Candidates' posters for the Students' Union at the University of Alberta are head and shoulders above those for the recently elected SAMRU candidates.

I wish I could begin this article with, “the blogosphere is alight with chatter about…” but that would be an exaggeration. However, there is a fairly busy comment feed on an Edmonton Journal story about a feature published by the University of Alberta’s campus paper, the Gateway, on March 4.

If you want to read the rest of this blog post without bias, read the original Gateway article for yourself.

The controversy now surrounding the article – which is the latest edition of an annual feature that criticizes election posters – is particular comments made by the “panelists,” which were based on racial stereotypes, rather than typefaces and campaign promises. Case in point:

“I feel as though I’ve seen this image many times on the Shaw network, advertising the opening of Edmonton’s newest tandoori restaurant….He’s pretty much the love interest in a Bollywood blockbuster. If he’s elected, someone’s going to ring a gong at the next BoG meeting, and everyone will burst into song and dance…The new Board of Governnors — now with 40 per cent more sitar!”

Personally, I didn’t think any of the commentary was clever or entertaining, and it was tough to get through the whole thing. I wouldn’t have bothered reading all four pages if I weren’t going to tell you about it.

I imagine that the Gateway editors who wrote it were sitting at the campus pub with a couple jugs and a tape recorder while flipping through a short stack of posters. I suppose I could understand some of the comments seeming downright hilarious through the Molson-filtered eyes of a table of pseudo-journos.

“David: What exactly does a “long- term Students’ Union strategic plan” entail?
Mike: Well, first he has to line up his battalion of tanks on the 38th parallel. Then, when Truman tells him to stop, he’s going to push ahead anyway, and eventually be dismissed for his poor leadership.”

Stunning political commentary there, fellas. And sure, I’m not going to understand the references to on-campus activities, but I expected to read something mildly amusing. Nada.

Throughout the article, all I could think of was how terrible our SA candidates’ posters were in comparison to the rather impressive offerings by the U of A contenders.

Does anyone remember Dave Jackson’s gems? I will paint you a word picture: imagine a blank, white canvas stretched out to 14 by 8.5 inches, its expanse marred only by the scrawl of a black Sharpie: “VOTE DAVE FOR ARTS” and a few squigglies. Ahh, the simple beauty.

Compare the U of A presidential posters above to Rob Jones’. Even though he presented himself well in person, and was often the only candidate to answer questions coherently, Jones’ poster design consisted of an improperly exposed photo of himself that appeared to be pasted into a Word document.

You may recall posters for Best Agofure, the Immigrant, International & Visible Minority Representative. If I remember correctly, they featured him in a white suit in a park. Classy, but clearly lacking the professionalism of the U of A SU candidates’ posters.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that the Gateway staff should put a little more effort into their Poster Slam next year, and maybe try to serve their readers, instead of their egos. Their editor-in-chief posted a response on the paper’s website, and I sympathize that it sucks to be essentially attacked for an article, but I hate that ‘Poster Slam’ is going to represent campus journalism for a lot of people.

Also, future SAMRU candidates should put a little more effort into their posters next time around, because this year’s were pretty terrible. Just sayin’.

However, I don’t think you have to live in Canada to know that you shouldn’t feed a bear.

Apparently 47-year-old Tracy Weiler was never informed about the dangers of feeding bears, and thought it would be a good idea to offer some chips to a captive Asiatic black bear at a Wisconsin Zoo.

While it was kind of Weiler to share, the bear was hungry for a little bit more than a salty snack.

A drunk Tracy Weiler, 47, lost two fingers on Feb. 26 at a Wisconsin Zoo when she tried to feed a black bear chips. Photo courtesy nydailynews.com

Weiler lost two fingers and severed two others, and her boyfriend was also bit while trying to save her from the bear. And all of this happened in front of Weiler’s three-year-old granddaughter who Weiler said she was trying to impress.

Why don’t I think that seeing grandma’s hand become a bloody stump would impress a three-year-old?

I’m also inclined to believe that being drunk while at the zoo wouldn’t really be something that your grandchild would file under “Happy Memories.”

Yep, that’s right. Weiler and her boyfriend were drunk when she decided to feed the bear.

Wait a second. This situation sounds all too familiar. In the fall of last year, a tiger attacked a 27-year-old Calgary man after he trespassed in the zoo at 1 a.m.

Like Weiler, he received significant injuries and was believed to have been dragged into the enclosure by his arm.

While this wasn’t in the news, I’m pretty confident in saying he must have been high as a kite or drunk as a skunk to think that breaking into the zoo was a good idea.

If you’re really dumb enough to get that close to an animal and put them in a defensive position, can you really blame the animal for fighting back?

Let’s get one thing straight people: alcohol/drugs and vicious, wild animals DO NOT mix!

Bigelow celebrates with Barbara Streisand. Photo courtesty guardian.co.uk

Watching the Oscars Sunday night with some of my closest peeps we came to a stellar revelation. The refreshing idea that either a black man or a woman could win an Oscar for Best Director (both a first) made for a lovely parallell for the Democratic ticket race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Yes it isn’t a direct parallel but it’s important to note how things are finally, hopefully, changing in the right direction.

I carry around in my wallet a quote cut from the Calgary Sun from a couple years ago now, it’s Hillary Clinton saying, “Each of us has broken barriers . So whoever wins the nomination will change American history.”

You could most definitely say the same for Kathryn Bigelow and Precious director Lee Daniels. Never in Oscars 82 years have a woman or a black man taken the little golden man home with them.

“It’s a first,” Barbara Streisand announced when reading Kathryn Bigelow’s name from the envelope. A very shocked Bigelow accepted the award graciously including a shout out to all the troops served and serving overseas right now.

Bigelow is only the fourth woman to have been nominated for best director. Before her came Lina Wertmuller for Seven Beauties in 1976, Jane Campion for The Piano in 1993 and Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation in 2003.

So Lee Daniels didn’t take this award this year, judging from the adulation and scenes I’ve seen of Precious, he has great talent and will be on that best picture ballot again in the future. The only question is will we see Hilary on the Democratic ticket ever again?

That career fair wasn’t all that I expected it to be. To tell the truth, I didn’t do a lot of in-depth digging because I was manning the Reflector booth (thanks for dropping by, all those who did!) or in class for most of it. But a few passes through Main Street yesterday didn’t yield anything overtly appealing for a journalist/communicator.

If, like me, you’re looking to get at least a remotely relevant job for the summer to save some cash for school or the future, and build skills that are more relevant than memorizing drink recipes behind a bar, you were disappointed. It kind of made me feel like I dressed up for nothing, although I did feel a bit superior to the few droopy-pants, wrinkled-shirt students wandering around.

Thinking back to last year, there wasn’t much available either. I do recall a booth from CBC, manned by anchors I didn’t recognize because I don’t have cable (nor whatever the 3-channel antenna-equivalent is now…maybe it’s still antenna). I actually had an unrelated interview with CBC later. I realize now that I shouldn’t have described myself as a writer with no interest in watching or being on television.

The career fair is a great place to get free pens, brochures, candy, and branded foam shapes, but as far as actually finding employment, you shouldn’t rely on it. One classmate told me that most places were looking for grads to take full-time positions. Another said that even though there were a variety of banks hiring, they were only looking for qualified insurance people (are they called brokers? Obviously, it’s not my field of knowledge).

Then there was the other side of the job spectrum–jobs that don’t really fall under the heading “career.” Calaway Park comes to mind immediately, although I believe they have relevant positions for actors.

The one booth that seemed consistently busy was the City of Calgary. Theoretically, I’d like to work there, but honestly I was a little intimidated, and a bit lazy. I interviewed for a communications position there last summer and spent hours preparing for their “behavioral,” S.T.A.R. interview. On the one hand, it’s encouraging to have an employer put some effort into the interview process, so you know you’re probably not going to be working with a bunch of poor-decision hirees. On the other hand, who’s to say that an elaborately developed, form interview is really the best way to assess a candidate?

I guess the bottom line is: good luck to you if you applied to an employer with potential, but otherwise, you’re welcome to join me in the mostly optimistic trudge of the unemployed. What did you think? Did I miss some good opportunities from my cursory glance?

Submerge yourself in copious amounts of DVDs and have a movie marathon

So I’ve recently purchased a TV series on DVD, which I will try not to go into to much detail about, as my friends can attest to, I won’t stop talking about it once I get going. All I’ll say is: 21 Jump Street… watch it. Amazing.
But in the past weeks that I have been rushing home to watch my already overplayed DVDs of this ’80s hit show, an idea hit me. Not a new idea obviously, but  one that inspired me to pester various peers to join me for an evening of film watching.

Movie marathons can be some of the best nights with friends, or just a great way to spend a cheap night in and pass the time you’d otherwise spend twiddling your thumbs. Movie nights in general are pretty great, but why not make an event of it and pick up multiple films that cater to a certain theme. The easiest way to go is to pick an actor or actress and indulge in their repertoire of work. To up the ante, try to pick films that weren’t necessarily their best or that are lesser known. This will help open your eyes to films that are off the beaten track but that are extraordinary in and of themselves, or to appreciate the professional development of your favorite thespian.

You can alter your theme in a multitude of ways. You might want to stick with the work of one director, or to a category such as Oscar award-winners, etc. Once that’s decided hit up a site like IMDb to gather a list of films that fit your theme and then go about your own ways of getting your hands on these titles (I’m a Blockbuster gal myself, but heck you can watch anything for free on the Internet these days).

The best bit about these kinds of activities is the ability to get cozy in your bed in your PJs with some popcorn or whatever movie snack you prefer, and be comfortable.

So pick a free day, call up some friends, or go it alone, and start marathoning.

Photo by Zoey Duncan. Perry Hohn said that he just wants to be able to use his skateboard as an efficient and affordable transport on campus.

Campus sustainability proj-ects are visible throughout the school: the award-winning, environmentally friendly Roderick Mah Centre for Continuous Learning and the recent expulsion of Styrofoam from Wyckham House to name a few. But one student thinks that the campus could be greener, if security would give skateboarders a break.

“I’ve gotten in trouble cruising from the parking lot to get out of here,” said Perry Hohn, a student who regularly rides his skateboard to and from school and work. “It’s just sort of ridiculous.”

Hohn said he’s frustrated because he has seen inline skaters roll through Wyckham, and cyclists ride up to the doors of the school, and doesn’t understand how skateboarding is any different.

“They paint skateboarders with a bad rap and it’s really not fair,” Hohn said. “In situations where I’m just rolling from point A to point B, I don’t see it to be an issue.”

The manager of security services sees the situation a little bit differently.

“A lot of my guys (employees of security services) grew up in Calgary and they’re skateboarders themselves,” said Bill Spring. “We just have a very soft approach at first and ask them(skateboarders) to comply.”

Mount Royal’s skateboard and inline skate policy is “pretty much” in line with the city-wide bylaw, according to Spring. The bylaw states that skateboards and inline skates may not be used on any street, or any sidewalks in a central traffic area downtown, or anywhere a no-skating sign is posted.

Spring said that the policy is in place for the protection of pedestrians. He said one of the worst ever accidents on campus involved a cyclist hitting a pedestrian outside of the recreation building.

Hohn, however, said that Mount Royal should consider a policy more like the one at the University of Calgary. The director of campus security at the U of C, Lanny Fritz, said that there are students who use skateboards on the pathways and sidewalks alongside pedestrians.

Fritz said that as long as a skateboarder stays at about five miles per hour and shares the sidewalk safely, it isn’t a problem.

“The only issues we have with skateboarders are those that decide to…put themselves or others at risk of injury,” he said. “Every once in a while, the skateboarder will have somebody accompanying them with a video recorder, where they take a video of the trick or display what they’re trying to do.”

While Mount Royal’s policy is currently undergoing some revision, changes will only reflect the transition to a university, and there are no plans to change what areas are available to skaters.