Schema Magazine

This Week in Vancouver | The Christmas is Coming Edition

So it's that time of year. Every shop display is a reminder that Christmas is almost here. But apart from fiendishly 'pwning' every other consumer out there for the sake of your loved ones, there are lots of opportunities to spend quality time with them, too. Here's just a handful of Schema's picks. Keep your eyes open and your carol voices ready in the coming weeks.

Shiwasu - Handmade Gifts Show and Sale

Want an eco-friendly alternative to wrapping paper, with decorative possibilities you could only dream of in papyrus? Why not get down to the Japanese Canadian National Museum and learn yourself some guerilla gift-adornment techniques? Furoshiki is a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth. Your present will look so good it won't matter what's inside. As it rests under that tree like a prince among paupers, you will resign yourself to going down in history as a Christmas legend. Yes, Furoshiki promises all that, and you can get it at the Shiwasu - Handmade Gifts Show and Sale that runs from December 10-21, featuring local Japanese Canadian artists.

Vietnam Flood Relief Arts Showcase

In case you don't get your art fix there, L.A.-based collective Creativity Heals presents an exhibition of live performances, art pieces, a silent auction, a photo booth, and items available on sale from retailers and vendors. At the auction, you could win a signed men's Ryan Kesler jersey, a Canucks team signed hockey stick, a $400 gift package from Lululemon, a pair of concert tickets to Jay-Z/Kanye West's "Watch the Throne" tour, or a $300 gift card from Aritzia. (Who was I kidding? More stuff rawks.) Proceeds from the event go towards helping victims of the Vietnam flood devastation. So head on down to the Electric Owl Social Club on the 11th of December for a good cause. You can get tickets at various locations. A list is available at www.creativity-heals.org.

Festival of Lights @ Van Dusen Gardens

Beginning on the 9th of December and continuing till the 4th of January, the annual Festival of Lights at Van Dusen Gardens will melt the heart of the staunchest grinch. Take your kids, if you have any, for a gander among the fairy lights, or stroll among its otherworldly delights with a pretty person on your arm. Highlights include Santa's Living Room, from the 9th to the 24th of December, Svend and Jens, Scandinavian Christmas Elves who appear nightly in the Centre Court, and the Dancing Lights on Livingstone Lake show, which starts at 4.30 pm.

Christmas @ Canada Place

And what kind of holiday season would it be without Christmas at Canada Place? You could check out Woodward's Windows anytime between now and the 4th of January. According to the event website, 'in the 60's & 70's in Vancouver, Christmas meant heading down to the Woodward's Department Store with your family or sweetheart and seeing the display windows come to life with Santa, his elves, "The Lamplighter", teddy bears and more. When Woodwards closed in 1993, Canada Place purchased the windows and since then they have been a part of the holiday magic at Canada Place adding nostalgia and romance to Christmas in Vancouver.' There's another tried and tested tradition to get you truly in the holiday mood. Also check out what the Strathcona Community Centre is up to, and much more, at www.christmas.canadaplace.ca.

Schema's Own Do

Last but not least, Schema's having its annual holiday soirée this week. It's where we dine on hors d'oeuvres from nations around the world and bat about ideas on culture and identity while playing croquet. Sound like your kinda party? In case you are a literal person, we don't really do that stuff, but we have good eats and fun times. Friends of Schema are welcome, so drop us a line at rsvp@schemamag.ca if you want an invite. If you can't make it, we'll put up pictures for your vicarious enjoyment and as a shining example of festivities how-to for any occasion.

Until next week...that's all, folks!

Pennsylvania School Rejects HIV-Positive Student

By Jocelyn Gan

A day after World AIDS Day took place on Thursday December 1st, it seems like all the hard-work and progress put into spreading positive word about understanding and living with AIDS was in vain. This story about an HIV-positive teen who was denied admission into Milton Hershey School drops.

Referred to as John Doe, the 13-year-old honour roll student's application to a Milton Hershey School, well-known and respected school, was rejected due to that fact that he is HIV-positive. "The boarding school said they denied the adolescent due to the school's residential setting and the risk of sexual activity would make the boy a 'threat'".

This story is wrong on so many levels. There are a lot of assumptions being made by the school. They are assuming the boy will have sex, unprotected sex, and by doing so pass the virus onto his sexual partner, even though they are aware he is taking medication that is 95% effective in controlling the virus.

Connie McNamara, the school's spokeswoman, had this to say of the school's decision: "The reason is simple. We are serving children, and no child can be assumed to always make responsible decisions that protect the well being of others." While I fully agree that teenagers will not always make wise decisions, this is beyond the fact that this HIV-positive boy was denied admission. What is being portrayed here is that HIV is a negative thing; that someone living with HIV should be punished. It projects the impression that someone who is HIV-positive should not be allowed to date, to experience sexual intimacy, to be in a relationship.

I wouldn't necessarily call myself an AIDS advocate, and I'm not here to shove statistics about AIDS down your throat. What I am is someone that believes a person should not be judged on their gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or whether or not they are HIV-positive. My heart goes out this boy. It is clear he is an intelligent and driven young man—yet his education and future is being suppressed because of ignorance and fear towards AIDS.

A lawsuit was filled by The AIDS Law Project on behalf of the boy, alleging that the school violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which includes HIV.

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Jocelyn Gan is a graduate of English and Communications from SFU. She loves all animals, but her heart is cat shaped. She hopes to release her cat fashion line in the near future.

Posted by Jocelyn Gan | December 5, 2011 | Comments (0)

Tags: America, Controversy, Jocelyn Gan, Sex

VAFF 2011 | Raju

By Illimani Ferreira

DIR: Shiva Bajpai | 2001 | USA | 12 mins

The sociologist C. Wright Mills, whose work tackles the problematic aspects of social stratification in the United States, demonstrates how the fabled American Way of Life is an object of intense anxiety for Americans from a wide range of economic levels. It needs to be constantly reaffirmed as if it were at risk of fading any moment.

It being more an ideal than a reality, nurturing the American Way of Life is in part the US entertainment industry's chore, whose goal in this field is to persuade its citizens that they are the lucky dwellers of the best corner of the world. Citizens of other countries, on the other hand, are to be convinced that the economic and political fashion in which the US was structured is a superior model, to be copied and applied.

Such propaganda is the bait that cajoles many inhabitants of the hopeless third world into undertaking the risky project of immigrating: the American Way of Life gave birth to the American Dream.

If, according to the American Dream, the US is the best country in the world, then surely its largest and richest metropolis must be, by consequence, the best city on Earth.

New York is the backdrop of Shiva Bajpai's short-movie Raju. But the viewer sees not the radiant city that would grant affluence to the bold, the ambitious and the creative. Instead, Bajpai depicts New York as a grey labyrinth mostly occupied by the immigrants of yesterday and today.

Raju, the protagonist, is an undocumented Indian immigrant who finds his niche (and possible access to the coveted Green Card) working for a broker specializing in "debt relief" for the ones who, in order to afford the second most important element of the American Way of Life—ownership of a house—had access to the universally accessible line of credits prior to the 2008 subprime crisis, when real estate was overpriced.

Raju's job is to sell illusions with a smile and rub smothering contractual clauses over his clients' faces when they are drowning again in debt.

However, when he meets Carlos, who is ill, Raju seems finally faced with some moral embarrassment about fulfilling his duty. It is obvious that his "death relief" action, in this case, can make the life of this second-class American citizen more difficult than his life as a non-citizen.

The empathetic link between Carlos and Raju is deepened when Raju becomes attracted to Carlos' daughter Yesenia. A poignant aporic situation results: Raju is the prototype of the individual after the American Dream whose hard work is sure to be rewarded.

However, to achieve his dream, he risks destroying Carlos' and Yesenia's household: a household which has virtually received Raju with the possibility of aggregating him as a member of its family. Family and property are the conundrum that sustains the myth of the American Way of Life, and Raju is faced with the tragic possibility of having to annihilate that to which he aspires.

It's expected that a newcomer would embrace the collective values that govern a society he is entering: the civility of the citizens. In the American example of Raju, however, citizenship as making moral demands on the person bestowed with it is negated by citizenship as a juridical condition that materializes on a piece of paper. This movie hit close to home as particularly nightmarish: I'm a newcomer to a country I hope to call my own someday, though it is Canada, and thankfully not the US.

Posted by Gayatri Bajpai | December 21, 2011 | Comments (0)

Tags: Film, Film Festival, Vancouver Asian Film Festival

WTF Friday | World's Fastest Jump Rope

By Jocelyn Gan

Is it just me, or does everything seem that more interesting when the words "World Fastest" is put in front of it? World's fastest slug race. Or World's fastest knit-off. Are you incredibly intrigued now? I know I sure am.

To be honest, there really isn't anything that interesting about this video of a Japanese girl claiming the title of world's fastest at jumping rope. Sure, it's something I'm not capable of doing. Nor will I ever be capable of. What really caught my eye is her facial expressions. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say a facial expression is worth a million.

Where to start? How about I point out the obvious—it looks like she is getting way too excited jumping rope. To the point where I feel like she just might...explode. I don't know if I should be laughing hysterically or feeling very very confused. I did a bit of both, then re-watched the video again because I decided it was hilarious. Might I add that if I included a star patterned collared shirt in my wardrobe, I may be able to accomplish a lot more in life.

Now, is that the world's smallest toddler standing next to the man that is crouching? World's fastest AND world's smallest in the same room?! Shut the front door. But really, is that an actual human being or something else? I don't know why there would be a random toddler in the video, but I am left feeling a bit creeped out. Between the girl's facial expression and the pint-sized toddler, this video is gold.

***
Jocelyn Gan is a graduate of English and Communications from SFU. She loves all animals, but her heart is cat shaped. She hopes to release her cat fashion line in the near future.

Posted by Jocelyn Gan | December 2, 2011 | Comments (0)

Tags: Funny, Jocelyn Gan, WTF Fridays

Will the Real Harajuku Please Stand Up

By Justin Ko

Although her status as a top blonde fashionista may have been eclipsed by Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani is still an influential figure in the fashion world. Most notably, she was known for bringing the Japanese district of Harajuku into global prominence.

You might remember that Gwen's backup dancing troupe was nicknamed the Harajuku Girls and much of her own style heavily borrowed from Japanese trends. Since then Gwen has taken the Harajuku "concept" and created fashion labels of her own, including Harajuku Mini, a set of Japanese-inspired children's clothing that she has created for Target.

Now, I'm not Japanese myself, but I can definitely see that a gross exploitation of a niche Japanese street style is taking place here with Stefani's boutique brand. As you can see with the promotional video below, there is an exaggerated and distorted sense of Japanese culture which is being shamelessly and perhaps recklessly utilized by this Harajuku concept.

Also, the proliferation of these artificial Japanese brands takes the attention away from genuine Japanese fashion labels like Dokidoki, Spinns, Super Lovers, and Galaxxxy.

The annoying sounds of Nintendo are constantly heard throughout, and it seems like every model devolves into pixels at least once in the clip. Ubiquitous as Japanese video games may be, it seems that the commercial focuses too much on reinforcing tired old stereotypes.

Posted by Justin Ko | December 5, 2011 | Comments (0)

Tags: Culture, Fashion, Japan

Sustainable Living 2.0 | A Hobbit-Home in the Woods

By Olga Pazukha

Photo credit: My Modern Met

Tired of your mortgage, or un-mortgage? Build a home in the woods.

This is exactly what 32 year old Simon Dale, a photographer from Wales did, when he got a chance to own a piece of land in the woods in exchange for taking care of the area. Inspired by his love for nature, and tired of his housing costs, Dale set out to build a home, re-purposing natural resources for construction. He even directed water from a stream into the home, built a compost toilet, and installed solar panels for energy—and only spent about $5200.

The home definitely looks impressive for something built by a non-architect on a mission to live a lower-impact life. If you have a look at the photos, the home must be a haven for Dale's two young sons—just imagine living in a fully equipped hut/tree-house 24/7!

When I first saw this, it reminded of the times my younger brother and I used to build forts in our rooms, using every cushion, chair and pillow in sight. To be honest, the building process was probably more fun than actually staying in the fort, and I can't help but wonder if this family will soon want to upgrade to something more modern.

Posted by Vinnie Yuen | December 1, 2011 | Comments (0)

Tags: Design, Environment, Olga Pazukha

National Geographic | Visions of Earth

By Brandon Woo

World-famous photographers and everyday people have teamed up with the National Geographic Society to compile photos and create Visions of Earth: Beauty, Majesty and Wonder.

With its images popping out at you (imagine a pop-up book, but two-dimensional), this book is far from your everyday picture book. And because the National Geographic Society has put this book together with interesting facts about the subjects of the photos, this book is educational too. In this way, you get to enjoy the beauty of planet Earth and learn more about the world around you. (For a student like myself, procrastination with a purpose.)

If anything, this books shows us that there are not only many faces of our planet, but many faces of people too. Numerous photographers put effort into making this book, creating a mini-community of opinions.

Having worked much in film, I once believed that creating a film was a more difficult task than taking a photo. After seeing the works of artists like those in Visions of Earth and creating my own photo essay with friends for Schema Magazine and the United Nations Association of Canada's Me in Media project, however, I don't know if I still believe that's true.

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Brandon Woo is a happy high school student in Vancouver, BC. In working with Schema, he hopes to educate others about current events and learn more about the world around him too. If you have any suggestions about something that Brandon might want to write about, send him an email, and he'll get back to you.

Posted by Brandon Woo | December 12, 2011 | Comments (0)

Tags: International, Photography

This page contains all entries posted to Schema Magazine's Blog, "Daily Dose" in December 2011. They are listed from oldest to newest.

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