Reuse, reduce and recycle

After reading “Shine On” on in February 6th online edition of the North Shore News, I couldn’t help but imagine what the jewelry would go through before it got into my hands if I were to buy the recycled jewelry.

Don’t get me wrong, I commend Jessica Reiss for having such a great idea to reduce the potentially harmful waste from sterling silver necklaces and worn out copper-showing rings, but I’d very much rather prefer my jewelry new and without preworn sweat from my fellow accessorizer.

Erasure

Stuart Shepherd

I thought it would be interesting to examine what exactly the newspaper was trying to get rid of within its pages when it approached Capilano; we were asked simply to rework or remix the articles in efforts to appeal to a younger and hipper crowd. But what was the initial state of the paper’s audience, then? Old, boring people? Interesting conclusions can be drawn from how we view treat our elderly, and there is nowhere better to observe objects and ideas proposedly associated with gerentology than in the principles means of large-scale expression: the news. I’ve reworked several areas within the North Shore News to produce an amalgamate piece aimed at expressing and perhaps challenging standard perspectives about aging. If any of the cut-and-pasted pieces resonate as being intrinsically old-oriented to you, society would seem to have impressed upon you the sense that these topics are implicity associated with the elderly when in fact they exist as separate entities within an ordinary regional newspaper and are in no way related.

I’ve taken a relatively new poetic technique called ‘erasure’, and used everything from the crosswords to the classifieds to try and highlight what variety of dust the editors are trying to blow from these apparently senior-oriented editions.  I propose that we as readers place a filter of sorts on the content, reading what we anticipate or want. There is no better way prove this than to erase a hefty portion of what we are reading to enforce a point; I think that by coming forth with the intent of decreasing the age and orthodoxy of their readership, the NSN has inadvertently caused us students, as readers, to read the paper as a chronicle of the chronologically advanced,  the gazette of the grey-haired, thus skewing the original goal and proposed solution. In a matter of minutes, with the aid of scissors and glue, I’ve transformed a regular paper into a paper for old people.

 

Ill natured warnings

Salome Fornier-Hanlon

After reading “Digital pillories read like bathroom grafitti”

Green spite

I just finished watching a few shows on television, each having the oh so predictable breakup scene…. guy ends the hitch, and girl throws a screaming, radical, over the top tantrum, broken ceramics galore. Then, as always, revenge is in order…. a super scheme that is sure to make him sorry (does Carrie Underwood’s hit strike a bell here?). In any case, it is too hysterical to actually be real life, right? Unfortunately internet sites have forced me to be slightly embarassed by the discovery of women’s immaturity around relationships and their, shall we say, tragic ends. Though they might not be shattering china, the use of sites such as dontdatehimgirl.com are a lot more damaging. These sites not only let women rip their exes to shreds, but they are able to do it on a mass public scale. It can’t be all that bad though, right…. I mean, warning women to steer clear of Ben is all for their protection. Right….

It is safe to say that the use of these websites are purely for vengeful reasons. I mean, when was the last time you sincerely wanted to protect some stranger on the internet for the pure rewarding feeling? It is obvious that the pain and embarassment of being turned down by that slimy scumbag was more than one could bear. Its too bad that these people could not prove that they were the higher person by being mature…. unfortunately the sheer pettiness and vicious jealousy that leads to trying to destroy the future lovelife of the ex, just makes the title change roles. Next thing we know we will be back in the 19th century’s gossip groups.

It’s funny too how I never see my guy friends trying to get back at an ex girlfriend. Rare is it also that I see them on any hatemygirlfriends  sites. It just makes me think that, on a wild but somewat relavent tangent, that we make our support for women as oppressive against men. How would we like it if they had their own sites like dontdatehimgirl? Obviously it would be sexism… but why can we do the same?

In any case, all of these warning sites to “protect fellow women” are just an excuse to be immature and nasty in an indirect way. The words are just streams of green spite flowing from their fingers. Rather than wasting their time on these blogs making sure their ex bfs never find a new love, maybe they make better use of it scouring lavalife…. Just a tip.

Recent Gang Violence in Vancouver

Jessica Brodeur

Last Tuesday I was hanging out with a few friends when the topic of the recent gang violence in Vancouver came up in the conversation. Two friends from separate areas of Vancouver both brought up the fact that there had been shootings within a five minute walk from their houses. Instead of looking horrified, however, they high-fived.

You know how people say that issues never seem real until they hit close to home? I’m starting to doubt that a little. I don’t think that gangs have necessarily been glamorized or idealized in any way. I do, however, think that people aren’t getting the sense of fear and worry that the press is madly trying to display.

In the article “Time to Stop Buck Passing” on the North Shore News website, the word “gang” is mentioned 6 times. Words describing “gang” or anything gang related are:

-”free ranging”
-”rampant”
-”murderous”
-”horrific”
-”dirty business”
-”brazen”
-”beyond the pale of human decency”

Yet, when I Google image searched terms used in the article, I get very different results than “murderous” or “horrific.” Below are the top 10 results I got in Google Image searches for the following terms:

“Gangland”

“Gangster”

• 

• Runner up: 11th picture was of actor Russel Crowe.

“Gang”

“Shooting”

In conclusion, these are very different results as I’m sure the media surrounding the recent gang stories would like to see. Over time and space, the feeling of threat in relation to gangs has lost it’s potency, and has been replaced with a bit of mockery and high fives. As far as I can assume, as long as gangs exist, so will the impersonations of them in both video game and other forms.

The Future

News flash: The economy isn’t doing so great. Recessions, depressions and over priced concessions. Companies all over are threatened with bankruptcy or collapse. What also is threatened? Print. That’s right, papers aren’t doing so good. Some magazines and newspapers have had to close up shop or look for outside revenue to stay afloat. Who do they turn to stay in business? More often than naught: advertising. Yes, lovely ads. Perhaps they’ll take up a quarter of a page, perhaps half the page like recent issues of the Vancouver Sun and Province.

Let’s say the economy tanks further. Who will help bail out the North Shore News, should they ever need a boost back up? That’s right, benevolent advertisers. All they ask is for a little space and perhaps a friendly mention in a couple articles. Is that so much to ask? You be the judge.

Matthew Schattenkirk