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a, Science & Technology, Student Research

Interview with Alex Gershanov

by Caity Hui on

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Often, research requires a lot of precision and patience, which is exactly what Alex Gershanov, a U2 chemical engineering student, discovered this summer while working at Associate Professor and Chemical Research Chair Nathalie Tufenkji’s  lab, the Biocolliods and Surfaces Laboratory, in ground water remediation.

“My research surrounds zero valent iron nanoparticles, which are these iron particles that are between 100 nm and 1000nm in size—they’re really tiny [and good at degrading chlorinated solvents],” explains Gershanov. “A lot of times these solvents are stored in underground tanks that can leak or get into ground water. The problem is that they do not degrade by themselves—they just hang out there—and eventually with the current they are going to get into wells that are used for drinking water, and this isn’t good because they are toxic chemicals.”

In order to tackle this problem, Tufenkji’s lab is working on using zero valent iron nanoparticles to dechlorinate these toxic compounds. However, these particles pose a problem, as they have a tendency to clump together. According to Gershanov, the problem is two-fold.

“It reduces the surface area, so [they are] not as reactive, and they get stuck between the sand and soil grains and they don’t get where they need to go, so they’re useless.”

The lab discovered that by coating these particles with lipids or polymers, they will act as arms to keep the particles apart from each other, making them significantly more stable and preventing them from lodging in the ground.

Currently, the lab is trying to model the mobility of these particles with various factors, such as different concentrations of sodium chloride and calcium chloride in ground water, as well as in clean quartz sand compared to sand that contains the bacteria Psuedomonas aeruginosa which creates biofilm.

“What I am doing this year is testing divalent salt (calcium) and the biofilm, with three different lipids [to keep the particles apart], but so far we have had set backs, so we have only done the first lipid and are starting the second one,” Gershanov says.

Although environmental engineering was not exactly what Gershanov was considering pursuing, after completing a class in environmental bioremediation and working in Tufenkji’s laboratory, he is now considering the field as an option in the future.

What Gershanov found most valuable, however, was the opportunity he received through the Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE) program, which funded his summer project, to get a taste for the field of research.

“I definitely learned how to handle different equipment and stuff, and I learned some lab techniques, [but] the most I learned was just what research was like,” explains Gershanov. “In engineering there are really two ways you can go, one is industry and one is research. Research is more academia based and it’s frustrating a lot of the times, because we do a bunch of experiments and we try to change only one variable for the next day. [However] even though you think you’re doing the exact same [thing], you find there are variables and little things that happen that you can’t really control. [I learned that sometimes] you’ve just got to kind of go for it and hopefully the results will come out still okay.”

Favourite lab task:

“I worked with a machine called a Zetasizer, which does dynamic light scattering. Basically you have a cuvette that you put into the machine and you shoot a laser through it. As the laser hits the particles, the light diffuses around it and the computer monitors the shaking of the particles—this shaking is called Brownian motion—which correlates to size, [allowing you to] compute that. So that was pretty cool.”

Least favourite task:

“When we were preparing our solution, we had to adjust the pH of it to 7.7, which is roughly like ground water. When we started doing it with calcium […] I’d stir it and the pH would shoot up and come back down, and I would just be like, ‘…what?’ It took us a little while [before] we just realized there must be a reaction going on with the oxygen, forming calcium carbonate, but that took weeks of it being really frustrating.”

Advice for students applying to a lab:

“I would definitely say to try it out and see what it’s like. I would consider myself a quick learner, and in the summer jobs I had [in the past], I would get the ropes really quickly. I came in here and assumed it would be the same, but it’s a little harder—it takes a lot more repetition, care and thought […] When you start, it is going to be frustrating at times, but in the end you actually get a really good idea of what you’re doing.”

If you could be a mad scientist, what would you do in your lab?

“[I would] try to genetically modify plant cells to use photosynthesis to create some form of harvestable energy for us—it’s kind of where I want to go with my education. I want to go into artificial photosynthesis and plants do that a lot better than solar panels. So if you ask why I went into chemical engineering then, it’s because I didn’t know what chemical engineering was, and I [was] like, “But now, I see that this is still a field I can dive into with a chemical engineering degree.”

 

Favourite ice cream flavour:

“Cookie dough Oreo.”

 

a, Features

Word on the street

by Jenny Shen on

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When asking someone to put together a list of top destinations here in Montreal, it should come as no surprise that restaurants and other foodie favourites will take up a massive chunk of that list. Whether you find yourself partial to the world-famous smoked meat from Schwartz’s Deli, or to a T-Rex poutine from La Banquise, Montreal offers an eclectic and unique dining experience, be it in the heart of downtown, or way out past the Plateau. Students and residents alike will travel far and wide and even brave the biting cold weather just to grab a dish from their favorite joints. Luckily for them, this year, they might not have to go further than campus.

This summer, students had the opportunity to try food trucks that came to McTavish Street. “McTavish Street [had] been selected as an official site for the food trucks to be stationed, [even though] the university was never consulted on the site selection,” explains Mathieu Laperle, the Senior Director of Student Housing and Hospitality Services (SHHS) at McGill. His team met with the city during the summer and came up with an agreement that transferred permission to McGill under the management of McGill’s SHHS. “In the future, McTavish Street won’t be used as an official food truck location,” Laperle says. However, McGill foodies will have reason to be excited once again. Why? Because the food trucks have returned to McGill’s campus.

Beginning on Tuesday Sept. 3, food trucks will be parked on Mondays through Fridays behind the Redpath Museum on the Downtown campus and on most weekdays in front of the Centennial Centre Building on Macdonald campus, according to Laperle. Although meal plans will not be accepted at these food trucks, this new option will add variety to campus cuisine.

“We’re very excited,” says Laperle. “We’re now able to provide something different […] for our community. It’s local and trendy!”

This passion for gastronomy may well be the reason why, when mayor Michael Applebaum announced back in April that Montreal would be featuring a wide variety of street food through a two-year pilot program (after a 66 year ban), the whole city exploded with piqued interests and excited talk. As it turns out, the city of Montreal actually banned street food in 1947 due to concerns about the cleanliness of the city streets. Undoubtedly, having a meal in an open, public space could easily lead to excess littering and the occasional bit of ketchup dripping from the edge of a seemingly harmless hot dog.

Except that’s the thing— the trucks that are out and about on the streets of Montreal are not your typical New York City hot dog and pretzel stands. In fact, potential vendors were required to go through a strict application process, through which a selection committee chose the vendors that would be able to sell their food when summer finally rolled around. This choice was based not only on the quality of the products used by each vendor, but also the overall uniqueness of menu. The committee “favours gourmet street food coherent with sustainable urban and touristic development in Quebec,” according to the Quebec Street Food Association (QSFA) website.

In other words, don’t expect to be buying three churros for five dollars on Montreal streets any time soon. “I think that if you’re already going to sacrifice frugality to order from a food truck, you might as well get something more ‘exotic’ than a hot dog to make it more worth your time and money,” Andy Gao, a U3 physiology student who dined at a handful of Montreal’s food trucks this summer, said in defence of the ‘gourmet vibe.’

Because these food trucks have a distinctly gourmet flair, prices aren’t necessarily wallet friendly, especially on a tight student budget. The lower end of price ranges for most food trucks are around eight or nine dollars, while most choices average in the double digits. While not completely outrageous, these prices have turned quite a few students away from food truck dining. While some students don’t mind shelling out the cash, others find it much more cost-effective to either cook at home or seek out cheaper alternatives for dining out.

“I think the prices tend to be inflated, but given what they’re operating out of and the circumstances they’re in, like the price of fuel for example, it’s understandable,” Gao reasons. “A lot of places also tend to use organic or locally grown ingredients, so that tends to elevate the prices, too. Aside from that, I think a lot of it is [the food trucks’] novelty value.”

But the rules and regulations don’t end there. With Montreal being a congested and busy place, the city also opted to pick out seven specific locations based on suggestions from all Montreal boroughs, ranging from the Mont-Royal Park to Square Victoria to Cité du Multimédia all the way over by the Lachine canal.

There are 27 trucks with city-wide permits that allow them to rotate between the seven pre-determined locations. Fourteen other trucks, such as Dic Ann’s, are located only at one location with a specific lease—for instance, in Old Port. Anthony Zammit, the franchise consultant from Dic Ann’s, explained the difference between having a specific lease as opposed to a city-wide permit.

“Those food trucks that go around [with the city-wide permit] have to prepare their food at their home based restaurant [before hitting the road],” Zammit explains. Dic Ann’s specializes in burgers and fries, and they do cook their patties and fries in the truck with a fryer, which the city-wide trucks do not do.
Trucks also differ in that some are extensions of preexisting restaurants and others are independent vendors. For those who have not started their business from a typical brick and mortar restaurant—which is usually a much more expensive investment— food trucks can provide an opportunity for budding restaurateurs and entrepreneurs who might find potential in this street food market. On the other hand, food trucks can increase business for pre-existing establishments. “Serving the public is similar [between the two],” Nick Morena, the owner of St. Viateur Bagel & Coffee says of the differences between running a restaurant and running a food truck, “But we are driving to [the customers], and people are happy about that.”

In order to overcome any business and marketing obstacles, vendors have been using what thousands of other marketing teams worldwide have been taking advantage of: Twitter, and other forms of social media. In fewer than 140 characters, street vendors have been broadcasting online where they’ll be, when they’ll be there, and whether or not they’ve sold out for the day— which happens all the time. “It helps get your name out there,” Zammit says of social media. “One time, I saw a customer come in and he told me he’d never tried our food before, but he saw a friend posting a picture [of our food] on Instagram, so he wanted to come in to give it a shot. If you have friends posting positive feedback toward your brand, the word will spread—and there’s nothing better than word of mouth.”

Whether you are a hungry student, a hopeful food truck owner, or perhaps even someone aspiring to get into the business, the reintroduction of street food to Montreal through this temporary pilot program— with the potential to become a more permanent fixture— has unarguably created some major buzz in the city, and you might find yourself embracing it as another slice of Montreal’s already dynamic culture.

a, Arts & Entertainment, Music

Juicy J: Stay Trippy

by WIll Burgess on

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For Juicy J, being ‘trippy’ is both a state of mind and a lifestyle, and in Stay Trippy, he raps about living it for 20 years. Throughout, the former Three 6 Mafia member condones codeine, crime, and cannabis, detailing his experiences with each. Dipping between tempos, he will rap pointedly over a beat and then continue in double-time. In his intro, ‘Stop It,’ he speaks of “getting high like I’m eighteen but I been rich since the late eighties,” and continues to reference themes of intoxication and career longevity throughout the album.

Juicy J never strays far from his mantra of sex, drugs, and other vices, and his articulate and frank lyrics result in a series of reckless, escapist anthems. With a total of 16 songs, Juicy J would have done well to cut weaker tracks, such as “So Much Money” and “No Heart No Love,” where extended and repetitive hooks are grating rather than exciting. On nearly every other track, however, Juicy J’s charisma shines through. Ridiculous lines like “Got a house on the hill cost a couple of mill/Juicy J got bank like Uncle Phil” cleverly combine braggadocio and over-the-top, jokey hyperbole.

As a rapper in the midst of the third stage of his career—he is now signed to Wiz Khalifa’s Taylor Gang Records after 2002 and 2009 solo releases that resulted from his split with Three 6 Mafia—Juicy J is a rarity, and one would expect new ideas and artistic progression to be the only way to succeed in a subgenre that creates such transient artists. Juicy, however, easily surpasses trendy raps that lack his experienced, confident flow. On Stay Trippy, Juicy J ultimately succeeds by doing what he does best—producing party bangers better than any of his imitators.

a, News

International students face visa delays

by Sam Pinto on

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As thousands of international students begin their Fall semester at McGill this week, visa delays caused by a strike at Canada’s foreign embassies may prevent some students from starting classes on time.

A strike conducted by the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) in 15 of some of Canada’s busiest foreign embassies has increased the time it takes to process a visa request by 65 per cent, according to a notice released by the Student Society of McGill University (SSMU). As a result, some international students may have to defer their enrolment by a semester or even a full year.

Currently, there are approximately 8,000 international students attending McGill, including 1,500  students who reside in a country where civil servants are on strike.  The affected embassies include Paris, London, Beijing, Moscow, Delhi, Mexico City, and Abu Dhabi .

Since 2011, PAFSO and the Canadian Government have been in a deadlock to form a new agreement. The strike started in April, when PAFSO announced it would cease its activities in 15 foreign embassies following a standstill in collective bargaining procedures. Their collective bargaining agreement expired in 2011.

At McGill, international students still waiting for their visas will be allowed late registration until Sept. 17. However, those affected by the visa delays may face serious challenges upon their late arrival at McGill.

“Students who arrive late—for example, as late as Sept. 17—will miss the first two weeks of class and orientation activities,” Kathleen Massey, University Registrar and Executive Director of Enrolment Services, said. “They will have to catch up on their studies and learn about McGill in a condensed period of time.”

“Those who cannot arrive by Sept. 17 have the opportunity to apply for a deferral of their admission offer,” she continued. “In most cases they can begin their studies at McGill in January. In some cases, their program may be structured in such a way that the deferral will be for one full year.  These options are helpful, but the students will lose some time in terms of beginning their university studies.”

According to Pauline L’Ecuyer, director of the International Students Office, the number of students affected by the delays is hard to estimate, but the majority of international students now have their visas.

“Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) transferred files to offices that were not affected by the strike; some visas got processed in Canada,” L’Ecuyer said. “In some offices, the processing delays are similar to last year’s. Certain countries [such as] India and China will take longer to process their visas.”

Janice Johnson, Interim Director of Residences and Student Housing, said that the effects of the strike have so far been minimal on the 800 students from outside the United States and Canada who live in McGill’s student residences.

“We have really not yet seen any impact of the visa delays—96 per cent of students with residence room assignments have moved in,” Johnson said. “To date, the number of students who have cancelled or not yet moved in is almost exactly the same as at this point last year, and on track with the numbers for the last five years.”

McGill has set up a series of accommodations for students who have been affected by visa delays. Residence rooms will be held for students until Sept. 17. Campus Life and Engagement will also be providing extra orientation and information sessions for new students until Sept. 17.

Furthermore, international students will be able to delay their August e-bill if they are unsure as to whether or not they may have to defer. Interest will be deferred from their August payment and they will have until the end of September to make their payment.

International students who are currently in Canada, who need simply to renew their documents will not be delayed, as the processing centre in Vegreville, Alberta was not affected by the strike.

a, Sports

Around the water cooler

by Mayaz Alam and Remi Lu on

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In case you were too busy watching over annoying little kids at camp and all you could think about was whether there was a new water cooler picture, here’s what you missed…

 

NCAA Football – Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel became Johnny Hancock after a series of offseason escapades. After Texas A&M’s season ended, Mr. Hancock became a wild and reprehensible problem. He was sent home from the Manning Passing Academy for being ‘dehydrated’ after a late night in Louisiana. Mr. Dehydration was then suspended for one half after being paid for signing autographs, an explicit no-no for the NCAA. The legal ramifications of cases like Mr. Autograph’s are being fought over in the Ed O’Bannon Lawsuit. The lawsuit has the potential to reconfigure the landscape of college athletics in North America and force institutions to pay their athletes, which could spell doom for the NCAA.

 

Confederations Cup Soccer – In time honoured tradition, the victors of FIFA’s continental championships convened in the summer preceding the World Cup. The heavyweights were in attendance as host Brazil; reigning World Cup and Euro Cup winning Spain; and the ever dangerous Italy all qualified for the semifinals. The contingent from Tahiti became the Cinderella story that impartial viewers turned to throw their blind support behind. Sadly, the fairy tale never came to fruition as Tahiti surrendered 24 goals over three games. However, the final was an ideal matchup between Spain and Brazil, in which the host prevailed 3 – 0; essentially, we were provided a tantalizing teaser for what’s in store during the world’s best athletic competition.

 

NHL Stanley Cup Finals – The Chicago Blackhawks won the Big Drinker this past June, winning the Stanley Cup Finals in six games against the Boston Bruins. Blackhawks centre Dave Bolland scored the clincher with 58.3 seconds left in Game 6, boosting Chicago past Boston 3-2. With the victory, the Hawks became the first team in the salary-cap era to win the Stanley Cup twice. During the post-season, both Corey Crawford and Tuuka Rask proved their places amongst the best goalies in today’s game. Chicago has shown that they have the potential makings of a modern-day dynasty.

 

Wimbledon – It had become a running joke that a British male would never win Wimbledon in our lifetime. So when the world found out that it was Andy Murray, the British icon himself, playing Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon championships, the world had to rub both eyes and take a collective breath to steady itself. Tea cups shattered from sweaty hands, crumpets sailed across the room, and even Sherlock Holmes had to wipe down his monocle a couple of times during the most tense match in British history. Murray had the skill to prevail and lift the curse, and prevail he did. Hold on, I need to brew me some Earl Murray.

 

NBA Finals – The Miami Heat, home of the most annoying home-court anthem in sports history, prevailed over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, winning Game 7 by score of 95-88. This was Miami’s third consecutive Finals appearance, and second in a row with the trio of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. This Finals series had all the makings of a classic, with numerous storylines along with fantastic court play. Beyond the showdown of two generational Big Threes, each game featured outstanding basketball, making this one of the most enjoyable series in basketball history for both hardcore and casual fans alike.

a, Arts & Entertainment

Chihuly exhibit continues to dazzle Montrealers

by Julia Donahue on

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If you have walked by Sherbrooke and Crescent recently, you have likely already noticed one of the staples of American-born sculptor Dale Chihuly’s repertoire. The sculpture, entitled The Sun, emerges from a mass of glass tubes that snake around each other in a brilliant, chaotic tangle of yellow and red.

A prolific modern-day artist, Chihuly’s fame arose from his elaborate sculptures made entirely of blown glass. An exhibit of his works currently resides at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) until Oct. 20.

Chihuly’s Persian Colonnade surrounds the staircase entering the exhibit, welcoming us to his world of art. Sunlight streams through the windows and illuminates these flower-like creations to strike a harmonious balance between natural and man-made beauty, a frequently recurring theme in his work.

In the next room, spotlights on the ceiling break through darkness, illuminating vibrant bowls that skirt the room on tall pedestals. This Macchia Forest contains over 300 colours which, along with the elevation of these creations, instills a humbling effect on viewers.

One of the more experimental works in the collection was Chihuly’s Glass Forest #6. In this piece, tree-like pieces of blown glass glow a vibrant white and pink, the result of being filled with argon gas and neon. Mirrors surround the artwork, creating a mystifying, psychedelic scene. In this sculpture, various stages of growth can be observed, with tall ‘full grown’ structures towering over small, germinating seeds. This neon forest conjures the idea of manmade objects invading nature, and creates an eerie panorama.

In the next display, two boats rest on a dark black platform dotted with an assortment of glass-blown spheres. At first glance, it appears as though the boats rest upon calm surface waters. Soon, however, the mixture of blown glass stacked within the boats shifts the scene to that of two sunken ships filled to the brim with sea creatures and rocks. This adds to the ‘controlled chaos’ of the piece; while one boat is only filled with spherical glass, the other contains an assortment of glassblown organisms, seaweed-like tendrils, and shells. The profound contrast between motion and stillness creates an unsettling scene and a sense of unpredictability within the work. Again, we see Chihuly’s use of striking colour contrasts, as he uses an entirely black backdrop against the illuminated and vibrant glass structures. Although none of the individual objects within the boats are the same, there remains a noticeable theme in each.

The highlight of the exhibit was Chandeliers and Tower. These several- hundred kilogram sculptures hang together in a single room and startle observers with their majestic beauty. Lit from above in an otherwise entirely dark room, they are built to represent stalagmites and stalactites in caves. Once again, we observe a stirring within the structures, as tubes of blown glass reach in all directions and entwine around each other in a shadow of movement. Each structure possesses its own vibrant colour, which further intensifies the display.

Although there are recurrent themes within much of Chihuly’s works, each of his creations is visually distinct. The exhibit within the MMFA contains only a small portion of Chihuly’s many works, but this tip of the iceberg is well worth a visit for both veteran art enthusiasts and intrigued novices alike.

Chihuly: Utterly Breathtaking runs at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts until October 20th. Student admission is $10.44.

a, News

McGill rents Varcity515 floors to house first years

by Samiha Sharif on

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This year, 85 students and two floor fellows will call a building named Varcity515 home following McGill’s decision to rent two floors of this furnished student-housing complex to accommodate an excess number of students requiring places in residence.

According to Interim Director of Residences and Student Housing, Janice Johnson, it is difficult to predict exactly how many students are going to require accommodations at McGill each year. One per cent more or fewer students than anticipated could cause a difference of 50 to 60 students.

Due to the last-minute nature of its opening, Varcity515 was not on the housing survey completed by all first years who apply for residence in the spring. When this year’s residence lottery was completed last June, the number of incoming students requiring accommodations exceeded the number that McGill’s residences could hold. This excess was partially due to Douglas Hall being closed for renovations this year, as the residence usually accommodates 179 students.

“It’s a bit of a gamble every year to make sure that we stay full,” Johnson said. “We have a responsibility to stay full because if we don’t raise our revenues to cover the expenses each year then we have to raise the prices for our students next year.”

Normally, all students who do not immediately receive a residence placement are assigned a temporary room—often in living rooms at Solin Hall or in Royal Victoria College. This year, students placed on the top of the temporary residence list were assigned to Varcity515.

Located at 515 Saint-Catherine Street, Varcity515 is within easy walking distance of campus. As Johnson pointed out, this is not the first time that the building has been used as a McGill residence.

“Five years ago, when Varcity515 first opened, McGill was in a similar situation and therefore initiated an arrangement with them,” Johnson said. “Since McGill’s relationship in the past with Varcity515 had been a positive experience, this year when McGill needed more beds, Varcity515 was readily contacted.”

Only 60 to 70 extra beds were needed to house this year’s students, but two whole floors of the building have been rented. Although this means a few empty spaces, Johnson says it was done to ensure a solid residence community experience. Each apartment has three to five bedrooms, one of which is a room that has no outward-facing windows, only a window facing the interior of the apartment. The rent is $1,250 per month for regular rooms—approximately the same amount that students pay to live in McGill’s hotel-style residences like New Residence Hall. Rooms that lack an exterior window in Varcity515 cost $950-$1,000. Students pay their rent in a nine-month lease.

All Varcity515 students have a mandatory commuter meal plan, which is a $300 plan designed for students, professors, and staff members who occasionally purchase food on campus. Each four- or five-bedroom apartment comes with a fully equipped kitchen, complete with a dishwasher as well as utensils such as pots, pans, and cutlery. The cafeterias at Carrefour Sherbrooke and Royal Victoria College are just two blocks away from the building.

According to Johnson, McGill does not currently have any plans to occupy Varcity515 in future years.

She added that its residents want to have their own residence council instead of being aligned with Carrefour Sherbrooke’s council as originally planned.

“Feedback from these councils is important for us to better the experience,” Senior Director of Student Housing and Hospitality Services, Mathieu Laperle, said.

Although most students at Varcity515 only arrived in their residence two weeks ago, some, like Kirsten Neprily, U0 Arts, say the building already feels like home.

“Everyone is so happy to be here,” Neprily said. “We cook together, shop together, party together. I honestly don’t wish that anything was different.”

a, Arts & Entertainment

Our Nixon can’t deliver the reel goods

by Ira Halperm on

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It turns out that if Richard Nixon’s key aides were a few decades younger, they probably would have been really into Instagram. Penny Lane’s new documentary Our Nixon, released Aug. 30, uses mostly amateur Super-8 camera footage, shot by the former U.S. president’s White House chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman; John Ehrlichman, his domestic affairs assistant; and Dwight Chapin, his deputy assistant, who all ultimately ended up serving jail time for their involvement in the 1970s Watergate scandal. Henry Kissinger appears in the film fairly often too, though he was apparently too busy addressing international relations and his relationships with women to fool around with a camera.

Without any voice-over narration, the film takes a genuine stab at working in the style of cinéma vérité— candid scenes unguided by a director. However, the shaky footage shot by Nixon’s aides reveals nothing particularly shocking. It mostly presents a warm-and-fuzzy, sometimes goofy picture of the mundane, as home videos often do best. We see Nixon at his desk and on vacation, White House dinner parties and entertainment, and a lot of the White House gardens — too often, unfortunately, to hold our interest. We also see Nixon’s advisors filming each other, and the sheer volume of such footage that Lane incorporates into her documentary seems to imply a criticism of an indulgently inward-looking old-boys-club not fully in touch with reality.

Lane’s arrangement of clips reveals a particular interest in the awkward theatrics of Nixon’s life. One of the film’s most perfectly cringe-worthy moments occurs when Nixon introduces The Ray Conniff Singers, who are playing at the White House, with “If the music’s square, it’s because I like it square.” Soon afterwards, however, one singer uses the microphone to harshly criticize Nixon for the war in Vietnam. In China, Nixon and his aides attend a play with Communist propaganda. According to Haldeman, though the play “would have been horrifying at home […] it all seemed to fit together here.” With these scenes, personal drama overshadows actual politics in the film, and the result­— despite echoing Nixon’s nebulous legacy—  is a film that leaves us with more questions than answers.

Pairing this home-video footage with other archival footage occasionally results in clever, ironic juxtaposition. This includes Nixon’s television addresses as well as interviews with his aides. It also features some deliciously horrifying clips from the White House tapes, which is where the shock value of the Nixon story continues to lie. Behind Nixon’s on-screen façade of confidence is a man who is paranoid, insecure and out-of-touch with reality. For instance, while viewing the perfectly manicured White House gardens, we hear Nixon rant: “You know what happened to the Greeks? Homosexuality destroyed them […]you see, homosexuality, immorality in general, these are the enemies of strong societies. That’s why the Communists and the left-wingers are pushing it; they’re trying to destroy us!” But the film is neither didactic nor strictly one-sided. In fact, it does present glimpses of Nixon’s charming side, such as showcasing his deep loyalty to his criminal colleagues.

Overall, however, the film suffers from a lack of thematic unity and structure. It is not always clear why a particular piece of footage has been included— why, for instance, are we looking at a prolonged shot of a squirrel in the White House gardens? The drifting, rambling quality of the film makes you feel as though you are traveling back in time in a dream state. When you wake up, a general confusion tempts one to consult a real biopic for clarification.

Our Nixon begins screening at Cinema du Parc (3575. av. du Parc)on Sept. 6. 

a, Arts & Entertainment

The fine art of getting inked

by Mira Sharma on

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With the increasing popularity of tattoos, they have gained recognition as one of today’s more overt expressions of personality. Tattoos are no longer largely perceived as symbols of dissent and delinquency; a contemporary view of them now leans closer towards a holistic understanding of these designs as visual art.

Breaking away from stereotypes of skulls and barbed wire, more varied tattoos have skyrocketed in popularity. The human skin is now ‘the new flesh’ for tattoo artists such as Sandi Calistro, a Denver-based artist participating in Montreal’s annual Art Tattoo Show. In Calistro’s opinion, there may be a number of explanations for the rise in popularity of tattoos.

“Maybe when it initially started, it was more sailors tattooing,” Calisto says. “When I was getting into it, the tattooists I knew were art students; the new generation that started tattooing brought a different style to the table […] but I think it really exploded when they started the reality TV shows [like L.A. Ink and Tattoo Rescue]. Because then people saw that tattoo shops weren’t scary to go into […] They [were] creating crazy art pieces; [people] didn’t know tattoos could look like that.”

Unlike attending a gallery showing, getting tattooed is not a passive visual experience; it is a shared encounter between two people. Calistro explains:

“It is a really intimate experience. The person is putting a lot of trust in you and they are kind of in a vulnerable situation because you’re inflicting pain […] they open up to you quite a bit. For some people it is therapeutic. There’s something about it that’s a release.”

In return, an artist will imprint a little bit of themselves in their work; during the short time the service is being rendered, it is a truly symbiotic relationship.

Where some find a sense of therapy in receiving a tattoo, others definitely feel the pain that comes with getting a valued piece of work. “For me, it’s quite painful,” Calistro describes. “Tattoos hurt for sure, but it’s kind of like a rite of passage that way. You go through the pain of the tattoo and you kind of feel like

you’ve conquered something by doing it.”

In recent years, tattoos have grown in popularity with women. Once deemed more appropriate for a masculine crowd, body art has been readily welcomed by a female clientele. With an increasing demand for more feminine elements, a new generation of female artists has emerged. Calistro’s work has dutifully catered to the growing call for feminine art. Her work surpasses the simple objectification of the female, drawing inspiration from contemporary artists like Frida Kahlo.

Calistro is a familiar face at the Montreal Art Tattoo Show.

“A friend that did the convention and invited me to come – that’s how I got involved in it. Montreal is my favourite because first of all, you get to experience the city as well as the convention. The convention is put together perfectly— the artists are all really good and everyone that runs the convention is super friendly and makes you feel super at home like family. It’s my favourite.”

Calistro describes the experience of getting a tattoo at a convention versus a studio: “The atmosphere is extremely different; for the client it might be better because they have all of these distractions— basically, [for the] people watching— it’s like this over-stimulation that can help with the pain.”

Whether you are looking to get your first ‘tat’ or add to your collection, the convention will feature over 100 artists from around the world and right here in Quebec. As a veteran of the convention, Calistro reassures that, “if you are looking to get a tattoo, you will find every style you can imagine. If you were ever contemplating a tattoo, you would find what you were looking for there. There’s going to be a lot of artwork to look at.”

The convention runs from Friday, Sept. 6 to Sunday, Sept. 8. Tickets are available for purchase at the door at Windsor Station.

Find more information at http://www.arttattoomontreal.com.

a, Science & Technology

Physics paradox proposes universal Inception

by Kieran Steer on

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What are the chances that our existence—or lack thereof—could be a mere projection from someone or something’s mind, just like the premise of The Matrix or Inception? Ludwig Boltzmann (1844-1906), the same German physicist who derived the blackbody radiation laws, proposed this reasoning during the 1800s and it is still discussed today as one of the most interesting and disturbing ideas of science.

Boltzmann posed the idea, that just as humans with self-aware, conscious minds inhabit the Earth, there may be other self-aware minds—dubbed Boltzmann Brains—blipping in and out of existence throughout the universe.

The theory is based on the second law of thermodynamics, which states that the entropy— disorder, or the measure of the number of states in which a particular system can be arranged— of the universe is perpetually increasing. This law requires our universe to spontaneously approach a thermodynamic equilibrium of high entropy and disorder. Low entropy, or order, is unlikely to occur in a universe such as ours.

However, in the midst of this theoretically chaotic universe exists Earth: a perfectly life-supporting world inhabited by humans— intelligent and self-aware creatures. Based on the law that entropy is continually increasing in a highly disordered equilibrium, it seems unlikely that such a highly ordered planet with such highly-ordered minds as ours, could happen. In fact, it should be astronomically rare that we exist. Fortunately, the infinite size of the universe allows events of low probability to occur, meaning it is incredibly unlikely, albeit statistically possible for a fluctuation in the entropic equilibrium to lead to life like ours.

Boltzmann Brains come in when considering the following: If a self-aware mind as a product of a random, low entropy pocket in the universe is unlikely to happen, then a self-aware mind on a habitable planet among millions of other self-aware creatures would involve a substantially lower state of entropy, and is therefore significantly less likely to happen—the probability is nearly impossible.

The Boltzmann Brain theory argues that based on probability, it is far more likely that lone conscious minds exist than aggregates of organized and self-aware civilizations, like ours do. Boltzmann postulates these brains would flip in and out of existence in random spots of the universe.

However, imagining these so-called ‘intelligences’ is quite challenging. Cosmologist Sean Carroll in his novel From Eternity to Here described the minds as, “Lonely, disembodied brains, who fluctuate gradually out of the surrounding chaos and then gradually dissolve back into it.” As the idea is highly theoretical, the shape or form of these brains can only be postulated.

A more extreme theory arising from this concept suggests that our entire life, history, and existence is a projection of a single Boltzmann Brain in the universe, much like the idea behind Inception, where a single mind creates a dream world for a society to reside in.

However, we don’t need to demote ourselves to the existence of a SIM computer character just yet. Prominent physicists such as Richard Feynman have found ways to contest Boltzmann’s extraordinary theory. Feynman postulates that since any random location on Earth is expected to exist in a highly ordered state, like everything around it, it is unlikely that the entire universe as we see it is merely a fluctuation in entropy: there must be factors other than entropy that ensure our existence.

“If our order were due to a fluctuation, we would not expect order anywhere [except] where we have just noticed it,” says Feynman in a 2011 TED talk. He goes further to deduce that the observed order could be remains from a highly-ordered (low-entropy) past from the universe’s onset, which have persisted over millions of years.

In an entirely different response to the Boltzmann Brain theory, Lawrence Krauss’ article “String Theory’s Latest Folly” from New Scientist compares the Boltzmann Brain contemplation to Thomas Aquinas’s medieval debate about “How many angels could dance on the head of a pin?” Krauss points out that though Boltzmann provides an interesting debate, there is no real way to solve or learn from such an abstract theory, so we might as well be arguing over the number of angels that could dance on a pinhead.

The idea is intriguing, but for now, the Boltzmann Brain theory will remain both an incredibly interesting and somewhat frightening notion until science evolves the means to further investigate the fluctuations of entropy in space.

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