Month: October 2019

Categories
News

Climate activists join hands in promoting a long-awaited political action

“When an unstoppable force like Greta [Thunberg] meets an immovable clunk of politicians, my bet is on Greta. That’s why, inspired by her and by youth, I am amazingly against all odds, defiantly filled with hope.”

That’s what Stephen Lewis, Canada’s former ambassador at the United Nations, said in his speech during the Climate First Tour on Oct. 1 in Montreal.

Alongside Lewis was scientist, broadcaster, author and environmentalist, Dr. David Suzuki. Guest speaker, Ellen Gabriel, a famous Indigenous militant and feminist, also joined the event.

The event was launched a month ago as an opportunity for Suzuki and Lewis to speak directly to Canadians on the importance of climate change. Highlighting the urgency of the problem comes at an opportune time for Canadians to affect change with their votes.

“Our message tonight is that for the sake of the future of our children we must make climate change the top priority for every candidate running for office,” said Suzuki.

Over the last decades, governments and lobby groups have been ignoring and sleeping on the climate situation to advance economic growth, according to Lewis.

“The responsible perfidious government resembling political dinosaurs drunk on fossil fuel, they know exactly what’s required but there is some kind of self-inflicted paralysis,” said Lewis. “They have known for more than 30 years what’s afoot and they are criminally inert.”

Lewis also pointed at energy multinationals that have been sharing disinformation about the reality of climate change, while simultaneously investing $4.5 billion on new oil and gas exploration and development since last year.

The panelists did not cut it short for Canada’s inaction.

“How do you embrace the principles of the Paris Conference on Climate Change and then come home and buying a pipeline?” Lewis asked.

Trudeau’s acquisition of a $4.5 billion pipeline, after campaigning in 2015 on making Canada a leader in the fight against climate change, was harshly reprimanded.

All this state’s hypocrisy was a common theme in the three panelist’s speeches. Gabriel followed with the ongoing reconciliation attempts with Indigenous communities.

“Canada has broken all its promises,” said Gabriel. “Justin Trudeau did not fulfill a single promise to Indigenous people in Canada. He bought pipelines.”

Her testimony denounced a multitude of dangers intertwined with climate change – as simple as maple syrup, which needs cold weather to form, to the deterrence of the wildlife by the tar sands.

Climate change goes against and destroys all principles of the Indigenous tenets. According to these principles, everything in nature is interconnected. From the insect pollinating the root that feeds the animal hunters hunt, climate change is breaking a natural cycle.

But the issue is not only a governmental concern, Gabriel added.

“We are effing up the environment, and we are all responsible for it,” Gabriel said. “It’s up to every single individual in this room and beyond to be the solution to climate change.”

While the march for climate on Sept. 27 was highly honoured during the event, the experts stressed the importance of actively promoting and informing peers on the impact of climate change, especially with federal elections around the corner.

Lewis finished his speech by mentioning a collection of previous attempts at fostering political climate activism and the consequences it would have prevented.

“If we had taken the carbon reduction target seriously, instead of consigning it to oblivion, and had we begun the implementation of all the other interventions, this would be a different planet,” Lewis said. “We would not be discussing self-emulation. We would not have a generation of youth growing up with critical mental health symptoms of ecoanxiety.”

But hidden between reprimands, Lewis shared his hope in the youth movement that could highly influence the Canadian political arena.

 

Photo courtesy of Climate First Tour

Categories
Briefs

World in Brief: Shooting, whistleblowers and deadly protests

Four people were killed and five injured in a shooting last Sunday in Kansas City. Police said the two suspects opened fired in a busy bar around 1:27 a.m. following a disturbance or fight. According to an article in The Washington Post, the four victims were all Hispanic men, but the police refused to add further comments.

A second whistleblower surfaced on Sunday morning supporting previous allegations on Donald Trump’s exchanges with Ukraine’s president. While they haven’t filed a complaint with the inspector general, attorney Mark Zaid said in an interview with the Associated Press that the whistleblower has “firsthand knowledge that supported” the original claims.

Protest in Iraq over unemployment and corruption are still raging since Oct. 1. The death toll was estimated at 106 on Sunday – five days after the first confrontations between the police and protesters. According to an article in Reuters, the Iraqi government agreed to a plan that increases subsidized housing for the poor, stipends for the unemployed and training programs and small loans initiatives for unemployed youth.

Protesters in Hong Kong defied the law prohibiting marching with a masked face. According to an article in the Agence France Presse, the crowds were “condemning the government for deploying emergency powers to ban face masks at public gatherings.” What started as a peaceful march quickly turned into violent confrontations as police dispersed the crowd with tear gas and physical force.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
Student Life

The art of being single: Cuffing season is here!

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

So cuffing season is upon us and everyone seems to be frantically trying to find someone to hold on to for the upcoming months. Cuffing season, if you don’t already know, is the time when everyone is trying to settle into a relationship of some kind. It may seem like it’s made up, but cuffing season is actually a thing.

According to a Cosmopolitan article, cuffing season is from October to March. This happens because of the cold weather outside — temperatures drop, days become shorter and there’s less sunshine, and people’s testosterone levels rise. So, what’s the logical thing to do? Cuff up with someone for six months, apparently.

Very honestly, because that’s how I do this column thing, I’ve never been cuffed and the idea of trying to find someone for this period wasn’t so present in my life. It’s also never really been a prevalent thing in my circle or even in my general surroundings. I’ve realized that’s because I’ve mostly been around people who have been in long term relationships or just couldn’t care less about being with someone, regardless of the time of year.

But this year, things are different: those who were in long term relationships are no longer, those who didn’t care about being with someone suddenly do, and I’ve made new friends who now think of it too. It feels like there’s a shift in the air — people are searching everywhere to try to find someone to keep them warm and cuffed until March. 

So where does that leave me? It stresses me out.

I already can’t seem to find someone during the “regular” season (literally always) so how am I expected to keep up with the high, fervorous and tension-filled time that is cuffing season? Sure, I could just go about my life like I have for the last couple of months, waiting for the universe to plant someone at my doorstep, but I’m no different than anyone else — the cold weather, lack of sunshine and incessant seeing everyone else cuffed up just makes me want to be cuffed up too. 

But if you’re like me and never get cuffed, fear not. Remember, people get cuffed because they’re lonely and cold. All you need to get through cuffing season alone is a bunch of blankets, cozy socks, all your favourite movies, all of the snacks, and your friends. If I can get through cuffing season, so can you.

 

Graphic by Loreanna Lastoria

Categories
Opinions

Note to Shelf: God Golly, Miss Holly

There aren’t many readers who will admit to preferring the movie version of a book they read. In fact, it is more often frowned upon. Words can never translate perfectly on screen; no matter how great the team you assemble is.

There are times when films are simply inspired by the books, borrowing snippets here and there, creating their own plot-lines and endings, making it impossible for us to choose sides. Simply because they are not the same.

Take Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s for example. WARNING, spoilers ahead.

Most people forget that one of Audrey Hepburn’s most popular films was actually based off Capote’s complex work of literature. And when I say complex, I don’t mean the novel is hard to read or decipher. I mean it has layers. Or rather, Miss Holiday Golightly has layers.

Hepburn fans and movie lovers know Holly Golightly as a lost, witty, and coquette little girl who struggles to find herself a home. That is, as many Hollywood clichés go, until she falls in love with Paul Varjak, and shares a passionate kiss in the rain, finally letting go of her fear of commitment. The movie is an ode to all commitment-phobes, with Paul’s infamous speech to Holly, calling her a coward because she’s afraid to let herself go; to love and be loved. A speech that does not occur in the book.

People, myself included, often prefer the movie because of its lightheartedness and fairytale ending. Because we don’t want to watch Holly struggle anymore. Because we need to believe that things end well, even the most improbable ones. We anxiously wait for Hepburn to find Cat in the last scene, because we need that reassurance that not everything, or anyone is lost forever.

But that is not the case for Capote’s Holly.

In the novel, Holly never finds a home and remains a lone wolf. Or as she so poetically dubs herself, “a wild thing.” And though she often relishes in that aspect of herself, she lets her guard down with the narrator, with that infamous telling line: “it’s better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague. Just a country where the thunder goes and things disappear.”

In the novel, Holly never finds her cat, and there is no Paul to sweep her off her feet, kiss her under the rain, and tell her he wants to love her. The narrator does dote on her, but there is no telling it’s in a romantic way. He cares for her, and her approval, because she appears to be this cool, racy girl; with a mysterious past, a wild present, and a constant fear of the future.

Where Hollywood’s version of Holly is a coquette glamour girl, Capote’s Holly is a mess, and, for lack of a better word, sometimes a bitch. She has no regard for anyone but herself, because she has never known peace, love, or comfort. And those are hard things to come to terms with when reading the book; which explains why Hollywood resorted to a happier version.

Most of the books I read leave me with a sense of warmth. But Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s left me with an uneasy feeling in my heart, and a cold shiver down my spine. And made me wonder whether most, if not all of us, have a little Holly Golightly with the mean reds inside of us.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
Opinions

Same family, different political views

In the last few years, I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that my political views are very different from those of some of my closest family members. It’s a realization that slowly crept up on me around the time I became legal voting age. Now, five years later, it’s still a source of contention at the odd family dinner.

My mom’s side of the family comes from a long line of rural Ontarians who bleed blue, while I, on the other hand, have gone out of my way to meet Justin Trudeau on two occasions. I own a t-shirt with a photo of him and the word “Tru-Daddy” on it, just to give you an idea of where my allegiance lies.

This realization of the differences between myself and my relatives has been challenging not only for the obvious reason; we all want the rest of the world to agree with our political ideologies. But also because of the fact that it has actually driven a wedge between some of those relationships.

I have relatives who I once loved spending time with, but I now actively avoid them whenever possible. Our conversations always seem to shift into political mode, and I feel like I might not love them as much anymore if I hear them say “Liberal taxes” one more time.

You grow up thinking that the people – the adults – who are part of the village raising you are good, smart, and kind people. Then all of a sudden your aunts and uncles won’t stop sharing posts by Ontario Strong on Facebook, and your oldest cousins keep complaining about the rise in immigration. The worst part is, when you’re old enough to know and understand the implications of that, and thanks to the DNA you share with them, you’re too stubborn to keep your mouth shut about it.

In all seriousness, it isn’t my family’s conservatism that I take issue with. It’s the lack of empathy demonstrated by their ballot choices. During the 2018 Ontario provincial election campaign, Doug Ford promised cuts if elected (spoiler: he was), to the services that I knew would greatly affect vulnerable people in Ontario; myself and some relatives included.

These promises entailed cuts to the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) and to the Ontario Student Assistant Program (OSAP). The OHIP had previously covered almost all prescriptions for people aged 24 and under, and the OSAP gave students a six-month grace period after their graduation before charging interest on their student loans.

In the lead up to that election, I implored many members of my family, who I knew weren’t fond of the provincial Liberals at the time, to consider any option other than Doug Ford. I explained how I thought it would negatively impact the people who need provincial services the most – to no avail.

Those family members would complain about things like their hydro bills and their property taxes under the Liberals. They would say that they wanted to elect Ford because he promised to repeal the sex-ed curriculum which the Liberals updated in 2015 for the first time since 1998 (it included concepts such as LGBTQ rights, online bullying and consent). They thought that it taught things that were too complex for kids to think about, let alone understand. As someone who was taught the 1998 version, I can assure you I would have appreciated the modern information that it lacked.

All of these concerns of theirs are valid issues to consider when electing a new Premier. But to me, they are not nearly as important as things like low-income families getting free prescriptions when their kids get sick, post-graduates getting a moment to catch up before paying back tens of thousands of dollars of debt, and kids growing up in a province they feel accepted by.

My family and I may never agree on which party to vote for, and that’s hard for me to reconcile. All I can do is vote for what I believe in and hope that they begin to see things from a more outwardly compassionate perspective.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
Opinions

How the “Dumb Dad” stereotype hurts us all

Do you remember the Berenstain Bears? You know, a family of four: mama, papa, sister, and brother. It was a classic kid show: they lived in a tree-house, played outside, learned some lessons, and so on. Although this show seems straightforward, my mother never let me watch it.

At the time, I thought she was just being unnecessarily strict. Seven-year-old Callie wanted to hang out with a couple cartoon bears, what could possibly be wrong with that? As it turns out, she was actually on to something.

Writer Paul Farhi explained in Los Angeles Times that the fundamental narrative of the show is problematic.

“The action usually starts when the kids face a problem,” Farhi wrote. “They turn to Papa, who offers a “solution” that only makes the problem – or the kids’ fears about it – even worse. Enter Mama, who eventually sets everyone straight.”

This is a common archetype for fathers in media. These male characters are portrayed as incompetent and incapable of nurturing their family. It’s important to analyze the impact these stereotypes have on viewers. From Papa Bear to Homer Simpson, this character mould transcends all ages and is harmful to society.

We have indulged the “dumb dad” cliché for years. Even shows that are seemingly “representative” of today’s family, like Modern Family, and Life in Pieces, portray dads as incompetent and unaware of what it means to emotionally support family members. It sends the message that fathers are not crucial members of the emotional aspect of a family unit, whereas mothers are. This is not only hurtful and often an inaccurate representation of many fathers, but sets a specific tone for young boys and girls growing up and learning about the expectations of fatherhood and motherhood.

Co-founder of the U.S. advocacy group Dads and Daughters, Joe Kelly, explains that this is a cultural blind-spot and has become an unconscious and recurring story we tell.

“I don’t believe it’s a manner of injustice or anyone being victimized, I think it’s habit,” said Kelly. “The habit is that men are of secondary importance in the life of a family.”

As much as a father like Peter Griffin from Family Guy is a comic relief character, he adds little to no emotional support to his children. On the other hand, his wife Lois Griffin, is less funny and more shrill. Mothers often do all the emotional work on television and young children internalize this.

This being said, we are slowly seeing dads portrayed differently. For example, Terry Jeffords from Brooklyn 99 is a sergeant for the police force. He is a strong masculine figure who also shows vulnerability and prioritizes his children. Jack Pearson from This Is US, is a father who shows love and care, and viewers actively see how this has helped shape his family. These shows are creating a space where men can be vulnerable, emotionally intelligent, and kind.

This speaks directly to the feminist movement. We have to remember that feminist ideology at its core includes all genders and orientations. It is meant to free people of the stereotypes and categories that society has put them in. Unfortunately, these stereotypes don’t start or end with television; and we can see this being portrayed in commercials and movies as well.

Not to mention, this trope is overdone and boring. So how about we move past dads drinking beer and rolling their eyes at their vacuuming wife and lean into the complexity of a shared partnership?

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Poli Savvy: Keen or Green?

Only weeks away from the federal elections and having made history with the largest national climate march, it is time for a recap of just what each party promises to do on behalf of mother Earth, naturally beginning with the Green Party.

The group presents ambitious goals. Should they achieve a majority, their first action would be pushing a Climate Change Act compelling companies to cut their emissions a whopping 60 per cent by 2030, and then up to 100 per cent by 2050. This objective will be met through the elimination of fossil fuels alongside major investments in renewable energy. Other actions include transitioning energy workers into green industries, retrofitting infrastructure to becoming environmentally friendlier, and transforming communities to zero-waste producers. All beautiful on paper; putting aside the consideration of massive costs, limited resources, and the assumption that the Greens will hold office for 30 years.

The Liberals and New Democrats, in an almost completely similar fashion, also seek to cut emissions by 2030 and eliminate them by 2050. Moreover, their platforms even include increased funding towards renewable energies, country-wide modifications of buildings to becoming sustainable, turning communities into zero-waste zones… and so on. But hey, the Liberals have a different idea regarding the transition of workers into green industries, with a proposed Just Transition Act. No, wait… it’s the exact same thing that the Greens and NDP promise..

At least the Conservative Party gains points for making environmental protection more… corporate? Dubbed “A Real Plan to Protect Our Environment,” as opposed to a “fake one,” the CPC has prepared a 33-page pamphlet highlighting their plans for a better environment. Most of the proposals revolve around cutting tax rates for companies reducing emissions, businesses producing green technologies and households decreasing energy consumption. More of an incentive plan than solid action. At least the Conservatives are promoting the conservation of migratory bird species… funded through the sale of licenses to hunters who want to shoot them.

Which is more than we can say for the People’s Party of Canada, whose plan is basically that they have no plan. The PPC’s page claims that “alarmist” trends regarding global warming have led to “billions of dollars spent at home and abroad”. Their solution? Withdrawing from the Paris Accord, abandoning emission targets, abolishing carbon tax systems and eliminating green energy subsidies. However, their platform does include investment in “adaptation strategies,” just in case this whole climate change thing turns out to not be a myth, so there’s that.

But what about Bloc Québécois? What plans do they have for the improvement of the country? Not much, according to their French-only website. They support remaining in the Kyoto accord, cutting waste and switching to more ecologically friendly sources of energy. All that stands out, in typical BQ fashion, are proposals setting emission limits on other provinces and having the final say on any project involving Quebec. In other words, nothing new.

 

Graphic by Victoria Blair

Categories
Student Life

Skin to skin: Acne-prone combination skin

Photo by Laurence BD

Skincare. You’ve heard so much about it, but what actually works? The Koreans have the 10-step-routine. Southeast Asians use a lot of turmeric and natural products. North Americans use a lot of chemicals. All swear by their remedies, but not all products work best for every skin type.

This might be a story you know all too well: baby soft pimple-free skin before puberty, explosive acne during puberty, and now your skin is either too dry, too oily, discoloured or texturized. We haven’t quite figured out how to take care of our skin once the pimple phase is over because we’re all so different. 

I’ve battled with my skin since hitting puberty, and it’s only recently that I’ve figured out the recipe for my skin success.

Acne-prone combination skin

Often, people with combination skin types think their skin is too oily when, in fact, according to the Epiderma esthetician I consulted, our skin can produce more oil to help combat dry skin. This makes you believe the issue is excess oil but, in fact, it’s not enough hydration. In this case, the biggest mistake someone can make is to cut out moisturizing from their skincare routine. The reality is that the better moisturized the skin is, the less oil it will produce to compensate. 

According to the Canadian Dermatology Association’s website, acne occurs when dead skin cells clog the skin’s pores, resulting in sebum accumulation – a substance produced by oil glands. Bacteria within the pores can then contribute to those blockages and inflammation. The site indicates many causes and triggers of acne: cosmetics, food, sweating, overwashing, hormones and more. The site’s cited board-certified dermatologists suggest shopping for oil-free cosmetic products and washing your face twice a day.

To help treat your acne, it’s recommended to wash sheets and pillowcases often. What also helps is letting your skin breathe by not wearing makeup a few days a week, washing your face twice daily, not picking your pimples and washing makeup brushes. The main takeaway is wash your face delicately, exfoliate once or twice a week with a gentle scrub (to avoid micro-tears) and moisturize religiously. 

Combination skin types usually get the worst of it and textured skin is common. After my teens, I saw a decrease in the amount of acne I had and just got the occasional hormonal breakouts. But I noticed something different on my skin that I couldn’t quite understand or fix. This was texture — there were tiny little flesh-coloured bumps all over my cheeks. They weren’t your typical pimples and I didn’t think they were until I picked at them and saw they resembled whiteheads. 

Instead of consulting an aesthetician, I took matters into my own hands and started exfoliating so much, my face was filled with micro-tears which made everything worse. I caved and consulted a medical aesthetician at Epiderma. She explained that this texture occurred because of dehydration and clogged pores. I started moisturizing more, but I didn’t see enough of a difference. I turned to hyaluronic acid and it quite literally changed my skin. After a month of using the chemical product, I saw a significant difference. 

Hyaluronic acid is a substance created by the body, according to an article on Healthline.com. About half of the hyaluronic acid in your body is in your skin, where it binds to water to help retain moisture. As a result of hydrated skin, it reduces the appearance of wrinkles and, according to the article, makes skin appear smoother. 

It is recommended by several companies like  Drunk Elephant or The Ordinary to use hyaluronic acid after washing your face and before applying moisturizer at night. 

Above all, in order to have beautiful, healthy skin, medical experts like the Canadian Dermatology Association still recommend starting with a change in diet to see a difference in your skin by avoiding sugars and increasing your water intake.

 

Photo by Laurence BD

Categories
Music

Heather Ragnars sings the stories that are too hard to tell

Photo by Britanny Clarke

There have been many debates throughout the years concerning whether an artist should be separated from their art. In Heather Ragnars’ case, however, doing so would be stripping her music from its essence.

Ragnars is a Concordia student of Icelandic origin, currently pursuing a degree in Music Studies, after completing a BA in Psychology. She moved to Montreal when she was eight years old, after spending most of her childhood in Maddison, Wisconsin.

She also happens to be a verified Spotify artist, and a frequent performer at The Wiggle Room on St-Laurent Boulevard. Just recently, she performed a collection of new songs in a show called “Your Money is Not a Gift,” a 1950s/60s-inspired Burlesque show.

Ragnars was raised by opera singers, and was taught the piano at age five. However, such a classical upbringing did not stop her from interpreting the standard musical pieces the way she believed would sound better. 

“I could sing before I could talk,” she proudly said. “I often wanted to change the classical pieces I would learn, and my dad would always tell me not to, but I would go ‘well, wouldn’t it sound better if I played it this way?’ and so it wasn’t long before I started writing my own music.”

She describes the writing process as such: an idea comes to her because there’s something she needs to say to someone but can’t, because it is a difficult conversation. Either it can’t be said, or it’s too hard to say.

“It just comes out like that, and it’s usually not something very pleasant,” Ragnars said. “Hard to say but needs to be said. Some people would maybe think [the song] is empowering or negative. The feeling that I describe might be ephemeral, and it might be something is long-lasting.”

Her music is extremely personal, a sort of musical diary if one would choose to describe it. Her website best describes her songs as “heartbreaking, yet barefaced accounts of the many things we think but don’t say.” 

Some of her musical influences include The Supremes, motown music in general, Etta James, Billy Joel, and Cat Stevens. She is also inspired by contemporary artists like the late Amy Winehouse, Lana del Rey, and The Weeknd.

Ragnars’ show, “Your Money is not A Gift” was inspired by a song she wrote under the same title. Despite having a 60s theme – something she is quite taken by – the song is also a recollection of a time when someone tried to buy her off with gifts and money – things that don’t come for free.

“The song felt relevant to that whole idea ‘are housewives getting a free payout from their husbands?’,” she said. “I’m really fascinated by vintage, the aesthetic, because it also has an economic importance to it. The idea that the woman takes care of everything in the home, looking good while she does it is something that fascinates a lot of people, because the housework never ends. So why not take the housewife as she is, and put a little sexy in it too? Maybe these wives were fulfilled, and maybe there weren’t, but they spark a lot of mystery and fascination.”

 

Photo by Britanny Clarke

Categories
Student Life

Unlucky in love? Check your attachment style

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Whether it be constant clinginess, emotional unavailability, or the classical Oedipus complex, what we bring to the dating table ultimately determines the success — or lack thereof — of our future relationships. But is there a way to pinpoint where we could improve ourselves without resorting to “objective” feedback given by our friends, dating coaches, the Internet, and moms? The answer is yes, by figuring out our attachment style.

What is an attachment style? According to the creator of attachment theory, John Bowlby, and expressed in an article on verywellmind.com, it is “the lasting psychological connectedness between human beings”; in other words, it’s how we interact with those we bond with.

Learning your style is not on par with reading a horoscope, nor is it as good as actual introspective counselling, but it does enter a space heavily focused on by experts in behavioural psychology. In a simplypsychology.org article, it explains how Bowlby, a well-known psychologist, theorized that how a child was raised determined specific emotional responses to their caregivers. The less time infants spent with their mothers, the more they developed a physiological disposition to separation anxiety.

With the growth of the behavioural discipline, attachment theory has been expanded by researchers such as Kim Bartholomew and Leonard Horowitz to cover adult relationships. They divided said theory into categories such as anxious-preoccupied, dismissive-avoidant, fearful-avoidant, and secure. According to these experts, the nature of the interaction between a baby and its caregiver determined which category the infant fell into, which later determined how they would act as an adult with future romantic partners.

How this translates into the dating scene is clarified by Dr. Lisa Firestone, PhD, in her book Knowing Your Critical Self. As she explains, each style comes with its own dating characteristics.

Anxious Preoccupied

This deals with those who constantly feel “emotional” hunger, that is to say, they desire constant validation from their partner and live in what Firestone describes as a “fantasy” of their actual relationship. With this group, dating terms such as “clingy” and “paranoid” become commonplace. An anxious preoccupied will tend to bombard a partner with texts, experience anxiety when apart and even suspect the worst (breakups, love lost, cheating).

Dismissive Avoidant

Unlike the anxious style, dismissive avoidants seek more distance from their partner. The word association in this regard would be “unavailable,” since avoidants, well, avoid active conversations, remain emotionally introverted and gain limited satisfaction from the presence of others. All this is detrimental to dating, as communication and 50/50 effort are key to a healthy and long-lasting relationship. Furthermore, avoidants would view any argument as an overreaction on their partner’s part.

Fearful Avoidant

The “best” of both worlds, a fearfully avoidant alternates between worrying that they are too close to someone or that they’re too far. So, as Katy Perry says, they’re hot then they’re cold, they’re yes then they’re no, they’re in then they’re out, they’re up then they’re down. Generally indecisive, these individuals are kind of the “Ross Gellers” of dating; always wanting to be in a relationship, ultimately sabotaging it, and then wanting to be in one again.

Secure

In contrast to the styles mentioned so far, secure individuals feel comfortable both in a relationship or alone. With words such as honest, realistic and caring describing them, they are capable of remaining invested with their partners but not dependent. Moreover, they act as a support base for those who date them and will reciprocate that support to those who need them. In other words, they are the closest thing to the perfect partner.

Ultimately, most of us seek to gravitate towards a more secure personality. We do not want to come off as too attached, emotionally unavailable, and/or all over the place. Barring professional counselling, we should identify and work on our own attachment styles so that we may better support others, potential partners and most importantly, ourselves.

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
Music

Stereolab hypnotize at Corona Theatre

Photo by Laurence BD.

English-French avant-pop legends sound as fresh as ever after their 10-year hiatus

After many of us were drenched in the Tuesday rain, Stereolab revived our spirits by playing a sold-out show that later released more tickets to keen fans online with Evenko. Stereolab haven’t performed since 2009, and have recently released a long list of upcoming new shows across Europe and North America.

The music of Stereolab is an enigma. They have been labeled avant-pop, indie pop, electronic, and were among the first to be considered a post-rock group. Emerging in 1990 in London, England, they incorporated 60s pop, krautrock, and French and English leftist politics into scattered, surrealist songs that didn’t receive much attention at first. They later began to incorporate funk, jazz, bossa nova, and lounge into their music, with a cleaner, more danceable sound.

Over the years, the band began to receive recognition for its experimentalism. Lead by Laetitia Sadier of France and Tim Gane of England, the only two members remaining from the very beginning, they still sound fresh today, and are truly one-of-a-kind.

The crowd at Corona was full of many long-time fans, and even some children and babies were attending up on the balcony seats. Although Stereolab tend to play their live shows with a little more reverb and noise, their organ sounds and beeping synths are still pleasant to the ears of all ages.

Laetitia Sadier addressed the audience freely in French, and confidently lead the rest of the band throughout the night, performing songs from their hit albums Peng!, Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Dots and Loops. Sadier’s airy voice hasn’t aged a bit, and every band member was full of energy and passion, making it a timeless experience. Those who wanted to dance along to their swaying sounds made their way into the crowd and weren’t afraid to let out a few shouts of excitement upon their return.

Stereolab played a setlist that was at times mesmerizing, slow and hypnotic, and other times times frenzied with angular tension. They went back and forth between the more energetic tracks like the jazzy “Ping-Pong” to the more droning, reverb-filled songs like “Crest.” The standout tracks included the cerebral “Metronomic Underground,” the frantic and electric “Percolator” and the playful “Lo Boob Oscillator.”

No matter which direction Stereolab went with their setlist, they never failed in locking the crowd into their magnetic grooves. They came back on with an encore of the long-awaited “Brakhage” – one of their most well-known and defining tracks, that is both experimental and relaxed. They then finished with the 16-minute long “Blue Milk,” and their droning guitars and dreamlike synths put us all in a trance.

It was truly a pleasure to see Stereolab back at it again, as professionals continuing to surprise us with their technical and creative abilities. Stereolab are as seamless live as they are on record, and Montreal was so happy to have them. 

 

Photos by Laurence B.D.

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Simply Scientific: Behind the beauty of Fall

Fall is finally at our doorstep! At last, we can enhance our Starbucks experience from a regular Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino to our beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte. Fashion just stepped into a whole new level with deep amber backgrounds on the Belvédère making for the perfect Instagram #nofilter posts.

Those jaw-dropping fire-like landscapes are undoubtedly one of the most beautiful times of the year – apart from the weather, of course. But what exactly causes the leaves to turn from their distinct bright green colour to those warm hues?

It all comes down to the amount of light vegetation gets from the sun. In summer, daylight can hit for almost 15 hours straight. During that time, leaves act like small factories that use the sunlight to produce all the necessary nutrients for trees to grow. This food-making process happens in cells containing chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is responsible for absorbing light from sunbeams to provide energy for later chemical reactions in the tree.

So, while you were working at your summer job, tweeting about that annoying colleague, trees and plants were casually thriving under the sun. Jealous, right? Well, hold your horses for a minute, because winter is coming.

As the year goes by, the days become shorter. Leaves stop their food-making process because of the shorter light exposure and the temperature change. Chlorophyll in the cells starts breaking down which makes the leaves lose their bright punchy green.

But you may have noticed that not all leaves have the same colour. This is due to the different concentrations of chlorophyll residues in the leaves as well as a mix of plenty of other chemical reactions happening simultaneously during Fall.

While for us, this season mostly translates to midterms and cuffing season, for trees it is just another step in their natural cycle of life. So, put on those Blundstones and your classy trench coat and enjoy the beauty of Fall.

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

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