METANOIA JanuaryFebruary 2016
NEW YEAR A NEW WAY OF THINKING
METANOIA EXECUTIVE AND STAFF
A NEW WAY OF THINKING
PUBLISHERS
SALME JOHANNES LEIS & ALLISON PATTON
COPY CHIEF
CALEB NG
assistant to the copy chief EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
LISA STOCKS JR LEIS AND HEINO LEIS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
DAL FLEISCHER
PHOTO ARCHIVIST
GALINA BOGATCH
INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTOR
SUZETTE LAQUA
INTERVIEWER/PHOTOGRAPHER
BRITANY SNIDER
VIDEOGRAPHER
ATTILA KOVARCSIK
CONTRIBUTORS
Gerald Auger Marilyn Lawrie Maureen Bader Hank Leis Alex Barberis Salme Leis Andy Belanger Chris MacClure Donald J. Boudreaux Dunstan Massey Dr Tim Brown Seth Meltzer Brian Croft Thomas Mets Miki Dawson Dr Caleb Ng Cheryl Gauld Janice Oleandros Kulraj Gurm Dr Allison Patton Carly Hilliard Luis Reyes Marilyn Hurst Cara Roth Richard King IV Pepe Serna Peter and Maria Kingsley Dan Walker Mark Kingwell Harvey White Nina Khrushcheva Dr Bernard Schissel Suzette Laqua Dr Jack Wadsworth
We are the official magazine of Vancouver Web Fest and we also cover: • Vancouver International Film Festival • Whistler Film Festival • MIPCOM • Marseille Web Fest
METANOIA MAGAZINE is a publication of METANOIA CONCEPTS INC. For questions, comments, or advertising contact by Phone: 604 538 8837, Email: metanoiamagazine@gmail.com, Mail: 3566 King George Blvd, Surrey, BC, Canada, V4P 1B5
METANOIA CONTENTS
A NEW WAY OF THINKING
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A NEW WAY OF THINKING SIGNATURE SERIES: KIEFER SUTHERLAND
BY ALLISON PATTON
THE MIND BODY CONNECTION
BY ALLISON PATTON
INTERVIEW WITH STEPHAN LITTGER
BY ALLISON PATTON
VANCOUVER WEBFEST 2016
NOMINEES
MADE IN BRITAIN
BY SALME LEIS
RANT
BY HANK LEIS
CANADIAN EDUCATION
BY DR. JACK WADSWORTH
A CHRISTMAS STORY
BY HANK LEIS
WAR AND TERROR: A FAMILY HISTORY
BY THOMAS METS
CONCUSSIONS
BY DR CALEB NG
DAN WALKER’S CHRONICLES
BY DAN WALKER
MISSIVES
BY DONALD BOUDREAUX
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Kiefer Sutherland! Who doesn’t know Kiefer, movie star, TV star and bon vivant. Well it seems most of us don’t know him- as well as Allison Patton, who got to know him real well - if you get what I mean. Turns out he is a great guy. Stephan Littger is a writer, director and producer. An intelligent man by all accounts. Allison Patton, who seems to get around a lot these days, interviewed the man - and discovered his inner soulfulness. Hank Leis is master of the Rant. He goes unloved because no one likes him. And of all things, he believes that if his rants get meaner, he’ll find people who will support his diatribes. Good luck to that! Hank’s Christmas story is another one of his “poor me” stories about nothing. Coffee, tea, or me? Take the coffee. Now for a real epic with a background of World War II and all the big players on a world stage- read Thomas Mets’ War and Terror: A Family History.
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METANOIA
A NEW WAY OF THINKING
T
he Greek origins of the word Metanoia [met-uh-noi-uh] convey the notion of an experience or a moment that is transformative. In fact the change itself would be so remarkable as to shift paradigms and these shifts actually would cause a change in behavior and ultimately the consequences of those behaviors. The articles in this magazine are intended to introduce a different way of thinking so that ideas and notions we take for granted can be reframed in such a way as to renew our life by making it more interesting, challenging and rewarding. Many of us have abandoned our intelligence, our ability to think, our various gifts for being able to create and instead joined the masses whose only goal is to perpetuate the species and dwell in a complacent and apathetic state amounting to nothing more than mere existence. We at Metanoia believe we are all capable of more than that and more importantly are able to generate epiphanous moments for you. We hope that our plethora of deep-thinking writers will be able to transform your life into something meaningful and wondrous. Every one of us, to a varying degree, has experienced these moments and most of us who have been so transformed are driven to rediscovering the process that first allowed us our enlightened clarity of mind. In the last decade, scientific advancements have given insights into human phenomena that were previously thought science fiction, such as the viral theory as a contributing factor in the feeling of “love”. Anthropologists may have noticed nuances in human behavior early in our development, but these scientific discoveries now actually explain the physiology of “metanoic thinking”. Our own behaviors are being re-examined in light of these discoveries about brain function, and in particular that our usual way of thinking leads us to our usual results. Moreover mostly we do not think- but react- not unlike reptiles- and this process does not always serve us well. Humankind is evolving, and more and more the primitive fears that govern our behaviors are being discovered to be limiting rather than opportunistic. What we are discovering about ourselves is what our evolution is all about; the beast within will soon be quelled and what will emerge is anybody’s guess. Individually, the context of one individual within a population of seven billion suggests his/her insignificance – let alone a lifetime in the span of eternity. And yet we still have this narcissistic sense that our existence is of tremendous relevance. And while there may be something to this belief, how do these enormous discrepancies in size and time fit together to explain the relevance of this epic story? Simplified, what is the relevance of a person making a living to pay for food and shelter to the formula E=mc2. Our mission, certainly for Metanoia is to explore all those ideas, and to change ourselves and you in pursuit of this intelligence. To put it another way, we want your brain to be engaged in way it never has been before. Are you ready for the challenge?
5.
Signature Series: Tribute to Kiefer Sutherland By Dr Allison Patton To round out a year of attending festivals, with Vancouver Web Fest in the spring, MIPCOM, Cannes and Vancouver International Film Festival in the fall, some of the Metanoia team (Salme Leis publisher/interviewer, Allison Patton publisher/interviewer, Britany Snider interviewer/ photographer and Caleb Ng chauffeur and Copy Chief) decided to make a quick trek up to Whistler to attend the Whistler Film Festival this past December. We were drawn to a particular event that was happening on Friday, December 4th. It was an intimate conversation with Britishborn Canadian actor, film producer, and film director Kiefer Sutherland. We arrived early to gather our bearings, meet up with Ms. Suzette Laqua, Executive Director and Founder of Vancouver Web Fest, and prepare for the evening’s events. We were invited to the Brightlight Pictures White Carpet event by Lesley Diana, Publicist and Founder of the Promotion People. Our winter coats and scarves hid the glamour beneath as we balanced the weather with the requirements of our evening plans. In the twilight, among the colorful lighted Whistler Village trees, down a winding path, we made our way to the Whistler Convention Centre to pick up our press passes and then on to Millennium Place. We arrived at 5 pm; the event was to start at 7pm. As we humbly approached the ticket table, a tall red head took note of us and listened to our questions regarding when the doors would open to the event. It ended up that she was the Venue manager and as a result told us that the Kiefer event was a ticketed event and had been oversold so was way over capacity. We were disappointed as we had come all the way for this very event. We weren’t giving up, but needed time to determine our Plan B. We left the Millennium Place and headed across the creek over the bridge to the BrewHouse so that we could warm up, and partake in some appetizers as we planned our next move. About an hour later, Suzette called and wanted to join us. I had made a few calls and sent a few emails to see if there was a way to purchase some tickets for the event. Nothing as of yet. Suzette arrived, sat for a few minutes and then decided to go over to the theatre to see what she could arrange. She had purchased a ticket earlier so she was set. Within moments, we received a call from Suzette asking us to come right away. The three ladies dashed off while Caleb Ng, our chauffeur and Copy Chief for Metanoia, paid the bill. He would try to meet up with us shortly. As soon as we arrived, Suzette was seen in a discussion with the gorgeous red headed venue manager; Suzette was facilitating our attendance at the event. Shortly thereafter, we were given complimentary tickets and were quickly escorted to our
Actor Kiefer Sutherland at the Whistler Film Festival
seats. We were worried that Caleb was going to be left behind but the red head assured us that she remembered him; the man in black that was here earlier. We scurried into the dark theatre as politely as we could, excused ourselves as we passed in front of some rather perturbed women in order to reach our seat. The intimate event had just started. We no sooner sat down when in walked Kiefer Sutherland. He was being interviewed and honoured as this year’s Whistler Film Festival Tribute honouree receiving the WFF 2015 Trailblazer in Acting Award presented to an actor who has blazed a unique and inspiring trail for themselves in film and who continues to engage audiences with meaningful and impactful work. Jim Gordon, CTV film critic and host of The Travel Guys TV show, was the interviewer. During the interview, Kiefer was very humble and genuine; at times bringing the audience to moments of emotion. He spoke of mentors that he had over his career such as Daniel Petrie who directed The Bad Boy (1984); both of them receiving Genie award nominations. He also spoke about screenwriter Aaron Sorkin whom he felt changed the medium of television. Kiefer was humbled by his work with Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men; during the shooting of the courtroom scene, although many of the cast had the day off, they sat in to watch the shoot. Although there was more than one take, it was the first take that was shot that they used in the film; Kiefer indicating the brilliance that it takes to be Jack Nicholson and the earnest approach he has Continued on page 8.
Shawn Williamson, Chairman of Brightlight Pictures
Suzette Laqua and actor Kiefer Sutherland
L to R: Salme Leis, Shawn Williamson, Allison Patton, and Suzette Laqua
Salme Leis and Britany Snider
L to R: Suzette Laqua,Salme Leis, Britany Snider, Caleb Ng, and Allison Patton Shawn Williamson and Suzette Laqua
Whistler Village at Christmas
to his craft. He spoke about a movie called Melancholia by Lars von Trier. He said that it is quite an experience to work with him. All of the actors that work with Lars who are male spend time sitting naked with him as part of the process. For Kiefer, referring to the TV thriller 24, he feels that television is an exciting place for him to be. He has shot 216 episodes of 24. He has some plans in the works for television that he wasn’t able to speak about; he seems happiest where he is right now. Shortly after the interview at WFF, there was a screening of the movie Forsaken where he stars with his father Donald Sutherland. When asked about the experience, he said, “I got to make a f**king movie with my Dad.” It meant a lot personally to him and he is very proud of the film. At the end of the interview after he accepted his award, standing right in front of us, he looked into our eyes and said thank you, “Because of you, I get to do this work and I am deeply grateful.” We left the theatre and made our way back to Suzette’s hotel room to freshen up for the Brightlight Pictures’ WFF White Carpet Party at Araxi Restaurant and Oyster Bar which was starting at 9:30pm. Lesley Diana of the Promotion People had invited us to the event. We were looking forward to seeing some of the familiar faces in the industry that would be attending. At about 9:15pm, we put on our winter garb and headed over to the event. There was a line up and we tried to check in with some of the Jive Communications women with clipboards who were checking in the media but we were not on their list. We ended up on the other list and were welcomed in by the manager of the event who had shooed us out earlier as we had come too early! We checked our coats and made our way to an area of the restaurant that was empty. Most of the guests would arrive within the hour. Feeling a bit awkward as we were a small group in a large space, we made our way to the libations and partook in a sip or two of champagne as we
talked about the food that was being served on silver trays. It seemed almost instantly that with our arrival, the party came alive; the room was full of actors, producers, directors, media like ourselves and others who had some connection to the event. We had divided up to more easily move through the crowded space and I found myself near a camera man, fellow interviewer and his assistant or boss, I couldn’t tell which. The woman who was admiring different fashions around her suddenly whispered to her camera man and interviewer and indicated that it was time to move to another area so I, noticing this, indicated to Caleb that we could make our way over to where they were going. They lead us over to the host of the party, Shawn Williamson, the Chairman of Brightlight Pictures. I wanted to find the rest of our crew so we could have a photo with Mr. Williamson. I found Britany, our interviewer/photographer, who had bumped into and was talking to someone she knew who ended up being one of the individuals that I had been conversing with over email. As we prepared for this event, she had facilitated our media accreditation. Then, once we were all together again, working as a team with Suzette, after saying thank you and good night to Lesley Diana, President and founder of the Promotion People we went outside into the cold night where the photo area was set up so we could take those photos. We were having so much fun with the whole process that a line up formed of others interested in taking photos. We first took one with Shawn Williamson and then later, actor Alex Paunovic joined us for a few more. We then took some of the group with Suzette Laqua of Vancouver Web Fest, took a few shots of Salme and Britany and then we were on our way. As usual, it was a night of surprises, laughs, excitement, energy, great food, good company and rich entertainment. Being part of the intimate nature of the evening was a fantastic life experience and one that we are always more than happy to share. Until the next Brightlight Party, we will have our memories!
A More Natural Approach to Beauty
A Therapy That Begins From Within...
Coming Soon to Mountainview WELLNESS CENTRE 604.538.8837 3566 KING GEORGE BLVD
V oted B
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www.mountainviewwellnesscentre.ca
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THE MIND BODY
CONNECTION
In order to become or remain as the sexiest and most powerful versions of ourselves, it is essential to include specific practices in our life. Do you remember a time when you felt this way? Do you remember a time when you dreamed about your life being this way? When you feel powerful, sexy, beautiful and brilliant, how might your life change; what about the possibilities for your future? The mind and body, as we know, are inextricably connected. A change to one affects the other. Take fitness and activity for example. Every time we take part in a yoga class, go to the gym, walk briskly by the ocean or climb a mountain, our brain views this as a moment of stress and as a result releases BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor). BDNF allows our brain to change or be neuroplastic. It works at the level of the neural synapse in the brain to mediate the effects of how exercise increases learning and cognition. If you block the action of BDNF during exercise, this neuroplastic effect disappears. As well, BDNF interfaces with IGF-1 and Ghrelin in the brain which has an effect on our metabolic signaling as it relates to weight loss. Exercise supports a rebalancing of the hypothalamus as a controller of our metabolic function. As a result, the current term being used for BDNF as it relates to exercise is that it functions as a metabotrophin (a substance that has an effect of metabolic homeostasis AND brain plasticity). When BDNF increases we go through a type of brain reset, an increase in clarity which leads to a feeling of ease and happiness. Endorphins are also released when we exercise and these endorphins minimize the effects of pain in our body, creating a type of euphoria. What else has been discovered about exercise and the brain? In terms of memory, mood and a sense of calm, it is not just the day you exercise that matters, it is the habit of exercise that matters. AND, it is the timing. Nearly all of the brain effects you receive from exercise happen in the FIRST TWENTY MINUTES of the exercise. So, to have the most impact on your metabolic function, your happiness and your sense of calm, start your day with 20 minutes of focused exercise. What happens to our cells during change? How does change show up at the level of the cell? A study was done
By Dr Allison Patton
with sedentary men at Lund University in Sweden asking them to take three aerobics or spinning classes per week as opposed to the average they were doing before the study which was 1.8. During the study, the researchers took a look at the way the genes in their fat cells were being turned on and off via a process called methylation. They studied their epigenetics or the changes in gene expression at a cellular level. Cells in our body, including fat cells, contain DNA where our genetic information is kept. It was found that during a regime of regular exercise, the epigenetic pattern of genes that affect fat storage CHANGE. Nearly 35% of the genetic makeup of an individual changed during a time when a person takes part in an exercise regime. Exercise supports our body, at an epigenetic level, allowing a REDUCTION in fat storage in our body. Another study was done related to change at a cellular level and this involved a concept called heart intelligence and its ability to powerfully support epigenetic change even more so than what happens at the level of the brain This is due, in part, to the larger electromagnetic field of the heart as opposed to the brain. Heart intelligence, or heart IQ, is a higher level of awareness that arises when you are able to integrate your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual intelligence. It is in this state that the higher levels of control over our DNA changes are possible; the ability to influence who and what we will become. One way to do this is to choose to have genuine feelings of appreciation and compassion toward others. When we are working to make changes in our body through a program like our Supervised Rapid Weight Loss program, it is important to put other things in place to support the success of this fundamental change in our bodies and minds. Once you achieve your goals, based on the information above, you will emerge as a sexy, powerful and integrated person who will be able to boldly step into the future possibilities of your life that you are able to CHOOSE FOR YOURSELF. The possibilities are truly endless.
To find out more call 604-538-8837
11.
Stephan Littger:
Writer, Director, and Producer of Her Composition Interviewed by Allison Patton
years and I have been through different phases of creation of course. So the understanding of Malorie was really the understanding of me and my own artistic ambitions and dilemmas. The way I went about creating characters for this particular script – and I’ve done it previously – I imagined my personally to be like a pie-chart and I was, a bit tongue in cheek, extracting different personality elements of my character and trying to make a concentrated version of that for each character. So my obnoxious side, my commanding side, my masochistic side, etc. – if I needed a character to go into that direction, it came out of that understanding of myself. So that’s the psychology. I also spoke to several graduate students doing their PhD’s at one of those elite NY institutions. I used it for two reason: for one I asked them about their daily realities and asked them what it was like; finding parallels and differences relative to my own experiences as an artist. Then I showed them the script afterwards to find out how much they related to it. And they in unison said that this was “their” story. Not because any of them had prostituted themselves, but because I hit a certain feeling of what it is like to attend such an institution. Stephan Littger
As writer, director and producer, you really handle the entire spectrum of movie making. Each has it’s own specific set of demands. Does directing and producing cause you to make changes in your script? Well the way this project started out is it I produced it through my company and so I knew what budget I would be working with. I knew what would be realistic and I always was wearing the producer’s hat at the same time. Now when I write, I would say I’m much rather a director already than a writer since what I put down on the page is what I see. So really when I’m writing I’m directing. It would be an interesting experiment to write a script knowing that I’m not the director as I might explore other paths. So far I haven’t done that but I’m really always a director when I write and I’m writer when I’m on set directing.
In your movies, are you trying to just give a different perspective on the world or are you trying to encourage change? For me those go really hand in hand. The first step to be attracted to a story, there needs to be some type of creative fiction and ambiguity that makes me excited. And in that friction, there is always a certain, let’s say political/ethical dimension to it. In order to be aesthetically attracted to a universe, there has to be an ethical dimension for me to embark on that path and to feel the energy of having to
Writing a script is probably the most cerebral part of making a movie. How much research do you do to get the psychology of your characters right and merge it with the technicalities of their occupations? That is an interesting question because when I think of a story, I have to have the whole story universe in my mind and I feel I can attune to all the various elements that are part of the story. In the case of Her Composition, I conceived of Malorie as somebody that comes out of my own understanding. I was in academia for many
Malorie and the arrival of her Client
say something. I feel the beauty of art and film and any artistic expression in general is that you get to invent a shape and form, new ways of expression – something that regular language simply cannot do and/or doesn’t yet have the words for. And therefore the work becomes meaningful. Because you lead the audience into a universe and a narrative and anew perspective which otherwise would not have existed.
Malorie with Schmierstein
And that’s the exciting part: You create something that you feel strongly about and you feel is worthwhile creating a story about. And so, yes, encouraging change. But I think as artists we’re not politicians. And so the change we encourage has to be intrinsic to our work. If I don’t feel it on an aesthetic, narrative level then I should rather stay away from it. Or wait maybe for a few years and make another project first until I have the maturity to tackle a universe that previously I wouldn’t have had the tools to express.
In your movies, to me, you seem to be taking a view that the emancipation of human kind is not quite what we wanted, and that evolution is perhaps breaking free of the emancipation. Is this what you are saying? I would say that emancipation always happens within a societal context. I mean, we wouldn’t have humankind without society and vice versa. And so as soon you have society, you have a work in progress, an imperfect system. You have a polluted system, which is in flux and evolving. And when you look at evolution, rather than being a linear process as it’s often mistakenly portrayed in an almost proto-religious narrative – and naive scientific discourse often slips into that danger of becoming a proto-religious endeavour without people noticing – that’s when a fake conflict between science and religion emerges. But when you give it a good look, you realise that evolution is in reality a massive process of trial and error. Nature is very wasteful and really is the opposite of a linear process. It’s a dissemination of all types of different trials and wastefulness and it’s what sticks at the end – what becomes meaningful– whether it’s an organism, or language, or forms of expression, or cultural status quos – that’s how I look at evolution. And I think the artist is in the privileged position that we can look into the direction that interests us. And so basically the whole world is open to us and we can choose to look at something that is meaningful to us when maybe we feel we can add a new voice.
14.
So I think it is important to remember, that just like evolution, emancipation is a version of breaking free of received forms, of doing things. There should constantly be an interplay between breaking free and looking for new and exciting links. And that’s what we do as creators. Emancipation and evolution are in a constant interplay – and yes, I think it’s a messy process and it will never be quite what we
wanted and that’s why we have art. To go on and explore where we feel an imbalance; then fix it and create beauty. And let’s not forget that beauty is a big part of evolution.
Your scripts and hence your movies seem to be directed at a very select audience, not a mass audience. I suspect that even with the intellectual crowd you would find different responses and perspectives. Do you often find your perspectives being challenged? That’s the whole beauty of doing Q&A and answering these very questions, right? Being challenged. I love doing Q&A’s, including these questions: you get questions that put my own work into perspective in a way that I have not done it before. Because you as interviewer are in that sense polluting my nice little universe by bringing in your own intelligent thoughts. And so in that sense the audience becomes a co-writer, a co-conspirator of mine and that’s an absolutely precious gift. Where else would you be able to have an anonymous crowd engage with and care about your innermost aesthetic and ethical thought processes. That’s the great privilege of being an artist and I personally respond very well to opening up my own perspective to that type of questioning because I’m constantly looking for that type of challenge. Again, that’s why I’m doing it. And it’s hard enough to gain perspective on your own views when you live in a relationship with someone, with friends – those things usually only come to the fore when there’s conflict or if you have a really stimulating conversation and those are very precious moments. And making a movie and being able to be challenged on that, I don’t see challenge as a destructive term but as a constructive term. And defending an aesthetic, defending a narrative, defending a point of view you’re standing behind, there’s nothing more powerful, because you’re forced to question the foundations of your own thinking and perceiving. And if it’s truly you you’re hitting upon, you test and re-test your own perspective over and over and become a more complex, more sound being both in your body and your mind. And by the way, you also feel when you’re not sound in your perspectives. For example, we all remember those teacher we had – or parents or ourselves – when we get irritated when others question us because inside we know that our opinion and expressions are not 100% sound yet. And those are the parts in a movie that might be painful or might require re-editing.
Is there anything else that comes to mind that you would like us to know about your work or your future plans? I hope that I will continue to have the privilege to make movies to continue to grow and express my personality and sensitivities through that medium. And to encompass that way the complexity of all my questions, of all of that which at a certain point in time I’m interested in. And I find that there are certain topics, which keep returning: e.g. questions of identity, knowledge, and how these intertwine – and what we strive for in our journeys as human beings. And the parallels between our ways of discovering ourselves, our world, science, religion, mythology, etc – they are all so closely linked and it’s just a vast, endless field of discovery. Sometimes there is so much to choose from that it’s hard to even decide what to do next. But it’s an exciting challenge. It’s a challenge that will certainly fill up more than one lifetime. And to continue to feel and to go deeper in my feelings, to feel more, to feel broader and by that to not ever become a cynic I guess. That was my biggest fear when I grew up: that I would never really care about anything. But if you create your own works of art or whatever it is, then ultimately as a cynic, the only one you’re fooling at the end of the day is yourself.
2016
VWF
CA N A DA’ S P R E M I E R I N T E R N AT I O N A L W E B F E S T I VA L www.vancouverwebfest.com
YOUR RED CHAIR IS WAITING FOR YOU!
MARCH 18-20, 2016 RETURNING TO GRANVILLE ISLAND IN VANCOUVER
Submissions: August 1st thru October 31st • submissions@vancouverwebfest.com
DISCOVER • EXPERIENCE • PARTICIPATE
VANCOUVER WEB FEST (VWF) announces their 2016 Official Selections in 12 genres for the 3rd annual festival to be held March 17 to 20, 2016, at Performance Works on Vancouver’s Granville Island. These Official Selections are up for awards across 23 categories. Vancouver Web Fest is proud to announce that Sparkling Hill Resort (Vernon, BC) and its owner, Mr. Gernot Langes-Swarovski, will sponsor the VWF2016 awards trophy. Sparkling Hill Resort has had this beautiful crystal trophy custom designed as a one-ofa-kind through Swarovski in Austria. The new trophy will be unveiled during the awards ceremony March 20th, 2016. “I am so honoured to have Sparkling Hill Resort and Mr. Gernot Langes-Swarovski as key sponsors for VWF2016. After the incredibly difficult selection process due to the outstanding digital series submitted this year from around the world, it will be an absolute pleasure to award the winners these stunning trophies,” says Suzette Laqua, Founder and Executive Director. “Congratulations to all who submitted and best of luck to the 2016 Official Selections”. VWF2016 continues on the successes of its previous years, bringing together International and Canadian digital content creators, producers and viewers to celebrate entertainment and programming created exclusively for the Internet. The four-day festival will host workshops, screenings, pitch sessions, networking, industry panels, parties and an awards ceremony and gala.
With the incredible success of both VWF2014 and VWF2015, Paula Hoffmann, Director of Development, shared this, “I am so impressed with the quality of the shows we received this year and want to congratulate everyone that submitted. It’s been so exciting to witness the evolution the independent digital series over the past 3 years and I wish all the creators who submitted the best of luck with their shows.” The VWF Team would like to thank all those who submitted and express how difficult it was to choose the following VWF2016 Official Selection Genre Nominees (Alphabetical order). Congratulations to:
20 Seconds to Live – Horror (UNITED STATES) AirLock – Science Fiction (AUSTRALIA) Arlington Passages – Documentary (CANADA) Arthur – Action/Adventure (SWITZERLAND) Bennington Gothique – Mystery/Thriller (UNITED STATES) Black – Action/Adventure (CANADA) Burning Wishes – Comedy (IRELAND) Capitol Hill – Comedy (UNITED STATES) Coded – Drama (CANADA) Couch Surfing – Comedy (UNITED STATES) Dark Darkness – Fantasy (UNITED STATES) Desenterrados – Horror (SPAIN) Empty Space – Comedy (UNITED STATES) Fragments of Friday – Comedy (AUSTRALIA)
Garage Sale Diaries – Reality (CANADA) Gifted Corporation – Action/Adventure (BASQUE COUNTRY) Growing Up Guide Pup – Family (UNITED STATES) Heard in Bars (Entendu Dans les Bars) – Comedy (CANADA) High Road – Comedy (NEW ZEALAND) History Bombs Series One – Reality (UNITED KINGDOM) Homogen – Documentary (CANADA) Horizon – Science Fiction (UNITED KINGDOM) Il Sonnambulo – Horror (UNITED STATES) Late Bloomer – Reality (UNITED STATES) Les Berges (The Banks) – Drama (CANADA) Listen Up: Making it at Berklee College of Music –Reality (UNITED STATES) Livin' The Dream – Comedy (UNITED STATES) Manic Pixie Dream Wife – Comedy (UNITED STATES) Mortus Corporatus – Comedy (FRANCE) Mythos – Fantasy (CANADA) Nia’s Extra Ordinary Life – Family (NEW ZEALAND) Nikola Tesla and the End of the World – Science Fiction (UNITED KINGDOM) No More Parents (Avec pas de parents) – Family (CANADA) Number of Silence - Mystery/Thriller (GERMANY) Or So the Story Goes – Horror (UNITED STATES) PERSUASIF – Drama (FRANCE) Phoenix Run – Science Fiction (UNITED STATES) RAPT – Science Fiction (IRELAND) Riftworld – Science Fiction (CANADA) Sacrificed! In the Name of Science – Animation (UNITED STATES) Shorts About Giants – Animation (ARGENTINA) Sìsara – Mystery/Thriller (ITALY) Stage Daddy – Comedy (CANADA)
Standard Action – Fantasy (CANADA) Stay At Home Mom – Family (UNITED STATES) Stories of youth (A portrait of a generation) – Documentary (NORWAY) Street Cuts – Documentary (UNITED STATES) Sudden Master – Action/Adventure (CANADA) Supernatural Fandom – Reality (CANADA) Teenagers – Drama (CANADA) The Drive – Drama (CANADA) The First Musketeer – Action/Adventure (UNITED KINGDOM) The Impossibilities – Comedy (UNITED STATES) The Kino-Edwards Picture Show – Fantasy (UNITED STATES) The Rolling Soldier – Mystery/Thriller (UNITED STATES) The Story of Cancer – Documentary (UNITED STATES) The Village Green – Comedy (CANADA) Trials of Spring – Documentary (UNITED STATES) Ty the Pie Guy – Family (UNITED STATES) Two Robots Talking – Animation (CANADA) Uberdude – Animation (CANADA) Walking in Circles – Fantasy (UNITED STATES) Zac and Me – Comedy (AUSTRALIA) ZOZO "The Fugitive of the Space” – Animation (FRANCE) Zyara – Documentary (LEBANON) BEST DIRECTOR Arthur - Nick Rusconi Heard in Bars (Entendu Dans les Bars) - LouisDavid Jutras Les Berges (The Banks) - Adam Kosh No More Parents (Avec pas de parents) - Benoit Lach Number of Silence - Csongor Dobrotka RAPT - Kieran J. Walsh Sacrificed! In the Name of Science - Michelle Nash
Shorts About Giants - Sol Rietti The Drive - Stuart Gillies The story of Cancer - Tom Mason and Sarah Klein BEST ACTOR Arthur - Ettore Nicoletti Coded - Jarod Joseph Couch Surfing - Jackson Rathbone HIGH ROAD - Mark Mitchinson Les Berges (The Banks) - Xavier Huard The Drive - Zach Martin Uberdude - Jeremy Diamond BEST ACTRESS Couch Surfing - Sarah Clarke Nikola Tesla and the End of the World - Gillian MacGregor Phoenix Run - Julianne Christie RAPT - Sarah Jane Seymour Teenagers - Chloe Rose The Drive - Jennifer Cheon The Impossibilities - Kathryn Rediger BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY AirLock - Tom Gleeson Desenterrados - Xavi Cortez Il Sonnambulo - Matthew Beecroft Les Berges (The Banks) - Arnaud Dumas Number of Silence - Jens Bambauer RAPT - Russel Gleeson Riftworld - Jason Webber Stories of youth - Martin Slottemo Lyngstad, Aleksander Andersen, Lars Andreas Ellingsgard Øverli The Impossibilities - Dagmar Weaver-Madsen Zyara - Muriel Aboulrouss BEST SCREENPLAY Arthur - Chloe De Souza & Nick Rousconi Coded - Steve Neufeld Couch Surfing - Jackson Rathbone Les Berges (The Banks) - Adam Kosh & Ariane Bessette Mortus Corporatus - Thomas Pierre No More Parents (Avec pas de parents) - Benoit Lach & Vincent Lafortune RAPT - Devin John Doyle Teenagers - Mathew Murray & Garrett Hnatiuk
The First Musketeer - Harriet Sams Uberdude - Jeremy Diamond BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS AirLock Black Mythos Nikola Tesla and the End of the World Number of Silence Phoenix Run Riftworld BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Arthur HIGH ROAD Listen Up: Making it at Berklee College of Music Shorts About Giants The Drive BEST SOUND DESIGN AirLock Arthur Les Berges (The Banks) Number of Silence RAPT Media Inquiries: contact Erika Thompson, PR Media Coordinator: media@vancouverwebfest.com Social Media: @vanwebfest #VWF2016 Facebook.com/VancouverWebFest
About Vancouver Web Fest
Vancouver Web Festival Presentation Society (VWF), founded in 2013 by Executive Director, Suzette Laqua, is a Not-for-Profit Society and Canada’s Premier International Digital Series Festival. Vancouver Web Fest brings digital content creators and their teams from around the world to celebrate the progressive evolution of entertainment and programming created exclusively for the Internet. The festival is an annual event and has been ranked one of the top digital series festivals globally. For more information on Vancouver Web Fest please visit www.vancouverwebfest.com
MADE IN BRITAIN I stared up at the clock on the wall above my head counting down the minutes. I felt like the whole world was closing in on me and another minute in here was going to finally kill me. It had been three intense years in politics both federal and provincial and this was the last time I promised I would attend, even for my dad.
Once again, I was by far the youngest in the room. Once again, I was one of very few women. Once again, everyone’s opinion around me mattered more. I was sick of hearing points of view that didn’t matter to me. This was just another social gathering of die hard fans of the party, then anyone who really cared about discussing our economy, democracy, or the state of capitalism; all the things that had brought me in, in the first place. No, I was done and literally counting down the minutes of this last election. I was out. Not just leaving politics, but leaving. I had spent so long working and building, so fueled by my heroes Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, and Nietzsche. I believed in the dream. I attended all the functions, I put in the extra hours; I cared about my country.
BY SALME LEIS
I am five months in now. I have been working, writing, traveling, doing yoga and looking for a new version of myself. Now that I am here in the centre of everything I wake up most days thinking about goals, the changing world, what is happening just outside my door step, the feeling of being lost in this city where from day to day anything can happen. It can make you very aware of how precious life is. The energy and the anxiety of trying to make things work is constant. When it is all too much, I sometimes just travel to central London and stand in Trafalgar Square. I stand there in awe! The place automatically makes me feel small, but also incredibly free. Being at the centre of such splendid architecture captures my mind and spirit and it is hard not to feel inspired. I resolve to just keep pushing, trying things, taking risks and not thinking too much about outcomes. Let that be a surprise. Britain, for me, is the best place to let this happen....
Now I just wanted out. I needed inspiration. I remembered the place I last felt that and it was at nineteen years of age when I first moved to the UK. I lived there for three years and never fully got it out of my system. I could always feel it calling to me back and once again I would be able to connect with the life I had left behind.
This morning, I was wide awake at 7 a.m. and decided to get myself a coffee. As I pulled on my gym pants and rushed down the stairs to face the long rainy walk to the coffee shop, I bumped into my roommate. She was in her blue velvet robe. Hilary is a 30-something emergency vet. She and I have warmed to each other, her slightly posh British exterior is hard to befriend initially, but I do not think I would be wrong in saying we have developed a sort of respect for each other; a kind of understanding about being these older women who are independently striving for the same things men are; existing in a free state, where we are still questioning conventional roles for both women and men.
It felt like I had walked out of that meeting a straight onto the plane.
I asked Hilary if she would like a coffee, and she smiled her very sweet smile “Yes please! Could we have two lattes?” I knew
at once she meant her and Chris. And speaking of unconventional, Hilary’s boyfriend is married. She revealed this to me the first day I moved in. I am not sure why she trusted me with this, but I am happy she felt she could. I pop in my headphones and head out into the rain so I can think while I walk. Along the way I see young builders working on a house. One young beautiful man notices me and I notice him and for a moment I forget my serious introspection. I blush and keep walking in beat with Britney Spears blasting in my ears. It is not always easy for me to understand myself and my choices. With all the wisdom I feel I have, I chose dirty Ol’ England as my refuge. I feel both alive and oppressed here; I feel the grey of the city in my blood. I am never warm, I rarely feel rested, although I do not want to sleep. Once in a while I put down the luggage I am carrying to be affectionately held by Carlos. At the age of nineteen, we found each other here in this dark city and here we are again together- ten years later. He scoops me up and our hugs last a long time, as if it is the only sense of peace we both have felt in a while. If there were no words and only hugs, I think we would be perfection. I breathe in deeply and the familiar smell of him comforts me. He has a meditative effect on my brain and I feel I can let go obsessing over my current reality for a while. Comfort can be a danger too, for two such wild creatures as Carlos and myself. The wild calls and both of our hearts skip a beat. We cannot stay in this warmth for too long or else it will ruin us for the world and all the boulders we still have left to move. We have to guard some of that tough exterior we have both inherited from the trials and tribulations we have already experienced in this world. We are not as naive as we once were and we know our survival depends on our ability to remain independent and go it alone. As dramatically as we cling to each other for warmth and understanding, we leap, run, and scatter back to our independent journeys. When I am alone and I let the coldness and the worry fill me up, I start to methodically sort out fear from logic, and try to transform it into ideas and motivation. What if I tried this? What if I did that? Write, take pictures, do yoga, workout, eat healthy, create ads, look for courses, enquire about jobs, think of creative ways of making money; simple ideas, complicated ones, inspiring ones. Going out into the concrete grey, British, rainy day and finding ways of loving it. Small joys, small choices, building brick by brick... the castle!
Rant Rant By Hank Leis
I love it when CNN assembles a group of reporters- to discuss whether or not their membership, when accused of biased reporting- has been unfair. Rarely if ever, do these august judges of fairness, judging themselves ever conclude that yes- the reporting had been onesided. Piously they conclude- the reporting was very balanced even though the nature of the questions asked, the smirks and expressions of incredulity to the answers, smell of derision and contempt for one side over another.
Even my “friend” (because I see him as being coherent, fair, and intelligent) Fahreed Zakaria has not bothered to figure out that Donald Trump’s comments about Muslims, in the long run- if allowed to continuewill in fact deal with or modify the underground voices of discontent and bring them to the surface where they can be heard, legitimized to the extent that they are real, and then eradicated openly and honestly. In a democracy that 40% who support Trump is relevant as well, and suggesting that they should not be heard is- well, undemocratic. That very group feels they have already been marginalized- and short of armed revolt, they have no means to be heard, especially if they are continually shut down by the “sophisticated” and “educated” and more often than not, “the virtuous educated” are dumber than the uneducated, except in their specialized fields and their narcissistic belief in their own virtue and superiority. These defenders of the right to say anything, rarely if ever defend that right when it runs counter to their core value system which is based on systemized political correctness to the detriment of what is really going on
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“out there”. It appears to them that the words chosen are more important than the information relayed. Take Donald Trump’s supporters. The press is very delicate in how they describe them. But their description of that segment of the population is nevertheless demeaning but put so subtly that they can describe them with alacrity as not “University Educated”. The Donald might ask the press, “So what you’re sayin’ is that my vulgar diatribe is only supported by 40% of the Republican base who are uneducated, no-account riffraff anyway which need not be paid any attention.” His followers already know that CNN talks down to themand they are mad as hell about it. Revolutions are fomented for less than that. Liberals describe Trump as a fearmonger, and their own fear mongerings as legitimate concerns. They interview the inarticulate as an inside joke- which demonstrates to them unequivocally the dumbness of those they “fair-mindedly” interview. Listen to the questions asked by the press and watch their expressions- as they look aghast or mockingly at this lower class of people. This is a clever attack on the freedom of speech, with a pretense of being liberal. Bullying can be physical or intellectual- and in this case it is the “smart” making fools of the “uneducated”because they can. Another similar matter for later discussion which these Liberals are not so liberal about is what they term as climate change deniers. That’s akin to describing these people as Holocaust deniers, with often the not too subtle suggestion that these deniers should also be charged with something similar to a hate crime. Who then are the demagogues?
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The Institute is pleased to publish this exploratory approach to the analysis of Canadian educational policy. Mr. Wadsworth brings to his subject the point of view of an observer outside the organized structure of education. From this vantage point he examines policy in education from three distinct but overlapping viewpoints, which he describes as the rational, the pragmatic, and the research approaches. Such an analysis is of particular consequence today. Education costs have reached the point where the taxpaying public is questioning the entire educational structure, and at the same time, many within the structure have expressed profound discontent. The need for fresh analyses of our schools and school systems is paramount. Mr. Wadsworth’s study is being published in order that his ideas and recommendations may receive attention. R. W. B. Jackson, Director. The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Toronto, June 1971
Continued from previous issue “... Free, liberal education is democracy’s first line of defence.” The above, of course, is empty cliché, mainly because democracy is very difficult to define in actual practice. Furthermore, what is a “free, liberal education”? Iron Curtain countries are pursuing vigorous educational programs with their policymakers certain that no democratic mixed capitalistic society will ensue. If one argues that the educational programs of the Iron Curtain countries have a high indoctrination content, what about the Western indoctrination of “free, capitalistic, Western, Christian democracy”? It is therefore not considered to be profitable to attempt to examine education under the headings of those effects that tend to promote democracy
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and those that tend to inhibit democracy. These terms have connotations of good or bad, fair or inequitable, right or wrong, which are inside the realm of indoctrination and not the province of education, which can only be concerned with truth or untruth. Hence the political effects of education will only be considered insofar as education has an effect (without qualification) upon some component of the Canadian (Western) political system. Precisely what qualification (democracy, Western Christian democracy , Cree enterprise, capitalism, etc.) the political system deserves is of no immediate concern. It will be convenient to examine the effects under the headings of electorate competence, influence of the mass media, the policy making structure, and minority or majority. Since no Canadian reading is at hand, it is convenient to use U.S. data in order to gain some feeling for the effect of education upon electorate competence. Lindblom reports the result of a survey that revealed that two-thirds of the sample of the electorate knew at least something about representative issues and were
sufficiently concerned to be able to voice an opinion. It was not a picture of comprehensive ignorance. On the other hand, the two-thirds who had an opinion and some knowledge are not to be understood as well informed: they only “knew something,” which often was not very much. Lindblom further reports that attempts to determine the level of information and understanding of voters, by ascertaining how voters formulated issues, indicated this: - 15.5% related their vote to an original set of ideas or principles. - 45% related their vote to benefits to groups of which they considered themselves to be members. - 23% related their vote only vaguely to issues of the times. - 17.5% did not relate their vote to any public issue. The above dismal picture is only brightened a little by plugging in what are demonstrated effects of education (albeit higher education). Data suggest that higher education does affect the quality of citizen responsibility to some extent. In one study of males between the age of 34 and 54, 80% of grade school graduates, 87% of high school graduates, and 96% of college graduates voted. However, considering the relative distribution of grade school, high school, and college graduates in the total electorate and the fact that each man has only one vote, this effect of education must be considered to be somewhat trivial (except of course in a marginally contested issue). In summary, it is difficult not to conclude that the absolute level of competency of the North American electorate is relatively low and the effect of education, while perhaps high amongst the higher education levels, is somewhat trivial in the total electorate. It is not to be concluded, however, that selective educational efforts to improve the level of competence of the electorate would be fruitless. As far as the influence of the mass media is concerned, Beer is quoted by Lindblom as follows: “...party does not merely aggregate the opinions of groups, it goes a long way toward creating these opinions by fixing the framework of public thinking about policy and the voters’ sense of the alternatives and the possiblities. ... The parties, themselves, backed by research staffs equipped with nationwide organizations, and enjoying the continuous attention of the mass media, have themselves in past framed and elicited the very demands to which they then respond.” With reference to the above, it would be expected that the effect of education upon the political influence of the mass media is negligible. Lindblom quotes the results of a study that demonstrate that a significant proportion of the electorate place themselves in a position to be influenced. The following is how North Americans read the news in their newspapers about public affairs:
Could it be that by cultivating proficiency in the three R’s, the education system is rendering the electorate susceptible to being politically influenced by the mass media? The Canadian policymaking structure, by adapting Dror, can be displayed with its concomitant characteristics: - two types of representative parliament -federal and provincial- which are highly sensitive to public opinion and pressure groups, are low or medium in expertness, take short- or medium-range points of view, and show low or medium consistency in their decisions; - two types of merit-selected civil services -federal and provincial- which are moderately insensitive to public opinion and pressure groups, have a high level of expertness (within limits that depend upon educational qualifications and experience), take medium-range and sometimes longer points of view, and show medium or high consistency in their decisions; - two types of courts -federal and provincial- which are highly insensitive to public opinion and pressure groups, have a high level of limited (legal) expertness, take short- or medium-range points of view, and show high or very high consistency in their decisions. The structure displayed above lets us appreciate that the contemporary educational system would have the greatest effect upon the merit-selected civil service and the courts (assuming the existence of meritocracy within their ranks), the least effect upon the representative parliament (assuming that political competence in getting elected is an innate skill, primarily affected by environment rather than by formal education), and moderate effect upon the communication between the civil services and the representative parliament. There is, however, a forcing function affecting the communication between parliament and the public service as management processes in government become more explicit and government portfolios more technically complicated. However, the efficacy of technocracy to contend with the intractable areas of policymaking has not been consistently and convincingly demonstrated and hence the quality of this communication is still a function of personalities rather than functions. In essence, it would appear that the contemporary education system has the greatest opportunity for political effect via the merit-selected civil services. Although it is the cynic who has defined democracy as that political system where the minority controls
the majority, no reasonable defender of democracy would disagree that the organized minority is a serious threat to the nonorganized majority. Lindblom devotes a significant part of The Policymaking Process to an analysis of the function of the organized small pressure group within the policymaking process. However, the organized minority leader’s political competence is not directly a product of the educational system. Therefore it cannot be maintained that the contemporary education system has any significant defect upon the operation of the democratic political system. Thus, superficially it would appear that, given the low level of competence of the electorate, the overriding influence of the mass media, the strength of the politically competent via the organized minority lobby, and the nature of the policymaking structure, the influence of the contemporary education system upon the contemporary political system occurs mainly at the level of the merit-selected civil service. The extent of the effect depends directly upon the communication established between the representative political components and the technocrats, and the communication is dependent upon the communicating personalities rather than the function of the portfolio. The following must be excused as the attempt to summarize the effects of education discussed above and move inferences towards their ultimate limits: - The effect of higher forms of education on an individual’s performance in the economic, social, and political spheres seems to be secondary to the individual’s innate ability and motivation. - The significance of the individual’s innate ability and motivation emphasizes the importance of selection and the nonformal aspects of education, such as on-the-job training, learning by doing, etc. - in fact, some form of apprenticeship. Perhaps the educational system should concentrate on rendering the individual educable rather than on giving him a qualification. - Therefore, perhaps the educational system should not be used as a vehicle for equity. Concepts of egalitarianism and equality of opportunity demonstrate that all men are not equal. Society has other means for distributing incomes that are perhaps more effective than the educational system. The History of Education The motivation for attempting a very superficial skimming of the history of education is simply to create a broader perspective for the appreciation of the current status of education. It is convenient to examine it under two separate headings: history of the concepts, and history of the implementation. History of the Concepts The history of the concepts of education is very well documented and convincing in its presentation of most formal educational systems as extensions of the nonformal education performed in the family. In
fact, the motivations of educators throughout history would appear to have been completely altruistic and concerned with the rearing of children to become good men, with the concomitant promotion of the good life. Emphasis on curricula has tended to be academic rather than vocational, with an insistence that the child is not a young adult. The following is merely a rapid prompt card: Education among primitive peoples has always been directed towards ensuring the survival of the group, clan, or tribe through training of the young in those skills and arts necessary to maintain life - the securing of food, clothing, and shelter -and in the customs, traditions, and beliefs that made the group a stable entity. Although education in the earliest civilizations was similar in character to the primitive form, it did include a mechanism for social mobility within the system of social stratification that had arisen on the basis of more diversified types of occupations. Formal education among the Jews was intended to transmit the accumulation of oral and written tradition, in order to ensure the spiritual survival of the Jewish people. Two contrasting types of education appeared in Greece, which perhaps represent the two possible extremes today: that of Sparta, wholly controlled by the state, and that of Athens, left almost entirely to the home and to private schools. Athens, of course, produced the early form of the university with its emphasis in the intellectual and cultural pursuits of an elite group of intellectuals. Aristotle was responsible for emphasizing the distinction between liberal and vocational studies -a distinction that has persisted ever since.
Left:The late Dr. Jack Wadsworth Centre: Julie Yap Wadsworth with daughter, Jackie Wadsworth Right: Hank Leis and daughter of the late Jack Wadsworth, Jackie Wadsworth Jackie Wadsworth was born on Jack Wadsworth’s birthday, 70 days after Jack Wadsworth’s passing.
To be continued in the next issue of Metanoia
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A Christmas Story By Hank Leis
I have made a religion of living my life stress free. I’ve made this possible by stressing out others before they do it to me. Now being able to do this is an art form, not a science. Each day I learn the subtleties of finding Peace on Earth, but for me, Christmas time is one of the most challenging times of the year to achieve this unique state of mind. This year by happenstance, perhaps with God’s will, I learned how to make Christmas almost completely stress free. To understand how important this is to me, you must realize that these days, if I am asked to do something that requires me to get off my couch, I begin to think that someone up there doesn’t love me. I feel that I am deserving of every good thing that happens to me and that others should feel equally happy about making it happen for me, and support my state of bliss by doing everything possible for me. My wife and children have long ago learned to be joyful about supporting my joy, so for me every day has become a kind of Christmas, with the benefits of both peace and joy, unlike for the many who try so hard that Christmas is filled with the anxiety from trying to achieve it. I have made it a practice not to send out Christmas cards, hand out presents, or invite
relatives and friends to my home. It is just too much bother. I will attend an occasional party if I have a comfortable couch reserved for me and the drinks and food are brought to me, and everyone leaves me alone, I do not want profound discussions with drunks and fools. I do not want to hear opinions and judgements that don’t match my own well thought out ones. I have no need for friends and family for companionship except in how they serve my personal interests and peculiar narcissistic wants. I make no bones about it and so regard myself as a man of integrity, unlike those who speak the gobbledegook of political correctness and virtuous pomposity. So with this kind of self-proclaimed perfection, I was surprised this year when my son wanted to surprise me with a visit to celebrate Christmas. On his way to my home he decided first to give some advance warning with a call from his cell phone. I hate surprises. They upset my mojo. But he caught me on my way to somewhere so accommodations, which I don’t like to make, had to be made. My family members were distributed over the mainland doing their thing, but my son had this great idea and that was to find a Starbucks that was somewhere in the vicinity of everyone (because they are everywhere). I shaved and showered (I was still in my pyjamas at home) and arrived at the designated Starbucks after the coffee had been purchased and a table had been selected. Other members of the family drifted in. The discussions were casual and without substance. There were no obnoxious drunks to send off. We were surrounded by happy people. The Starbucks food was adequate. No old hurts or annoying reminisces were brought up and nothing was required of me other than being there and most important, I had my own car in
the parking lot to make a getaway unscathed frozen salmon as a complimentary gift. I again expressed my gratitude for their generosity should escape prove necessary. but made the unseemly remark that these I was given my presents and cards, gave wondrous gifts seemed like leftovers meant nothing myself to anyone, not even the time of for bird feed and something they had grabbed day and left before anyone got too intense. What from the freezer as they were leaving the house. a great Christmas. Eureka! I had, with the help Allison looked down in embarrassment and of my son, discovered the perfect formula for her husband acknowledged that was actually Christmas that encompassed both togetherness the case. For me, these were wondrous gifts. I at myself for having guessed right and and separation. Thank God for capitalism and laughed their embarrassment having been caught, as hence Starbucks. Next year, all my events will we all chowed downaton the left-over crumbs be planned around that big table at Starbucks. I from the plastic bag. I even remarked that they will be sitting there pontificating as my guests should have at least taken a used chocolate come and go each buying me cups of coffee box and placed the pieces of bread in the paper and other annoying tidbits they sell there. I will wrappings. But the gifts were last moment, be celebrating that non-committal Christmas chosen with the bare minimum of thought and everyone else is seeking. Please don’t envy me so what I received was absent of the trimmings, just the way I live my life. for who I am. One good party deserves another; so it was our As a child my journey took me through office that became the next scene for another war torn Germany and food was hard to party. I watched as my colleagues handed out come by, especially for the transients. People and received beautifully wrapped gifts, each were starving. My family literally survived recipient carefully removing the colourful on whatever others left over and there was ribbons and saving the wrapping for, well I even very little of that. What I received this have no idea for what. Eventually all the nice Christmas would have been a gourmet meal boxes with the great gifts had been handed out during the war. I am grateful to Allison and my and I, with everyone knowing my attitude about friends for recreating for me this moment to Christmas received, nothing. I had assumed as remind me how my family had survived those much and felt no sense of omission, but then times and why I need to remain humble and to my astonishment heard Allison, my caring grateful for all that I have now. This has been an doctor, say, “Oh we almost forgot to give Hank unusual Holiday Season for me because I have been gifted memories of events I had almost his present�. forgotten ever happened. I was once a child, Her handsome, supremely confident husband, caught in the midst of terrible turmoil. I lived with a happy smile on his face handed me a through it and now at this late date I re-live it plastic grocery bag with Chinese writing on it. all in dribs and drabs. Everything new reminds I was surprised at being the recipient of any gift me of everything old. I am now greater than the and expressed my extreme gratitude for their sum of my parts, but just barely. Everything thoughtfulness. In looking inside the bag I did is a re-creation in which I summon the past to not immediately grasp its contents. It looked understand the present and plan the future. It like the leftover crusts from slices of bread has all been a lark and much of it was served in that others had chosen not to consume. I must a brown paper bag. have looked a bit puzzled in that moment, but there was still more to be added to my bounty. I was handed two unwrapped packages of
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War and Terror; a Family History By Thomas Mets
“To know nothing of what happened before you were born is to remain ever a child” -Cicero Jim Tusty, an internationally respected documentary maker and friend, quotes the above in all of his e-mails. The bloody history of the Soviet Union should never be forgotten. Some estimates go as high as 50 million lives being lost (see studies of Roy Alexandovich Medvedev), all as the result of the policies of the psychopaths of Joseph Stalin’s regime. All were implemented and directed by his commissioner Andre Zhdanov and his henchman Laurentii Beria. But who knows this and who even cares? There are very few of us left who remember.
From L toR: Joseph Stalin, Andre Zhdanov and Laurentii Beria
I am Estonian-American, so that comes with some unusual family histories. For example, the events necessary for my parents to meet involved two deaths, as well as one person learning that an old friend had not died.
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Estonia has been dominated by other powers for most of its existence. It had a brief
period of independence from 1920 to 1940, until a forced annexation into the Soviet Union ended that freedom. It was then occupied by Germany, and the Soviets would rule starting in 1944. In 1938, Edward Mets and Väino Soerde were in law school together in the University of Tartu. They were both in Rotalia, an Estonian fraternity. Within the group, Edward was officially Väino’s “academic father”, a mentor figure.
Decades later, when Estonia had regained its independence, Väino was one of the few witnesses to the final fates of prominent Estonians. If the Russians kept records of what occurred, these have not been made public. Väino recalls witnessing Kaarel Eenpalu, former Prime Minister of Estonia, traded his allotment of bread for a coat that turned out to be stolen, leaving the statesman with neither coat nor bread. He would die of exposure in the winter. Alexander Jaakson, the former Minister of Education, and Chairman of the General staff of the Estonian army, was accused of trying to start a mutiny, indicating the presence of informers in the camp. He would die in 1942. Väino recalls seeing Jaan Tõnisson, leader of the democratic opposition to the authoritarian regime, at Vyatka, although this is an issue of some dispute. The time and place of Tõnisson’s death is unknown. Väino caught an eye infection within two months of his arrival, and soon took a turn for the worse. At one point, he was sent to a morgue, until a nurse had determined that he was not yet dead. Word of his death reached his friends and family in Estonia. Edward Mets would give a brief eulogy at a memorial service, before fleeing the country with his wife Florida, and thirty others, taking a small overcrowded fishing boat to Sweden. They were among the 40,000 who fled, although not all survived the journey. Edward and Florida would eventually reach New York, where a daughter born in Sweden would be joined by a son. In June 14 1941, Väino’s parents and sister had been exiled to Siberia, along with approximately 10,000 others. They were targeted since his father was prominent in the community as a store owner and former city councilman. Unable to go home, Väino stayed behind in Tartu after the end of the academic year. On June 24, Väino had the bad fortune to play bridge with Boris Pastak and Enn Reima, two fraternity brothers of his who were arrested that night. No reason was ever given, and their family suspects that the cause may have been that these men had written an editorial that was critical of the Russians in the school newspaper. The three of them were sent to the Vyatka labor camp in Siberia. They arrived packed into a cattle car with 44 other men. The conditions were terrible. Boris and Enn would die within the year. They were never given any new clothing, so all the men arrested in June were not provided any apparel for the Siberian winter. They were officially given allotments of 300 grams of bread daily, along with a watery soup. Those who worked in the forest would receive 100-200 grams extra. The official goal of the camp was to provide fuel to Leningrad. This was the labor camp to which numerous Estonian military officials and politicians were sent. These were men in their forties or older, while Väino was in his early twenties, which may partly explain why he survived and they did not.
Väino recovered in the Siberian labor camp. It is possible that the infection which cost him his right eye saved his life because it meant that he would not be worked as hard as others. He recalls Tõrvand, a middle-aged general, feeding him millet pudding with a spoon, telling him that he was young so he must survive. At around this time in Estonia, Ella Orgusaar was reunited with her husband, an Estonian man who had been conscripted into the German army, meaning that the Russians considered him an enemy of the people. He wanted to flee Estonia with her and their newborn daughter. However, she was hesitant to leave behind the only life she had ever known. For nearly a year, he hid at the house of her brother, a Soviet officer. This arrangement was found out, and both men were killed.
Väino would leave the labor camp under unusual circumstances. He was allowed to leave, as he was no longer useful as a worker. This was part of a tactic to release prisoners to Estonia, where they can regain their strength, before they were ordered back to Siberia to be worked to death. Väino joined his mother and sister in the Borovskoy collective farm, and learned that his father had died in Sverdlosk prison. With the help of friends in Estonia, he made his way back. He would complete his legal education, but due to his status as an enemy of the state, he would never work as an attorney. He became a professional photographer. As he was not allowed to return to his home in the capital city of Tallinn, he moved to the small town of Põltsamaa, where Ella was one of his neighbors. They were soon married, and would go on to have a daughter and a son. He would work as an administrator in the Põltsamaa center. When a new arrest order arrived, his boss replied that he was more useful there than in Siberia, which marked the end of uncertainty about whether he would be forced back. Edward’s wife and children visited Soviet Estonia in 1969. He stayed behind in America, assuming that his foreign-born children would be safe, and that his wife would be protected because one of her cousins was married to a Soviet official, an editor for one of the official state newspapers. Väino heard through a coworker that the family of an American named Edward Mets had visited, and sent him a letter inquiring if this was the same Edward Mets he knew in law school. This was when Edward Mets learned that the man whose eulogy he gave was still alive. Edward’s daughter and Väino’s daughter would become friends. At some point, Väino’s daughter became closer to Edward’s son. They got engaged in 1982, and married in 1983, although it was not until 1985 that Laine Mets was able to join her husband in New York. I would be born to them at the end of the year.
Thomas Mets
Cause by Rodriguez
Cause I lost my job two weeks before Christmas And I talked to Jesus at The sewer And the Pope said it was none of his God-damned business While the rain drank champagne My Estonian Archangel came and got me wasted Cause the sweetest kiss I ever got is the one I’ve never tasted Oh but they’ll take their bonus pay to Molly McDonald Neon ladies, beauty is that which obeys, is bought or borrowed Cause my heart’s become a crooked hotel full of rumours But it’s I who pays the rent for these fingered-face out-oftuners And I make 16 solid half hour friendships every evening Cause your queen of hearts who is half a stone And likes to laugh alone is always threatening you with leaving Oh, but they play those token games on Willy Thompson And give a medal to replace the son of Mrs. Annie Johnson Cause they told me everybody’s got to pay their dues And I explained that I had overpaid them So overdued I went to the company store And the clerk there said that they had just been invaded So I set sail in a teardrop and escaped beneath the doorsill Cause the smell of her perfume echoes in my head still Cause I see my people trying to drown the sun In weekends of whiskey sours Cause how many times can you wake up in this comic book And plant flowers?
CONCUSSIONS A Talk by Dr Caleb Ng
Continued from previous issue
In one case of post-concussion syndrome, a patient had been experiencing insomnia since 1975. He was riding in the passenger seat when suddenly, he found himself crumpled up in the foot space of the passenger side of the car. Once he was extracted from the car wreck, he had numerous fractures throughout his body as well as significant head injuries that resulted in insomnia. We began this patient on a dosing protocol with more serotonin than dopamine and a week later he found he was sleeping more deeply and for longer periods. We performed a urine serotonin and dopamine test and once we received the results we made an adjustment and followed-up in a week. Within three weeks from the initial visit he was sleeping pretty well and woke only a couple times a night. When he did wake, he was able to fall asleep within 5 to 10 minutes. He said he was not used to this much sleep and having this much energy. Now there is a particular type of therapy called IV GPC which is short for glycerylphophocholine. This came to my attention when I was researching treatments for postconcussion syndrome and recovery from concussions. There is one study in particular that looked at 23 patients who had suffered serious concussions with eight of them having multiple bleeds in the brain and the majority of them requiring operations. These individuals were also given IV GPC therapy every day for two weeks and then orally after that and within a year’s time they found that these patients made a 95% recovery in their symptoms. The doctors managing their cases were quite surprised at the results and had attributed this high rate of success to the IV GPC therapy. When it comes to fat there are good fats and bad fats and among the good fats, there are some that are better for our brains. When it comes to the brain and post-concussion syndrome there is one particular type of omega-3 essential fatty acid and that is called docohexanoic acid or DHA for short. Our brains are the fattest organ in the body with about 60% of our brain being composed of fat. Researchers have found that the Neanderthal brain, compared to early man, had a smaller prefrontal cortex area- the part of the brain which is responsible for higher reasoning. Early man had more access to DHA fats as their remains were found mostly around the shoreline where they were able to find food sources through fish and through seaweed whereas Neanderthals did not have this access as their remains were found inland away from the shore.
Currently, the US Defense Department is undergoing a $10 million study to evaluate how DHA supplementation in veterans can reduce the suicide rates. Preliminary evidence is demonstrating favorable results. This study should be completed by the end of 2016. Although exercise and rehabilitation exercises are important for raising BDNF levels, there are foods, supplements, and drugs that can do this as well. The ones that seem to be the most beneficial are mushrooms and in particular a certain type called Lion’s Mane mushroom which in latin is Hericium Erinaceous. For a long time, this type of mushroom was used by monks in Japan for to improve memory, focus, and concentration The Concussion Kit that we have developed at Mountainview Wellness Center consists of three key components. The first is Cysteine, an amino acid that allows for the production of the important antioxidant glutathione in the brain. You can think of this as the fire extinguisher that will neutralize the free radical generation caused in the initial period immediately following a concussion. The second supplement is a liquid fish oil that is rich DHA omega-3 essential fatty acids. You can think of this as supplying the building blocks for that insulation or housing around the wires to allow for proper conduction. And the third part of the Concussion Kit is the Lion’s Mane mushroom which acts like a brain fertilizer allowing for high levels of BDNF to encourage neurons to reconnect with each other.
If you would like help with the Concussion Kit or Amino Acid therapy and you are suffering from post-concussion syndrome, please see reception to pick up a kit or to book an appointment and I look forward to working with you.
On Sunday, January 10th I request your vote. I ask for your help to make the New Republic the great center-right party once again. I ask for your assistance in the great effort of the reconstruction of our country. I ask for your support to allow me to reverse the damage done over the past year. To shield and strengthen the economy. To promote the success of all Greeks. To create jobs for our children. My fifteen years of experience in the ranks of the New Republic, along with my training from Constantine Karamanlis would prove to be useful to my country and allow me to safeguard its European course. I give you my policy proposal, with clarity. I ask you to trust me and to give me your nomination for the President of New Democracy. On Sunday, January 10 we will have the future of Greece in our hands. Thank you for your confidence.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Update: Free-market reformer Mitsotakis wins vote to lead Greece opposition party
L to R: Dr. Allison Patton, Leader of the Conservative Party in Greece, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and Salme Leis
The Dan Walker Chronicles Saturday, June 23, 2012
Dandong to Mt. Changbai
Another four hour drive through hilly forest and valleys full of copper mines and heavy manufacturing plants brought us to Mt. Changbai. This is a national park area made famous by a volcanic cone from an eruption in the year 1000, and now filed by what is called Heavenly Lake. There are three approaches to the lake on the Chinese side, with the fourth side being in North Korea. After checking into a Days Inn hotel and having lunch we took an uncrowded bus up the mountain in pouring rain to the upper parking area, a 38 km (23.6 mi) drive. We drove into dense cloud about halfway up, so could not see the views as we wound through switch back curves. Visibility was only about 20 feet (6.1 meters) when we reached the parking area, so we took the same bus back down. From the parking lot there is a 900 meter (3,000 foot) hike up 1,236 steps to the lake at 2,470 meters (8,102 feet) altitude. There were snow drifts on the ground around the parking area. On the way back down the bus stopped at a board walk that led to a deep canyon with high spires of volcanic rock. The rain was lighter, and it was worth the 1 ½ km (just under a mile) hike. We had a light dinner with beer in the hotel restaurant before making it an early night. No worry about air conditioning here - the window opens and it is cold outside.
Dan Walker is an adventurer, a businessman, and raconteur. He has visited every country in the world. His trusty Rolls Royce has taken him across many continents. He includes his grandchildren in some of his travels allowing them to select the destination. Originally, he hails from Victoria, British Columbia, but now resides in Costa Rica. We are pleased to present the Dan Walker Chronicles.
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MISSIVES FROM DONALD J BOUDREAUX
It's disturbing how recklessly some people 'reason' when other people's livelihoods are at stake.
Don http://www.cafehayek.com ........................................ 28 December 2015 Editor, Wall Street Journal 1211 6th Ave. New York, NY 10036 Dear Editor:
William Pease rightly wants economists to consider the “broad, long-term impacts� of raising the minimum wage, but he wrongly understands those impacts (Letters, Dec. 28). For example, after acknowledging that some workers will be made unemployable by the minimum wage, he asserts that all low-skilled workers who manage to remain employed following a 10% minimum-wage hike will get a 10% raise. Unlikely. Because employers are ever-attentive to their bottom lines, not only will many of these still-employed workers find their hours reduced, they will also suffer more burdensome job demands as well as cuts in their fringe benefits.
teens with their own cars and with plans to attend college after they graduate from their highly-ranked suburban high schools. The resulting broad, long-term impact, therefore, of the minimum wage is to further enhance the incomes and opportunities enjoyed by those who need them least by denying incomes and opportunity to those who need them most. Sincerely, Donald J. Boudreaux Professor of Economics and
Mr. Pease also ignores another broad, long-term impact of the minimum wage - one that economists have long noted - namely, the unemployment unleashed by the minimum wage is not random. Inner-city single moms without their own cars, or Hispanic immigrants who speak only broken English, are more likely to be priced out of work by the minimum wage than are suburban
Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism at the Mercatus CenterGeorge Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030
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