Issue 12, Volume 1Thursday, 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.
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:
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.
