic] Plan, which focuses around a lawful tax revolt, veto power for British Columbians and the right for BC to refuse disallowance by Ottawa. So basically they want each province to be its own entity, and they’re starting with BC.

Vote for them if: you’ve ever wanted to throw tea into English Bay, you just really want to take that blue pill, and / or you think our license plates should say “representation without taxation.”

 

lotus

Helping Hand Party

This party’s mission is as cute as their name: “helping those in need” because “helping others unconditionally provides a meaningful existence.” Unfortunately their logo isn’t two kittens holding paws. Some of the goals they list on their Facebook page (which doubles as the party’s official website) include reducing post-secondary tuition by 50 per cent, reducing the cost of childcare in BC to $10 per day, decriminalizing marijuana, restricting senior’s use of slot machines, and merging Washington ferry service with BC ferries to save costs. It’s an interesting smattering of issues for a platform to include, but without any context it seems more like a list of things Canada needs your uncle you see twice a year might post to Facebook between Bejeweled Blitz benders.

You should vote for them if: you took the Girl Guide mantra “lend a hand” very seriously, you can’t live without checking Facebook every five minutes, and / or you’re sick of picking up Grandma from the casino because she blew her handydart money on craps.

leaf

BC Marijuana Party

Twist up a link, bro! The MJ party is perhaps BC’s best known alternative party, advocating to the legislation of marijuana. The Party’s leader, Marc Emery, is currently serving a five year sentence in a US federal prison for selling cannabis seeds. In the 2009 election, the party still ran two candidates so they could maintain party status, but in every riding, even those they were running in, the party endorsed the local Green Party representative. The party’s website just links to Marc’s wife Jodie and his website, Cannabis Culture, so it’s looking like the Marijuana party is just passing the Dutchie this round.

A vote for them might look like: voting for the other green party, smoking yourself so stupid you can’t leave your house for a week because you’re too paranoid, and / or ripping up your voter card and using little strips of it as “filters” in your joints.

sword

 

BC Excalibur Party

Avast ye scoundreles of oure faire launde. Lookest thou fore a partye based on truthe, honore and justice? Well, look no further. The Excalibur party has your back. When they’re not too busy Vaguebooking (with their language set to pirate, obvs) the party promises to cut PST by two per cent over the next four years and remove it from the sale of used items, provide rail transit between Chilliwack, Mission, Abbotsford and Hope, ban salmon farming and fracking, as well as promoting alternative healthcare plans.

Vote for them if: you’re really into Renaissance fairs, you think the prices at Value Village are just too steep, and / or if wherever you go people ask “who smells like patchouli?”

SFU author profiles: tutoring tales

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Peak Web
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CMYK-Caroline_Adderson

 

Caroline Adderson is a prolific author as well as former mentor for The Writer’s Studio at SFU. She continues to teach courses through SFU’s Writing & Publishing Program. Adderson is a writer of both adult novels and children’s books, with 12 books published and at least two confirmed for release next year. She finds an interesting complement between these two different genres, and finds that having multiple projects actually balances her writing life. “Kids books are shorter, you can put it aside and come back. An adult book you could work for three years on it, while kids books may only take about six months.”

Her work is also balanced by a new interest in the heritage of Vancouver houses. Her fascination began when exploring the history of her own house. In an essay about this research published in Geist magazine, Adderson says when her 96 year-old neighbour Pearl passed away, the house she’d lived in since she was 11 years old was slated for demolition. “[The house’s] stories and secrets, which were intertwined with the stories and secrets from my house, would be lost forever when the house went down. These old houses are repositories of narrative. Not only do they contain the histories of all the successive owners, but also they carry the history of all the materials that were used to build them.”

And so Adderson began watching the other houses in her neighbourhood, and soon became distraught about the houses being torn down. She began to research the stories behind the houses, inspired to do something even just personally, to document these disappearing houses. She now runs a Facebook page called Vancouver Vanishes, posting photographs of demolished homes and who the original residents were.

Adderson is currently working on an adult novel told through multiple short stories. Some have dubbed these types of novels — consisting of collections of stories rather than the traditional novel form — “Linked Short Stories” and Adderson is interested in form and experimenting with the label “novel-in-stories”. Some of the stories have already been published, including “Poppycock” in Best Canadian Stories 12 and “I Feel Lousy” in Eighteen Bridges magazine, which won the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association Gold Medal for Fiction.

Caroline Adderson’s books for children are also constantly receiving nominations and awards, such as the first book in her new John Dooley series. The first two early chapter books for kids have already been published, with four more expected. Each book takes place during one week in the life of a young boy, named John Dooley of course. Adderson’s middle-grade novel, Middle of Nowhere, has also been shortlisted for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize as part of the BC Book Prizes. Earlier in April 2013, Adderson joined the BC Book Prizes On Tour for a week, visiting schools, libraries, and bookstores in the Peace Region of British Columbia.

 

LUM 2010-12-22-076A crop

E.R. Brown — or Eric as friends call him — has been a full-time writer for more than 20 years but only recently published his first novel. He began as a technical writer working for advertising agencies and government, and now does freelance compiling annual reports and website copy. “Corporate writing is an invisible presence,” Brown explains, mentioning he had fiction aspirations for a while before completing The Writer’s Studio at SFU in 2004 with Caroline Adderson as his mentor. Almost Criminal was inspired by a conversation with a friend about the pervasiveness of marijuana in British Columbia, and published by Dundern on April 20, 2013. “There is an enormous economy going on [with marijuana], nearly $8 billion annually, and no one talks about it.”

Brown’s previous creative writing had been literary pieces published in magazines such as EVENT and Prairie Fire as well as a radio play on CBC. So when his novel began taking form, it was initially as literary fiction. However, his agent told him “if there are Hells Angels, it’s not a CanLit novel” and suggested he explore the crime fiction genre. “Canada is very uptight about divisions [between literary and genre fiction], which isn’t the case in the UK,” states Brown. Once he allowed the crime thriller to come through, the story took off.

The research process was not as difficult, despite pot being an illegal substance in Canada. “There are lots of textbooks, including a book on Amazon called How to Start a Grow Op,” explains Brown, who also cited a CBC documentary about the weed business as a helpful source. But he had difficulty verifying facts and descriptions. He travelled to Nelson and Harrison, which are “big weed towns” according to Brown, but no one wanted to talk. Fortunately, Marc Emery, BC’s ‘Prince of Pot’ was one of Brown’s early readers of the manuscript and caught several factual errors. Brown also had a friend-of-a-friend, who wished to remain anonymous, who would answer questions.

During our interview, the question of legalization or decriminalization arose. “Once you understand what’s going on, you see just how the policies influence things.” He explains that the police find weed a “massive pain in the neck” whereas opponents believe it feeds Hells Angels’ activities, which “would only get worse if it was decriminalized, but if you legalize it, you can tax it and put it in stores.” But Brown says he “can’t see it [legalization] happening anytime soon, unless tempted by tax dollars.”

Almost Criminal is available in print and ebook format. Brown is already working on his next novel, also crime fiction, but isn’t ready to disclose the subject except to say it’s a completely different world from weed. “Crime fiction is a lot of fun. There is more plot than literary novels but you still have to be a good writer.”

By Monica Miller

The race for ramen

By
Peak Web
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Ramen

By Daryn Wright

The race for the title of best ramen in Vancouver has been going on for a while now, the West End being the hub through which all noodle-spokes meet. Some of these Denman and Robson-housed establishments require long, but worthwhile waits. Ramen Santouka of Robson St. often features hordes of noodle seekers huddling outside in the rain, and Kintaro Ramen of Denman St. (only a couple of blocks away) is usually filled with steaming bowls and slurping mouths late into the night. Evidently, Vancouverites love their ramen noodles, and Japanese chefs are forever trying to one up each other in creating the very best bowl.

Newly opened in Gastown, at the corner of Cordova and Carrall (in the old Boneta spot), No. 1 Noodle House has set itself apart from its West End competitors. The concept’s brainchild is Mark Brand of beloved Save on Meats, The Diamond, and newly anchored Portside, to name a few. Having only opened its doors in the past week, the joint is running on a soft opening, meaning that menu items are still being worked out and, most unfortunately, there is still no liquor license. So while you can’t enjoy your noodles the right way — with a frosty bottle of Asahi — the service was incredibly friendly and made up for the lack of alcohol by giving us cards for free beers at Portside, to which we immediately scampered afterwards.

This reviewer, accompanied by two equally eager noodle-aficionados, decided to order from an array of offerings on the menu, which is small but not limited to ramen noodles. First came the green salad, accompanied by pickled cukes, carrots and daikon, with a sesame miso dressing. It was sweet and flavourful, with a bit of a tangy kick, although it was too ordinary and lacking in creativity; we would have preferred if it had focused more on the pickled vegetables than the greens.

Next came a stack of crispy pork spring rolls, which won our hearts immediately. The pastry was crispy and salty in the best way, and the entire roll was bursting with flavour. The dipping sauce accompanying it was spicy and sweet, a perfect addition to the rolls. These were so good they’d be worth the visit alone.

Next came the two steaming bowls of ramen, one of each kind currently offered on the menu. The pork tonkatsu was a miso-based soup, topped with half a hard-boiled egg, a thin piece of crispy seaweed, a tender piece of pork, and a few arugula leaves. The noodles were springy and done perfectly, but the broth was disappointingly bland in flavour. Even with some added spices, we found it to be less flavourful than desired, and a tad too oily.

The Shoyu ramen replaced the spicy chicken on the menu for the day, and had a much more flavourful broth than the tonkatsu, being soy-based and consisting of a mixture of both fish and pork broth. Upon the bed of noodles sat an egg-cake, a thick slice of pork, and more arugula leaves, which was a nice peppery addition. The flavour combinations were much richer and more complex than the first bowl, but it still didn’t live up to our previous experiences at Ramen Santouka on Robson.

Not yet satiated, we finished off with an order of the chicken wings, the crowning achievement of the night. These deep-fried salty morsels were topped with cilantro and perhaps the best spicy sweet sauce I’ve had. The chicken remained crispy while maintaining the perfect amount of sauciness, and the balance of salty to sweet was like a great caramel. These babies beat out the noodles, sadly enough, but we still left satisfied and hankering for our free beers.

Despite the less than award-winning ramen and the lack of alcohol, the service was friendly and the food was very affordable, meriting No. 1 Noodle House another visit in the near future. I’d recommend the pit stop for those sniffing out noodles far from the West End, and particularly for those with a hankering for wings — which I, for one, always have.

Peak Week May 6–11

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Peak Web
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Eats

The Flying Pig has just opened its second location in Gastown (the first location was Yaletown). This new location was previously filled by chain restaurant Chronic Taco, but the replacement is considerably classier. Entrees include Red Wine Braised Beef Short Rib and Wild Seafood Pappardelle. Or, if you’re looking for something a little more low-key, try Andrew’s Pulled Pork Poutine or the Jumbo Shortrib Macaroni.

Beats

The Biltmore Cabaret will host The Smiths Tribute Night on May 9th, an evening not to be missed. For $5 at the door you get entry to several performances by different bands, including Easy Meat, Louise Burns, In Medias Res, Christopher Smith, Pleasure Cruise, Devon Lougheed of Beekeeper, and Dead Soft, among others.  There will also be a screening of The South Banks Show with The Smiths at 9 p.m., so get there early and don’t miss out. Cheap beer and “Hand in Glove”, what else are you going to do on a Thursday night?

Theats

DOXA is on from May 3-12, and with 74 screenings at 5 different venues, there’s bound to be something that appeals to everyone. The documentary film festival features films from around the world. The opening night film, Occupy the Movie, is directed by Vancouverite Corey Ogilvie, who will be present at the screening. Other highlights include East Hastings Pharmacy and Backbone: Vancouver Experimental Cinema from 1967-1981. Check out doxafestival.ca for screening times and tickets.

Elites

Pay a visit to the Vancouver Art Gallery for a lecture by Jean-Francoise Chevrier. The Paris-based curator and art historian will be discussing the work of Patrick Faigenbaum, focusing on the artist’s photography in this context of its first showing in North America. Stop in early and check out Faigenbaum’s work first, and while you’re at it, check out the newly installed Grand Hotel: Redesigning Modern Life exhibit.

Treats

Lost & Found Market is hosting a Project Space Fundraiser, running from May 10 until June 2. Project Space is a volunteer-run bookshop, publisher, and alternative art space. Head out to the Lost & Found space, located in Gastown, and dig through the mountains of vintage and gently loved goods. The selection includes furniture, clothing, shoes, housewares, artworks, ceramics, board games, books, records, and more. There will be an opening night event on May 10 at 8 p.m., so pay them a visit and support your local artists and authors. Hey, you might even find that one Cole Porter record you’ve been looking for.

Album Reviews: Deerhunter, Phoenix, and The Clash

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Peak Web
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0

By Max Hill

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Throwback Review: The Clash – London Calling

The best punk rock album of all time is barely a punk rock album at all. As much Bob Marley and The Beatles as it is The Stooges and The Sex Pistols, London Calling manages to say something more subversively political and unabashedly honest about England in the seventies than any straight-forward punk rock outfit, before or afterwards.

Sprawling an astounding 19 tracks, London Calling’s musical diversity is still a revelation. The group co-opts everything from reggae and funk to rockabilly and jazz in order to deliver their snarling — but never sloppy — message. Mick Jones and Joe Strummer, surely punk rock’s McCartney and Lennon, balance their diametrically opposed musical tendencies beautifully, letting the album precariously balance on the verge of total hysteria.

On album highlights like “Lost in the Supermarket” and “Train in Vain”, Jones proves that his comparably delicate and measured vocal style can be just as subversive and insurgent as Strummer’s rebel yell. Even bassist Paul Simonon, the often overlooked beating heart of The Clash, gets his moment in the spotlight on “The Guns of Brixton”, one of the best anti-police anthems of all time. Bobbies beware.

That London Calling manages to come off as so well-balanced, so deliberate, is to underrate just how bravely rebellious its songs are. London Calling is a viciously veracious account of life in London’s merciless seventies underbelly; “Hateful”’s frank portrayal of drug deals and addiction rivals The Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting For the Man”; “Spanish Bombs” brilliantly uses the Spanish Civil War as a metaphor for the political unrest of the time.

The album’s best quality might be that it’s still fun to listen to, despite its weighty subject matter: The Clash manage to say something completely worth saying, something no one else was saying at the time, without lecturing or sermonizing. London Calling is as much a musical masterpiece as it is a masterpiece of social commentary; I dare you to try and find another punk rock album that can boast the same.

 

Monomania-cover

Deerhunter – Monomania 

Bradford Cox, Deerhunter’s cross-dressing, gaunt frontman, has described Monomania as an avant-garde rock and roll record, and listeners of the band should expect nothing less. The band — whose core is the writing partnership between Cox and lead guitarist Lockett Pundt, the latter’s talent for pop melodies grounding the former’s experimental bent — have built a rewarding musical career in subverting expectations and treading their own path. Monomania is no different in this respect. Shedding any leftover shoegaze tendencies the band had acquired since 2008’s Microcastle, the album feels like a return to the punk-rock inspired sound of Deerhunter’s earlier albums.

The majority of Monomania’s twelve tracks build on a fairly straightforward, tried-and-true guitar, bass and drums skeleton. The limitations of this setup seem to have inspired a completely new musical tone in the band: Cox’s airy tenor has never sounded so acidic and impassioned, and the band behind him has never sounded quite so insistent and loud. The songs seem to draw inspiration from artists like The Rolling Stones and Bo Diddley more than ever before. Monomania is the closest that Deerhunter are likely to get to a straightforward rock and roll record, as though Cox and company are doing their best impressions of the hip-gyrating, sweat-coated rhythm and blues bands of old.

This doesn’t always work as well as it’s intended to. As good as the songs here are — something we’ve come to expect from the band — they lack the diversity that other Deerhunter albums have hinged on. Instead of giving Monomania the singularity and focus the band surely intended, this sameness gives the album a tiring, repetitive quality which keeps it from ascending to the level of most of their previous work. Overall, though, Monomania comes off as an interesting and mostly successful new musical direction for the band, who’ve once again solidified their status as one of the most interesting acts playing today.

 

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Phoenix – Bankrupt!

I’ve tried to put my finger on why Bankrupt!, the latest release from Versailles foursome Phoenix, doesn’t speak to me the way their effortlessly brilliant Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix did. Maybe everyone is asking themselves the same question — with its impenetrably simplistic peach cover and emotionally vacant singles, the group’s much anticipated follow-up to Wolfgang seems like its carbon copy, infused with twice the Euro-trash synths and half the historical references of its predecessor. Bankrupt! even features a sprawling, mostly instrumental mood piece halfway through the album, reminiscent of Wolfgang’s “Love Like a Sunset.”

To be fair, Bankrupt! is a lot of fun to listen to — its synths are warm and tasteful; its choruses are plentiful and suitably catchy. The lead vocalist Thomas Mars’ smooth vocals soar in all the right places. Lead single “Entertainment” is a modern-day “Hong Kong Garden”, and “Drakkar Noir” joyously apes 70s funk. The album has its high points, and it’s light on the low ones: there’s a consistent string of likeable tracks from start to finish, and it rarely seems to drag or overstay its welcome.

Bankrupt! is a perfectly pleasant, well-made pop album, and it’s sure to soundtrack many a summer and inspire more than a few sunbathed make-out sessions. But it’s forgettable and shallow. Wolfgang, on the other hand, hit me right away: I still know every song by heart, whereas I had to listen to Bankrupt! a third time while I wrote this review just to remember what half the songs sound like. With so much incredible, breathtaking music in the world, listening to an album as unremarkable as Bankrupt! feels like time wasted.

The Dine and Dash Fund

By
EIC
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2

WEB - receipt

We’ve all heard the term “dine and dash.” It’s when a customer goes to a bar or restaurant, runs up a tab with a server, and then takes off without paying. It’s theft, but people steal all the time. But the difference between shoplifting and dine and dashing is that it’s the server, not the business, who pays the bill at the end of the night.

As a result, many bars have created what’s called a “dine and dash fund.” Every time a server works, it’s mandatory that they contribute anywhere from $0.25 to $1 to the business. This money sits in a pot held by the manager of the establishment so that in the event of a walkout or “dine and dash” the money they have slowly accumulated pays for the bill.

It may seem like a good idea: pubs and bars in the Tri-Cities are struggling enough as it is without adding theft into the mix, and it’s only a dollar from an employee. However, the problem with this fund is that it completely contravenes the Employment Standards Act. Sections 1F and 21 explicitly state that neither employee wages nor gratuities (tips) may be deducted or used in any way by an employer for the “cost of doing business.”

While a server or bartender has a responsibility to try to stop people from stealing from the business they work for, holding the employee responsible for the money against possibly dangerous assailants makes it seem as though a $40 bill is more important than an employee’s life.

I’ve been working in the service industry for the past two years. In that time, I have been robbed at gunpoint and had a customer pull a knife on me when I wouldn’t start a tab for him. I have also been forced to pay into dine and dash funds and for walkouts. And though I’ve never actually been harmed by a customer, it is not unrealistic to assume someone may be armed and dangerous. There is no way of knowing what someone will do — especially if they’re drunk.

CMYK-Dine n Dash-Vaikunthe Banerjee

Oftentimes, there’s nothing more someone could have done to prevent a customer from walking out on his or her bill. A server at the Meridian Arms Pub in Port Coquitlam, who asked not be named, once had to pay out over $300 for a customer’s bill. “I had taken over the table from another server who was finished their shift, and then the pub lost power,” she said. “I couldn’t remember everything that had been on the bill so I manually wrote up as much as I could but there was $300 unaccounted for when we got power back.”

That money was taken out of her next paycheque. When asked if she thought it was wrong for the business to take that money from her, although it was not her fault, she said: “Yeah, it sucks that I lost that money, but I’ve made a lot more in the time I’ve been there than what I’ve had to pay in walkouts.” She also told me that while the Meridian Arms does not have a dine and dash fund, every server has to pay for a walkout when they occur.

One of the only ways to ensure payment is to ask for a credit card, but this is often not expected of employees in a pub and not consistently done. “I would ask for credit cards for tabs at the (Meridian) Arms but no one else does and customers would look at me funny or get mad if I did,” she said.

Danielle Piasecki, a former floor manager at Port Coquitlam’s San Remo Pizza Home, agrees that servers should pay for walkouts. “Most servers don’t end up paying income tax on every single dollar they make and there aren’t a lot of jobs like that out there.”

Piasecki says she believes no one speaks up against the violation because it’s part of “a deal” between employers and employees in the serving industry. “There are a lot of things that happen in this industry that shouldn’t and not just dine and dash funds,” said Piasecki. “There are a lot of indiscretions—like servers drinking on shift with customers — that employers ignore and there’s a lot of good money to be made really fast.”

The way in which bars choose to enforce dine and dash policies varies greatly from place to place, but of the six I investigated, they all had some policy that resulted in the server paying for a dine and dash.

A nighttime shift supervisor at the Treehouse Neighbourhood Pub, Erica*, who has also worked for The Foggy Dew and The French Quarter Pub (which closed down last year) said she has never paid into a dine and dash fund or for a walkout. “It’s illegal for them to make me pay and so I don’t,” she said. “I’ve also only ever had one walkout in the time I’ve been serving and it wasn’t my fault.”

Erica also said The Foggy Dew had a slightly different approach. “The management there makes it clear during the orientation that any drinks you take from the bar to a table become your own drinks once they leave the bar.”

This means that if someone doesn’t pay the server for that drink, the onus is on the server to pay. She also said she watched The French Quarter “sneak” their way into having a dine and dash fund. “Originally there was a slot on our cash out sheets that said “social fund” and we were supposed to put in $0.50 each time we worked for a big staff party.”

But after a year of working there, Erica said the little “social fund” slot changed to “D+D.” Erica confronted the owner of the bar, as well as the manager, about the change and was told it was now a mandatory dine and dash fund. When she argued about the legality of the decision to create the fund, she was told that if she didn’t pay it then any walkouts that occurred would be taken out of her paycheque.
I also worked at The French Quarter and during a shift change (where the night staff relieves the day staff) I was dealing with a customer who wanted to pay their bill and turned around to find one of my other customers missing. I looked everywhere for the gentlemen who still owed me $45 but he was gone. He made it past two other servers who were talking by the door and my manager, who was also standing by the door, but I was still blamed. The next paycheque I received was short $45. When I asked the owner and the manager what had happened, the owner told me: “Well, you had that walkout a week ago so I just took it out of your pay.”

Dorothy, a representative with the Employment Standards Branch, said there are no loopholes to the regulations. “It’s explicitly stated in Section 1F and Section 21 that an employer cannot take money from an employee for a dine and dash fund or for walkouts.”

Holding employees responsible for the money against possibly dangerous assailants makes it seem as though a $40 bill is more important than an employee’s life.

When asked why every bar was violating the Act, Dorothy said; “If people don’t report it, then we can’t fix it.” If there is an incident or wrongful garnishing of wages or gratuities, Dorothy said they (Employment Standards) would send an officer to recover the wages for the individual.
Of the servers I spoke to, only Erica knew someone who had taken action against an employer. “There was one girl I worked with who got the labour board involved when her wages were garnished at The French Quarter, and she did get the money back. She also lost her job in the process.” Erica didn’t remember the official reason the server was let go on, but said she believed the girl would have kept her job longer if she hadn’t fought against it.

No one, however, was able to answer why — since it’s against regulations — employees are still paying for walkouts. Not one of the servers, managers, or even the Employment Standards Branch had a reason.

Interestingly, there is a lot of fear from employees on the issue. Only one server I interviewed agreed to have her name printed, despite the number of people who were willing to speak with me about their bar’s policies. It would seem as though, with servers being at the mercy of an industry of management that believes it is up to the server or bartender to collect money for the booze they bring to people, no one wants to get caught pointing a finger for fear of losing their place within the industry.

It’s unclear whether or not policies will ever change, but for now, servers will continue to pay when customers don’t.

*Indicates name has been changed

By Avalon Doyle
Photos by Vaikunthe Banerjee

Christy Clark admits entire career in politics was just a dare

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Peak Web
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BC Premier expresses regret over spending adult life fulfilling a 12-year-old’s challenge.

By Brad McLeod

BURNABY—BC Liberal Party leader, Christy Clark, made a startling admission this past weekend during a campaign stop by revealing that her over 20-year political career has just been the result of a dare placed on her by a child.

The news comes less than a week after it was revealed in a Vancouver Sun profile piece that Clark had been coaxed into running a red light by her 12-year-old son, Hamish, a known scoundrel.

“I know I shouldn’t have done it, it was a horrible, horrible mistake” Clark said of her career as a politician, “I don’t know what I was thinking, I don’t even have the slightest interest in government… but I couldn’t let that goddamn kid get the better of me.”

Clark explained that up until her twenties, her life goal was to simply to go out, travel the world and pretend to go to universities, but she was suddenly launched into a life of politics after being confronted by a 12-year-old boy.

“I remember I was just minding my own business, hanging out as usual at the Diner Cafe chatting with my perfectly diverse group of friends of all ages, races and target demographics, when this kid came up and double-dog dared me to become premier of BC,” explained Clark “Well at first I just ignored him, but after he said it a second time I had no choice but to dedicate my life to provincial politics.”

Although Clark had little interest in actually being premier, she slowly worked up the political ladder beginning by briefly winning a scandalous SFSS election at Simon Fraser University before eventually becoming a scandalous member of Gordon Campbell’s Liberal government and then replacing him as premier after his many scandals, all just to stick it to some kid.

According to those in Clark’s inner circle though, the incumbent premier is now at a loss at what to do next having now proven that kid wrong, and the only way her party has been able to have her continue on in this election is by taunting her with a series of escalating dares.

“We started out with small stuff, like getting her to wear silly glasses during press conferences and having her work in the words ‘growing our economy’ into every single question she answers,” explained a member of Clark’s cabinet who preferred to remain anonymous “But for the last week of the campaign we have some really outrageous dares planned, I can’t really talk about them but believe me she’s going to being saying some really crazy shit, it’ll be even more ridiculous than the time we dared her to convince people that Family Day was a real thing!”

Although Clark’s revelation has sparked many to believe that her main opponent in the election, Adrian Dix, is also just fulfilling a dare, according to inside sources he is absolutely genuine in his political career, or at least that’s how he was programmed to be.

In her closing remarks to reporters Clark once again revealed that she wasn’t a perfect parent, or a perfect person but that she was trying really hard, she was then interrupted by an audience member who dared her to jump over 14 garbage cans on her motorcycle. The stunt is expected to take place this Saturday outside of the Victoria parliament building.

Word on the street: Summer School

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Peak Web
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By Brad McLeod

Q: How’d you end up in Summer School this year?

“I failed math AGAIN because Mr. Peretti totally hates me, which is soooo unfair since I showed up to class more than half the time and wasn’t even that stoned …”
Bill Murphy (High School Student/ Future Kwantlen Undergrad, amirite?)

“Well, I’m not actually. Since I’m originally from Australia this is really just winter school for me.”
Alannah Howarth (Confused Foreign-Exchange Student)

“Summer school? Oh shit, I thought this was Ski School 7!”
Corey Steele (B-list Movie Star)

There were just too many great courses available this summer, how could I possibly take a whole semester off!
Tom Parker (NERRRRRRDDDDDD!!!!!!)

I’m here directing a movie that’s being filmed right here on campus… you should check it out when it comes out on DVD next week!
Francis B. Barnes (Director of Ski School 7: Ski Police Academy)

Meet the New Humour Editor

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Peak Web
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By Brad McLeod

After the sudden and tragic graduation of beloved former humour editor Gary Lim, The Peak has brought in a new, younger, hipper and ‘less Asian’ editor to take his place. Although his name might not mean a lot to you, he actually has quite an extensive history in comedy.

Meet Brad McLeod…

– He has over 20 years’ experience in being alive

– He read the list of Variety’s 10 Comics to Watch in 2007

– He’s written articles that were similar to what a contributor for Mad Magazine from 2008 to 2010 would’ve written

– He thinks it would’ve been cool if he could’ve been Editor in Chief of the Harvard Lampoon in 2011

– He knows trivia such as who won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humour in 2012

– If he had been born 7 year later, lived in New York and was related to Milton Berle there’s a chance he could have become the youngest member of the New York Friars’ Club at 13 years old

– He’s often tried to convince strangers he meets at bars that he is a personal friend of comedian Chris Rock, to varying degrees of success.

McLeod hopes he can transition this experience into a successful run as Humour Editor at The Peak and invites any and all positive feedback as well as constructive death threats.

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024