Continuing the family name

SONG!!!

Une fille iluminée

Here’s a brief history to introduce my remix…

In Senegal, being a griot is not as simple as singing. The honour of being a griot is truly a inherited trait. The griots were people who would transmit the culture and values of the usually Wolof people, since back when heritage did not involve the capacity to write down volumes of history. For this,  the griots were respected in their knowledge and capacity to maintain the Wolof traditions and pass them onto the future generations through songs and stories. The subjects usually sung or expressed, were relative to religion, politics, women, and other cultural phenomena.

Griots, however, can only be griots through their family name. Through this descended title, we stil see griots today, both practicing as traditional griots to maintain their culture in a commercialized world, or even, as the North Shore News article presents as being live at Capilano U, global musical icons such as Habib Koité. It’s amazing to think that, coming from a country and a continent that has suffered from the assimilating ideologies of foreign nations from around the world, the languages and cultures that are original to the African countries are still being expressed and practiced today, despite the efforts to stifle that African individuality over the centuries.

There is another contemporary singer, though not a griot, that sings about several African issues, and brings the same kind of diverse influences that Koité does, however they do not sound the same in the least. His name is Manu Chao, born in France, and speaks multiple languages such as French, Spanish, English, Portuguese, and even Wolof (the lingua franca in Senegal). He has a few songs relating to Senegal, with videos of when he visited in Africa.

In response to this notion of preserving their language and culture through the knowledge and musical talent of the griots, I decided to compose and sing a song of my own, in French. The reason I do this in another language, is because I have found it hard myself growing up in a community where the notion of speaking French was not really encouraged, where you were weird if you actually did speak French in class. Having so much pride in the heritage that I have in France, it was hard to maintain that link to my culture when it was seen as trivial in my social life. The world is full of diversity and that is what creates its beauty. For so long, people in the world have been trying to stifle the individualities that make up our earth, and has created in so doing, a very generic, ugly world, full of problems and oppression, as well as a limitation on the amount there is to learn due to the large amount of closed mindedness that surrounds difference.

This song is about the changes I’ve gone through from being a carefree child in France, to growing up and realizing all the ugliness and inequalities there are in the world, but maintaining hope in our world’s future by connecting with the naive and optimistic little girl I once was. I hope you enjoy it. If you want to understand the lyrics, let me know and I will post a translation!

We’re just one change away from a rampaging nicotine-deprived mob. Watch out.

(From “Smoking in cars with kids a fineable offence” March 22, 2009)

Smokers will soon be subject to new restrictions on puffing in the presence of children.

Starting April 7, people caught smoking in vehicles containing children under the age of 16 can be fined $109 under the Motor Vehicle Act.

…

According to Barbara Kaminsky of the B.C. and Yukon division of the Canadian Cancer Society, children are more susceptible than adults to the negative effects of second-hand smoke.

• Second-hand smoke has at least twice the amount of nicotine and tar as the smoke inhaled by the smoker.
• It has five times the amount of carbon monoxide, a deadly gas that robs the blood of oxygen
• It also contains higher levels of ammonia (better known as window cleaner) and cadmium (also found in batteries)
• The concentration of hydrogen cyanide (a poisonous gas that attacks respiratory enzymes) in tobacco smoke is considered toxic
• It contains nitrogen dioxide which is measured at fifty times higher than the standard for harm
• Non-smokers who breathe in second-hand smoke can get many serious diseases. It can cause lung cancer, heart disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (empyhsema and chronic bronchitis), asthma and other diseases
• Regular exposure to second-hand smoke increases the risk of lung disease by 25% and heart disease by 10%

http://www.lung.ca/protect-protegez/tobacco-tabagisme/second-secondaire/hurts-nuit_e.php

Additionally, the dangers of second-hand smoke

Why are children especially at risk from second-hand smoke?

• They have a faster breathing rate: they breathe in more air relative to their body weight, which means they absorb more smoke
• Their immune systems are less developed

How does it harm their health?

• More risk of dying from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
• More cough and wheeze
• More cases of asthma
• Less lung capacity
• More respiratory tract infections
• More chance of taking up smoking themselves

http://www.lung.ca/protect-protegez/tobacco-tabagisme/second-secondaire/children-enfants_e.php

 are compounded in a small, enclosed environment such as a vehicle, Kaminsky stated in a release.

…

British Columbia currently has the lowest smoking rate in Canada at 14.4 per cent.

 

GOOD NEWS for the kids right? But what about the rest of us?

By all means, protect the next generation, but how about helping out the existing one? We should protect the future, as well as the present. Shouldn’t we? Understandably the health of our children is a great concern – they’re encouraged to grow up strong and healthy (and to eat their green vegetables), but adults want to remain strong and healthy too.

Or am I out of the loop? Is the cool thing to wish to be feeble and dying? I hardly think so – no one wishes to be there before they have to (preferably it will all happen in the blink of an eye and we pass in our sleep, but only a few experience such a smooth transition).

We care about our health right? That’s why a whole organic section exists in grocery stores, and the items in high school vending machines are being replaced by “healthier choices”.

We’re even the healthiest province in relation to smoking, so it seems. BC has the lowest smoking rate in Canada – 14.4 percent, a magnificent feat. But what are the other provincial percentages at? 14.5? Are we really that much healthier? Or is the wool being pulled over our eyes?

It’s all just a cause for wondering. Wondering how greatly the new restrictions and fines will change us.

If smoking stops in the presence of children while driving, will it increase in the home? The workplace? Will non-smoking adults experience an increase in second-hand smoke because others will have to make up for their missed nicotine kicks?

Yes, while the effect of second-hand smoke is a greater risk to children, especially in confined areas, like a vehicle, the health of everyone else shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Perhaps BC should step up – be the first to institute a no smoking policy in vehicles. We’ve pushed it out of buildings, why not push it out of vehicles too?

But maybe this might not go over so well. The province probably isn’t ready for a rampaging mob of nicotine deprived Vancouverites. Or at least not before the 2010 Olympics. That would definitely blemish our image.

While it is necessary to protect the next generation, and it is important to note that children are more susceptible to the negative affects of second-hand smoke, we should also understand that the negative effects of second-hand smoke are negative, not just on children, but on everyone, young and old alike.

A narrative for our times

Once upon a time there was a little sphere of rock and water in a little galaxy in a big universe. One community especially flourished on the planet. It was tucked neatly at the edge of the land called Canada, between the ocean, the mountains, and the United States border. It was called Vancouver. This community lived in relative peace and happiness, with trains and boats and carriages to boot.

One day the motor vehicle was invented. The good old times were lost. The People lived rushed, hectic lives, driving on paved streets where everybody but them was an idiot.  Terms never before heard such as “road rage” and “traffic jam” and “car accident” became a part of daily news. Pollution started to asphyxiate the earth, and gas prices rose at a log scale pace.

The People decided that they had big hearts, and came together in an effort to save the planet. They planted trees, wore hemp clothes, and recycled. Their efforts were not enough. The sea-level patch of land would need more help if it was to survive.

Unfortunately, what the city got more of was not help, but rather more congestion and density with the announcement of the 2010 Olympic games.

Then, out of the despair, a savior emerged. VANOC in collaboration with the Ministry of Transportation came up with The Plan.  A labyrinth of walking paths, cycle ways, and public transit routes that cuts traffic by 30%.  The Plan would bring The People back to their nostalgic dream of strolling along with friends, reading a book on the commute to work, and averting the cheap oil crisis: exactly what they wanted. Many birds could be killed with this stone. Oh, happy day!

But, wait…

The People  didn’t like being told what to do. They would love to save their piece of earth for future generations, but not enough to change their lifestyles. The People were denied their self-assigned right to luxurious and easy travel. Various blogs ranted, raved, and used hefty doses of caps lock. The Plan was described as “far from adequate,” “mega-transport nightmare ahead,” “stressful and unfair,” and was even compared to Marie Antoinette and the starving peasants.

The People had spoken.

Unfortunately for The People, they would have to suck it and deal, for someone far more experienced in the art of architecture, design, and engineering had made The (brilliant) Plan, and until they could make a better one themselves, that’s the way it would be.

Those who learned to accept and appreciate The Plan lived happily ever after. The End.

Vancouver is Scary!

Why does it seem that the only news we get now a days is bad news? Is it because our society has become so corrupt and dangerous that there is no longer any good news to be reported? This dramatic scenario could be the case, however what is more likely is that although the same ratios of good and bad events are still occurring; bad news is more readily reported. Why on earth would we only want to hear about bad news? The answer to this is simple; violence and conflict sell. If the media only reported about happy conflict free news, people would not be interested, no newspapers would be sold and media companies would go bankrupt. To compensate for this, news companies use flashy attention grabbing headlines like “Alcohol fuels violent NV street fight” to lure people into reading their newspapers. Due to this tendency, bad news is largely over reported and can give the impression that the world is a much scarier and violent place then it actually is.

Other articles used in this cartoon:

Wrong way driver

http://www2.canada.com/northshorenews/news/story.html?id=9121adc2-534a-4b5d-af7f-e39844551ee9

Gang violence

http://www2.canada.com/northshorenews/news/story.html?id=760c8450-ae84-4400-8d9e-d921564ae26a

Avert Your Eyes, Readers

A remix based on two recent articles; front page material, for sure. We have tens of thousands of dollars going into regional elections- essentially one politician or another telling us why it’d be better to have them in power. Absolutely a necessary and hallowed process, don’t get me wrong. But $24 000? Right across the water from one of the poorest districts in North America? I thought it was an interesting dichotomy to have the two articles (“N. Van mayors run contrasting campaigns”; “Capilano students raise cold cash for homeless”) on the same page (electronically, at least), indicating equal validity and relevance. Even more interesting were direct quotations concerning tens of thousands of excess campaign contribution dollars going to the eye-brow raising frivolity of political advertising (unopposed? REALLY? I guess that’s what ‘contrasting campaigns’ means to NSN) less than a click away from excerpts from student volunteers struggling to pony up pocket change. Belonging to a group of youth contributing to the latter campaign, I’d have to question the judgment of North Vancouver’s newly elected official. Can you really justify that? I can only imagine the thought process…

 

Lackey: “Oh, right- should mention:  you don’t actually have any opponents. So… you’re irrefutably and irrevocably guaranteed a win in the upcoming election. Also you have $24,693. Extra.”

Mayoral Candidate Mussatto: “BONUS. Can you say ‘filigreed lapel pins’?”

You have to suspect someone in a cramped office somewhere got their hands on the numbers, realized they didn’t actually NEED $24,693, and then executed a raucous victory dance before clueing in to the fact people with financial morality might be lurking on the premises. Or maybe not- this is politics, right?

Any of the aforementioned monetarily-meritorious were probably over on campus, giving their pennies to the homeless. You’re safe, Mussatto.

 

 

“I could have given it back to donors.” Sigh.