U of M student groups hosting holiday-themed events
Socials, gingerbread house decorating, movie nights, fundraisers make up December
Matthew Merkel, staff
U niversity of Manitoba student groups are hosting holiday-themed events in December.
On Dec. 2, the U of M Photography Club held a Christmas photo shoot in University Centre.
Earlier this month, UMSU held a couple of holiday themed events in support of its Holiday Hamper program.
On Dec. 1, the union held a holiday movie night on the first floor of University Centre. The next day, a holiday karaoke night took place at VW social club, and pictures with Santa were offered in Univer-
sity Centre Dec. 5 and 6.
The University of Manitoba Graduate Students’ Association also has a Holiday Hamper program that will be open for applications until Dec. 11. The hampers will go toward graduate students in need of financial assistance.
The Rainbow Pride Centre is having a gift exchange on Dec. 7, as well as a movie night held the same day alongside the Women’s Centre.
The Science Students’ Association will be hosting a gingerbread house decorating competition on Dec. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the science lounge. Entered groups should be comprised of two to four people, and the winners will receive gift cards.
The U of M International Centre is hosting a holiday party on Friday, Dec. 9 from 2 to 4 p.m.
On Dec. 12 at 7 p.m., the University of Manitoba Campus Conservatives are hosting a free-for-members Christmas party at Lasertopia.
On Dec. 16, the Arts Student Body Council is hosting a gingerbread house making night in the arts lounge from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Snacks, drinks and the gingerbread houses will be provided.
On Dec. 23 from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., the University 1 Student Council is hosting a Christmas social at Obsidian Ultra
Lounge. Part of the proceeds will go toward the UMSU foodbank and Holiday Hampers program. All U of M students, not just University 1 students, are able to buy tickets for $15 each.
The Commerce Students’ Association (CSA) is hosting their annual Commerce Carol social on Dec. 23.
CSA vice-president student life Avery Groeneveld said that this year’s social is a “winter wonderland theme.”
There will be multiple DJs and food, as well as surprise guests and sponsors.
“It is Asper’s premiere winter social event,” she said.
“It’s meant to bring forth everybody in the University of Manitoba community to enjoy some dancing, some drinks if you choose and just to have a wonderful time celebrating the holiday season.”
Once again, CSA’s latest social is completely sold out. After the CSA’s Halloween Shocker social sold out in three days, Groeneveld anticipated that ticket sales for the Commerce Carol would sell similarly. However, she was surprised to see that early bird tickets sold out in 10 minutes, with the social completely selling out in three hours.
“As a group we’re just super excited to see that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Manitoba commu-
“We’re really excited to have the social again held this year”
— Avery Groeneveld , Commerce Students’ Association vice-president student life
nity is still enjoying the events we’ve been able to put on thus far,” Groeneveld said.
This year, the social is being held downtown at the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre.
Groeneveld explained that student accessibility was a priority for the CSA when planning the social. She said that in the past, ticket prices usually cost $50 for Commerce Carol socials held at the RBC Convention Centre, which would have nearly doubled this year due to rising venue costs.
By switching venues, Groeneveld said that the CSA was able to sell a number of tickets on par with their other socials for only $35 each.
“We’re really excited to have the social again held this year,” she said.
“We really think that the social aspect of university is one that’s important.”
news@themanitoban.com
Research & Technology
U of M’s new vice-president research and international
Mario Pinto seeks to unify multiple research disciplines
Robert Moshe Thompson, staff
The word “polymathy”
was first used in the title of a work in 1603 by philosopher Joannes Wower. It refers to encyclopedic knowledge that encompasses many fields.
A person who has such knowledge is known as a “polymath.”
Mario Pinto, the U of M’s new vice-president research and international, firmly believes in the power of merging multiple disciplines.
“In principle, if you bring disciplines together, you can do this far-out stuff,” he said. “But it’s a matter of having the experts in the different disciplines, and having them all play in the same sandbox.”
Before coming to the U of M, Pinto worked at Griffith University in Australia as deputy vice-chancellor research. During his time there, he oversaw several clinical trials which required co-ordination between experts in different fields.
Some of these trials used 3D printing and modelling to solve complex medical problems. Pinto’s team had to bring together engineers, computer scientists and AI specialists to work with surgeons.
Before performing surgery, these specialists would create models of patients that Pinto described as “digital twins.” The surgical team would then be able to practice on the twin before operating on the patient. This clinical trial used the same strategy to perform complex pediatric hip procedures. After treating 20 children, the trial found that the need for repeat surgeries was reduced significantly.
This technique was also used in a trial that sought to treat aneurysms in stroke victims. An aneurysm is an abnormal expansion of a blood vessel that can rupture and cause serious complications.
Since no two aneurysms are exactly alike, having a digital model of the enlarged blood vessel gave surgeons the chance to fine-tune their technique before the operation.
Pinto has also been involved in projects that require a collaboration between the arts and sciences.
While working at Simon Fraser University, he was a leader in an interdisciplinary study of the evolution of human culture. The project brought together various experts such as anthropologists, evolutionary biologists and even economists to work
“It’s a matter of having the experts in the different disciplines, and having them all play in the same sandbox”
together on the research.
Pinto has been merging the arts and sciences since well before university. His relatives on his mother’s side were heavily involved in artistic pursuits such as music, poetry and theatre.
Pinto added that his maternal great-grandfather had one of the first printing presses in Sri Lanka, the country where he grew up.
Pinto’s father’s relatives, on the other hand, were involved mostly in the sciences. His grandfather and great-grandfather were both apothecaries, another term for a pharmacist. His father was also a forensic chemist.
Because of his paternal family history, Pinto considers himself to be a fourth-generation chemist.
— Mario Pinto, U of M vice-president research and international
Although Pinto wanted to maintain his dual interest in the arts and sciences, he had to choose one or the other when he went to university.
During his undergraduate degree, Pinto switched his topic of study multiple times. He entered various majors such as musical theatre, math and the live sciences.
Eventually, Pinto graduated with a degree in chemistry, but he was not done mixing disciplines. While pursuing his PhD at Queen’s University, he also worked with supervisors at the University of Toronto and Dalhousie University.
Since all three of his supervisors had different specialties, Pinto was able to assemble a thesis that reflected his diverse work experience.
Although his formal educational background is chemistry, Pinto continues to engage with the arts. He often uses art to depict scientific concepts.
Diversity of many kinds has always been a theme in Pinto’s life. In Sri Lanka, he grew up being exposed to people of many different backgrounds and religions from a young age.
Pinto’s own origins are also diverse. His ancestors are a mix of Sri Lankan, Portuguese and Goan. Being exposed to multiple cultures taught him to be open to different philosophies and ways of knowing.
the Caribbean. Pinto said that having a worldwide network of researchers brings many of the same benefits as interdisciplinary collaboration.
“It’s the same principle,” he explained. “You have very different perspectives. People have been trained differently, they’re exposed to different cultural norms and what drives them is very different. And they ask very different questions. So one can learn a lot from that.”
He has always been interested in international relations and has spent many years working abroad. His research has taken him to Europe, Latin America and research@themanitoban.com
photo / Faith Peters / staff
The joy of Chrismukkah
A multicultural holiday season
Sarah Cohen, staff
Chrismukkah. The intersection of Christmas and Hanukkah. Few people get more than one aspect of the holiday season. I am one of them.
As a Jew, my family celebrates Hanukkah every year. The celebration of lights! Commemorating the oil that burned for eight whole days and nights in the Second Temple. We celebrate with the menorah, adding a new candle every night until nine brightly shining candles stand tall. We make latkes and smother
them with applesauce and sour cream, accompanied by mom’s melt-in-your-mouth brisket. A few nights end with the exchange of presents, the others we give back to the community.
A week or so later, my mom and I fly up to the snow-covered streets of Winnipeg to decorate the Christmas tree centred in my Gramma’s front window. We wrap presents for family, bake batch after batch of cookies and on Christmas Eve, we all gather with paper crowns to eat a turkey dinner. Waking up on Christmas morning feels magical, even now that I’m in my 20s. However, there is one tradition I cannot disregard. For context, growing up, all my best friends were Jewish. When we each asked our parents why we couldn’t have a Christmas tree, we got the same answer: “you are Jewish and don’t get a Christmas tree.” The occasionally lucky got a Hanukkah bush. This leads me to my childhood best friend, Ariel. Ariel and I were mischievous, and celebrated anything to the highest
Come, let’s talk
Help UMSU help you
Jaron Rykiss, UMSU president
Throughout the past several years, UMSU has been criticized for not listening to students.
When I ran to become UMSU president, I heard these concerns and wanted to do better, but I knew finding a solution to years of students feel ing unsupported would be a chal lenge. However, I campaigned with the promise that I would work along side the executive team, staff and board of directors to create an UMSU for all.
versity of Manitoba student body.
I plan to address the disconnect between UMSU and students in three ways, the first of which involves dropping by my office hours.
Today, I am sending all Bisons an invitation. A request. A call out for collaboration. If you want to chat, let me know! I, along with the rest of this year’s executives, are eager to help, have discussions with students and meet with you. Please, help us do what we were elected to do — serve and support the Uni-
extent possible. So when we wanted Christmas, we did it our way.
That first Sarah-Ariel Christmas, we got a mini tree from Target. We decorated it with ornaments and put our stockings underneath. We blasted classic Christmas music while baking treats for Santa and snuggled up in matching pjs, hot chocolate burning our tongues while Christmas movies played. And right before bed, we set out a plate for Santa and his reindeer.
I’m sure Ariel knows this now, but after she had gone to sleep, I stuffed our stockings with candy canes and little knick-knacks from the Target dollar sections. I ate a cookie and placed the note my mom had written as Santa beside the plate. I moved presents under the tree, then crawled back to bed to wake up hours later and watch Ariel experience a Christmas morning. Stockings dumped and presents unwrapped, we finally got Christmas.
Now that it’s been a good six years since this tradition ended, I realize how much I wanted to share the joy of Christmas with my best friends. There was something
about Christmas that I felt every year that was unfair my other Jewish friends didn’t get.
The one night a year where you know most of the world is doing the same thing. The calm and happiness that comes with being around people you care for, when you can celebrate the humans in your life. Christmas is just that time of the year.
Although, my absolute favourite years are when Hanukkah spans through Christmas. We call this Chrismukkah. During those years, we bring our menorah up and sit it next to the lit-up tree. I get to share each night of the holiday with our non-Jewish family. I feel proud to be able to share that part of my culture.
That leads me to my grand idea. I think Christmas should be secularized even more than it is. And out of all the places in the world, I think North America is the place to do that.
gious holiday?
Every person should get to decorate a tree, sing Christmas music, watch Hallmark movies, bake for a fictitious, never-aging man and wake up with that feeling on Christmas morning without the feeling they are participating in religion.
However, taking religion completely out of a day that celebrates the main guy’s birth seems nearly impossible, especially when a majority of people in North America believe in Christianity.
At the same time as wanting the whole world to celebrate Christmas, I feel very lucky that I get the community and celebration of Hanukkah. Growing up in a multicultural family was not about getting loads of presents, but about the joys of each holiday and the time I get to spend with my family.
Really, the holidays should be about spending time with the ones you love and giving back, no matter which you participate in. Whatever it is you celebrate, I wish you all a happy holiday season and wonderful new year.
The holiday is already an ever-increasing consumers’ dreamland. We all crave Starbucks red holiday cups, pictures with Santa and snazzy holiday deals, so why not move toward an even more secular, or at least a less relicomment@themanitoban.com
Each week, on Mondays from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., I hold office hours in a public university space, whether at Degrees, IQ’s, VW’s, the Fireside Lounge in University Centre or even Campo.
Please, stop by and say hi, ask a question, tell me that you aren’t a fan of my haircut — whatever you’d like! These office hours aren’t a performative gesture, they are meant to be a time when students can connect directly with myself or other members of the executive team.
Another option would be to send me an email or DM. If you decide that you want to chat, I am anything but hard to reach on any given day. If
you have questions, concerns, comments or even if you just want to ensure that you can reach me, please, I beg of you, let me know!
Some folks might be uncomfortable with in-person meetings. I totally get it! In that case, just know that I will be checking my email (pres@ umsu.ca) and Instagram (@ jaronrykiss), waiting for questions or whatever you may like to roll in. I am constantly connected and ready to support students in whatever way they want or need!
A third option is to attend an UMSU board of directors meeting. Every two weeks on Thursday evenings, the union holds a board of directors meeting in the UMSU chambers, located at 176 Helen Glass.
These meetings are open to all students, and are a great way to meet the entire executive team and students from nearly every faculty. Not to mention the fact that they are always catered by Degrees.
All UMSU members —
which includes all undergraduate students at the U of M — have automatic speaking rights at these meetings, and the ability to bring motions to the floor. While there are always projects that the executive or UMSU committees are working on, there will undoubtedly be things that students are interested in tackling that UMSU may not have on its radar.
The bi-weekly board meetings are a great venue for folks to get engaged, have their voice heard and maybe even start their journey into student politics.
Each year, an executive team is elected to serve all Bisons completing their undergraduate degrees. We come into these roles with ideas on how to improve the union, and often those ideas come from our own personal experiences with UMSU and the university.
The only way that we can gain additional perspectives, ideas and knowledge about university affairs is if that
information is brought to us. Of course, it is our responsibility to keep our eyes and ears open and to listen to the student body, but we also rely in part on students telling us the specific problems that they, along with their peers, are having so that we can collaborate to remedy these issues. I want every single one of you to know that we are here to help. Whether it is a faculty association that needs support with event co-ordination, a club that needs resources for a campaign or even a studentat-large who has a burning question about UMSU operations, we are here to support you through whatever your challenge may be.
Together, we can strengthen the union. UMSU will continue to be here and listen to students, but we need your help to truly make a change. Please, tell us what you need, and tell us how we can help.
comment@themanitoban.com
The link between music and our memories
Why do some songs evoke such vivid memories in us?
W
Dina Hamid, staff
hen I was visiting my cousins this summer in Tours, France, my favourite overplayed song was “Please Do Not Lean” by Daniel Caesar featuring BADBADNOTGOOD.
When this song comes up on my playlist now, it brings back memories of tram rides over the Loire River, late-night bike rides around an Auchan parking lot and my cousins’ faces. In fact, this song smells like Tours to me.
This phenomenon is known as a music-evoked autobiographical memory (MEAM), which, as the name suggests, is when a memory from your life is triggered by music. MEAMs can be triggered by a wide range of music, and typically occur when performing routine tasks like commuting and housework, on average about once a day.
Daily MEAMs are reported as being vivid, involuntary and followed by feelings such as happiness or nostalgia. This suggests that music can act as a powerful cue to recall the feeling that was felt at a particular moment when a song was played, which I believe to be true.
A song can evoke emotional memories that do not correspond to the mood of the song, since the feelings of the event will be what the association is built on. That is to say that “happy” songs can still stir up negative emotions if paired with a negative experience, and vice versa.
I think the same can be said about pieces of music that you associate with people, places and periods of your life. There are songs that I pair with certain people and locations, however there is no
real correlation between the song and the thing, or why it reminds me of said thing.
“Song Cry” is a rap ballad by Jay-Z that reminds me of my brother. In the song, Jay-Z raps about the breakup of a relationship and how much of it is his fault. However, his pride and masculinity won’t let him visibly show his emotions, so he hopes that the song can express them instead. None of this applies to my older brother.
Nonetheless, it was a clear-sky, sunroof-open kind of summer day when my brother drove me to the mall and blasted this song in the car, windows rolled down, of course. He immediately began rapping it bar-for-bar as I sat, annoyed, in the passenger seat. When I hear this song now, I associate it with him and hot summer days.
I believe one of the main reasons that an association between a song and memory is formed is due to classical conditioning, which is the process where a natural response to something is paired with a different, neutral stimulation, so that eventually that stimulation is all that is needed to get the same response.
When it comes to music, the response that I believe is conditioned is the summoning of memories that trigger an emotional response when listening to the song.
In my first year of university, I would listen to “Ice Water” by Loyle Carner on
graphic / Dallin Chicoine / staff
calm happiness. Those were simpler times.
Music acts as a potent time capsule for my memories by bringing them back to focus
the bus almost every morning during my commute to campus. Now, anytime I hear the intro it reminds me of fall 2019, and makes me feel a
I was a first-year student who was naive, happy and confused, but still hopeful about the future because it was full of opportunities. Now, I’m a burnt-out fourth-year student with the future pounding on my door, but my door is securely locked as I idly con-
tinue to watch Netflix.
Music allows me to have these moments of reminiscing, and to reflect on the past and present. Life moves so quickly that you never really get a chance to process what’s going on until you get to the end of a chapter and review the summary.
Since I listen to music every day, I get little daily chances to explore my past and live in nostalgia, which I normally
would not be able to do.
Music acts as a potent time capsule for my memories by bringing them back to focus when they get cloudy.
comment@themanitoban.com
If I ever find myself in a space adventure, I’ll assume I’m a fictional character and try to probe the studio’s financial constraints, “Sir, it looked really cool.”
”Oh no--prestige TV. Okay, which of you has a terrible secret that’s being slowly revealed to the audience through flashbacks? Just spit it out so we can escape this arc!”
To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely
In Hidato, fill the board by continuing the chain of numbers from 1 to 100 moving any direction or diagonally to the next number.
box contains every number uniquely.
For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org If you like Str8ts check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store.
In Straits, like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a “straight.” A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how “straights” are formed.
check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store.
Sudoku
Puzzle by Syndicated Puzzles
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Puzzle by M.J.D. Doering
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Horoscopes for the week of Dec. 7
Zodiac tips for surviving life at the U of M
Damien Davis staff
ARIES
Your tarot card for the week is the Queen of Cups. Have you ever found yourself staring too hard at the flames in the fireplace? December will have you asking where your passion went, and the Queen of Cups reminds you to think with your heart rather than your mind. The skeleton of your body is made of forest fires, and the embers of your heart can keep you warm in the blizzards to come.
TAURUS
CANCER
LIBRA
CAPRICORN
Your tarot card for the week is Justice. The moon phase tonight is waxing gibbous in Taurus, more than 50 per cent full but not yet at 100 per cent. Be warned, you are not immune to the consequences of your actions. At night you dream of open fields and a wind so strong it takes you to the highest peak of your existence. The Justice card asks you to consider while under the moonlight: does avoiding accountability have value, or could you flourish more in being honest?
GEMINI
Your tarot card for the week is the Ace of Wands. Have you been hearing voices again? You’ve been trying to decode whispers of creativity and wondrous inspiration in your academic and personal projects, but have yet to be fluent in the language. The Ace of Wands wants you to know that this is the sign to start what you’ve been waiting to start. Do not be nervous to look in the mirror, it’s not a stranger.
’Toban Tips
Dear Toby, I have a friend stuck in a toxic relationship. I want to help her see what’s wrong with it, but I don’t want to lose the friendship. What should I do?
Please help, Concerned Friend
Dear Concerned Friend, It is hard to see that your relationship is toxic when you’re in it. All you can do for
Your tarot card for the week is the Five of Pentacles. Loneliness can come even when sur rounded by those who love you. You have not been abandoned. As a cancer, you’re no stranger to giving without receiving. The Five of Pentacles acknowledges that this isn’t fair, but pay no mind. Splash water onto your face and remember where you come from. Meditate to the sound of running water. You will find your way home. Treat yourself tenderly during the winter break. You come first.
LEO
Your tarot card for the week is the Knight of Swords. When lightning strikes, it sets alight the tip of the sword you’ve pierced into yourself. Self-sacrifice can be tempting, and even easy, but does martyrdom suit you? The knights of old did more than die in battle, and so should you. The Knight of Swords encourages you to do what you always do: maintain the balance. Don’t confuse perfectionism with careful planning. Don’t be frightened of the empty hallways full of empty lockers at the bottom of St. Paul‘s college.
SCORPIO
Your tarot card for the week is the Two of Cups. Grinding your teeth and holding your tongue will finally produce fruit this December. Have you been dreaming of someone to share in your success? The texture of blue velvet and taste of pomegranate remaining in your senses long after you’ve woken up? When in the intimate spaces of the Art Barn, share glances with strangers and you may find who you’re looking for.
VIRGO
Your tarot card for the week is the Magician. All the practice and progress that has gone into your talents has been successful, but are you starting to gloat? The Magician is a card that symbolizes mysticism, willpower and desire. However, it can also call out deception and trickery. Sometimes we do things with good intent and still hurt others. Be sure to respond to your messages and letters, unless you want others to feel you’re too good for them. The bark of birch trees resembles eyes, but who’s watching who?
Your tarot card for the week is the Ten of Pentacles. It asks you: what did you inherit from your family? We do not all come from hopeful beginnings, but we can all choose to arrive at hopeful endings. It’s not silly to put so much stock in roots that you’ve worked so hard to plant and grow. You’re sowing seeds for future generations, and you belong to a tree far bigger than you know. Take a walk through the bottom floor of Helen Glass. Consider joining a club and making another root.
SAGITTARIUS
Your tarot card for the week is the Five of Swords. Put down your fists and think carefully on the difference between revenge and vengeance. Even the most docile of creatures can leave senseless violence in their wake, but is that what is needed of you right now? Five of Swords acknowledges that you have been wronged by someone, be it a professor or a friend, but it reminds you that as an earth sign, you’re resilient, but not immune to the poison that comes naturally to others.
AQUARIUS
Your tarot card for the week is the Fool. Have you been taking yourself seriously this week? Consider doing so for the winter break. What happened to your unwavering confidence as a water bearer? As a visionary? The Fool is often underestimated when they are in fact always in control. They create chains of events that lead kingdoms to ruins. The Fool assures you that things like freedom, innocence and adventure should not be taken lightly.
PISCES
How to help a friend in a toxic relationship
your friend is express your concerns in a compassionate, non-judgmental way and hope that she gets the message. Above all, be there for her. Support her decisions, but don’t be afraid to tell her the truth when she asks for it. If it is time to intervene, do it calmly. Let her know that you are confronting her for her own sake. You could tell her stories about situations that reflect the toxicity in her
Your tarot card for the week is the Wheel of Fortune. We all exist within a cycle and this card reminds you of that. One tragedy can create another opportunity. Are you nervous about the changing seasons of your life? Of adjustments? Of shedding the feathers that have taken you this far? Don’t be, you’ll find yourself worse for wear resisting the winds. Cut the and trust that you’ve prepared enough to land exactly where you’re meant to. These old appetites no longer serve you.
relationship. That might give her an idea of what’s happening from an outside perspective.
However, after you’ve said your piece you should leave the situation alone, since continued confrontation about the relationship could go poorly and might drive your friend away. If and when she is ready to leave, she will need a caring friend like you for support, so just be patient with
Your tarot card is the King of Wands. You are at risk of transitioning from a leader to a tyrant. It’s perfectly fine to know your worth, but remember that nobody gets to where they truly are by themselves. Remember your origins, and be kind to the people who have always been in your corner. With all this done you can see the big picture more clearly, and others will gravitate back to your boldness and optimism. Heavy is the crown, but also heavy is the heart.
her as she goes through this. We here at the ’Toban support healthy relationships and wish the best for you and your friend.
Best of luck, Toby the Bison
To ask ’Toban Tips a question, email comment@ themanitoban.com.
The ’Toban staff’s holiday favourites
All the comforting watches and eats you need to get you through the holidays
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Yes, Stanley Kubrick’s uncanny, erotic psychodrama Eyes Wide Shut is indeed a Christmas movie. The obviously fake New York City streets are lined with fairy lights, and the film ends with a beautiful moment of familial reunification in a department store decked out in seasonal decorations.
At first glance, the film contains none of the jolly warmth that you might want out of a holiday film, but as I get older, the haze of psychosexual confusion and strange dream logic that Eyes Wide Shut operates under is maybe the predominant feeling of the season.
Buddy’s breakfast from Elf (2003)
Buddy the Elf, from the classic holiday film Elf, is a character beloved by many holiday film fanatics. Not to sugar coat anything, but Buddy has some eccentric ideas of what humans need to sustain themselves.
Buddy explains that the four main food groups are candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup. One of the most iconic scenes in the film is when Buddy is seen eating an exceedingly sweet breakfast.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
The ’60s stop motion musical television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is an event of its own.
Rudolph is a reindeer with a bulbous red nose that lights up. The other reindeer bully him until the North Pole is faced with its first-ever instance of weather conditions so severe they threaten to cancel Christmas.
Rudolph goes from outcast to the saviour of Christmas in a blink when Santa realizes Rudolph works well as a headlight, and the film ends with a song from a narrator-snowman voiced by — and made to look like — Burl Ives.
“Merry
Christmas, Mr. Bean” (1992)
While in Manitoban years past I have spent most of my time dunking on the 1964 stop motion Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer movie, I feel like this year calls for something entirely positive.
A Madea Christmas
(2013)
Despite having been released in 2013, A Madea Christmas rests fresh upon my young mind, just as every Madea film does.
Going Christmas shopping in a mall is about as psychologically horrifying to me as going through whatever Tom Cruise feels in this movie.
So, pick a fight with your wife and get yourself mixed up
To create this iconic dish, you will need one serving of spaghetti, marshmallows, chocolate syrup, maple syrup, M&M’s, sprinkles and a fudge flavored Pop-Tart — for crunch, of course.
Once all the ingredients have been acquired, boil the pasta for about 9 to 10 min-
My mom has told me every year of my life that the abominable snow monster freaked her out when she was a kid. I just appreciate that the effects are practical. The weird, janky movement and characters’ limited facial expres sions remind me that humans made the film. Holiday media should reflect the
This might sound too millennial of me, but growing up with a dial television meant very little choice in holiday program ming. While I will always be nostalgic for Beave and Buckley’s Santa Tracker, for me nothing says it’s the holidays more than when the CBC plays “Merry Christmas, Mr.
The show is simply episode seven of the ITV Mr. Bean series that aired in the ’90s. It has since become a heartwarming —
Our story follows the titular Madea as she heads into the quaint countryside with her great-niece Eileen to visit her great-niece’s daughter, just as the Christmas season begins. However, trouble arrives when it turns out that Eileen’s daughter is romantically involved with a man Eileen would not approve of.
Unfortunately, that is as much as I can say without spoiling this movie. The movie’s major saving grace is the bizarre acting and low-brow comedy of Tyler Perry as Madea. The rest of the cast, save for Larry the Cable Guy, plays the premise very straight to a boring degree.
A majority of the movie is actually a very ham-fisted racial commentary that simultaneously lectures the audience on acceptance while also being filled to the brim with
Like all Madea movies, it is either a hate-watch or a guilty pleasure. Objectively, it is a boring movie, but the little shimmers of Tyler Perry’s off-colour humour and the bizarre interactions in the film
— Braden Bristow,
columnist
Gimme Some Truth documentary festival returns
Docs on a wide variety of topics screening Dec. 7 to 11
Damien Davis staff
Returning for its 13th run, the Cinematheque plays host to the 2022 Gimme Some Truth documentary film festival held from Dec. 7 to 11.
Opening night will feature the newly annual documentary challenge Gimme 10 in 30!
A challenge with a cash prize of $500 for the audience favourite, Gimme 10 in 30! tasks 10 contestants with creating and completing a documentary film in 30 days, without any restrictions other than that the film cannot be over seven minutes long. As long as the films are documentaries, they can be anything from narrative to experimental in nature.
The contest encourages film makers to work outside of their comfort zones.
Olivia Norquay, programming co-ordinator at the Cinematheque, explained that the challenge highlights the Winnipeg Film Group’s core goals.
“This is what the film group is all about,” she said. “Encouraging filmmakers in general, and giving people
’Toban
access to equipment and cameras, and paying screening fees.”
The festival itself aims to provide an experience that mixes lectures and
about town
Double D’s Cheesecake & Coffee House
Jessie Krahn, staff
I like to tell myself I am too metropolitan in spirit to enjoy frequenting the same places and meeting the same familiar faces. But part of the appeal of living in Winnipeg is that you can rely on this city to always feel the same and change only for the stranger.
Just a stone’s throw away from St. Vital Centre, Double D’s Cheesecake & Coffee House is a south Winnipeg staple.
The café’s coffee menu is reliable, with just enough variety that it does not get overwhelming. Holiday standbys make their mandatory seasonal appearances, and everything is generally good quality.
However, the cheesecake at Double D’s is what gives the place its reputation.
Offering both party-sized cheesecakes and mini, pucklike cheesecakes, Double D’s has one of the most idiosyncratic recipes I have encountered. Its cheesecake is no-bake, a process which mystically manifests airy — borderline foamy — sweetness.
I have a fiendish craving for chocolate most days, but rich and thick chocolate cheesecakes almost always hurtle me into nap-mode. Double
workshops with special events, as well as feature film screenings and short programs.
The opening night of the event will also include a reception at the PLATFORM Gallery with local filmmaker Kevin Nikkel. Nikkel will also be hosting a curated screening Dec. 10 called Not Forgotten Docs: Winnipeg Documentaries from the 1970s.
After the opening reception, a 9 p.m. screening of Ever Deadly is scheduled. This documentary directed by Chelsea McMullan and Tanya Tagaq combines concert footage with sequences filmed in Nunavut, bringing viewers through stories and songs with award-winning musician Tagaq at the lead.
The festival will also see several filmmakers in attendance, including Alexandre O. Philippe, who will be delivering a workshop titled “Scripting the Unscripted” followed by a screening of his two newest films The Taking and Lynch/Oz. Director Rob Freeman will also be in attendance, virtually joining the screening of his new film Drop the
Needle, a film about the Toronto record store Play De Record.
Queer film historian and programmer Elizabeth Purchell will be introducing her film Ask Any Buddy, described as a “snapshot of urban gay life,” as well as the film Sex Demon
Chase Joynt will be present virtually for the screening of his new documentary, aimed at dissecting the media’s ongoing fascination with trans people, Framing Agnes
All told, the Cinematheque has put together several diverse, new, local and Canadian short narrative and experimental documentaries for the festival.
More information on the Gimme Some Truth documentary film festival can be found at winnipegfilmgroup.com.
arts@themanitoban.com
D’s Rolo minis, as well as its mint-chocolate chip minis, are my light and breezy go-tos. They satisfy cravings without the sleep-inducing side-effects of heavier cheesecakes.
I am told by my dairy-despising friends that there is not the overpowering cheesy aftertaste to the minis that heavier cheesecake recipes have, either. The flavours are subtle, and there is a wide range to sample.
There are some eternal disadvantages to the Double D’s no-bake recipe, however. In particular, if you bring any of its cheesecake home with you, you absolutely must keep it in the freezer. Unfortunately, if you do, the stuff becomes so hard that it is inedible.
There also isn’t anything to bind the base together in place of heat fusion, which means that if you take a risk and stab your frozen cheese-
photo / Faith Peters / staff cake during a dessert frenzy you will fire crumbly sugar shrapnel in all directions.
This is why Double D’s cheesecake works best for me in the café itself, as it is served in that optimal frothy-solid pre-liquid window. A fine compromise, since the café is cozy and welcoming.
After recently undergoing a change in ownership, the café has seen a few quirky changes. Cheesecakes are served on
cutesy miniature cutting boards with little forks. The most notable of any aesthetic changes is the café’s newest tenant Cheeko, a giant stuffed bear who now occupies one of the corner barstools.
I have been stopping in at Double D’s regularly for the past year to write and fuel up on lattes and minis because — aside from walk-in customers — I can always count on the place to be a warm and familiar spot. The owners are friendly and never complain when they see me, no matter how erratic and wind-swept a state grad school has left me in.
We will cycle through another round of holiday-themed syrups and tired Frank Sinatra covers, and all the while Cheeko sits, watchful over Double D’s, the familiar but strange fuzzy sentinel in a Winnipeg staple.
Double D’s Cheesecake & Coffee House is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
arts@themanitoban.com
photo / Winnipeg Film Group / provided
’Toban tracks — a holiday miracle
Or, how I learned to stop hating and embody the holiday spirit
Alex Braun, staff
oliday music — the
Htrash they pump through mall speakers from October through December as they try to hype up shoppers and passersby to buy as much garbage as they can afford.
It is easy to be cynical about Christmas and the consumer circus that has sprung up around it, and by extension, Christmas and other holiday music, which is often insignificant schlock or cheap cash-ins from over-the-hill stars squeezing the last few bucks out of their fans.
Haven’t we all heard “Wonderful Christmastime” enough times for a lifetime? Why would anyone want to voluntarily listen to the stuff we are so often forced to hear in our commercialized public spaces?
My friends, I will make a case to you in this writing and in this playlist that there is plenty to love about holiday
music. After all, isn’t the holiday season filled with emotion and imagery rich with artistic possibility?
Most of us in the West are raised with these ideas of Christmas, of celebrating love and togetherness in the middle of the cold, cold winter, giving thoughtful gifts to each other, with all sorts of mythology and mazes of nostalgic association to dig through. This is the stuff pop music magic is made of.
So, I’ve made a playlist of some underexposed and sideways looks at the season, covering all bits of it, from Jesus to Santa to snow to familial love to lonely misery to romantic love and everywhere in between.
I won’t even select a few standouts because I love all these songs deeply and completely, and sincerely urge everyone out there to listen and learn to love holiday music. Resist the urge to be a
Scrooge, try to let go of your cynicism and embody the holiday spirit with this music.
Christmas Must Be Tonight — the Band, Islands (Expanded Edition)
Christmas at the Zoo — the Flaming Lips, Clouds Taste Metallic
December Forever — Living Hour, Someday is Today We’re Goin’ To the Country! — Sufjan Stevens, Songs For Christmas
Just Like Christmas — Low, Christmas
Child’s Christmas In Wales — John Cale, Paris 1919 I Don’t Intend to Spend
Christmas Without You —
Margo Guryan, 27 Demos
Twin Falls — Built To Spill, There’s Nothing Wrong With Love
Jesus Christ — Blue Rodeo, A Merrie Christmas to You
Snowsuit Sound — Sloan, Twice Removed
Listen, The Snow Is Falling — Harry Nilsson, Losst and Founnd
Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis —
Tom Waits, Blue Valentine River — Joni Mitchell, Blue Christmas on Earth —
/ staff
Marching Church, Christmas on Earth
Snow Is Falling In Manhattan — Chilly Gonzales, Jarvis Cocker and Feist, A very chilly christmas
Christmas — The Blue Nile, Hats (Deluxe Version)
Bisons track and field season off to great start
Herd ranks high in CanWest standings after George Tanner Memorial Classic
T
Quinn Mayhew, staff
he Bisons track and field team competed in the annual George Tanner Memorial Classic this past Saturday, held on home turf.
The meet was a success for Roy Tambal Musa, who had a time of 7.24 in the 60-metre and ran the 300-metre in a time of 36.06. Tambal Musa ranks third in the 60-metre and first in the 300-metre in the Canada West (CanWest) rankings after this weekend’s classic.
With the Bisons men’s track and field squad dominating the CanWest ranking — currently sitting in first place this early in the season — it will be interesting to see how the men will step up to maintain their place, especially with the Saskatchewan Huskies nipping at the Bisons heels, just nine points behind the herd.
This is a great start to the season, as the U of M men ended up tying the University of Alberta for fourth place last year in the U Sports rankings.
It goes without question that this year, the team is looking for a first-place finish.
The meet was also good for the Bisons women’s track and field squad, with rookie Signy McKim ranking fourth in the CanWest women’s high jump standings after this year’s annual meet, clearing a height of 1.60 metres.
Another great performance was had by fellow rookie Natalie Fournier, who ran the 1,000-metre in a time of 3:37.10, placing fourth in the CanWest standings.
With this year’s rookies being so strong and placing high in the rankings, the team shouldn’t have to worry too much about points.
A fantastic team effort within the herd’s squad was performed by the entirety of the women’s shot put group, who finished the day with Erica Udoh placing first, Alainna Melnyk placing second, Janai Smith placing third and Paige Newcomb placing fourth, giving Manitoba
Sports teams’ schedules
U of M Bisons — Women’s Basketball
Saskatchewan Huskies @ Bisons
a sweep from first to fourth place in the CanWest rankings.
The women’s CanWest rankings were slightly lower than the men’s portion of the team, with the women ranking fifth after this competition behind the University of Regina.
At the end of last year’s track and field season, the women ranked outside of the top ten in the U Sports rankings. They are undoubtedly hoping to place within the top ten this season.
Going into the holiday season the team is looking strong With minimal meets under the team’s belt so far, it will be fun to see how they will compete coming out of the holiday break.
However, it will be interesting to see how the track and field team stacks up against other teams across Canada outside of the CanWest division. With a long season ahead — the Canada West Championships taking place
