How to score:
5 out of 5: News stud! Can I have your number…
4 out of 5: You are officially in the know.
3 out of 5: Not bad, but a little quality google time may be in order.
2 out of 5: Newspapers are dying, but you should still try to pick one up once in a while.
1 out of 5: Do you live in Ottawa?
0 out of 5: Might as well be from Saskatoon

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Guns, the frontwoman of Ottawa band Scary Bear Soundtrack, will be leaving at the end of the month to spend two years in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, practicing human rights law in the tiny Inuit community of just over 1,500 people. This means that her band will be going on hiatus. But not before one last show at Babylon Nightclub, where they will launch the music video for their single ‘Beaver Pond Forest’. The band has been performing together since 2010, with another brief hiatus when Guns’ legal career took her to Namibia for 7 months. “I know very few people who are successful lawyers and musicians at the same time, because they’re both so demanding,” says Guns, who has been performing music for about 10 years. She continued performing as Scary Bear Soundtrack while in Africa, and also had the chance to record on an R&B album as a guitarist.

Scary Bear Soundtrack is made up of Gloria Guns, her sister, Esther, on keyboards, Dannik Leduc on guitar and vocals, and Ainslie Lahey and sometimes Kevin Ledlow on drums. It isn’t only Guns whose life is taking off in new directions; Esther and Kevin are about to get married, and Ainslie is currently studying fashion design in Toronto. Vocalist Dannik is classically trained, and also performs with the Ottawa Regional Youth Choir.

The band has always had a political bent, singing about issues that hit home for them. Their single ‘Asian Fetishist’ was penned by Guns after enduring the endlessly misguided pickup lines of men who seemed just a little too interested in her Korean heritage, and ‘Pyongyang’ is about the social injustices committed under the North Korean political regime. “I went through a phase where I stopped writing love songs,” says Guns.  “I just feel that there’s so much more to the human experience than just being in love.” Human rights law also has a strong influence on Guns’ writing. As a lawyer she works with refugee cases, abusive relationships, and instances of racism and sexism. “I think that’s part of why I don’t write love songs anymore. I want to write about things that should be made public.”

‘Beaver Pond Forest’ continues that theme; the song, which was written in the summer of 2010, is based on an area in the South March Highlands that Guns, her sister, and her friends frequented as kids. Apart from being a great spot to play in, the woods there are also tremendously important ecologically and are considered a sacred site by local Aboriginal peoples. The land is now in the process of being developed into housing.

The music video for the song, which will be launched this Wednesday as part of Scary Bear Soundtrack’s performance at Babylon, was shot and edited by South African filmmaker Toni van Eeden. The filming was done in an area of the South March Highlands that hasn’t yet been developed, and features the band having a huge food fight in the woods. “I like all of these foods separately,” says Guns of the apple pie and grape soda that she wound up wearing, “but not all on me.” She also hadn’t banked on having to drive home still covered in it all, the woods being somewhat lacking in the shower department.

The look of the video is ’90s themed, a throwback to the time Guns spent in the woods with her friends as a teenager, dressing like a raver and listening to Sonic Youth. van Eeden, who is also the videographer for The Fulcrum,  shot and directed the video, and also did all of the editing herself.

Although she’ll be away from Ottawa and her bandmates for the next two years Guns plans to stay busy musically, although with only one restaurant in Cambridge Bay performing in bars and local venues is out. “My intention is still to keep on writing music,” she says, adding that she expects that her time working with poverty and human rights for an entirely Inuit population, and the experience of living in Cambridge Bay, will keep her inspired. “I’ve lived in small towns, but always close to the big city, whereas Cambridge Bay is the big city, and there’s 1,500 people there.”

Guns is also a newlywed, and her husband will be accompanying her on this latest adventure to Canada’s Arctic. “I have started writing love songs again,” she admits, “but I think that’s because I got married.” With any luck, we can expect some love songs from the Arctic when she gets back.

Scary Bear Soundtrack plays at the Babylon Nightclub Wednesday, January 16^th. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Also playing are Highs, Alex Harea, and Elizabeth Hodgson. Tickets are $5.00 in advance, or $8.00 at the door. Email scarybearsoundtrack@gmail.com to purchase.

To learn more about Toni van Eeden’s work, visit http://thepaleafrikaan.com/

To learn more about Scary Bear Soundtrack, visit http://www.scarybearsoundtrack.com/

The Ottawa Media Co-op is a grassroots online publication that allows alternative reporters to post stories, videos, audio clips or photographs online. In order to participate, all you have to do is set up an account and self-publish your work.

While the site has been posting news for some time now, the collective’s current project  is to become a full member of the national Media Co-op, a central site for alternative journalism with chapters in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. The national collective is also linked to The Dominion, a monthly alternative publication that has been running since 2003.

As for the Ottawa activists, they want to fill a missing space in the local media landscape.

“Ottawa is a political hub where a lot of decisions are made,” explains Crystel Hajjar, one of the organizers of the working group for the Ottawa Media Co-op. “There is not a venue for people to express what is going in with this decision-making …. (so we want to) create something that is more just and equal, and which holds government to account.”

Hajjar, who also sits on the board of the national media co-op, spoke to Apt613 during the Media Democracy Conference that took place this past weekend at the University of Ottawa.

The conference brought together alternative journalists, offered workshops on a wide range of topics, and also held a meeting on the afternoon of Sunday, November 18, to discuss the process for transforming Ottawa into a full member of the national Media Co-op.

Judging by the group of 17 people who gathered at the Sunday meeting, the future Ottawa chapter could very well draw from a wide range of abilities.

Among the various skills that participants offered were fundraising, writing, editing, investigative journalism and providing technical support. Behind this volunteer effort, however, was a dedication to social activism and offering a space for alternative voices.

“We want to push back on this dominant narrative that we are fed in the mainstream and corporate press,” says Andy Crosby, an Ottawa Media Co-op organizer. “(The mainstream press) gives us a sanitized view of the news.”

In order to discuss how to create this alternative news space, the participants at the Sunday meeting gathered in breakout groups to brainstorm what the local chapter could look like. Among the issues covered was the creation of an editorial group to review posts for libelous or offensive material, contributing to the existing national Media Co-op and – from a local perspective – finding office space in Ottawa.

For those who want to participate in the formation of the Ottawa chapter you can email OMC@mediacoop.ca.

As for those who are interested in writing, shooting video, recording audio or taking photos for the Ottawa site, the work of an independent journalist can be very rewarding.

“There is personal development because you start becoming more aware of what is happening in the community,” says Greg Macdougall, one of the Ottawa media co-op organizers. “Politically this is a place to get connected (with other activists), but also to get connected with the larger community.”

The Apartment 613 election team has come to this conclusion after spending countless hours reviewing polls, early voting numbers, demographic patterns and other relevant statistics.

As Canada’s capital city, our town is filled with political junkies. Being the friendly neighbours that we are, we decided to assist our fellow policy wonks to get their U.S. news fix by compiling a list of political web sites. Our hope is that these sites will give you all the news that you need in the run-up to tonight’s vote.

And, once all the research is done, you may be looking for a place to grab a pint and settle in to watch the political event. We’ve scoured the city for election-friendly locations, phoning up bars and polling the Twitter-verse, and we’ve come up with a few options.

We were able to confirm that Darcy McGee’s and Connor’s Pub plan to show it, and we’ve received word that Democrats Abroad will be throwing an election party at the Carleton Tavern. Meanwhile in the twitter-verse, Oliver’s and Sir John A were mentioned as possible venues, while others proclaimed that they would view the election from the gym, or via Twitter itself. Check out all the responses after the article below.

If you are organizing an election viewing party or if you know of an election party open to the public in Ottawa, please let us know in the comments section below.

Now, without further ado, let’s learn how we can procrastinate from work … sorry, I mean become better informed about the critical decision that our southern neighbours are making.

The Statistical Nerds

The U.S. election has seen a large number of web sites provide statistical analysis. We can think of these sites as political Moneyball.

The dean of this new generation of analysts is Nate Silver, a sabermetrician and psephologist who runs the fivethirtyeight web site at the New York Times. His deep insight and scientific approach has directly challenged conventional wisdom, such as the commonly expressed view that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had momentum throughout October.

Before Nate Silver arrived on the scene in the 2008 U.S. election, Real Clear Politics was already known as the place to go for political analysis. Compiling a vast array of news articles, editorials, videos, poll results and other politically-related statistics, this site contains a cornucopia of information.

Another excellent source is Pollster, which is affiliated with the Huffington Post. If you want to look at trend lines on the national or state level they are second to none.

If you like your analysis with a mathematical flavour, there is the Princeton Election Consortium that is run by neuroscientist Sam Wang. Another interesting site is Votamatic by Drew Linzer, an assistant professor of political science at Emory University

For a conservative perspective, you can read Election Projection that is operated by North Carolina native Scott Elliott, a proud Republican, Christian and family man. While Elliott makes no bones about wanting President Obama to lose, his conclusions are always honest and objective. His liberal counterpart can be found at Electoral Vote.

It must be noted that every site noted above show President Obama as the favourite to win the election.

The Journalism Nerds Who Love Numbers

An army of reporters is covering this election. It would therefore take hours just to name every writer following this race. To save you some time, here are some journalists that we recommend.

Nate Cohn of The New Republic provides excellent statistical analysis from a liberal perspective. For those who want to read a Republican view, there is Jim Geraghty from the National Review.

Other writers worth looking at are Andrew Sullivan, David Frum, Ezra Klein, Chris Cillizza, Chuck Todd and Mark Halperin.

Early Voting

Many U.S. states allow early voting. For the most recent results, you can go to the United States Election Project, run by Michael P. McDonald, an associate professor in the Department of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University. You can compare the 2012 numbers with the early voting in 2008.

]]> http://apt613.ca/electioneering-in-ottawa/feed/ 2 http://apt613.ca/liberal-leadership-up-for-grabs-more-street-food-soon-5-years-of-somerset-house-rubble-and-more/ http://apt613.ca/liberal-leadership-up-for-grabs-more-street-food-soon-5-years-of-somerset-house-rubble-and-more/#comments Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:15:05 +0000 Ryan Saxby Hill http://apt613.ca/?p=45208 Good Monday morning readers! The big news of the week was Dalton McGuinty’s surprise announcement that he will be stepping down as leader of the provincial Liberal party. To add to the drama, early in the week, local MPP Yasir Naqvi was said to be contemplating a run for the leadership. Yesterday however, he confirmed that a leadership bid was not in the cards.

There will be a memorial this morning for the Carleton student killed in a biking accident last week on Bronson Avenue. I can’t help but be reminded of a press release that I read this week from UBC on how appropriate cycling infrastructure can improve biking safety.

Advocates for looser regulations on street food vendors should be celebrating this week. The City Hall committee charged with looking at the issue voted to allow new rules that should expand the street food offerings.

Our city is celebrating a sombre anniversary this week. Charles from Images of Centretown reminds us that it was five years ago that Somerset House collapsed. He’s got a great review of the last five years posted online for us.

The Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa is working to reunite a mother and her child after she gave birth in an Ottawa jail cell. The shocking story has been raising raising questions about how the birth happened behind bars and whether appropriate procedures were followed.

Shoppers in Ottawa can look forward to an expanded Rideau Centre, with clothing retailer H&M as a key tenant. The popular brand’s logo was present on artist’s renderings shown at the Ottawa Real Estate Forum this past Thursday.

A few local restaurants, including Pressed Cafe, Murray Street and Edgar, played host to TV crews from the Food Network Canada show “You Gotta Eat Here” this week. We can’t wait to see these local favourites featured on the small screen.

It was one year ago this week that Jamie Hubley took his own life. The Ottawa Citizen reflects on the events that followed and the resulting discussion of teen suicide and the safety of LGBT youth.

This week, Trevor and Jared join forces to bring you a show chock-full of goodness.

First up is an interview with Ian Campeau, who has recently been making headlines with his campaign to change the name of the Nepean Redskins. His stance against the team’s name has been churning up no little amount of controversy, and Campeau recently received the support of the Assembly of First Nations.

Next, Zoo Legacy stopped by the studio to perform a rockin’ live set, featuring songs from their recently released EP, City Light Glow. The album was released for free on the band’s website this past Wednesday, and Zoo Legacy will be throwing a release party at Ritual on Friday night with special guests Fire and Neon and Big Dreams Team.

Finally, Ryan caught up with Folk Festival Artistic Director Mark Monahan and asked him about his experience booking the artists for this year’s festival. The Folk Fest begins tonight and runs until the 10th, featuring an incredible lineup of acts like Anais Mitchell, Ben Harper, Dan Mangan, Great Lake Swimmers, and more.

For the radio version of this podcast, tune in every Wednesday at 9pm to CHUO fm.

What’s wrong with a little community spirit?

First point: the world already has a South Central . But that’s neither here nor there.

Perhaps it’s because, until a few months ago, no one had ever heard of South Central Ottawa. Perhaps it’s because the project isn’t being community-driven; the people behind South Central Ottawa,  the Urban Capital Property Group, are Toronto-based developers who are currently putting the finishing touches on three phases of condominiums near Bank and Gladstone Streets. The three-phase project’s name is – you guessed it – “Central”.

The most stunning aspect of this campaign is that on the one hand, the Urban Capital calls the neighbourhood a “dead zone”, while on the other hand, it extols the coolness of the some of Centretown’s local businesses and its on-the-cusp-of-vibrancy on their daintily-illustrated campaign website.

A number of articles have already been written about the negative consequences of the introduction of those condos into Centretown – including by our very own Centretown Buzz. I agree with many of these analyses. However, what continues to irk many residents about this project is the way in which South Central  seeks to sell (I’d like to emphasize ‘sell’) not only condos, but  also a new neighbourhood to Centretown residents who already have one.

How audacious, for example, for a developer to insert itself into the community, roll-out a marketing campaign to re-brand the neighbourhood, and then throw “the first South Central neighbourhood party” at the James Street Pub to “celebrate the launch of South Central” – though it might be more realistic to say that the real party was the protest outside.

As if communities are now launched instead of cultivated organically.

To better explain why the South Central campaign doesn’t work, I’d like to introduce you to Benedict Anderson, a Cornell University professor whose seminal book, Imagined Communities, found its way onto one of my university reading lists. Anderson was born in China to British parents, and he now teaches in the United States – so you can bet that he knows a thing or two about identity-building.

Anderson set out to explain how nation-states are supported by a shared identity that binds its members together. Since it is almost impossible for someone to have met enough people in a community that large to identify with it through interpersonal ties, as within an extended family, Anderson reasoned that people must establish their belonging through something less tangible.

When we think of our association with a large community, we might identify with certain ideas, values, or shared experiences. Because – let’s face it – we aren’t all family, so we “imagine” our community’s continued existence through our continued tacit agreement that we are members of that community.

In that sense, a community only exists so long as its members are prepared to let it exist. Communities, therefore, come into being though a natural, and oftentimes protracted, process.

Anderson’s theory applies especially well to large neighbourhoods like Ottawa’s boroughs. Even though Hintonburg, the Glebe, Nepean, Centretown and others are smaller social entities, they are still large and impersonal. The ties that bind are formed by ideals and values, in exactly the same way as we might identify ourselves as a Canadian, a Quebecois, or (perish the thought) a Torontonian. Heck, Nepean even has its own unofficial song that opened City Council’s meetings during its first of several temporary meetings there. It even plays when you visit the Nepean museum’s website.

Another excellent example of neighbourhood solidarity can be seen in the existence of community associations like the Glebe Community Association, Action Sandy Hill, and the  Centretown Citizens Community Association, who work to represent the community’s interests in larger debates – these demonstrate the deep-rooted nature of such neighbourhoods.

So how does Urban Capital’s South Central marketing campaign fit into this framework of identity politics? Is the attempted “launching” of South Central the turning of a new page in our Centretown’s history, or a grandiose marketing scheme by a Toronto developer to pitch a trio of upscale condo buildings?

Anderson would question just who identifies with the South Central narrative – and what being a South Central Ottawan even means, beyond an affinity for large-scale urban development projects. Their website flashes inclusive pronouns and explains who “we” are. But who are  “we”? Certainly not Centretowners. Its “Who We Are” page might even lead you to believe that South Central is a newly-struck Business Improvement Association. To lay the groundwork, the owners of the website canvassed area businesses with South Central window stickers, and then proceeded to organize a reception in a local bar. This does not a neighbourhood make.

The reality is that Centretown is called Centretown because Centretowners wish it to be so. If, at any point, we choose to map out our neighbourhood in any other way, then that is for Centretowners to decide – not the creative department of a Toronto developer. But don’t fret: we’ll make sure that, if it’s a major change, we’ll make window stickers.