You might have heard that Bill C-10, otherwise known as Safe Streets and Communities Act or the Omnibus Crime bill, has just passed and become law. On the other hand, you might not have. Well, now you’ve heard it from me, and I tell you, there’s no going back because this is really important.

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On Wednesday, March 14, I went to “What Does the Insite Decision Mean?”, a public talk by Monique Pongracic-Speier, the lawyer who led the court cases for keeping InSite open against challenges from the Conservative government.

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Are you young and out of work? Are you worried about your future career prospects? Well, I can’t help you, but I know someone who can: Tammy Tsang.

Tammy is a fierce young entrepreneur who just successfully organized the XYBOOM Conference. Just in case you missed the buzz around town, XYBOOM was a conference about rising concerns of youth unemployment (Generation Y), as Baby Boomers begin to retire from the workforce while Generation X is reluctant to hire Gen Y’ers because of factors such as inexperience, and an inflated sense of entitlement. Many think that there aren’t enough Gen X’ers to fill the positions left open by the Baby Boomers, and the Gen Y’ers are not experienced enough to full those positions. This has already led to the highest rate of youth unemployment in 30 years, and left approximately 450,000 Canadian youth unemployed, which leads to a vicious cycle; since they cannot get jobs, they cannot build experience, which leads to even more diminishing prospects. In addition, many youth are reluctant to find employment in blue-collar jobs, and expect to find a high-paying white-collar job coming out of post secondary.

Employers are responding to this problem in various ways, such as finding immigrants to fill blue collar or managerial positions. However, many believe that such solutions are only makeshift, and that we need to find a more fundamental solution to this problem.

You might want to scream at this point: It’s not my fault! You are right, it isn’t. You are merely a tiny cog in the capitalist machine that is our society (no offence). However, there are steps you can take to pull yourself ahead of the race. First, experience is key. Do not think your employers will care about your grades. Start working, volunteering and doing internships while you are in school. Consider starting your own company, if you’re up for it.

You thought there would be a second, didn’t you? Well, I guess you can read up on the problem. Get educated, and be ready. It’s a tough world out there, kid.

Photo from www.xyboom.ca

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What have you done for at-risk youth lately? I don’t know about you, but I’ve just attended the Salon Series: Liberated Transparency, which makes me a better person than you. But I digress. Salon Series is a place where speakers are invited to talk about various issues around the city, and everyone is invited to share their ideas in an open, positive setting.

This Salon, titlted “Liberated Transparency”, was about mental health and youth at risk. It was organized by Sarah Jamieson, a self-described “sports philanthropreneur”, and one of the most vibrant, energetic people I have ever met (which is small wonder, seeing as how she has probably run enough marathons to go around the Earth once or twice). She started off with her own story about why she cares about this issue – an abusive stepfather, a broken childhood and a bipolar mother who committed suicide three years ago.

The first two guest speakers were Kristina Dixon from the Canadian Mental Health Association and three police officers from Odd Squad Productions. They spoke about their efforts at youth outreach, and about what we can do to help those at risk. The Odd Squad also focused on the issues of drug abuse and prevention.

However, the highlight of the night was Alana Stockford, a partially disabled teen who attends grade 11 at Heritage Woods Secondary School. She recounted her experiences as a “disabled” person growing up in Vancouver, telling a touching story of alienation, neglect, and lost friendship. However, it was just as much a story of hope and a brighter future, not only for her but for everyone affected by issues of mental health.

Overall, the Liberated Transparency Salon was a refreshing reminder of the realities of the often-neglected topic of mental health and youth at risk in our society. We still have a very limited understanding of what it is like to be afflicted by mental diseases, and if history has taught us anything, it’s that dialogue is an excellent way of getting to know each other.

Photo from www.sarahmjamieson.wordpress.com

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The Improv Test Kitchen is an exciting platform for new and innovative improvisational comedy. This show features the newest, hottest improv shows, presented by a rotating cast of mainstage company members. Improvisers bring show concepts they have developed to The Improv Centre stage, presenting them to you, an audience of mouth-watering, improv enthusiasts. Over the hour-long show, audiences will be treated to the latest show concepts in the improv-comedy world – this is a great show for the improv lover who thinks they’ve seen it all. Improv Test Kitchen plays every Wednesday at 9:00pm.

For more information, click here or visit Vancouver Theatresports League’s website.

Photo credit: www.calgaryimprovfestival.com

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What is the Occupy Wall Street movement about?

Everyone seems to have an answer to this question. Here’s a multiple choice:

1)     It’s an anti-capitalist movement for greater socialism.

2)     It’s a bunch of hippies and unemployables OD’ing, doing yoga, and being a general nuisance. Get a job, losers.

3)     It’s a fight against corporate power in government and in our lives. This is a fundamental effrontery to democracy and a just society.

4)     It’s the latest in the hipster movement. The homeless are often mistaken with hipsters working the hobo-chic look.

5)     Lolol retards don’t know how to write a proper list of demands (this one can be cut if too not PC)

Here’s my answer. It’s all of the above (yes, I cheated. Come at me bro).

Yes, there are addicts there, as well as hobos (who are somehow bad for wanting free food), Marxists, anarchists, and, god forbid, plenty of yoga-lovers. However, there are just as many ordinary citizens, students, people with jobs, and generally people from all walks of life. People are protesting for less corporate influence in government, less military spending and more social services, legalization of marijuana, more environmental protection, and free love.

At this point, you are probably thinking: they can’t even agree on what to protest, how are they going to achieve anything? You might even be reminded of the “list of demands” which turned out not to be the official statement after all.

However, this diversity is the crux of the Occupy movement. It’s a movement against what our society has become: a soulless money-making machine. To quote an editorial from the Rolling Stone magazine:

You fail to receive a few past-due notices about a $19 payment you missed on that TV you bought at Circuit City, and next thing you know a collector has filed a judgment against you for $3,000 in fees and interest. Or maybe you wake up one morning and your car is gone, legally repossessed by Vulture Inc., the debt-buying firm that bought your loan on the Internet from Chase for two cents on the dollar. This is why people hate Wall Street. They hate it because the banks have made life for ordinary people a vicious tightrope act; you slip anywhere along the way, it’s 10,000 feet down into a vat of razor blades that you can never climb out of.

In the end, money is power in our system of government — things like lobbying, campaign contributions, litigation, and connections don’t come free. Corporations have lots of money, and they know how to use it. Although the Occupy movement does have its share of fringe opinions and incidents, the key message is its discontent with the distribution of power in our society. Even hippies and the homeless get to have a say in that.

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I know I’ve said this time and time again, but one of the most important things you can do as a citizen of this country is to get involved in the political process. Or in other words, get informed, and go out and vote. The Vancouver civic elections – that is, the elections for mayor, city councilors, park board members, and school board members – are taking place on November 19^th, and it’s just as important as any other election.

But I also know it’s hard to start caring. It’s hard to go read about Suzanne Anton’s platform when True Blood is on TV, when you are watching the Canucks get pummeled, when you are trying to find pictures of that hot girl you met at the Halloween party on Facebook.

Well, the civic elections might not be as boring as you thought. Just take a look at the list of candidates for mayor. Not to put too fine a point on it, it’s a gong show, but thankfully, it’s a totally hilarious one. Here’s an excerpt from one of the candidates’ profile: “In 2010 Mr Robin Lawrance Runing in the City of Ottawa Election for the Officer of MAYOR and I did not win at this time and I put out $500.00 and this time was not good for Mr Robin Lawrance. So I am in Election for the Office of MAYOR in the City of Vancouver BC. on November 19th, 2011 and I Mr Robin Lawrance will win this Election and be Come your new MAYOR on November 19th, 2011. At this Time I am going all the way to win and be your MAYOR in the City of Vancouver.” Does this sound like something written by someone aged more than five years? I’ll let you decide.

Another candidate is Darrell “Saxmaniac” Zimmerman, who provided no profile nor picture. Yet another candidate Gölök Zoltán Buday’s email is buday4vancouver@pornstitution.com, and his Facebook page describes himself as an “Actor on a long break, childhood, although as a health technique keep the skill up.”

DUBGEE differentiates himself from other candidates by seemingly having proofread his profile before submitting it, and also by having no last name. Perhaps it speaks to the sad state of the election that he is one of the better candidates in this race.

But see, isn’t politics more interesting now? I think just seeing this list made me want to run in the next election, just for the hell of it. Come for the wacky candidates, and stay for the information!

Photo from www.precisionsignz.com

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What is the one thing that the world needs more of? I would say bacon. Bacon and compassion. While pig farmers are working hard all over the globe to provide the former, there are unfortunately too few that are working hard to promote the latter. Perhaps because our capitalist society has conditioned us to shun things that do not turn a profit. Perhaps because bacon is so delicious.

In any case, if you are one of those that lament the seeming disappearance of compassion from our daily lives, you will be delighted to hear about a new, unique initiative that is taking place in Vancouver right now: the “Compassionate Children, Caring Community“ project.

Photo from froghollow.bc.ca

This project is a product of a partnership between Frog Hollow Neighborhood House and the Dalai Lama Centre for Peace and Education. If you didn’t know, the Dalai Lama Centre for Peace and Education is a secular and non-profit organization, and Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House is a city of Vancouver neighborhood house located at 5th and Renfrew.

Compassionate Children, Caring Communities is a project that aims to increase compassion in the world by encouraging our children to grow up to be compassionate adults. It focuses on the power of storytelling — perhaps the oldest form of meaningful human communication — to improve children’s lives. What better gift can we give to posterity than teaching them to be kind to one another?

So now that you are anxious to get involved, why don’t you participate in the upcoming event hosted by Frog Hollow? It will take place on October 22 in conjunction with the Annual Pumpkin Patch event at Frog Hollow, and it will feature a “Compassion Room” where you can share your stories. You will also get a taste of what it’s like to be a part of a movement that seeks to improve the world; basically the closest you’ll get to being a superhero.

Find out more about Compassionate Children, Caring Communities Project and Frog Hollow Neighborhood House at www.froghollow.bc.ca!

Photo from www.static.inilah.com

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On September 14, I attended Me in Media, a discussion of minority representation in today’s media. It was organized by Schema Magazine and United Nations Association in Canada, and featured such panelists as Riaz Meghji from Breakfast Television, Sid Tan, Dr. Stuart Poyntz, and Shima Ghailan.

It was an interesting talk, to be sure. The panelists, each given seven minutes to talk about a topic of their choice, brought to the audience’s attention subjects as diverse as social media, the migration of the disprivileged from inner-city to fringes of the city, and racialization of media. The panelists hailed from a wide spectrum of our society; respectively a TV personality, an academic, a journalist and media producer, and a student.

However, I felt that the event was, well, simply not enough. In the 1 hour 45 minutes of time allotted to the event, the first thirty minutes were spent on presenting the sponsors. Then the panelists were each given about seven minutes to speak, and audience discussion followed after. This, I felt, only allowed a very superficial discussion of the topic at hand, both in terms of panelist discussion and audience questions. Given the scope of this topic, ethnicity and media, the seven minute speeches barely scratched the surface of the main issues at hand, and the speeches ended up being either too narrow in focus or conversely too shallow to allow for meaningful content. The same could be said of audience participation; in the end, only about five or six were allowed to ask questions or comment. For an event purported to be a public discussion, that number is rather a shameful one.

Overall, Me in Media was an interesting discussion, but I feel its potential was wasted; the panelists were knowledgeable, and the audience was no doubt full of questions that had to go unanswered. If it were a three, or even a four-hour event, perhaps the discussions could have been more meaningful, and I could have left a little more satisfied.

Photo from www.technorati.com

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If there’s anything Hollywood coming-of-age movies, all inexplicably starring Micheal Cera, have taught us, it’s that there are certain milestones we must pass in life at a certain age: fall in love adorably at 15, lose your virginity at 16, win an epic battle of the bands at 17, and move out and become independent at 18. The last one especially has a great  significance in North American culture: you’ve graduated, you can vote, you’ve moved out, you’re your own man/woman now! But just how true does this stereotype hold up in this day and age, and in this city?

To put it bluntly, not so well. Let’s hear from some local youth:

I live in a basement suite with a friend,” says Ms. Jen Houghton (name changed for anonymity), a Vancouver youth of 19. “We pay $1,000 for rent every month including utilities, but we got a good deal because my roommate’s aunt lives upstairs.

“How do you pay for the rent?” asks the handsome interviewer.

My dad helps me out,” confesses Ms. Houghton. “I work during the school term, but not enough to pay for the rent. I’ve been working full-time this summer, but I didn’t make enough to cover for the year. I do feel guilty about taking money from my dad,” she hastily adds. “But I feel as if I work any more during the school year, my grades will suffer.

 “That’ll be all. Thanks for the interview, Ms. Houghton,” says the dashing interviewer.

Thanks for being so good-looking,” replies Ms. Houghton, as if she was waiting for the opportunity to say that all night.

“No problem,” says the reporter, “no problem at all.”

As far as I know, most of my friends live a life of semi-dependence, if not full dependence on their parents. Many work part-time, but the wages are such that it is often barely enough to pay their living costs; students are often forced to choose between paying for tuition, housing, or food.

Of course, it certainly does not help that Vancouver is one of the most expensive cities to find housing in North America. According to a recent report, Vancouver is the third most expensive place in North America to buy a house, and the CMHC forecasts that housing prices will rise by 14% more by the end of 2011. It costs at least $500 a month to rent a room, and with utilities and other housing-related costs, the annual housing bill for a student can easily exceed $8,000, a substantial cost for a student. University dormitories are no cheaper; UBC charges students $5,000 for the academic year (September-May), and one has to find housing for the summer on their own.

This is why more and more Vancouver youth are choosing an option that would have been unthinkable even ten years ago: staying home until they’re well into their 20s, or even later. What was once a mark of shame is now, forced by the immovable hand of market realities, a common living arrangement. Without having to worry about paying for rent and food, students can focus on their studies or buy more booze.

The lifestyle of many students today fall somewhere on the spectrum between complete independence and dependence, and more and more are moving closer to dependence, whether they would like to or not.

Photo from www.diylol.com

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Few things in our society cause as much arousal as sex. Sex is one of the most fundamental human activities, but God forbid it if we do it too much, too little, with a black person, with a member of the same sex, by ourselves or with more than one other person. However, as you can see with the above statement, our views on sex are in a constant state of change: it’s no longer a big deal to have, for example, interracial sex or gay sex, and Sex and the City made it a-okay for women to masturbate, which is remarkable considering how even forty years ago, the female orgasm was seen as a lie.

Tides have turned since then, and any man that claims that the female orgasm does not exist does it at the peril of his own mockery. In fact, nowadays, it’s seen as a medical problem if women cannot achieve orgasm and some are concerned that the medical-pharmaceutical industry is taking advantage of this to their own ends. Is the medical community following the suit of the music, publishing, gaming, broadcasting, movie, and advertising industry to capitalize upon sex? (On a side note, here is an interesting Cracked article on how porn has shaped the modern world: http://www.cracked.com/article_18888_5-ways-porn-created-modern-world.html).

The New View Campaign is a New York based grassroots campaign that exposes the ways by which pharmaceutical companies oversimplify and exploit messages about sexuality in order to sell drugs. While certainly not all medical research is biased, they believe that biased research indeed exists and is more widespread than currently believed. According to them, “sexual problems are complicated, sexuality is diverse, and no drug is without side effects.” Sexuality is a very complex matter that is related to many aspects of life, and some in the medical community are trying to simplify it into a problem that a few pills can fix. What is your take on this issue? Feel Free to comment in the section below!

(Photo from: depositphotos.com)

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Amy Chua’s recent article on the Wall Street Journal, originally an excerpt from her newest book about raising her two children the “Tiger Mother” way, has generated a lot of controversy. Some have called her a cruel monster, some have commended her on how fine her children turned out, and Jamie has called her a babe. She claims that the Asian style of parenting gives the child a different sense of self-esteem from Western-style parenting; while the latter lavishes children with praises that make them feel good about themselves, the Asian style only praises them when they do something well, which, according to Chua, leads to a fuller exploration of the child’s potentials and a bigger sense of self-esteem.

Photo Credit: www.online.wsj.com

This, to a lot of us, does not justify calling your child “garbage”. However, many people do grow up under this style of parenting (myself included), and most of us turn out fine (and in my case, extra fine. Heyoo!). Of course, the terms “Asian” and “Western” are problematic in themselves; not everyone conforms to this stereotype, and many actively resist such labels. Given that, what are your thoughts on this? Is “tough love” a sage decision made for the child by the better-knowing adult, or is it a form of confiscation of the child’s liberties? Feel free to comment below!

Read the article here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html

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