prairie dog magazine

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 9:49:14 AM

Six In The Morning: Science, Sanctions, Aussie Creeps, Corey

I’m out of the office today after a fun, character-building working weekend and long-ish Monday and Tuesday. Hooray for me! But just because I’m not there doesn’t mean there’s no news to post links to. The news does not stop because one dude has a time-in-lieu Wednesday. And Dog Blog hungers for news. This dog must be fed!

1 TRY DOING YOUR FANCY CLIMATE SCIENCE WITHOUT MONEY, FREELOADERS The Conservative government, which either doesn’t believe in or doesn’t care about climate change, has effectively destroyed an important climate research team. (Globe And Mail) Yeah. This is the Tories: “You can’t bother us with your “science” if we take your money away, nyah nyah.”

2 FSIN/FNUniv DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT, FINALLY The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations asks the U of R to manage its money. Time to restore funding. (CBC)

3 AUSSIE THUGS BEAT CANADIAN IN WHEELCHAIR Assholes! (Toronto Star)

4 ANOTHER STADIUM PITCH Read all about it. (Leader-Post)

5 LOG ON… TO FREEDOM! The United States removes Internet sanctions on several countries including Cuba. (Guardian)

6 RIP COREY HAIM Drug addiction sucks. (TMZ)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 1:00:24 AM

Pick of the Day: Medea

by Gregory Beatty

This play, which is being presented by the University of Regina Theatre Department from March 10-13, is based on Euripedes’ ancient Greek tragedy, but it’s an adaptation by American philosopher and writer Robinson Jeffers. It was written in the early 1940s, and became a Broadway hit starring Dame Judith Anderson. Jeffers was a definite character. D.H. Lawrence, the Englishman who authored such classics of erotic fiction like Lady Chatterly’s Lover and Sons and Lovers, was a close friend. He lived in a stone house in Carmel, Calif that he built himself and named Tor House and Hawk Tower. He was an outdoorsman extraordinaire.

With Medea, Jeffers had a great story to work with. Most people are probably familiar with the story of Jason and his quest for the Golden Fleece. Well, when Jason returns home to his wife Medea after being away for years, he quickly dumps her and takes up with King Creon’s daughter Glauce. Pissed, Medea proceeds to exact revenge.

To get the juice of ancient Greek legends flowing for this four-day run of Jeffers’ play here’s the trailer for the classic 1963 adventure flick Jason & the Argonauts with stop-motion special effects by Ray Harreyhausen. (YouTube)

Also at the university tonight there’s the 2010 Stapleford Lecture. It’s in the Rex Schneider Auditorium at Luther College. Speaking at 7:30 p.m. is Dr. Anne Doig, president of the Canadian Medical Association. The title of her talk is Quality Care For Patients, Above All. It’s related to an initiative the CMA has undertaken to develop a Patient Quality Charter to promote patient-centred care.

And at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, the first night of the Sakewewak Storytellers’ Festival kicks off with a world music concert produced by Ramses Calderon and featuring musicians Sam Minevich, Michel Medrano and Carter Powley. The Festival switches to the Performing Arts Centre then. March 11 it’s Stories From St. Laurent by Yvonne Chartrand and Marie Clements. March 12: Urban Poetz, an aboriginal hip hop showcase. Both start at 8 p.m. Finally, March 13 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. there’s a forum on traditional knowledge.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 2:33:17 PM

City Council Wrap Up: Sewer Bugs and Infrastructure Woes

by Paul Dechene

Infrastructure was the big topic of discussion at last night’s council meeting. Not only was the Water and Sewer Utility budget considered and passed, but Mayor Fiacco gave a summary of discussions that took place at the recent Big City Mayors Caucus meeting in Moncton which were focused on Canada’s growing infrastructure deficit.

According to Fiacco, Canadian cities are labouring under a $123 billion infrastructure deficit. The potholes everyone was complaining about during the election are just one symptom of the problem. Sewers, water pipes, streetlights, sidewalks and roads: it’s all in bad repair. And as Fiacco pointed out, that $123 billion only represents how much municipalities are falling behind. The federal and provincial governments also have their own infrastructure deficits to deal with.

To begin the process of working out a solution to the impending doom by imploding sewer pipes that most cities are facing, Fiacco is spearheading an Infrastructure Summit to be held in Regina from January 26 to 28 in 2011. His idea was unanimously approved by the Big City Mayors and several municipalities have offered to help out. And at last night’s meeting, Regina’s council confirmed the dates.

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Tuesday, March 9, 2010 10:31:09 AM

Six In The Morning: Jobless Future, War On Science, Palin

by Paul Dechene

1. JOBS NOT PART OF CANADIAN RECOVERY: Thanks in part to Stockwell Day’s slash and burn approach to employee relations, last year’s lone source of new jobs — the public sector — just dried up. If the economy recovers at all in 2010, it’ll do so without boosting employment. Thanks for the help during tough times, Stock. I thought your government’s goal was to get people back to work? (Globe and Mail)

2. BOOKSELLERS BRACE FOR AMAZON INVASION: Canadian booksellers are calling on the Heritage Minister to halt Amazon’s plans to open a distribution hub here. (Globe and Mail)

3. SORRY KID, YOUR SCHOLARSHIP’S BEEN FNUC’ED: Looks like the FNUniv administration was dipping into scholarship funds when their general coffers were low. Advanced education minister, Rob Norris, is asking the Ministry of Justice to look into $400,000 missing in scholarship funds. (Leader Post)

4. HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY, WOMEN… LOVE, BRAD WALL: Whitworth is telling me that on CBC radio this morning they reported that today, the day after International Women’s Day, the Sask Party government canceled a domestic violence program in Saskatoon. Nothing’s up on their website yet. Oh lookit, the Star Phoenix has it covered. (Star Phoenix)

5. CREATIONISTS AND GLOBAL WARMING DENIERS COMING TOGETHER AT LAST: This is from last week but worth reading. Creationists in the States are using the public’s growing doubts about climate change to help shoe horn their batshit crazy ideas about people living with dinosaurs in the garden of eden into science classrooms. That creationists find the arguments of climate deniers compelling really should be the final nail in the denier’s coffin. Think it’ll work out that way? Yeah, me neither. (New York Times)

6. WE’LL SWAP YOU ONE DANNY WILLIAMS FOR YOUR SARAH PALIN: She probably just wanted to be liked, you know, when she admitted before a crowd in Calgary that when she was younger her family would scoot across the border to get treatment from the Canadian healthcare system she now vilifies. Liberal bloggers and pundits in the States are tearing her apart for it. Poor kid. Isn’t it cute how she’s pretending to run for president.This Hour Has 22 Minutes can do the rest of the heavy lifting on this story. Go get her, Marge!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 1:00:53 AM

Pick of the Day: Queen … It’s a Kinda Magic

by Gregory Beatty

Scaramouche! Scaramouche! Can you do the fandango?

This thing called love, I just can’t handle it.

Mama, just killed a man, put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger now he’s dead.

I could continue. Queen has many memorable songs. I never had the chance to see them live. But I do have a DVD of the band performing sold-out concerts at the Montreal Forum in 1981 and at Live Aid in London in 1985.

This show at Conexus Arts Centre tonight is what it is, I guess. There was only one Freddie Mercury. If you go, all that I ask is that you treat it as theatre, not music.

And for a shot of the real deal, here’s Queen performing “Somebody to Love” from the Forum gig. (YouTube)

Monday, March 8, 2010 2:06:11 PM

International Women’s Day Is Yummy

by Stephen Whitworth

Our friends at the Regina Folk Festival brought us cupcakes for International Women’s Day! They’re FANTASTIC. I ate the one with the gummy fishies and it was SOOO GOOD. Thanks excellent rocking supercool folk-women for using your hard-won powers of equal personhood to bake our all-boy staff such delicious cupcakes! YUM!

Monday, March 8, 2010 11:03:20 AM

Six In The Morning

by Stephen Whitworth

1 HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY Canada ranks 50th in female politicians world-wide. Maybe we need some affirmative action? (Toronto Star)

2 UH OH, HERE WE GO? When politicians say their next budget will “be about getting government spending under control, reducing the size of government,” it’s bad, bad, bad, bad. (CBC) Saskatchewan NEEDS public spending: schools, libraries, hospitals, roads, welfare and arts and culture benifit us all and need to be supported. Big government is not the problem. BAD government is the problem. Let’s hope we don’t have one here. The Saskatchewan Legislature returns today.

3 THE CUTS COMETH Treasury Board president Stockwell Day, a radical Christian who for some reason wields massivepolitical power in this country, just vapourized 245 positions on government boards and agencies. As usual, arts and culture takes a hit. Observation: in the photo with the article he totally looks like Star Wars’ Galactic Emperor Palpitine, who once famously dissolved elected government and gave power to regional strongmen who answered to him. UPDATE: Holy crap, while I was writing this the Globe totally swapped out the awesome photo for a less sinister pic of Day. But he STILL looks like the Emperor. (Globe And Mail)

4 CANADIAN SPIES QUESTIONED CAPTIVES I had no idea people thought CSIS agents wouldn’t have questioned Afghan POWs. Regardless, story’s here. (Toronto Star)

5 THE OSCARS HAPPENED And for the first time ever a female director won a shiny statue. Also, too bad they forgot to mention Farrah Fawcett in ths memorium section. Ebert writes on the awards here. (Roger Ebert)

6 PART OF THIS STORY IS MISSING A Regina woman is in hiding after her home was torched and pet cat killed while she was in the hospital giving birth. The story doesn’t say anything about this (because it’s, you know, journalism, not, ahem, reckless speculation), but anyone want to calculate the odds that an angry, disturbed and jealous man is involved? Happy International Women’s Day. (CBC)

Monday, March 8, 2010 1:02:05 AM

This Week At City Hall

by Paul Dechene

“What no pic of city hall?” Not this week. Thought I’d change it up and if you’re wondering what’s with that rendering of a condo tower you’ll have to hang on until the RPC blurb.

Monday, March 8
CITY COUNCIL (5:30 pm): A representative from In-Pipe Technology will be making a presentation to council this week in an attempt to encourage the city to get on board with their sewage treatment system. In-Pipe is promising to reduce our carbon footprint and lower the costs of sewage processing. Yay. I think. I’d like to tell you what In-Pipe’s technology is that they’re so proud of but based on their submission, I’m none the wiser about it. This could get the award for the worst written, most vague submission to council that I’ve ever read. Looks like In-Pipe has a history with council so maybe if you’ve been following things for years you’d know what’s going on. Still, until I hear more, I’m staying skeptical of this technology.

Also up for consideration this week, the Water and Sewer Utility Budget will be presented for review and council will finally be deciding if it will keeping $42.4 million it borrowed for the Global Transportation Hub (and didn’t need) and reallocating those funds for capital projects.

Council will also receive a report from the mayor about the goings on at the Big City Mayor’s Caucus.

Wednesday, March 10
REGINA PLANNING COMMISSION (4:00 pm): The committee will be looking at a request to build the high-rise apartment building that’s in that picture at the top of the post. It’s slated to go up at 2055 Rose Street and if built it’ll replace a swath of surface parking. (Good riddance, I say.) The building looks pretty nifty — not really my cup of tea architecture-wise but I’ve seen worse — and according to the report it’s been built to conform (for the most part) to the Downtown Neighbourhood Plan even though that has yet to be incorporated into the Official Community Plan.

Looks like it’ll be condo units which isn’t a bad thing. But rental and especially affordable rental is what the city is really desperate for right now. Regardless, I’m glad to see some more residential slated for downtown — makes the place more lively — and I’ll be glad to see some surface parking disappear.

Natch, one of the concerns expressed to the Planning Department was over what this new tower would do to on-street parking in the neighbourhood because, of course, we must have copious amounts of parking or the world stops turning, but the building will have more than two stalls per unit built right into (ie, not splayed out over city blocks) the development, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

Anyway, looks like the Downtown Neighbourhood Plan is doing its job by encouraging developers to build better buildings. So, at present, I’m hopeful this is a good sign of things to come. What do you think? Am I crackers? Naive? Tell me, tell me.

As usual, you can download agendas and schedules on the city’s website.

Monday, March 8, 2010 1:00:02 AM

Pick of the Day: Armchair Cynics

by Gregory Beatty

As far as band names go, Armchair Cynics is pretty cool. There’s a lot out there too. Armchair cynics, I mean. People who sit on their ass a lot and bitch about how shitty/lame/boring stuff is. Ain’t it the truth? And by sitting there bitching you’re helping improve the situation … how? Oh right, you’re just sitting on your ass.

Mind you, I suppose it could be worse. You could be one of those insufferable Facebook “activists” who’s out to change the world one mouse click at a time (and yes, those were sneer quotes back there, in case you were wondering). Both of you are pretty disengaged, but at least with you we don’t get much in the way of sanctimonious attitude.

So, anyway. Armchair Cynics are a Victoria-based rock band. They first came to my attention with their 2005 EP Killing the Romance. Disc was 25 min. 32 sec. long, had seven pretty rockin’ tunes, was co-produced by Chad Kroeger, but we won’t get into that now. In October 2009, they released their first full-length Starting Today. Tonight, they’re at the Exchange with another band called We Are Maurice. Here’s video of the former doing their song “Ablaze” (YouTube).

And for anyone who’s not an armchair cynic, today’s International Women’s Day. If you feel like celebrating there’s a gathering at the Institute Francais Theatre at the University of Regina from 8:45 a.m.-1 p.m.

Sunday, March 7, 2010 8:29:06 PM

The Coca-Cola Case

by Gregory Beatty

March 11 at 4 p.m., the National Film Board documentary The Coca-Cola Case is being screened at the University of Regina in the new theatre in the Lab Building. Written and produced by German Gutierrez and Carmen Garcia, the film serves as a devastating indictment of the Atlanta-based multi-national for its union-busting activities in Columbia, and Guatemala that includes the funding of para-military groups in those countries who intimidate and even assassinate union leaders. According to the filmmakers, since 2002 over 470 labour activists have been brutally murdered. Here’s the trailer (YouTube)

Sunday, March 7, 2010 8:18:48 PM

Lovely In The Fog

by Stephen Whitworth

My goodness it’s a beautiful night. A lonely night, too — not a lot of people outside for the most gorgeous evening of the year.

The picture’s a little blurry but I think that just makes the scene nicer. I have some other shots but this is the one that captures the mood.

Maybe I’ll put those after a jump.

Now don’t you wish you lived here?

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Sunday, March 7, 2010 1:00:21 AM

Pick of the Day: Ribs of Sky, Ribs of Stone

by Gregory Beatty

We’ll have more on this exhibition by Joan Scaglione in a later issue. But it’s definitely worth a visit to the MacKenzie Art Gallery to see. It consists of 18 cedar canoes — some simple ribbed structures without hulls, others resembling fully functioning vessels, although I wouldn’t trust any of them on the open water.

Consistent with the historical role they played in the life of First Nations and Metis people, along with early European fur-traders and explorers, Scaglione elected to portage her canoes into the gallery. The day she did (January 7), the mercury plunged to minus 37.5 degrees C, and the windchill was around minus 50.

If you missed media coverage of the portage, there’s video included in the show. It probably wasn’t her intention to do it on such a bitch of a day, but the fact the portage was undertaken in the dead of winter does lend an intriguing interpretive slant to Ribs of Sky, Ribs of Stone that I elaborate on in my review.

The stone, by the way, is a reference to the half-ton of black slate that’s also part of the installation. As far a metaphors go, it’s a pretty potent one for the harsh and unforgiving nature of Canada’s wilderness landscape.

Ribs of Sky, Ribs of Stone is on at the MacKenzie until April 11.

Saturday, March 6, 2010 8:49:43 PM

Shameless Self-Denigration

by Gregory Beatty

And they didn’t even mention the millions of people out there who use newspapers to line the bottom of bird cages and house-train their puppies. (Onion News)

Saturday, March 6, 2010 8:21:18 PM

You’ve Heard of Balloon Boy, Well …

by Gregory Beatty

I don’t actually own a cat. Neither do I consider myself a huge fan. But I couldn’t resist posting this. (College Humour)

Saturday, March 6, 2010 8:52:01 AM

Saturday Morning Cartoon

by Shane Hnetka

Tim Burton has made another adaptation or at least a follow up to the popular Alice in Wonderland novels by Lewis Carroll. For a kid’s story, I’ve always found the novels to be kind of disturbing in an entertaining sort of way.

There have been adaptations of the story for over a hundred years now. The very first was a silent film from 1903.

The story has also been the inspiration for several cartoons – some of them borrowing the plot and working their own characters into it.

One of the more surreal adaptations was from Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer. In 1988 he made a full length stop motion version called Něco z Alenky (Alice).

Saturday, March 6, 2010 1:00:44 AM

Pick of the Day: Mixed Bag

by Gregory Beatty

There’s a pile of stuff happening tonight. At the Lazy Owl out at the University of Regina there’s a drag show fundraiser for the student queer organization GBLUR. Just down the hall at Riddell Centre in the Shu-Box Theatre there’s a concert of experimental music and immersive soundscapes called Sounding Landscapes. Both events start at 8 p.m. At the Exchange, rising Saskatoon alt-country band Deep Dark Woods is playing a gig. Here’s a link to a post James Brotheridge did on the band last week. And “Foghat” is at the Casino. Those aren’t meant as sneer quotes, by the way, just an effort on my part to dramatize that the band that hits the stage tonight is pretty much Foghat in name only. I checked on Wikipedia, and two of the original members are dead — one expired from kidney cancer in 2000, the other of a heart attack in 2005. And since this blues-rock group got going in the U.K. in 1970, it looks like a whole shitload of musicians have played for them. But I think the drummer is still an original member. There’s also a big International Women’s Day celebration at Queensbury Centre with guest-speaker Buffy Sainte-Marie (pictured), and Telemiracle XXXIV kicks off tonight at Conexus Arts Centre.

Friday, March 5, 2010 8:50:18 PM

Friday Night Power Pop: Visqueen

by Stephen Whitworth

So I have a rare, rare cold and I’m taking it easy tonight, sitting at home and listening to tunes. Just stumbled across Seattle band Visqueen and am pleased to report they rocked the snot out of me (good thing too — I have work waiting for me tomorrow). Their leader is singer/songwriter/siren Rachel Flotard and her songs are GREAT — super energetic, melodic power-pop. Their latest disc came out in the fall: it’s called Message To Garcia and it’s dedicated to Flotard’s father, who died of cancer in a country with shit for health care but no shortage of loving daughters.

Give ‘er a listen and if you like what you hear support the band–buy the album. It’s on iToons and teh Amaze-On. I think you’ll like this. If a band’s good enough to have Neko Case sing back-up for ‘em, they’re good enough for you. Thenkew.

Friday, March 5, 2010 3:22:25 PM

University News

by Gregory Beatty

You got any plans for next Tuesday? If not, and even if you do, consider dropping by the Multi-Purpose Room at Riddell Centre between 7-9 p.m. as the University of Regina kicks off a process to develop a new Campus Master Plan that will guide development at the university for the next five years and beyond.

In a press release, U of R president Vianne Timmons (pictured) said “As part of the community, the University of Regina always welcomes comments from the public. The reason for doing a Campus Master Plan is so the university can meet the changing needs of students, staff, faculty and the larger community in the years to come.”

Accessibility and sustainability are only two of many issues that will be looked at. The target for completing the plan is December 2010, with implementation to begin in 2011. For more info see: www.uregina.ca/physplnt/masterplan

Friday, March 5, 2010 2:58:31 PM

Friday Afternoon Puppy

by Gord Gilmour

Cats? Really? You know that if you die, they’ll eat you, right?

Dogs. Now there are noble, brave and loyal creatures. As witnessed by this video from a highway security camera in Chile several months ago.

Warning: I’m a grouchy, crusty old man. I cried a little bit the first time I saw this.

Cats. They’re OK. But give me a dog any day.

Friday, March 5, 2010 1:53:36 PM

Friday Afternoon Kitty!

by Stephen Whitworth

Brotheridge says I’m no judge of moustaches. That jerk. I so am. And to prove it, here is a video of a cat with moustache. Who says I don’t know moustaches?

And if that’s not enough for you, here’s a Flickr pool for facially-distinguished felines.

But first, that video. See the cat? He has a moustache! Now LAUGH.