We Are Generation A: A Socioeconomic look at our generation, our problems, and where are we headed? (ALSO) The Metal Issue - guide to metal, Alterity, and a 1962 T-Bird

Issue 15, Volume 1
Thursday, October 20, 2011


Please note we are still running our pink ribbon background in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Our On The Streets issue comes from a late October siting. No snow means some of the classics are still roaming loose. About 7:30pm yesterday evening, three Shelby Cobras (I'm assuming they were kit cars) roared in a line like one that might have been seen at a 1967 SCCA race past my house. This was actually seen yesterday, as I was leaving work, in my parking lot. I had to snap the picture fast as other people itching to leave at 5pm for the day were bearing down behind me. Note the very expensive S class Mercedes next to it. But unlike the giant German luxo-limo that it's parked, this T-bird started out affordable, lost value over many years, only to gain it in swaths to the point of, "which one would you rather be driving?" is an obvious answer. The Benz is worth as much as a 2012 Dodge Charger, whereas the Thunderbird is irreplaceable. The Thunderbird was a curious creature. After it's creation by Ford in 1955, it really should have never became the fat, overweight car that it did, only to become run of the mill through the 80's and 90's, and ending up a strange personal luxury two-seater based on a Jaguar that it did before it's run ended in 2005. It's agreed by most purists that a Thunderbird should only ever be a two seater or perhaps a two-plus-two luxury niche coupe, but there is a very small market for those vehicles now, one that Ford would not want to be involved in lest they become bankrupt, or be able to keep themselves into Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. In 1955, it was believed the Thunderbird was introduced as a competitor to Chevrolet's Corvette. However, the real fact is that the T-bird was marketed as a 'personal car' whereas the Corvette was marketed as a sports-car. While neither of the first versions of either made it to any sort of major stage to throw down the gauntlet in the race world, the cars were fairly similar. In fact, the T-Bird was slightly faster than the C-1 at the time it was released; powered by a 292 or 312 cubic inch 'Y-block' V8. There was even a supercharged version putting out 300 horsepower. Then the cute two seat sports coupe grew humongous for the 1958 model year; and although gargantuan and gaudy, still sold like hotcakes. But the styling was off in terms of the 'sports' aspect of the vehicle. So for 1961, the vehicle lost its' awkward rear doors, and given Ford's new FE block...a big block 390 cubic inch monster with at least 300hp. This model continued until 1963. After which the car would grow, and grow, and grow, and grown, and finally shrink, then shrink some more, and then be cancelled before being brought back briefly to be cancelled again shortly. In all of its' ten generations throughout 50 years, the 'bullet' styled 1961-1963 cars are among the most coveted. Among performance options like an 'M' code 390 engine that made 345hp, there were also many standard luxury features, like an AM radio (radios were not standard in all cars at this time) air conditioning, power windows, power seats, power steering, brakes, back up lights, and bucket rather than bench seats. Also, the car had an interesting 'swing away' steering wheel, that allowed the wheel to be swung 18 inches to the right for entry or exit of the vehicle. In all 214,375 Thunderbirds were sold during this period, including convertibles (About 30,000), M codes (about 200), Sports Roadsters (1427), and 'Principality of Monaco' Landau models (2000). So chances are, if you wanted one, there may be one available. It may not have sat-nav or FM radio like the Benz...but which would you rather be seen in?

We Are Generation A
A look at socioeconomic and sociopolitical problems in our generation
Kurt Vonnegut named us Generation A, in a 1994 address to Syracuse university, saying that we were, "...as much at the beginning of a series of astonishing triumphs and failures as Adam and Eve were..." foreshadowing that not everything was to be handed to us. Canadian author Douglas Coupland wrote a novel called Generation A, and pretty much re-applied the name to our generation (born in the 80's or 90's) , one where we have hideous anxiety about a future filled with mistakes made by science and culture; extinct species due to genetically engineering crops (see Food Inc.), vanishing language due to text messaging. Social networking gone extreme. Solitary tendencies promoted by anti-depressants. Technically we are known as Generation Y (or the Millennial generation, generation Next, or generation Net), with the next generation after us being Generation Z. These people in Z (or 'I' - internet generation) have been called the 'digital natives' and this is supposed to be people who were born into technical society, rather than a lot of us. You probably still remember when you didn't have a cell-phone, and like me, getting your own phone in your room was a big deal, maybe your own phone line (holy crap!) and you remember when your family bought it's first personal computer. The generation after us is supposed to be at the end. Z. The end of the alphabet.

But where are we really? Are we really 'Y' - or are we 'A' - or should we be 'Z'? Are we at the beginning, the end, or next to the end? And what do I mean by 'end'?

I think it is important to approach our generational markers through means of the way we examine the world and through sociopolitical and socioeconomic happenings. Also, I should state that although this is a global discussion, it mainly focuses on developed and interrelated nations; North America, Europe, and the like. In fact, the Eastern way of classifying generations is different, although their plight may not be so. First of all, look at the way we view war. For us, wars are not fought between two at war nations following the Geneva conventions, or between one nation and another nation where one infringes on land or human rights, or commits atrocities. For us, war is terrorism, and the response thereafter. War is when someone detonates a bomb for seemingly no reason, or, flies a plane into a building, and then there is a knee-jerk response by a military immediately following that infringes on civil liberties and lasts for years. When was the last time you thought about the U.S. Patriot Act, and how if you were an American, your library records would be consistently turned over to the FBI? Wars are fought against insurgents in a desert. Wars are about gaining oil rights, maybe? Wars are highly publicized and are to be read about in the paper, and in books like Contact Charlie by Chris Wattie (highly recommended by this editor). They aren't to be fought in.

Jobs are something that should have been easily handed to us like our parents' generation. Pretty much, what we wanted, we got. That's what happened with the Baby Boomers, and Generation X. Although there were difficult times, like the recession of the early and late 1980's and the OPEC embargoes of the 1970's, the Baby Boomers are retiring as the richest generation ever, notes economists at Royal Bank. In reality, Generation Y has the privilege of being known as the generation in which it's members have the highest unemployment rate among recent post secondary graduates, and the most difficulty in finding jobs among post secondary graduates ever.

Recessions aren't something that happens twice in a row, but after what was a very week recovery, we can expect to have another one maybe just before or after Christmas depending on how the chips fall. It doesn't seem to matter that a lot of people are retiring, companies have to downsize in order to maintain profit margins, and that means not hiring people in place of retirees. Remember when I asked the last time you thought of the US Patriot Act and war was? Were you thinking more of the Occupy Everywhere movement right now? The issues that we've had to protest (although no one was really in a protesting mood in 2005-2007 when everyone was making such mad cash) have changed extremely rapidly. From war, to climate change, to corporate greed and wealth redistribution, we have had a lot to talk about. In Generation X, people would have just gone out and played punk music.

Health is a curious issue. People used to worry about getting the flu, and we were happy when we eradicated smallpox. Your parents all have the vaccination scar. Now we have obesity epidemics. An epidemic is that everyone is becoming obese. We eat genetically engineered or modified food; eat something with enriched omega 3's and notice that something natural tastes a little fishy...because it has fish molecules right in it. Although we have the technology to make ourselves healthier than ever, we also have the technology to make chickens have breasts 33% larger, and make portion sizes ridiculously large. We have the technology to make and feed you more processed foods than ever before. This leads to...

Faulted Outlooks and Deniability in Self Accountability. We no longer put the blame on ourselves for anything. If people are getting fat, we have to change what's in school cafeteria and vending machines. We sue MacDonald's. When did anyone just stop and say, "you know what, I'm fat because I didn't regulate what I was putting into my body and the exercise I was getting. It's my fault!" And now you sue everyone over everything. There's no telling what a potential law suit might be. Toyota builds a faulty car? Time was people voted with their wallets. Sure one or two families might have been settled with (think the Ford Pinto), but the big crush came when people decided, no, I'm not going to buy that product. Now it's sue, and keep on doing it. Where did that mentality come from? People have this idea that they should never be fired. It is impossible to have ever done anything wrong at work to get fired. I've heard of places described as 'virtually impossible to be fired from.' Why would we want that? Because there were so many law-suits, so much to say 'it is never my fault' that it made it impossible to hold anyone accountable?

Social Networking and Texting. I remember when there was no Facebook, and I remember when there was no Text Messaging. What's funny, is that our generation, while remembering that these things didn't exist, often makes fun of people who use them. We will look at kids in grade school and say, "that's ridiculous, I could never send 3500 text messages a month." We often talk about how ridiculous Facebook is while were at work, with our coworkers; and then go home and use it, or check it on our smart-phones, or even sneak off to check it at work. Meanwhile, we put down the changes to Facebook, and look at other social networking sites, like Google Plus, calling it the next Facebook. We condemn Facebook for becoming too corporate, while praising Google Plus, all the while, Google is talking to the press, admitting that Plus makes a fantastic platform to monitor people's consumer habits so that Google can better target marketing. Then we mourn Steve Jobs, a guy who probably crippled us into being mass solitary beings stuck to their iPods, smart phones, tablets and computers. The biggest levier of Sloanism (that is planned obsolescence) on the planet since Alfred P. Sloan dies, and we might have saved generations of kids from being plugged in, and we mourn him as a visionary. Talk about changing your tune; I can't believe how much people used to make fun of Jobs every time he did a product launch. The most common joke goes like this:
Steve: Here is the new apple product!
Person A: Yeah but does it have this obvious feature?
Steve: No, you don't need that feature.
(two months later)
Steve: Here is the new apple product: the last product we released with that new, obvious feature!
Person A: Steve Jobs, you're amazing!
Person B: Yeah but does it have this other, fairly obvious feature?
Steve: No, you don't need that feature.
(two months later)
...
and so on.
We like to critique any involvement or participation in technology while using it.

I know a lot of this sounds cynical, but it's important to understand where we are if we're not sure where we're going. And this is pretty much where we are as a generation. Perhaps it sounds cynical because we are indeed a cynical generation. We are one of probably the highest rate of post-secondary graduates; so we're all very smart. But also, we see how well our parents have done, and immediately make the fault of thinking that we should do so well nearly immediately. We haven't grown up where war, or famine, or recessions that we can remember are problems, so facing what's basically a depression is shocking and terrifying to us. Finally the technology we use isn't just changing the way we communicate; it's changing our culture, and even our food.

Where do we go from here?
We are a generation of people who want to do better in all areas. We sort of want this done for us maybe? Protesting is a big thing, getting bigger, most of us insult the protesters. I think finding out where we are going takes some questions

• Will our protesting make any significant changes, or will the economy change enough that we no longer have to complain before that?
• Will we become more politically involved because of increases in issues?
• Will we allow science to become so big that we can no longer control it to the point of something catastrophic happening to our species?
• Will we allow corporations to become so big that we can no longer control adequate distribution of wealth?

This list pretty much is where one begets the other. Sticking to our guns about things like wealth distribution changes and war (not getting involved in fruitless campaigns, for example) is important. Being unified as well as being persistent is key. If everyone at the occupy everywhere protest suddenly was handed some sort of fairly reasonable job that they liked doing, and they all went home to start spending money again, increasing consumer confidence and restoring stock markets, would people still complain? Or would we all just live our lives buying our consumer goods, and living in new houses built too close together? Would what mattered to us once, stop mattering? Or is this really what we are arguing for in the first place?

Secondly, becoming more politically involved is important. Protesting and commentary is not enough. When a government recommends action and hands the wheel to us, it's important we get involved. We still have record low turn-out each election. Most Canadians indicate a lack of real choice on the ballot as a reason as to why. We don't have a two-party system though. To me, that sounds more like laziness. In the last federal election, I researched and went to the websites of each of the candidates in my riding, and then after learning their platform, I looked up what experience they had in supporting any former platforms. There is even a website you can look at to see how your represented voted on any specific bill on parliament (I forget what it is now - but I know there is a reader out there who told me, and hopefully She'll comment with it below). Then I watched the debates as much as I could. If you can't be there, note they stream them on the internet so you can watch them at any time. Vote. Write your representatives. Participate.

The last two are sort of things that go hand in hand. If you're familiar with Food Inc. then you are familiar with the fact that the FDA is almost entirely run by people who work for large Food corporations. Taking part in political action helps politicians regulate what industries do. When a federal regulatory body is made up of individuals that have almost all corporate interests, then how can they effectively regulate corporations? Science need not be stifled, but science in the hands of corporations that exist merely for profit runs the edge of soilent green. If you've ever worked sales, you know there are some people that will do anything for money.

What Can We Do?
I think, to steer us in the way we want to go, and to keep things from becoming culturally spooky, we need to follow a few time honored traditions.

• Vote. Participate in the political process. It is the best way to have your voice be heard. The more informed a voter you are, as well, the better the process works.
• Protest. This does not mean going to Melcor's square so you can Occupy somewhere. This means that when there's an issue that you feel needs to be addressed, you stand up for it. If occupying a space doesn't mean anything to you, maybe a well put together letter to your local politician or governing body, or a corporation you feel has done you wrong would. Bug 'em. Show them that it matters. If everyone did this, it would show people who are in decision making positions that people do have an opinion. Back when they introduced 'new coke' - Coca Cola got tons of angry letters and hate mail, and hundreds of thousands of angry phone calls on their consumer line. It prompted them to change back to the old formula. No one person had to write a long manifesto. A lot of people simply had to say, "I don't like it - fix it." You don't even need to know how to fix it, demanding change is enough to put something into action. The more directed and to the point your problem or solution is, however, the closer to the change you wanted will the change likely be.
• Vote with your wallet. We live in a consumer society, we don't live in a communist state. If a corporation exhibits behavior you don't agree with, stop buying their stuff, and speak out against them. If everyone started buying 'organic' food, stores would sell more organic food, and less processed food. Why do you think Wal-Mart got into the business of selling organic brand food? Because they saw a huge market demand for it. Where the money goes makes the decisions very easy to make for corporations and governments.
• Be responsible for yourself. Be aware of your actions, how you live, what you put in your body. Think about it; if we all ate healthier and exercised, we'd probably all be in better shape. That means less strain on the health care system. If the health care system doesn't need as much government money, that money can be earmarked for other things like education. We can't all depend on someone else to take the first step. If we each take our own first step, the solution would simply happen.

There is still no telling where using technology might take us culture wise, although we shouldn't forget each other. It is funny how something that enables networking makes us solitary individuals. It is still much more intimate to talk to someone in person, than it will ever be to talk to them online. Hopefully we don't forget that.

Wherever we are going in the future, whether it be tomorrow, or ten years down the road, it is almost guaranteed to be completely different than what we thought it'd be. But can we say that's true of every generation? We can still say that we hold the power to forge our own path, but only through responsible action can we do that. Wait to see what happens...nothing we want to will.

Heavy Metal - Have You Banged Your Head Lately?


I noticed from our reader survey that there wasn't a lot of metal listeners out there. However, a great friend of mine, Warren Tews, recently released an album with his local band Alterity. It was simply too good to overlook, and not to show everyone. But because we don't have a lot of metal listeners out there in OMPW land, I thought I'd give a brief overview of the genre before turning you on to what is one of my favorite local releases of the year. So sit back, grab some Jack, let your hair down, put on a bullet belt, or do whatever you need to do to get in the metal mood.

A Brief History of Modern Metal
Metal, first and foremost, is a heavy version of rock music. Most people will say it initially became popular with bands like Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Led Zepplin in the 70's, that may be true, but these bands weren't metal per se. More, perhaps, would they be better off to be known as the gateway to the music's beginning. In metal, you can expect to hear a lot of distortion, often low tunings, very fancy guitar work. There are also a lot of times synthesizers present. In terms of the vocals, it can be everywhere from choir-sonata perfect to practically a grunt. Although modern metal employs a lot of screaming - it's sort of like distorted singing. You could blame this on Robert Daltry of The Who, whom screamed a lot on Who's Next. But no one seems to agree where it became a fairly popular stylized vocal treatment.There are a lot of different types of metal. There is simply 'metal' - anything with loud guitars, maybe a fast paced beat, a lot of distortion, a lower tuning, pentatonic or tritonic scales note - wise, mostly written in minor chords. In other words, it's not happy sounding. And of course, it sounds heavy. Then there are things like thrash metal - faster and more punk inspired, death metal - with dark lyrics and themes, doom metal - sort of similar, black metal - again sort of similar but maybe dark without the death, Norwegian metal - this is the one where gangs of metal heads kill each other and burn churches, etc (but not always, sometimes it's just from Norway), and further disambiguations like Groove Metal (Pantera was said to be a groove metal band because of the licks they used were...well...groovy). Then the ones that sort of were never true metal, like hair metal or glam metal (think Poison) or Nu Metal.

To know where metal came from, it is important to listen to the originators. Britain had a profound effect on heavy metal, mainly where Marshall amplifiers could distort guitars loud enough. Britain has also had a sort of larger political unrest than the U.S. - and political unrest makes for changes in music a lot of the time. This translated differently in the United States. People obviously already knew about Iron Maiden, for example, but something even more underground was happening. Bands that are often paid homage to, whether pre or post Black Sabbath, often can be seen as originators. Here you might want to try:

Saint Vitus: An American band started in the late 70's out of Los Angeles. Don't ever let anyone tell you these guys were before Sabbath, because they weren't. But they were important in inspiring a lot of people. Listen to Thirsty and Miserable.


Motorhead: Out of UK, Lemmy has been the only consistent member of Motorhead after performing in the new age band Hawkwind. Motorhead brought a quick tempo and just crazy blasting beats to heavier music. Listen to Ace of Spades.


Voivod: Out of Quebec. Why did I choose these guys? Because in the early 80's they mixed heavy metal with progressive rock to start progressive metal. That's sort of important, because should that have not happened, perhaps metal would have always stayed clear of what was going on in modern music, and never really developed into something track-able along mainstream music trends. Listen to Nothingface.

The Big Four
The big four really describes those that made metal popular when metal became popular, all considered to be true metal artists. Although some are more mainstream than others, they are still all fairly respected by metalheads the world over. The big four consist of Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and and Anthrax. To begin to describe the libraries these bands have amassed since their inceptions in the early 80's is nearly impossible. Most of modern metal originates with these guys. Recently they went on tour all together in what must have been probably one of the most insane spectacles in music to date.The album of the event has gone 2X platinum already, and the concert tour was just this summer. I can't recommend any tracks, but I'd be surprised if you'd never heard any from these bands before. They are still going strong after 25+ years.

Nu Metal
Nu Metal is not to be confused with modern metal. Modern metal simply describes current bands making current metal in a current fashion. Nu Metal is a style of heavier music that became popular in the late 90's early 2000's. Most people who like Metal don't consider Nu Metal groups to be metal at all, but just a stylized version of hard rock. In the early 2000's it was popular for nu metal artists to collaborate with rap groups. Some had grown up simply where rap was popular (think Deftones collaborating with Cyprus Hill), while some did it all because it was popular at the time (Limp Bizkit and Wu Tang Clan). You might have some Nu Metal in your collection. What happened to it? It's still around. Although most of the bands of the original movement have either been reclassified or died out. For example, some bands were around before the Nu Metal movement, may have gotten branded, but moved on past it and were reclassified just to be metal (Deftones for instance). Some lost their gimmicks and became heavier to make the transition into metal (Slipknot for example). Some bands that got caught in it, in spite of existing beforehand, died in it, and whilst may not being Nu Metal, have the unfortunate moniker of getting stuck where it left off (Korn, I would consider to be one of these). Some can still be heard on the radio today and are still making music (System of a Down). Some died a terrible death and now are a continuing joke (Limp Bizkit), and may not have ever been metal at all. A good measuring stick of what is Nu Metal and what is Metal is what station it's played on in the land of Sirius or XM satellite radio. If it's on 40 (Liquid Metal) it's probably just Metal. If it's on 38 (Octane) it's probably Nu Metal, save for a few crossovers. What is Nu Metal now certainly has changed from what it was before. These bands may just have somewhat of a confused identity, like Avenged Sevenfold or Atreyu. While some may just be hard rock bands and not really metal at all, like Five Finger Death Punch. Slayer and Megadeth are metal. A7X and Atreyu are not.

Modern Metal Bands?
So you're probably saying, "Okay, so you've talked about some bands that are old school metal, and some bands that are still around, and some bands that aren't metal. So what are some current bands making metal I should listen to?" Good question, I'm glad you asked!

Modern Metal is made up by those that follow tradition, but also those who are leading the way. Here are some great modern releases to check out to get you in a modern mood.
Killswitch Engage - Self Titled - This was released in 2009, and supposedly KSE's hardest album. It was also the most melodic, leaving some KSE fans kind of angry. It represents what most mainstream metal listeners are into in an overall sense.
Hatebreed - For The Lions - Jamey Jasta, the lead singer of Hatebreed, has been known as the hardest working guy in Metal. Certainly the arrival of Hatebreed marked a transition where Nu Metal died, and modern metal took it's place. The aggressiveness appealed to most people, but there were no gimmicks. For The Lions is entirely a cover CD, so you get to hear Hatebreed, but you also get to hear them play some really important stuff too.
Lamb Of God - Killadelphia - Lamb Of God is probably one of the most popular modern metal bands in the tradition of the big 4, for example. Killadelphia is a live album, and therefore, covers a lot of their catalogue prior to 2010.
Machine Head - The Blackening - While not their newest release, The Blackening is tried, tested and true. Machine Head, although around for a while, continue to be one of the most important modern metal bands by playing dark, fast tempo music in a traditional metal style, while somehow keeping it fresh.

There are a few more bands to outline. Protest The Hero is a Canadian 'mathcore' metal band - these are bands that rely heavily on musical theory to make very intricate compositions. Sometimes they really mess with theory to make a song that has very little hook to it in terms of common radio and pop music. Another example would be Dillinger Escape Plan. Then there is Meshuggah, a band that plays in ultra low tunings and uses polyrhythmic writing for their songs. While modern, they have often been cited as an influence by many other metal bands. There is Devil Driver, a modern metal band formed from older 'nu metal' group Coal Chamber (they may not be nu metal but were pinned as such during the era). Children of Bodom from Sweden exhibit a lot of really fancy guitar work and synthesizer work, always playing very fast. Alexi Laiho's fast fingers have earned the band respect among his blazing guitar solos. Then there is Every Time I Die; a hard band with a lot of screaming and very verbose lyrics; originally accompanied to Canada by now defunct Alexisonfire in their first tour north of the 49th parallel. These guys are metal in the most modern sense. Their music is hard and heavy, and so are the vocals. But in a different sort of way.  If you start listening to all of these, congratulations, you made it to metal. How does it feel?

Alterity - Self Titled
And now, modern metal from a metal band that hails from here in Edmonton. Alterity just recently completed their album after a long time working on getting it right, over two years if I remember; when Tews first played for me what was in his car. I was amazed, and even moreso at what turned out. A guitarist self-proclaimed fan of Killswitch Engage, I find their influence not just present in the initial sound of the music, but in the vocals as well, on the lead off track Projection, all except for the synthesizers at the end that give the song a sort of fantastical and grandiose feel for it's conclusion. However, I find the album takes a quick turn into much deeper space. In Deceit of Conscience, I feel a vastness in the music, and a continuous kick beat that makes me think of death metal in the realm of something you might find on Two Hunters by Wolves In The Throne Room, and the female vocals make me think I'm even more in some death or black metal space, even slightly reminiscent of Cradle of Filth, although not nearly as hokey...more clean kept if you will. That is not to say clean cut, of course. This is a true metal album. Interlude II features a beautiful...sonata...I'd call it where strings are present, an open space that both divides the sounds of this album and ties it together. The Pharmakon still has the feeling of both Killswitch, maybe even Fear Factory, although you really have to listen to metal a lot to see how that works there, but the changes in tempo and key throughout the song can be compared to modern polyrhythmic pioneers like Protest The Hero...again, somehow more cohesive. This feeling leads into Atonement, the final track, and then into the final interlude. Could it be? Did an independent group from Edmonton just make something better and more cohesive, taking elements from some of the best, than the groups they might have emulated could possibly have done themselves?

I think they just did!

I'm not going to bother rating Alterity, because their music simply defies my scale. If you haven't ever listened to metal, this is a beautifully put together and written album that must be listened to in its' entirety to be appreciated. I recommend downloading from:
http://alterity.bandcamp.com/album/alterity
On a pay what you can basis. I would purchase it for your iPod, aside from supporting local artists, you'll get to hear how the album is supposed to sound uninterrupted, which is the best way to listen to it.

Letters To The Editor
I welcome your discussion
rbw2@ualberta.ca
Don't forget our reader poll either:
http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22D392LE437
I don't know why when I paste it, it comes out that colour.

Upcoming Issues
-Our Halloween Guide: How to throw an easy party!
-Fall/Winter Fashion Issue
and of course, more political and socioeconomic commentary.
-Probably less interesting cars. The snow is coming, what can I do?

This Download has 24 minutes left...a Out My Passenger Window experiment

Our on the streets issue has no photo this issue! We WANT YOU to send us an interesting photo, along the lines of something we would publish, in this one time only reader submission. Why not?


Issue 14, Volume 1
Thursday, October 13, 2011


24 Minutes
This week I thought I'd challenge myself. Having a lot to put together for the metal issue, and a short time, it's still in the making. Instead of not doing anything, I thought I would write and put together a new issue the simple way - the way I would just write my thoughts down before I decide to have so many different sections. The time frame? Twenty-four minutes while I wait for my GT-5 upldate to complete. Here are the issues.

Change - And A Government, what that means?


Obviously one of the largest topics that doesn't include a knife, unless you're talking about a proverbial backstabbing one, is the discussion of 'Change' and a proposed provincial election. Already the Wild Rose Alliance is dissing Redford for not calling an election, and not making $110 million worth of school funding reversals happen. This I'm glad about, because that's impossible.

Change is thrown around at every election. But what can we expect from politicians? Can we expect change at all? Politicians are people who win, or are appointed to, their jobs. They then go in to work like every other person on this planet, and I'm sure a lot of them phone it in. If they really wanted to change things, we probably wouldn't have things like recessions. It is because they change things we have some sort of liability to the way things were. Most changes for the positive in good economic times turn out to be changes that screw us over in bad economic times. Take healthcare for instance. Tommy Douglas was a man that inspired change. Universal healthcare was great. The problem is it's a huge liability when it comes down to affording it during times when Canadians are out of work and have to draw assistance rather than give it.

There's also the hero/villain boom/bust cycle. See, any politician that is in power when the economy takes off and times are good for everyone looks like a hero. Be a politician during a time of recession, and even if you keep your province out of it (Alberta did the best of any province by the way, and if Canada did the best of any country through a recession than we obviously did pretty good - but we still had it hard) you're on the losing end. Any politician elected now is going to probably look like hell, and then not so bad, as their term extends out of a recession into somewhat of an economic recovery. It's like they're doing things, but really, they're not. It's the economy all along.

No One Wants To Hear About Your Cats


This isn't true. Sometimes we want to hear about your cats, but only in a very amusing sense, especially if it's followed by video of your cat doing something hilarious. Occasionally hearing about your cats is okay, given it's not the primary thing you want to focus on. So here's a guide about status updates:
-Don't talk about your fucking cats
-Don't talk about your religion or what you're doing with it
-Don't talk about your kids
-Don't talk about your divorce and/or child custody battles
-Don't talk about someone else's divorce
-Don't repeat the same type of post over and over again. For example, if you're a programmer, it's okay to talk about programming every once in a while, especially since your other programmer friends will get it (OMG PROGRAMMERS HAVE FRIENDS) kidding, of course. But if every post comes out to be something like "I spent all this time today reformatting my SQL to fit my DEV framework only to have by debug line code //you are not here and then I freaked out //RETURN and found out the database wasn't what we needed anyway. Or whatever.
-Facebook has this annoying deal of doing this thing where if you comment on someone's photo that has 'friends of friends' security clearance on it, I get to see it it my news feed, even though I don't know the person. I haven't decided if this is good or bad, because I've seen some fairly bizarre, and funny stuff of people I don't know at all. Have not seen nipples. So I guess it's bad.
-Don't write cryptic shit people don't get, because it's frustrating.

Here's a good rule of thumb: if it's none of your business, or if it's none of anyone else's business, or people wouldn't want it to be their business, then don't post it. If you got into an accident, are sharing an amusing link, especially SMBC comics, then it's all good.

INSTALLING
(this means I have some time left)

Idiocy in Idealism
I'm not going to comment on the occupy/99% thing here, this is fairly interesting, but I think it's hypocritical. I'm sure most of these people, given the chance to be in the 1% would. I'm not sure what they expect to happen either. A redistribution of wealth? Okay then. There is likely someone poorer than you too, so how about we make everyone in the 50%, including them, and use your 85% to get them there? I'm not specifically against this movement, I just get that this is part of the recession, and there are some economic changes that need to be made - like bailout packages. Back in the day, if something went bankrupt, it went bankrupt. You don't see Packards or AMC cars on the road. The idea is, in competitive markets, this should be great for competitors. That or people will want to get out of that market, because no one is buying what you're selling. Either way, it used to be the natural cycle of things. The problem is we let companies get way too huge, and form cartels, monopolies, and tacitly collude so they can screw us over. One company might have so many subsidiaries, that letting it die would put a ton of people out of work. It should have never been allowed to get that big in the first place.

Here's some other idealist isms that are driving me nuts right now:

Story of the Mermaid or the Whale
You've heard this one, where the gym says you want to be a mermaid or a whale, and the parable ends with it saying women want to be whales because their excess weight is love and experience. I have no idea how so many people thought this was a beautiful story and bought into it. What you need to do is let your body weight and idealism be about you when it comes to this type of thing. Carrying a lot of excess body weight (may not but) could mean that you are at risk of hypertension, diabetes, and a slow and paintful death So how about instead of thinking about being a mermaid or a whale, and if it means you're a mom, or have experience, or love to give, why not think about how you can be in a shape that allows you to be a strong, independent, loving woman for longer, and feel better about it.

Out Of Time


Letters To The Editor
rbw2@ualberta.ca

Upcoming Issues
-the Metal Issue - reviews, information, local bands and more!
-Halloween!

Our background is still pink due to October being breast cancer awareness month.

Fall Double Issue: End Of Summer - Travel Alberta (also) Alison Redford FTW, The Frosh 15 and Eating Right, Philip Baker is Back, and Movie Reviews?

Issue 13, Volume 1

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Welcome to our fall double issue: one part is our feature on travel Alberta, our summer wrap up. The other part is our standard sociopolitical fare that we like to bring to you each issue. The video above is from Hot August Nights at Castrol Raceway, in Edmonton, AB. The race is among the biggest jet car meets in North America during the season. Castrol raceway is just one of the many things to take in during late summer, inexpensive excursions in Alberta.

Sidenote

Please note our pink header. We will run this throughout most of October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Recently, I had the opportunity to take part in Run For The Cure, in which 9000 people took part and raised $1.6 million for breast cancer research. In all of Canada, the total was over 170,000 participants who did either a 5km run, or a 1km walk, and raised over $30,000,000 towards breast cancer research. This month, please take a moment to think of all the women in your life, or yourself, if you happen to be female. One in nine women, or eleven percent, will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer this year. In Canada, that is a total of 23,400 women. Of those, 5100 will die of it. Statistics are courtesy of the Canadian Cancer Society. The death rate from Breast Cancer is the lowest it's been since the late 1950's. Screening is up, and catching it early is good. But what if we could make it such that the death rate was even lower? What if we could make early detection higher? What if we could educate as to prevent cancer? Please educate yourself this month, and donate when called upon. Thank you.

TRAVEL ALBERTA: SPECIAL FEATURE

Summer is pretty much over now. Although September usually signals fall, we had a lucky bounce of some good weather towards the end. We decided during this time (and this would explain the long absence in the magazine) that we would take the opportunity to go out and enjoy as much as we could on a shoe string budget. Here are some of the activities we took in.

Hot August Nights

Held at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, AB, Hot August Nights takes place in late August each year, and is the biggest jet car drag race meet in North America. It also boasts funny cars and many other competitive race classes. If you've watched the video above, you know why it's a big deal. Many other cities in Alberta and small towns have tracks that run all the way to the September long weekend.

Sarah and I looking on in the grandstand.

Two Top-Alcohol funny cars line up in staging. Top Alcohol boasts about 3000hp and track times usually run in the 7 second range at over 200mph.

Yours truly with a Camaro Top Alcohol Funny Car. Back in the heyday of drag racing (early 70's) these cars were known as 'floppers) for their lift-top bodies.

Myself with 'The Burnout King' Darryl Webb and is Lucas Oil Corvette Top Alcohol Funny Car. Most pit areas are open during race events, giving you a chance to see the cars up close, and maybe even talk to your favorite driver.

Sylvan Lake

Sylvan Lake is almost the perfect Albertan lake to visit that is not in the mountains. It is off of highway 11 near Red Deer, so accessible to those who live in Edmonton and Calgary. The biggest attractions are the beach, and of course, Wild Rapids waterslides. It can be done in a day trip, or you can plan to stay a weekend there.

Summer storms are common in Alberta, especially in the evening due to daytime heating. We experienced a little rain on our way back, but it resulted in some great natural art displays.

Sarah and I in line for the slides at Wild Rapids water park. Admission is $30, but if it is a super warm day, go after 3pm, and you'll save $10 off the admission price. We did, and it turned out to be a blast.

Of course, taking gratuitous photos of yourselves driving is part of the experience. If you took a Jeep Wrangler like we did, you'd have the option of removing the top for your lake experience.

Ah, the good ol' open road. Before you hit it, make sure that your vehicle is in good working order. You should, by rule, get an oil change every 5000km-8000km depending on your manual and how hard you're driving your vehicle. Make sure your fluids are topped up, and that any unresolved issues have been taken care of. Make sure your tires and brakes are good. If you have no idea what kind of shape they're in; lay down the extra money to have your dealer, or a reputable shop do an inspection. Have them go through the inspection with you, so you become more knowledgeable. If your car is under warranty, I strongly recommend taking it to the dealership you got it at to have this done. Most passenger car tires should be inflated to about 35psi, even though max load is 44psi. Consult your manual, and your trip should be trouble free!

Drumheller, Alberta

Situated just South of Calgary, Drumheller is an easy drive. Cut into the bald prairie, the descent into the valley of the Dinosaurs is an interesting one, where you will go from wheat fields to hoodoos and badlands in a matter of minutes. There are actually a fair amount of things to take in while you're there, all for cheap.

For free, take this ferry over the Bow River. This cable driven ferry can be avoided, but when leaving Drumheller, it might be the easiest way to point yourself back in a northerly direction.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum has been a mainstay of Drumheller since the early 80's. It has been updated since, and is still a leader in the world in the science of paleontology. The museum starts with fossils and findings from the earliest known life forms, and displays many fossil findings and recreations up until present day, and takes an introspective look at the future. The Alberta Badlands, and southern Alberta have one of the biggest deposits of dinosaur fossils in the world, and researchers are still finding new species and cataloging, better giving an understanding of our past.

Historic downtown Drumheller will take up about 20 minutes of your time. Every street has a dinosaur. Ashlee got bit by a guard triceratops in front of an ice-cream stand. The one thing particularly interesting is how far back the origins of the town go; as far back as Edmonton or Calgary. It makes you curious how some areas developed into bustling metropolises, and some became the home of a dinosaur museum. Go figure.

Atlas Mine is a former coal mine, and there are many remnants of it, including the suspension bridge used to at one time to cart workers and coal across the Bow river. The government of Alberta has graciously preserved the site so future gawkers like Sarah and I have something interesting to look at.

Then there are, of course, the hoodoos. Sediment rock formations that have been carved by wind. The hard rock at the top remains, while the more brittle sandstone underneath gets whittled away, making these interesting rock formations. Some of the hoodoos on the provincial site were damaged, and roped off. However, you can still climb on most of them unsupervised. Be aware, there are rattlers and scorpions in this area, just as in any other badlands area. For this time of year (second week of September) the temperatures were soaring to 29 degrees Celsius.

Want some green with your brown? Drumheller also has a golf course where green fees are reasonable. Golf is a great way to spend a warm afternoon, even if you suck at it.

Radium Hot Springs, Invermere, Fairmont Hot Springs

Road trips are always about finding new things. If you've been to the Rockies, you're certainly familiar with Banff, Jasper, Hinton, Canmore, and more of the other tourist-y type destinations. About an hour past Banff (exit off of the Trans-Canada on to B.C. 93) you will come to the town of Radium, and its' hot springs. 25km away is Fairmont Hot Springs, B.C. with its' own attractions, and in between is the town of Invermere, featuring Lake Windemere. I know I said 'travel Alberta' - but if you're in Banff and bored of shopping at Lu-Lu-Lemon and eating at The Keg, why not get off the well beaten path, and just on to a slightly beaten one?

Lake Windemere is a beautiful mountain lake, and is great for having some fun on. Why not rent a boat? We were able to reserve, in advance, this Ski Centurion with a 345hp Mercruiser Scorpion and a Ballast system. Wakeboarding, waterskiing, and tubing were all on the agenda.

Of course, if you're not in to watersports, you can just take the boat out for a nice tour around the lake.

The coolest parts of the tour were the ones that weren't so commercial. While Radium operates a government pool hot-springs, Fairmont offers a private pool. On the other side of the private pool is the actual hot springs and waterfall, seen here behind Sarah and I. The nature hike around it is nice too.

How To Travel: Resources

• We travelled using RV, which is great, all except for gas. But if you're driving anyway, this may be the best thing. Alberta has the most RV's per capita of anywhere in the world, believe it or not. If you have a pickup truck, or even a small SUV crossover or minivan, you can usually find a used RV that will be fantastic (trailers are always cheaper than motorhomes, and most cars can tow a tent trailer). Campgrounds usually charge between $15 to $50 a night depending on what type of features you want. This includes things like 15 amp, 30 amp, or 50 amp power. For example, 15 amp will be great just to turn lights on and off, 30 amp will run an air conditioner or a microwave, and 50 amp will run all your RV's electronics together, while you also operate a small grow-op in the back of your F-150. There are other amenities available, such as potable water hook up, on site sewer hook up, cable television hook up, and phone jack. Most campgrounds now also have a wi-fi network you can hook into, like modern hotel chains.
• Sylvan lake can be done in a day trip. Any drag strip meet usually is local, and will require only an evening. If you live in Calgary, Drumheller can be a day trip, but if you live in Red Deer or Edmonton, make it a weekend trip. I would recommend a weekend or a long weekend to take in just a few of what Radium and Fairmont have to offer.
• Most of these places have hotels that range from dives to moderately priced, well appointed motel/hotels, to expensive spa-resorts.

Check out these resources for more information:

http://www.traveldrumheller.com/

http://www.radiumhotsprings.com/

http://www.fairmonthotsprings.com/

http://invermere.com/

http://www.sylvanlake.ca/home

http://www.gorving.ca/main.asp

http://www.castrolraceway.com/

Reader Poll

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http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22D392LE437

I don't know how it ended up that colour. Anyway it takes only a second.

Alison Redford FTW - Second Ballots Are a Joke

I'm not going to divulge my political affiliation here, because I don't think it is relevant in this commentary. You didn't think everything would be just about having fun in your RV did you? Nope, I'm back to ranting about what makes the world go round; politics and economics. This one has to do with both. As you may know, Alison Redford won over Gary Mar to become the Premier Designate of Alberta, after the retirement of 'Steady' Ed Stelmach. Now, my first problem with Redford was the idea that apparently she could restore all education funding within ten days. So, then, my question is where does this money come from? Do we stop paving roads? Do we give up on healthcare? This indicates a lack of understanding regarding how the economy and government work. Well, maybe not how the government works. Outlandish promises that can't be followed through on seems to be on par for any government. Then there's the ballot process. Most people, I think, would agree that Steady Eddie did very little for Alberta, and that we're not batting as well as we could be, although we resisted inflation better than any other province in Canada. Stelmach became the leader of the PC party after coming on strong as most people's second choice. In this party race, Mar and Redford were too close to call in the second ballot, so they looked at people's second choices. That's right, Redford was more people's second choice. So everyone is pretty comfortable, maybe not thrilled, but comfortable that she's in power. The biggest problem with all of this, however, is the 'Premier-Designate' title. If someone who leads a province, country, state, city, what have you should retire, die, go AWOL, go to prison, etc, shouldn't there be an immediate election? What frustrates me is there is no immediate need to call an election. So if you weren't a part of the PC party, you didn't really get to choose who is now in premier. You had no say at all. You didn't even get the chance to relegate her - or at least elect your own - opposition. My take? Redford doesn't know what she's doing, and there should be an election. Straight to the point.

The Frosh 15 - Eating Right for Students

I was reading an article in the Metro (yeah that's right) a few weeks ago regarding the 'Frosh' or 'Freshman' 15 - the 15lbs that new students usually gain in the first year of their post secondary experience. Apparently it's quite common, the majority of students will go through it. There is many tips on how to eat right.

There is one problem: eating right costs money.

With rising tuition costs, living costs, text book costs, course costs, transportation costs, and most of all food costs - a 9% inflation of food prices over last year - how are new students supposed to afford to eat right? I do not generally see campuses trying to provide better meal options through the eateries in their yard, after all, business investments make student unions' and institutions money. There is no place on a loan form (if you can get a loan) that indicates you need more money because you want to eat healthy. Here is a sad fact: it costs more to eat better. Maybe what we need to keep this happening is to make post secondary institutions understand that, like residence and parking, food available to students should be an issue up there with everything else. I mean, do we really want our students having to pay their student loans whilst paying for their diabetes medication at the same time? It is a possible future reality.

Philip Baker is Back

You might remember this character, the gentleman who was the Dean of Medicine at the University of Alberta. This man ripped off an entire speech to give to the graduating class for 2010, and was caught, and kicked out as dean. Now he's back working his usual hospital rounds, as well, he will be reinstated at the University of Alberta, not as a Dean of Medicine, but he will be working there.

He should be cleaning floors.

I posit why the University of Alberta needs this person who so blatantly does not give a shit when they could easily give the position to someone else. Even scarier than him teaching new graduates, he's back practicing himself. Would you want someone that thought he was above (and could not take 10 minutes of time to write his own) plagiarizing a speech for a large event working on you if you were a patient?

Fire this guy for good.

Movie Reviews - We Got 'Em

I felt why not, I watch films, I know something about them, I might as well talk about them. Think about this as less reviews and more recommendations. I'm not going to suggest films or talk about films I wasn't excited about.

In Theaters: Drive

Drive is a film starring Ryan Gosling, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, and Bryan Cranston, directed by Nicholas Winding Refn, and is possibly unlike anything you've seen before. For those that think this is going to be simply a car-chase flick, you're totally wrong. There are a few fun car chases, but the film is really about the tension built around Ryan Gosling's character (Driver - like Ryan O'Niel in 1978's Driver) and his increasingly unpredictability when pressed by gangsters played by Brooks and Perlman. The film is a fantastic working product, as seamless as an iPod. But like PC users that suddenly use a Mac product, you might not immediately get it if you're too used to a PC. For example, there is not a lot of dialogue. You might be used to blahbity-blah-blah of Hollywood movies. We are a society used to being talked at, not necessarily to. Look at the constant news, constant shows where people can't shut up, the media we have access to all the time. When was the last time you were in a car with someone you particularly didn't want to talk to, and neither of you had the adult pacifier of a smart phone to dive in to. That's what this film is like in places. It helps to build tension, and keep the story flowing. Now, if you don't like gratuitous violence, you may not like this movie. It is, however, not any worse than any Tarantino film, and not nearly as cheesy. The complex situations that Gosling finds himself in are perfect to real life, asking yourself what you would do should you have found yourself in his situation. Scarier is Al Brooks' character. A cold and calculated criminal who seems like he could be your Dad. It's confusing; you want to like him, he seems like he could be likable, but he is, after all, a gangster, and you shouldn't like him or trust him. Ultimately this could be the greatest film of the year; winning the Cannes Film Festival award for Best Director. The soundtrack was great, and the modern interpretation of Driver was not lost on me, even though it did stray from that film (it is not based on that film, but does pay some homage). It is definitely not B-roll, but very artfully and skillfully put together such that every character and situation or scene is felt by the audience. Don't miss it.

On Video: One Week

One Week has been out since 2008; a story of a man diagnosed with cancer, that buys a 1974 Triumph Motorcycle and rides across Canada. Joshua Jackson plays the lead, and is a likable one. Canadiana reigns supreme in this independent film shod with cameos that only a Canuck would appreciate. The film also asks questions regarding one's own mortality. But it's not sad, as far as cancer films go. It's not funny like 50/50 tries to be. It's just real. It's available on Netflix, or whatever video store still exists near you.

Letters To The Editor

rbw2@ualberta.ca

I get a lot of comments, but to make it official you have to write to the email address.

Upcoming Issues

-Next Issue: Special Metal Feature, featuring Alterity, other local metal, and the metal scene in general. Get ready for Halloween with some loud and angry music!

-Upcoming: Don't know what to do for Halloween? How about throw your own party?

Thanks for reading, as always! We appreciate each and every reader.

Reader Poll, Summer Isn't Over - And Neither Are Job Concerns (also) Food Ingestion Idiocy, A Water Fall and Middle Class Rut

Issue 12, Volume 1

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Our On The Street segment is actually well off the beaten path. Behind Fairmont, B.C.'s hot springs pool, there are the actual hot springs. Technically it is a type of man made waterfall. The natural pool is at the top of the cliff, and the small resort town built a modern type swimming pool in the side of the mountain. The pool is filled with the natural water, and then drained here every night, leaving these warm pools. This was on an RV vacation to the region. Alberta has the highest RV-per-capita ratio of anywhere in the world, believe it or not.

I couldn't bring myself to publish the end of summer edition yet. It's going to be above thirty all week.

Job Concerns For Students

What will you do when you graduate with a ridiculous amount of student debt? Find a job, hopefully. But economists aren't so sure. Latest studies indicate that, of new graduates in the next 5-10 years, up to 60% of them may only be able to find part time, low wage work. Many may find the entry level positions they are looking for, but for much less money than they had hoped for.

Of course, the myth here is that there are a lot of baby boomers retiring, and in the next 10 years, a lot of the next generation after that retiring too, which outnumber graduates, leaving a ton of jobs open. However, the ongoing recessionary woes and economic issues have led companies to downsize, leaving these vacant positions actually erased from existence. Most companies have also learned that students will work for much less than before, because competition has increased greatly. This allows companies to use foul practices like taking on full time interns for extended periods of time with no guarantee of a job at the end of it. It also allows companies to pay much less for an equal amount of labor, and extend fewer benefits.

Cyclically, eventually economic expansion (think 10 years down the road) will allow this cycle to reverse. For now, expect that your job search may be very difficult. The study also indicated that the majority of graduates would have changed jobs about 6 times before they were 30 years old. Monster.ca's study also showed that about 40% of current graduates under 30 indicated they were not in their desired field.

What can you do if you're expecting to graduate? First, work through school, don't let your student loans pay for everything. Being employable is the first step. Secondly, even if you are planning to get into something else, lock down a job after graduation as close to your field as possible, or something that has transferable skills. Working towards your desired goal is better; working farther outside the field for, say, more money isn't going to help. Employers are going to want to know why you took so much time away from the industry you supposedly are so passionate about. You are going to be left explaining to them that it wasn't enough money, or you thought you could have a better opportunity. They're going to wonder if you'll stick around long enough to make it worth while hiring you.

I Have No Editor: What Are You Ingesting? Common Myths about Food and Illness...

You might be familiar with my I have no editor sections. Well here's another one. A fantastic story.

I have (had) a friend who insisted that acupuncture had cured her of Celiac disease. I know there are many people who believe in eastern medicine practices, and find western medicine, well, less wholesome, or what have you. But understanding how the body works is a great first start, and understanding Celiac disease is the first step.

http://drhyman.com/gluten-what-you-dont-know-might-kill-you-11/

Feel free to read more in the above link. Celiac disease is a person's inability to digest wheat gluten, to the point that the sensitivity kills parts of your gastro-intestinal tract. There is no treatment or cure, but there is cutting gluten out of your diet. Oh wait, pardon me, there is a cure, and it's called acupuncture?

No.

There is the suggestion that our bodies weren't meant to digest wheat gluten in it's certain format. I say that because many different types of grasses and wheat strains may have been bred together over long periods of time making these grains outside of what the human body would normally tolerate. This is one speculation as to why something we commonly eat is harmful to so many people.

But wait. Here's the line that's important. Something we commonly eat is harmful to so many people. In fact, most of our food can be harmful to us.

If you want to avoid western medicine, you might want to try avoiding medicine entirely by trying to eat healthy, and you'll be okay.

The reason we run into problems a lot of times with our GI tracts is because we simply don't eat right. There are enough documentaries, studies, books on the subject, and our own physicians tell us time and time again that things like proper portion control, and proper balance in our diets are way off. For example, most of the people I know skip breakfast. This is a good first step in getting diabetes. Your breakfast should include something with fiber in it so your GI tract has something to digest. You should also be getting protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. So basically, something from all the food groups. What you don't need is sugar, or salt, or fats (well most fats).

I know food tastes good, but you will die if you don't eat properly. The sheer stupidity of thinking that you could have acupuncture and all of a sudden not be Celiac scares me quite a bit, because it means people are not being informed, not informing themselves, or just aren't listening. And I'm a believer in acupuncture too. Years ago, after a head on collision, it was the only thing that helped my shoulder after much physiotherapy.

Please, be informed about what you eat. Lest you become a liability to yourself, and your loved ones, not to mention a strain on the healthcare system and tax payers. All the while supporting questionable methods of food processing and shutting down small farmers. Actually, while you're becoming informed about what you should be eating, maybe watch Food Inc. again.

New Music: Middle Class Rut

Middle Class Rut, from the home of the Deftones, Sacramento, CA, recently played here with the Sonic Boom Festival. Their current single, New Low that hit the airwaves in October 2010, but didn't start getting radio play (or SAT play) until much later. That single has peaked at #5 on the US alt rock charts, off of the album No Name, No Color. Believe it or not, the band has actually been around since 2006, but with only a few non-charting EP's to their credit.

So will M.C. Rut continue to rock us in the future? A label deal means they have a new album out in 2011, even before their second single, a re-release of Busy Bein' Born hits the radio stations. But will they be all that successful? New Low is a great song that employs a simple chord structure, repeats itself, and drops out or brings in more loud noises as necessary for effect. It's actually pretty clever, but simplistic song writing.

How does the rest of the album compare? Well it's loud. I'm actually surprised that this is considered 'alt rock' and not just straight rock. In the late 1980's or early 1990's, songs like Busy Bein' Born would have been considered post-hardcore alongside greats like Helmet. The influence is definitely felt here. Can I call Zack Lopez a combination of former Filter singer Richard Patrick and the venerable Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction. Indeed, 25 Years sounds like a faster, harder Jane's Addiction song. But this album is noise throughout. Even the supposedly quiet So Long ends with Lopez hitting the high notes in a screamy-fashion.

There is nothing here we haven't heard before. There are even some tricky Rage Against The Machine type riffs. But the sound is mostly Jane's Addiction, and some loud 90's post hardcore.

So where does M.C. Rut go from here? Well apparently on to another album. I should say that I liked the album, but I felt it was fairly repetitive and not really original at all. It's just some music of a style we haven't heard for a while. It's good to hear there is someone still doing it. But I hope they do it a little better with their next release. I give it about a 6/10.

READER POLL

If you have a second, I'd love for you to take our reader poll. The results will be published in the next issue. It'll give me a chance to quantify what you liked or disliked about the blog. It'll also give you some idea of what other people are interested in (in respect to the blog) and hey, polls are fun to take.

Take the poll here:

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22D392LE437

Results here:

http://www.zoomerang.com/Shared/SharedResultsPasswordPage.aspx?ID=L26Z2L2Z2Z2Q

Letters To The Editor

rbw2@ualberta.ca

and remember to send me this for future issues:

-what did you enjoy the best this summer (activity wise)?

-what did you miss out on?

Thank you, as always, for reading.

Economic Collapse (plus) Farewell Layton, The Joy Formidable and a '58 Vette

Issue 11, Volume 1

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Our On The Streets section occurs in a parkade, where I often see this panama yellow '58 Corvette, complete with appropriate year of Alberta plates. The iconic American sports car seen here was still in its' infancy. Imagine that only a few years before this car could only come with a 'blue flame' inline 6 cylinder. It was the late 60's where large eight cylinder engines with more displacement and more power started to be pushed by guys like Virgil Exner, or GM president Harley Earl, champion of the 'Vette. Still a C1 (first generation corvette) in 1957, the Corvette would gain and be the poster child for Chevrolet's 283 cubic inch V8 putting out 290hp in fuel injected form. The 1958 model gained the twin headlights and more chrome seen here. Although carbureted engines would become the more popular option until the 1980's, in the late 50's Chevrolet wanted exotic sports car status. One of the most exotic and winning race cars of the era was the Mercedes SL300 (gullwing) sports car, which featured fuel injection. The 283 engine could be even had in trucks, and sedans like the bel-air 150/250 versions. This car frequently is seen in the parking lot, and is sometimes replaced by a Jeep Grand Cherokee on inclement weather days. With summer drawing to a close, this individual may not be taking his prized possession to work too much longer. By the way, tying it all in; there was a steep recession in 1958. Between 1958 and 1964, things weren't so fantastic, but they weren't nearly as bad as they are now. Probably was one of the reasons the Edsel failed so hard, thinking back.

Economic Collapse: The Second Recession

If you've ever taken a look at a chart at a bank, usually there's one on the wall somewhere. These charts are available for special order every year, and feature just about everything on them. They include the value of the dollar, value of gold, GDP, market index (TSX, S&P, NYSE), price of oil, interest rate...basically everything you could use to see how an economy is doing, except maybe unemployment (and I don't know - that very well could be on there). If you happen to take a look at one of these graphs, you'll notice that just about everything except the price of oil (which seems to go up and down based on no other factors) is always consistantly up. That means if you wait long enough, the mutual funds you hold will eventually be worth more than they are today. Meanwhile, you'll notice they take a dip and rise back up about every 10 years or so.

What you don't see: them take a dip, plateau, slowly rise, and then take another dip within 5 years.

Indeed Benjamin Tal, Cheif Deputy Economist at CIBC believes we are inches away from being in the depths of another recession. Himself, and other economists are calling this the worst period in economic recovery since the great depression.

Consumer confidence is down, says Tal, but it's a great time to buy houses. That is because the interest rate is so low, and the market is down. Meanwhile, we are experiencing a horrible time of 'stagflation' - inflation in price without economic growth. Usually what you get paid, coincides with price increases. Except one day we had huge inflation, and now everyone puts everything on their credit cards, and finances stuff. Alright, moving along...

It was estimated that inflation was about 3% overall for Canada, which wasn't too bad. The things that inflated the most, however, are things we're going to feel. So while the price of a flat screen television might have changed from $680 to $700.40, we don't necessarily need to buy a flat screen T.V. this year. We can hold on until our wage rate goes up. But what do we need to do. Well we need to eat, and put gas in our cars. Gas was up a staggering 27% over this time in 2010. Food was up something like 14%, and the cost of home insurance and utilities, 9%. Meaning, on average, paying for things you actually used went up about 17% in price. So if your household bills, say, your utilities cost you $300/mo, gasoline $200/mo, and groceries about $300/mo for a grand total of $800/mo, you would be paying $936 a month now without any increase in volume, service, amount, or pay rate.

So, what's the solution? Well, unfortunately, for Canada, all we can do is hold on. This isn't a regular recession. A regular recession would see interest rates stay low, and consumer confidence stay high to assist recovery. However, this recession was created by the United States nearly defaulting, and their dollar devaluing so much. We depend on our dollar being lower than theirs, because we are largely an exporting nation. While we hold our interest rates low (great if you're paying back prime + ___ loans or buying a house) to keep our money as worthless as possible, it's not helping.

Here are some great economic tips during this time:

-buy some mutual funds if you can afford it.

-pay down as much debt as you can right now while interest rates are low.

-find ways to save. Shut off the lights, wear a sweater, use alternative transportation.

-buy locally -> spend money on Canadian products, that will help our own economy

-eat locally -> buy your groceries at a farmers' market, etc.

These will inspire Canadian market consumer confidence, and as well, save you money, while you don't have to resort to eating KD. They will assist at a local level first, which is where the growth needs to stem from at this point.

Good luck!

Jack Layton; A Few Words

The honorable Jack Layton recently left us due to that ugliest of C words - cancer. I have only a few words to say. I think whether or not you voted for him, or particularly liked him, you recognize at this point now what he is worth to Canada as a whole, and Canadian politics. Layton brought the NDP, and its new-generation politics to become the official opposition, after being irrelevant for years. He, and the party, were champions of welfare and equality. Even if you are a Conservative, you recognize that you live in Canada, and things like 'social programs' are essential. That's what Layton stood for. Not afraid to poke fun at himself, we remember him smiling into the camera with a pitcher of beer from a pub during the Olympics. We remember him stealing Rick Mercer's bike on the Mercer report. While the NDP will get a new leader, there likely won't be another like Layton, at least for a long time to come. I would like to extend my thanks, not as anyone who is rah-rah NDP (I'm not going to reveal my political affiliation here, because it's irrelevent) to Jack Layton for his fight for Canada.

Thanks.

The Joy Formidable: The Big Roar

So once upon a time, there was this band I'd never heard of that was all of a sudden put on the Sonic Boom lineup list. And then they had sort of an infectious song called, "Whirring."

Well, I have news for you, if you've only been listening to this band on the radio. That song has a wicked double kick section that only a metal enthusiast would be able to truly appreciate that they don't play.

I have more news for you: female vocalist lead bands are...making a comeback? Making headway?

I've never seen such a time where male and female in rock music had been so equal, except at certain points. The first was the inception of rock n' roll. June was on Johnny and the rest of Sun Records' tour. Then there were a few bands along the way, until the late 60's, when Joplin killed it as the lead of Big Brother Holding Co. And then during the punk movement, there were artists like Patti Smith became famous.

But then there were the 80's, and that was horrible. There was the 90's and that was horrible too (except for grunge) and the 2000's which was also horrible. And there were the spice girls. That ruined it for everyone.

Now girls don't sing in girl groups anymore. They take control of groups like the Joy Formidable.

So how does that album shape up? Aside from the fantastic Manchester accent of Ritzy Bryan, this album is the standard in alternative rock today. A lot of synthesizers. Luckily there was that great wall of British fuzz guitar throughout, with some punk undertones that I could hang on to. Had this been another synth-pop-alt-rock standard equipment group, I wouldn't be talking about them right now. But overall, their song writing is solid.

The Joy Formidable released The Big Roar, their first full length on January 24th of this year, and it took a while, since it was their first full length, to catch on. It hit only 31 in the UK, but 8 on the US charts. Meanwhile, Whirring, the first single off of that album has hit 10 on the CAN charts, 38 on the US Rock charts, and hasn't placed on the UK charts. Crazy, eh?

The first single, Austere was actually a re-release of their 2009 UK single. For this, the album is a little disjointed. While Whirring is upbeat and fast, and sometimes a wall of noise, other songs are darker, but all with a fairly steady pace, and a lot of distortion. This wasn't a band that was influenced by The Cure, for example, or even maybe The Clash. Instead we get a lot of classic brit-rock licks, as if AC/DC snuck in there somewhere and lent them their huge Marshall stacks (indeed TJF does play with big Marshalls) but then, the sensibility of brit rock got angry and New Order showed up and gave them some keyboards too. Actually, I could probably draw a pretty good line between Joy Division and The Joy Formidable, especially with Rhydian Dafydd, bass player, indicating the album is emotionally manic depressive.

Highlights include the extended version of Whirring and other tracks like The Everchanging Spectrum Of A Lie, which force the listener to enjoy sonic walls of music. Then there are more simple tracks, like the closing The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade that are simply enjoyable to listen to because of their poppy and simple beats.

You could easily slip this album into your 'sounds of summer' collection. I'm glad to hear a synth pop band that hasn't abandoned it's rock roots, and can still make a wall of distortion in a minor key. I rate this album about a 6.5/10. I feel TJF still has a ways to go before doing something that will really hit audiences hard and chart well. This album, being some newer songs, some written on the road, and some older EP re-releases isn't cohesive in all places, and certainly not linear. But it's a great first album from a band that you can bet will be back in a big way, if they can keep the excitement of songs like Whirring going on their sophomore effort.

Letters To The Editor

rbw2@ualberta.ca

Next Week

-It's the end-of-summer edition, with all sorts of cool wrap up articles, many suggested by you, the reader. What did you love about this summer? What did you hate? The sounds of summer music list, and photos!

Milestones

Our fashion issue proved to be our most popular issue, and we now have over 400 readers. Thank you!

Rude Society (also) economic update and some old BMW's

Issue 10, Volume 1

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Our on the streets feature is a few old BMW's from the Lutz era. Bob Lutz was known most famously for bringing about the Dodge Viper and releasing radical cars at Chrysler, and then on to GM where he fought to have the Volt released as his last hurrah. Lutz, a former Marine Corps pilot, attended college at UC Berkeley with a degree in Production Management and later an MBA. Although he was a great businessman, his head was in styling. Although not a designer himself, he would often rag on his production and design team to come up with better and more outrageous things. His first experiment was the Opel Kadett for GM Europe, followed by the BMW 3 series, shown above. He would later move on to Ford to have the infamous Taurus approved, and then to Chrysler for the Viper, and GM afterwards. He had a keen and unique sense of what the public wanted; often did battle with what the 'bean counters' wanted to do. Remember when all the GM vehicles were all the same, whether badged Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet? Lutz put an end to that. Lutz has a new book out called Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle For The Soul Of American Business. At BMW, Lutz saw the original styling of their new 3 series model, and indicated that the car had to be completely changed. It was redesigned into what was basically seen above. This is a collection of a few old BMW's by my old house on the North End. The one with the famed 'M' sport paint job is a 1975-1983 (E21) model, likey a 318 (1.8L 4 cylinder) or 320 (2.0L 4 cylinder). These cars earned a great deal of market notoriety for BMW in North America; turning the brand into an upscale household name for German Luxury cars, where once only Mercedes and Porsche reigned. Very few are still in any sort of shape. The silver car is a 325e, a rare bird indeed. The 1983-1990 models (E30) were available with a 2.5L 4 cylinder. The 325 was the standard non-fuel injected model. The 325i was the upscaled injected model. However, there was a rare and affordable '325e' with the 'e' standing for 'economy' that was a no-frills, gas sipping model. The red one appears to be an E28 5-series model, still rare for these parts. Whilst most of our neighbors are out there souping up their pickups, we still have some that have strange and inquisitive automobile tastes; but luckily, are preserving history, in however perverse a manor (and likely to the chagrin of their neighbors).

Rude Society: Homicide Edition

Someone asked me if I'd discuss the homicide rates, since that's what's been dominating the news. So: yeah, we have a big huge homicide problem (apparently). The reason I say (apparently) is because there are discrepancies with how the numbers are tallied. For example, two of the 34 homicides were actually from last year. It was up to the medical examiners to add them to this year's statistics. Two more of the homicides took place in a penitentiary, and two more were police shootings. So that brings the number down to 28, which is still alarmingly high, I know. Compared to Detroit, which had 308 murders in 2010. But they're celebrating, because apparently the amount of murders had dropped 15% prior to the year before.

But this is Canada, and of course we're not comparable to Detroit, by any standard. Except that we are part of North America, have McDonald's and Wal Marts and auto manufacturing and drug gangs and...well pretty much everything the US has except summer.

Generally the Police are indicating that the problem is mainly among the homeless, while advocates are indicating it's because too many people are carrying knives. Well, yeah, why are people carrying around knives? Because they don't want to get mugged?

Ultimately what it comes down to; for those that aren't homeless and of sound faculty of body and mind (the police indicate that those committing the crimes among the homeless are either mentally ill or under the influence of alcohol and drugs most of the time - this isn't a statement about homeless in general), is that a culture of violence is becoming more rampant. Is it video games, obesity, bad parenting? Who knows. All I know is that now it's more than acceptable to honk at someone because you don't agree with what they're doing in traffic. I remember a time when honking was only done if you were in imminent danger of a collision. Now it's secondary to the finger. Which, by the way, why is it okay, because you don't like someone going slower than you, or making a left turn, that they held you up, to give you the finger? Or if someone generally makes a mistake in traffic? Oh well, let them go. It's not like you're perfect. Remember the CAA study I discussed a few issues earlier about how people felt other drivers were discourteous? Most of the individuals polled rated themselves a B+ in driving, while rating other drivers a C-. So in that case, the study shows most people believe they are good drivers and everyone else is a bad driver. Well that's impossible. But the biggest finding were that people were simply discourteous and impatient, not necessarily lacking skill.

This bleeds over to other areas of society too. Things that would never have once been acceptable are becoming so. Last week, a website, cheaterville.com, regarding the defamation of anyone (you can make a profile about ANYONE you want to with stories about how they are a cheat) was brought to attention by news media, after advocates were curious how the site was able to operate. Defamation law, however, when it comes to the internet is uncertain, and thus at this point lawyers are hesitant to go after defamation suits, even by individuals who have indicated their lives have been ruined by untrue defamation of ex jilted lovers. This generally, without social media, would have been impossible. Just imagine if 15 years ago, someone was talking on the phone or writing a note to someone else the entire time you were talking. Of course, they'd need to carry the entire cord around with them. We accept things are okay with this, generally, because we're unfamiliar with what etiquette should be associated with technology.

Is this acceptable?

Ultimately I find that people have generally became one of two ways:

-extremely self centered

-uncaring of what others feel in general

I know those sound like the same two things, but a person can care mostly about themselves while still wanting their existence to cause no harm to others. While the second category indicates that people don't care if they do cause harm to others. They just can't see other people as having any feelings like them.

Oh, wait, maybe they have no feelings.

Anyway, the homicide situation will continue to be a problem as long as people continue to backslide in general human morality and etiquette.

Letters To The Editor: Job Market Update

I recently got a note from Jen who had found herself unemployed and on 2 weeks of EI. It wasn't long until she found placement agencies. She said soon she found a job she was qualified for and had great benefits and salary. Her advice was to dress up nice, spruce up your resume, and generally 'attack' employment agencies to place you somewhere. Many of the positions may be initially temporary. However, many of them may end up with much better results for you in the long term.

In addition to this, Banks usually are a good marker of how the economy is doing. RBC just hosted a massive open house for hiring where you could actually apply via a regular paper resume. Oh wait, I know a lot of you won't remember what that might be.

If you'd like to comment on anything I've written about; or contribute to the blog, you can get me at rbw2@ualberta.ca

Milestone

Our last fashion issue saw almost 40-50 hits, and that put us over the 300 hit mark. Thank you so much for your support and for reading!

The Fashion Issue

Out My Passenger Window

Fashion Issue

Issue 9, Volume 1

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

How To Have A Successful Martini Party

In these days of electro-disco-punk, and retro-mod chic, we've found an emerging new trend that has picked up quite a bit of steam in the last few years. The postwar era, call it what you may, be it the 'mad-men' era, or 'rockabilly' or what have you, the era from 1945 to 1970 was extremely influential in fashion and lifestyle. We've found through throwing the perfect martini party, that celebrating economic and fashionable good times is a few simple steps away. So forget the credit-card financing blinged out and musically confused times of now. Step back into the good times of yore.

Nothing like a dance to some Bing Crosby or some Johnny and June Carter.

A good martini parti must have good martini mix-ins. Cups: Dollar Store. Martini Shakers: original vintage. Colored bowls: Ikea.

Cars were a big part of the era. Muscle became more and more important up to the 60's with the invention of the muscle/pony car. Now the big sedan is gone, but the muscle is still present. Seen here; 2011 Mustang GT, and 2010 Camaro LT as owned by the proprietors. In the rockabilly era; it was hot rods and customs that ruled the streets. Now, cruising in these machines is back.

With the party in full force. Seen here Jeremy, in mad men style, wearing a simple white shirt, his own glasses, and slacks. The skinny tie was something he 'dug through the closet to find.' In the back, note Lizzy, who actually made the hat herself.

It's unlikely you will find an original old steel table set that hasn't rusted through, but that doesn't mean you have to be all original out back. Mixing styles is okay. The patio set and gas grill are not period appropriate, but serve to make a very comfortable party. Note the carriage style painting on the 1952 garage.

Bow ties and old style fedoras and hats are easy to find; seen here in a blur of explanation is Ben; hat by H&M. The bowls on the table are original vintage.

Decorating your house with memorabilia is part of the look. If you can't be IN the era, you can pay tribute to it. Seen: Steve McQueen and The Beetles paying homage to the 1960's, while the Fender classic design stool and neon sign say 50's. Many replica classic vehicles take up the book shelf.

Food for your party? Keep it simple. Hot dogs and hamburgers (whether they are vegetarian or not) is simple, and just about everyone loves them.

An inviting living room will help keep your party from gravitating in the kitchen as they usually tend to do.

Although the couches have a retro look and pattern, they are totally new and from the brick. You can go for older luxury furniture of the original vintage style; but it will set you back (unless inherited) quite a bit for so-so quality.

Little touches like the phone seen in these last two photos really make the retro feel. This one is a working original vintage rotary; but you can always pick up a Stanley built retro (this or a pay phone) for a reasonable price. They look rotary, but are actually touch-tone.

Party going full bore; note the mad-men style, which works about as well at a martini party as a rockabilly style. Note: ask your guests to dress up. A lot of people are just waiting for something like this to escape.

It's not hard to go new-retro. Large Amsterdam photo: Ikea; Coffee Table: Stockholm: Ikea; 'martini olive' chair: Pier One. The magazines were vintage originals picked up from a retro store. Curtains were hand sewn.

Going Mad-Men with retro shirts isn't difficult (white shirts, grey slacks). Going rockabilly is equally as easy. Ryan pictured here with shirt by Piston, shorts are Circa and shoes are Chuck Taylor style UGP shoes - vintage made. Sunglasses are Mercury Sun.

Good housekeeping meets pin-up Vixen. Sarah with Dress by Lip Service.

Martini parties are best experienced in the summer, where the mad-men can step outside to smoke a cigar with their drinks.

You need not set up a giant table to feed everyone. Allow the food to take up the table, and use paper plates, or the plastic hot-dog holders (think ball-park style) we found at the dollar store to allow people to roam with their food. A good hostess at work (above).

Presentation is important; even the table set up is vintage style, with chip and punch bowls actually retro.

The living room; comfortable for you and your guests. Have people bring their vintage music or search for some at thrift stores. The case is a Billy from Ikea, the turn table is new from Sony, and can convert your LP's to MP3's if you wish. The vintage-style Epiphone EJ is a great accessory.

Unless you have little kids running around; or your friends are huge liabilities, don't be afraid to show some of the things like your collection of musical instruments to create the appropriate atmosphere.

Letters To The Editor

rbw2@ualberta.ca

We will be back next week with regular social commentary.