tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1 2012-02-07T02:43:46Z Schema Magazine: More Than Ethnic Movable Type Pro 4.23-en tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2757 2012-02-07T02:42:21Z 2012-02-07T02:43:46Z

Who is Newt Gingrich? This is a question I find myself asking with each day the Republican candidacy race continues.

Jocelyn Gan Gingrich is the epitome of grandiosity. Period. But I can understand why he doesn't think so, and why he thinks that making an American moon colony is a reasonable enterprise—it's because he is crazy. We're talking double straightjacket crazy. Because I don't think he's thought through this whole moon colony idea. First of all, the moon doesn't have an atmosphere, which would mean having to constantly pressurize it in a vacuum in order to sustain people living there. The highest cost of any space program is moving things out of earth's gravity well, and I can assure a moon colony would require a lot of earth transfers. The next highest cost is keeping people alive in space, which obviously would be difficult in terms of cost, materials and overall anxiety. You also can't grow anything on the moon. There's nothing on the moon. Except the dust. It just gets into everything. And I mean everything. I think that any country willing and capable of establishing a moon base could do so, not just America. But it all boils down to one resounding question: what's the point? It might reignite the space race and push technology, but it would also be a ridiculous amount of money spent on something highly unsustainable and ostentatious. Gingrich seems to be trying to force feed the fading idea of American greatness down the world's throat rather than embarking on a noble revolution. I say that if Gingrich truly wants an American moon colony, then let him have it, because so long as he finances it out of deep and ethically dark pockets, then the world will be a better place without him. ]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2713 2012-02-06T20:00:00Z 2012-02-07T01:56:34Z

Film-maker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has become the first Pakistani to win an Oscar nomination for best documentary in the short subject category.

Michelle Pham Saving Face, discusses the social problem of acid attacks on girls and women in Pakistan. The film follows Dr. Mohammad Jawad's work in Pakistan. Dr. Jawad, a British-Pakistani plastic surgeon, works with ASTI, the Acid Survivor's Trust International, a charity set up to help and assist victims of acid attacks all over the world, from the UK to Nepal and Bangladesh. The documentary takes us around Pakistan as he performs reconstructive surgery on victims of acid attacks. Saving Face is an account of such violence told by survivors going through the recovery and reconciliation process. In a statement to the BBC she said that she was "speechless" to receive the nomination, which was the "stuff dreams are made of...It has reaffirmed my belief it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from, if you put quality work out there, it will be appreciated. I hope I can make Pakistan proud by bringing home an Oscar." Obaid-Chinoy is no stranger to documentary-making. Her work is focused on social justice and encompasses a wide array of subjects such as the Taliban, violence against women, homosexuality, child abuse and natural disasters. Best of luck to Saving Face!]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2737 2012-02-03T20:00:00Z 2012-02-03T18:35:55Z

Healthy body image is hard to achieve when you're in a beauty pageant, especially when you're eight years old and your mom is making you diet.

Vinnie Yuen Healthy body image is hard to achieve when you're in a beauty pageant, especially when you're eight years old and your mom is making you diet. Jezebel.com reports on the latest episode of Toddlers and Tiaras, a controversial show about moms putting their young daughters in beauty pageants with heavy make-up and adult-like outfits. One mom put her eight-year-old daughter on a calorie counting diet, while another mom put her four-year-old daughter on a salad diet a few days before a pageant so she would fit into her dress. The eight-year-old contestant, named Ever Rose, lost 10 pounds on her 1600 calorie-diet. The four-year-old contestant Adriana lost 4 pounds on her salad diet. Now I've been a chubby kid and I did get criticism from family members and relatives, but I was never put on a diet during my developing years. There is a difference between encouraging your children to eat healthy foods and asking them to count calories. ]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2751 2012-02-03T20:00:00Z 2012-02-03T18:35:36Z

The issue of bilingualism in the Republican race seems to be targeted in many smear campaigns. Candidates who were fluent in languages other than English are targeted in campaign ads as "un-American".

Jocelyn Gan The Star talked about the issue of bilingualism in the Republican race, and how candidates who were fluent in languages other than English were targeted in campaign ads as "un-American". As it seems, bilingualism gets you no votes and much ridicule in the race for a future Republican President candidate. Let me put it in some context for you. Smear campaigns are just as common in the world of politics as Helvetica in hipster blogs and Starbucks in Vancouver. So Newt Gingrich's smear ad against Mitt Romney was nothing special. Except that it was interestingly named "The French Connection", and it ends with a stunner: along with all the other faults, Romney - god forbid - speaks French too. Gingrich insisted that this was just a joke to illustrate the similarities between Romney and Kerry, another politically moderate candidate from Massachusetts. Sorry, G., but I don't see the joke. I love my multi-lingual political leaders—perhaps the ONLY time I would say "love" and "political leaders" together in the same sentence. To add to the fun, we have another YouTube clip that was reportedly uploaded by a Ron Paul supporter. Jon Huntsman, an US ambassador to China under Obama, came under fire for his fluency in Mandarin and his experiences with China. The clip calls Huntsman the "Manchurian candidate" (props to creative nicknames), and questioned his "American" values, at one point portraying Huntsman as a young Mao. The fact that Huntsman has two adopted daughters from China and India was also included in the video, just in case voters needed more evidence of his treacherous connection. It's pretty sad to know that having foreign experiences and fluency in other languages can actually render candidates disqualified for some voters, especially when seeking a political leader of such an ethnically diverse country. In case you're thinking of heading down South and running for Republican office, I'd suggest that you leave your hard-earned skills in Japanese/Arabic/Spanish out of your CV. ]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2748 2012-02-02T20:00:00Z 2012-02-02T20:28:43Z

Whenever someone tells me that ______ causes cancer, I always respond by saying that everything these days is linked to cancer, so we're just going to get cancer one way or another and we might as well stop worrying about being alive in general.

Jocelyn Gan The bacon explosion is not for the faint of heart, nor those who want their heart to continue beating. Photo courtesy of djibnet.com This link was published by the British Journal of Cancer, which recommends eliminating processed meats of all kinds from your diet altogether. While the risk of developing pancreatic cancer is relatively low, the chances increase greatly for those who consume higher amounts of processed meats on a daily basis. With pancreatic cancer being one of the most deadly and painful types of the disease, the statistics published by the journal are something to seriously consider, especially for people like me who like to save bacon fat and use it later as a delicious spread for other non-bacon foods. Almost everyone in my immediate family has had cancer or died from it, so maybe that's where some of my cynicism about the disease comes from, but it doesn't mean that I can ignore these studies altogether. Maybe I am predisposed to developing cancer, but I don't think that my fate is settled either, which is why even though I joke that everything causes cancer, I certainly make changes to my lifestyle when the correlation is strong or related to something as serious as pancreatic cancer. I know for some people, giving up processed meats might sound difficult, however I already gave up sandwich meat this past summer after watching an episode of How It's Made. It's worth a look, because not only will it change your mind about what foods you put in your body, it might make you consider that cancer is even scarier than seeing a man in a lab coat cram blown up meat into a sealed plastic skin. ]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2749 2012-02-02T20:00:00Z 2012-02-02T20:41:13Z

Be careful what you wish for...at least on Twitter.

Jocelyn Gan rest. McDonald's lost power over its own narrative, at least in the virtual world. What about the moral of the story? Maybe it's in the fact that Twitter users rose up through the animosity and gave a good spanking to McDonalds' big fat corporate bum bum. What went wrong for McDonald's? The mere truth maybe. Perhaps social media, at least in this case, can be crowned as some sort of a cyber hero, activist, or knight in shining armour that ploughed through thousands of electronic corridors, equipped with nothing but the flag of truth and the truth only; the truth that McDonald's is, simply put, crap! Maybe we were too quick to judge the self-loathing and self-worshiping qualities of thingies like Twitter, facebook, and etc. ]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2738 2012-02-01T20:00:00Z 2012-02-02T04:11:57Z

The Lifetime movie The Pregnancy Project is based on Gaby Rodriguez's real-life social experiment, in which she faked her pregnancy to document other people's reactions.

Vinnie Yuen The Lifetime movie The Pregnancy Project is based on Gaby Rodriguez's real-life social experiment, in which she faked her pregnancy to document other people's reactions. Gaby Rodriguez also wrote a book under the same name as her documentary. In the book, she explains that her mother got pregnant at 14 years old and she wanted to bring awareness to the issue of teen pregnancy. Rodriguez angered some people by lying to friends and family about her situation, though her mom, boyfriend and principal knew about the deception. Others praised her for calling attention to the U.S. teen pregnancy rate, which is the highest in the developed world. Research has show that many girls who get pregnant in their teens are misguided about their menstrual cycles. They think that they can't get pregnant when they lose their virginity, or didn't understand ovulation. I personally think what Gaby Rodriguez did was great for raising awareness about teen pregnancy. I also think more attention needs to be put on how teens are being taught about sex. What sort of images are teens exposed to on television? What are movies telling teens about sex? How are educators and parents teaching teenagers about sex? Does only using the age-old "don't do it, you will get pregnant!" warning work? What do you think of The Pregnancy Project? Will this get the message across?]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2744 2012-02-01T20:00:00Z 2012-02-02T00:58:59Z

On January 29, Canada breathed a sigh of relief as Mohammed Shafia, his wife Tooba Yayha and their son Hamed were found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder.

Kait Bolongaro found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder. They were given an automatic life sentence with the possibility of parole after 25 years. The trio was charged with the murders of three Shafia daughters—Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, Geeti, 13—and Shafia's first wife, Rona Mohammed Amir, 50, in an 'honour killing'. The bodies of the four victims were found in a family vehicle in the Rideau Canal after a staged accident. This has been one of Canada's most high profile trials in recent memory and there are important lessons to be learned from this case. Along with the majority of Canadians, I was very happy to hear about the guilty verdict. The Canadian legal system has given justice to the victims and reinforced that Canada doesn't tolerate violations of human rights regardless of cultural traditions. Human rights aren't only a Canadian value; Islam doesn't condone honour killings, either. In fact, Canada's Islamic community has spoken out against this barbaric practice and violence against women. The Shafia girls were like any other Canadian teenager trying to find out who they are. This case shows the cracks in government policy. There were two separate calls made to two different child welfare agencies in Montreal about the Shafia family before the murders. The organizations didn't share information and the second was unaware of the first complaint. Now, Quebec has a child abuse registry; but why wasn't this done earlier? Immigration Canada should also be more proactive. Amir entered Canada posing as a cousin on a visitor's visa; she was actually Shafia's first wife, and a servant for the family. She desperately wanted a divorce, but Shafia refused to grant it. It should be mandatory that documents are given to prove family relationships and that these papers are verified. This is important not only to know who is entering Canada, but also to protect everyone who has crossed the borders. I hope this is the last time that there is an honour killing trial in Canada. Murder can't be justified regardless of cultural norms and twisted ideas about family honour. This verdict reinforces Canada's dedication to protecting women from these brutal crimes, but the government needs to be more active in pursuing complaints to ensure that this doesn't happen again. ]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2746 2012-02-01T20:00:00Z 2012-02-02T00:44:44Z

It seems like Weibo is positioned to take over the 140-characters-or-less world. For those of you less in-tuned with what goes on behind the Great Firewall of China, Sina Weibo is China's very own Twitter-like platform.

Jocelyn Gan Weibo is positioned to take over the 140-characters-or-less world. For those of you less in-tuned with what goes on behind the Great Firewall of China, Sina Weibo is China's very own Twitter-like platform. Run by the online giant Sina, akin to Yahoo! and Google, Weibo is complete with tagging functions, hashtags, trending topics, verified accounts, following option, and of course, a 140 character limit. My first encounter with this service began a few years back, but it wasn't until my year in China last year that I used it extensively. Since then, I've become a Weibo-convert. It won my geeky heart with awesome smart phone apps and its ease of finding interesting users and posts. Some functions, such as a conglomerated reply box and an easy-to-navigate layout, makes it more user-friendly than Twitter. Check out the differences. Questions of whether Weibo will become more popular than Twitter arises, but really without any real threat; the reach of Twitter is still wider than Weibo, as the Chinese microblogging platform is only still slowly spreading into the English-speaking world. Be that as it may, Sina Weibo now accounts for 1 in every 100 Internet visits in China. It garners almost 1% of total internet traffic domestically, whereas Twitter only takes up 0.23% in the US and 0.2% in Canada. One interesting thing about Weibo is its censorship. Sina censors politically sensitive terms of the moment. For example, I tried writing "Egypt" at the height of the Arab Spring and my post was 'removed'. Yet at the same time, I still receive tons of news on citizen activity and to my surprise, investigations of corrupt government officials. I guess censorship is just not fast enough for information, especially scandalous ones. So, fellow social media junkies, maybe it's time to jump on the Sina Weibo bandwagon—Tom Cruise did. ]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2743 2012-01-31T20:00:00Z 2012-02-01T07:15:21Z

Looking for a place to stay during your travels, but tired of the same old hotels? Why not try something out of the ordinary.

Jocelyn Gan weirdest hotels of 2011.' On the list are a vintage plane's cockpit and a tree house. Now what can be more exciting than accommodations that are out of the ordinary and budget friendly? This is definitely for the adventurous types, but if you want to avoid another check-in at the Holiday Inn the list is surely worth a look. Now I'm once again bitten by the travel bug, and with the weather looking as grey as ever in Vancouver, that oil rig hotel in Australia is calling my name. ]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2745 2012-01-31T20:00:00Z 2012-02-01T07:32:20Z

Star Trek was known for it's campy style, dynamic crew. But the series has also had an undeniable impact on technology as a whole, which is why the X Factor Foundation is offering a $10 million prize to the person who can invent the Qualcomm Tricoder.

Jocelyn Gan Star Trek was known for it's campy style, dynamic crew, and William Shatner's distinct...way...of talking in...many abrupt, but...punchy sentences. But the series has also had an undeniable impact on technology as a whole, which is why the X Factor Foundation is offering a $10 million prize to the person who can invent the Qualcomm Tricoder. While a lot of the devices used in the show seemed zany or downright impossible to achieve in real life, by today's standards few things seem out of reach, amid the high pace of technological advancement. For those of you who don't know (and in all honesty, I didn't), the Qualcomm Tricoder is a handheld device utilized by Dr. McCoys that would give an overall health reading of a person once scanned over their body. This would have really come in handy during every episode of House, before he spends fifty minutes playing pranks until something completely obscure provides him with the epiphany that saves the day. What other devices might I want to see adapted from the show to be used in real life? I think the most obvious answer is the transporter, with part of the allure coming from uttering the command, "beam me up, Scotty." But I generally yell that anyway when I'm at parties and don't feel like I possess the ability to move my legs anymore. No, what I want is something that wasn't specifically invented by Star Trek per se, but the way it was interpreted—time travel via a slingshot maneuver around the Sun. ]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2736 2012-01-30T20:00:00Z 2012-01-31T02:42:46Z

No. 2 opens on January 31st as part of Vancouver's PuSh festival. Schema magazine spoke with Madeleine Sami and found out a little bit more about the upcoming show in Vancouver.

Vinnie Yuen Photo credit: Aaron K No. 2 opens on January 31st as part of Vancouver's PuSh festival. Schema Magazine spoke with Madeleine Sami and found out a little bit more about the upcoming show at The Cultch in Vancouver. Performer Madeleine Sami grew up in New Zealand, Auckland. Her father is Indian Fijian and her mother is Irish. She plays all nine characters in Toa Fraser's play No. 2, for which she won the Chapman Tripp New Zealand Theatre Award for Outstanding Performance. The play premiered in 1999 and has toured to Edinburgh, New Zealand, Holland, Jamaica, Mexico, London and New York. The play follows a Fijian matriarch, who decides at 4am one morning that her time is up and orders her grandson to organize a feast so she can name her successor—her No. 2. She wants her grandchildren there, but not her children. Spirits, dancing, and squabbles combine to make an entertaining and lively performance. Here is what Sami had to say about No. 2. On what audiences can expect: "It's a funny play. It's a lot of characters and a lot of family dynamics at play. I think people will enjoy seeing it and see a little bit of their own family somewhere in there as well." On playing all nine characters in the performance: "It's quite a full-on experience. I'm quite exhausted after the show. It's good, it's fun. It's challenging. Obviously I've been doing the show for a long time now, so I'm quite used to it now. I'm also getting older, so it's getting harder the older I get," she said with a laugh. On why the play would be relatable to everyone: "What I really like about it is that it's so recognizable. I've been able to travel the world with this play that is inherently New Zealand and Kiwi, about this Fijian family living in Auckland, New Zealand. People really recognize themselves and it really translates. It's 'cause it's a family. I think anyone who has a family would understand the different dynamics that go on, and the alliances that form and the fall-outs that people have." On coming to Canada for the first time to perform: "It's cold! But the people are lovely and everyone has been nice and kind to us. I think Canadians and New Zealanders have a lot in common in terms of their nature. You guys have that humble kind of vibe that I think Kiwis have in common with you. It feels kind of like, homely and it's kind of relaxing and nice. I haven't been to Vancouver before, I'm really excited about Vancouver." On the Canadian response so far: "There's been really nice response to the show. They really enjoyed it. They're asking a lot of questions about it and why Nana (the main character) does some of the things she does." ]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2742 2012-01-30T20:00:00Z 2012-01-31T02:36:49Z

On January 16th, it was Martin Luther King Jr. day. Every year, we remember him on this day for the historical difference and socio-cultural and political shift he's made in the fight against injustice, racial inequality and ethnic discrimination.

Jocelyn Gan "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness". That did not fly with Maya Angelou, as she believed that it reflected a false image of Mr. King, one that suggests that he was arrogant. Rather, Ms. Angelou recalls that he was humble and that the paraphrased quote "minimizes the man...it makes him seem less than the humanitarian he was...it makes him seem an egotist". She says that the original quote reflects differently on Mr. King as it reads: "If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter." Ms. Angelou explains that "the 'if' clause that is left out is salient. Leaving it out changes the meaning completely" and so taking it out of context makes him seem arrogant. I came to notice that some people were leaving comments such as "why make a statue for him?", "who really cares what it says?" and the most intelligent one of the bunch "so should we make a statue for Hitler too then?" Why is the quote important you ask? Because Mr. King was and still remains to be an integral leader of the Black/ethnic civil rights movement history, where he was a driving force for an imperative shift of the racialization of the "coloured" folk. Because he learned determination and courage from other social-justice leaders and others are encouraged by him. Because amongst other heroes, he was a humanitarian that suffered and watched children endure racism and violence against ethnic minorities and he was one of the bravest that resisted. Because today, we continue to strive for his and others' dream to come true. So engraving an appropriate quote is symbolically. That's why it's important. Don't worry, Mr. King, Ms. Angelou and many others, got your back. ]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2740 2012-01-30T16:00:00Z 2012-02-01T23:37:56Z

Question: What's better than an awesome dance party on Saturday night? Answer: An awesome K-Pop + J-Pop dance party. Comment or tweet to win a pair of tickets! Contest closes on Friday Feb 3.

Beth Hong Question: What's better than an awesome dance party on Saturday night? Answer: An awesome K-Pop + J-Pop dance party. And the best part? You can enter our draw to get in for free! Schema Presents K-Pop + J-Pop Night at the Waldorf Hotel. Prize: A pair of tickets to K-Pop + J-Pop Night at the Waldorf. (up to 4 available) Value: $24 To enter, leave a comment (with a valid email address) on this post (1 entry), and/or post the following on Twitter (1 entry):
#KPOPnight @waldorfhotel RT to win tix from @schema_magazine! http://bit.ly/wKFJL8



We will randomly draw up to four winners and notify you via email on Friday February 3. Here's what you can expect on Saturday: Mashups of North American Top-40 and K-pop hits, live Starcraft 2 matches playing on a big screen, and the most eclectic crowd imaginable. If you have no idea what K-pop's about, here's a quick rundown on Pitchfork about the rise of K-pop in North America and worldwide. Or, if you'd rather watch and listen for yourself, here are Top 5 all-time favourite K-pop songs from Blood Diamonds and James Brooks of Elite Gymastics, who will both be DJ-ing on Saturday night: Blood Diamonds' Picks 1. 2NE1- "I am the Best" 2. GD&TOP feat. Park Bom- "Oh yeah" 3. Girls Generation- "Run Devil Run" 4. BIG BANG- "Tonight" 5. Hyuna and Hyungseung- "Troublemaker" James Brooks' Picks 1. Hyuna- "Bubble Pop" 2. After School- "Shampoo" 3. GD&TOP- "Knock Out" 4. Kahi (from After School)-"Come Back You Bad Person" 5. B2ST- "Fiction" Also check out Facebook event page Elite Gymnastics' KPOP Mix "All We Fucking Care About Is KPOP Whitehouse And Our Cats"]]> tag:www.schemamag.ca,2012://1.2730 2012-01-27T20:00:00Z 2012-02-02T21:22:59Z

Do you ever find yourself wishing you could just face-plant yourself on your work desk and take a nap to help you get through the afternoon?

Jocelyn Gan kawamura-ganjavian, an architecture and design studio, have finally made the dream possible to sleep comfortably at your work desk. Hallelujah! I introduce to you Ostrich, the pocket pillow for naps. This is hardcore stuff—only extreme nappers can handle the absurdity of this. Ostrich is "neither a pillow nor a cushion, nor a bed, nor a garment, but a bit of each at the same time." Holy mother of all power naps! Garment? Yes! Nothing would thrill me more than having the option of wearing a huge drumstick over my head. No more paper-bags for me—I got high fashion drumstick (eat that Lady Gaga). What really sells me on this product is how portable it is. I don't need a bag to carry it around. I can just swing it across my shoulder and I am ready to go! Damn, the people at kawamura-ganjavian really thought this one through. I do have one question though: How am I suppose to breathe while my is face smothered in ostrich? *** 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. ]]>