VOLUME X ISSUE 7 WWW.THEMEDIAPLEX.COM NOVEMBER 27 , 2014 CONVERGED CITIZEN THE PAGE 2 NEWS PAGE 7 SPORTS GALLERY PAGE 12 Photo by Sean Frame Three Fan Expo attendees pose in their X-Men costumes at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto on Aug. 30, Cosplayin’ around Sean Frame Managing Editor Halloween is a chance to dress up and be someone you are not. Unfortunately, for those who want to dress up all the time, Halloween only hap- pens once a year. But hell if Mr. Dressup can do it all year round why can’t everyone else? Costume play or ‘cosplay’ is the act of dressing up as a character from fiction or even reality, though is mostly popu- lar for science fiction, video games and anime genres. The term cosplay comes from the Japanese portmanteau which in English translates to cos- tume play. This term wa coined in 1984 by Nobuyuki Takahashi, who was so impressed by the costumes at Worldcon in Los Angeles that a story of this portmanteau was published in the Japanese magazine My Anime. It is popular for people who attend geek conventions and also popular on the Internet. Cosplayers sometime partic- ipate in what is known as role playing, which is a sub-culture where people act-out charac- ters using storytelling and dia- logue on site forums. Mckenna Roberts became interested in cosplay when she heard of an anime convention just across the river in Detroit, called Youmacon. She had always been a fan of anime and when she heard about Youmacon, she wanted to dress up for it immediately. She soon found out cosplay is very time consuming. Not only does it take up a long period of time if you inde- pendently design and create your costume, but it does not come cheap. “The more pieces associated with the costume, the more money it will cost,” said Roberts, who is currently working on a new costume. “Half of it is stuff you don’t even see. For example, the hair piece for her (the costume she is currently working on). People think ‘Oh okay, money for a wig’, but in reality her hair is so big that it requires one very long wig, plus three extensions, along with EVA foam for shape,and pins, and glue. That is just the hair. Everything adds up very quickly.” Despite the long process of creating a costume, Roberts says the best thing about cos- play is it’s always a learning experience. Great detail goes into each costume, unlike Halloween costumes you can just buy for $50. The more she talks to different cosplayers, the more she learns, like which materials work best and how to shape things using dif- ferent techniques. The work is never over for Roberts; she said as soon as she finishes one costume it is on to the next. She has currently com- pleted two costumes and has another four in the works. Convention organizers usu- ally lay out rules and regula- tions for cosplayers, which can make somecostumes diffi- cult to finish. Some rules include no folded steel weapons– usually prop-weapons are made of wood– and limited prop sizes as to not take up too much convention space. This year Youmacon made it a rule that while at the convention on the Renaissance Centre premises there were no weapons allowed and no masks that covered faces. These rules sparked some outrage for SEE PAGE 8 Ashley Ann Mentley CP Editor Washing your face and hands and brushing your teeth could be contributing to contamina- tion of the Great Lakes. Of the five Great Lakes, Lake Erie has the highest con- centration of micro plastic contamination – and research has only just begun said Paul Helm, a senior research scien- tist at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change office. He spoke Nov. 12 at the Ojibway Nature Centre as a part of the Green Speaker Series hosted by the Windsor Essex County Environmental Committee. Helm addressed the issue of visible plastic contaminants, otherwise known as micro plastics, which are smaller than five millimetres in diam- eter, in the Great Lakes. Helm said one of the biggest issues is how little is actually known about the micro plastics. “Other than one study col- lecting it on water in the Great Lakes and another having some pellets wash up on beaches, we haven’t actually done very much yet,” Helm said. “We don’t know the scope and scale of the prob- lem.” What is known, however, are some of the sources of these small, yet visible pieces of plastic. The primary source is micro beads, which come from exfoliating skincare products such as face wash, hand soap and toothpaste. Helm said other sources may be items like synthetic fibres from clothing, fishing lines, plastic bottles, litter and debris. SEE PAGE 5 Micro plastics in Great Lakes
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VOLUME X ISSUE 7 WWW.THEMEDIAPLEX.COM NOVEMBER 27 , 2014
CONVERGED CITIZENTH
E
PAGE2
NEWS
PAGE7
SPORTSGALLERY
PAGE12
Photo by Sean Frame
Three Fan Expo attendees pose in their X-Men costumes at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto on Aug. 30,
Cosplayin’ around
Sean Frame
Managing Editor
Halloween is a chance to
dress up and be someone you
are not. Unfortunately, for
those who want to dress up all
the time, Halloween only hap-
pens once a year. But hell if
Mr. Dressup can do it all year
round why can’t everyone
else?
Costume play or ‘cosplay’ is
the act of dressing up as a
character from fiction or even
reality, though is mostly popu-
lar for science fiction, video
games and anime genres. The
term cosplay comes from the
Japanese portmanteau which
in English translates to cos-
tume play. This term wa
coined in 1984 by Nobuyuki
Takahashi, who was so
impressed by the costumes at
Worldcon in Los Angeles that
a story of this portmanteau
was published in the Japanese
magazine My Anime.
It is popular for people who
attend geek conventions and
also popular on the Internet.
Cosplayers sometime partic-
ipate in what is known as role
playing, which is a sub-culture
where people act-out charac-
ters using storytelling and dia-
logue on site forums.
Mckenna Roberts became
interested in cosplay when she
heard of an anime convention
just across the river in Detroit,
called Youmacon. She had
always been a fan of anime
and when she heard about
Youmacon, she wanted to
dress up for it immediately.
She soon found out cosplay is
very time consuming. Not
only does it take up a long
period of time if you inde-
pendently design and create
your costume, but it does not
come cheap.
“The more pieces associated
with the costume, the more
money it will cost,” said
Roberts, who is currently
working on a new costume.
“Half of it is stuff you don’t
even see. For example, the
hair piece for her (the costume
she is currently working on).
People think ‘Oh okay, money
for a wig’, but in reality her
hair is so big that it requires
one very long wig, plus three
extensions, along with EVA
foam for shape,and pins, and
glue. That is just the hair.
Everything adds up very
quickly.”
Despite the long process of
creating a costume, Roberts
says the best thing about cos-
play is it’s always a learning
experience. Great detail goes
into each costume, unlike
Halloween costumes you can
just buy for $50. The more she
talks to different cosplayers,
the more she learns, like
which materials work best and
how to shape things using dif-
ferent techniques. The work is
never over for Roberts; she
said as soon as she finishes
one costume it is on to the
next. She has currently com-
pleted two costumes and has
another four in the works.
Convention organizers usu-
ally lay out rules and regula-
tions for cosplayers, which
can make somecostumes diffi-
cult to finish. Some rules
include no folded steel
weapons– usually prop-weapons
are made of wood– and limited
prop sizes as to not take up too
much convention space. This year
Youmacon made it a rule that
while at the convention on the
Renaissance Centre premises there
were no weapons allowed and no
masks that covered faces. These
rules sparked some outrage for
SEE PAGE 8
Ashley Ann Mentley
CP Editor
Washing your face and hands
and brushing your teeth could
be contributing to contamina-
tion of the Great Lakes.
Of the five Great Lakes,
Lake Erie has the highest con-
centration of micro plastic
contamination – and research
has only just begun said Paul
Helm, a senior research scien-
tist at the Ontario Ministry of
the Environment and Climate
Change office. He spoke Nov.
12 at the Ojibway Nature
Centre as a part of the Green
Speaker Series hosted by the
Windsor Essex County
Environmental Committee.
Helm addressed the issue of
visible plastic contaminants,
otherwise known as micro
plastics, which are smaller
than five millimetres in diam-
eter, in the Great Lakes. Helm
said one of the biggest issues
is how little is actually known
about the micro plastics.
“Other than one study col-
lecting it on water in the Great
Lakes and another having
some pellets wash up on
beaches, we haven’t actually
done very much yet,” Helm
said. “We don’t know the
scope and scale of the prob-
lem.”
What is known, however, are
some of the sources of these
small, yet visible pieces of
plastic. The primary source is
micro beads, which come
from exfoliating skincare
products such as face wash,
hand soap and toothpaste.
Helm said other sources may
be items like synthetic fibres
from clothing, fishing lines,
plastic bottles, litter and
debris.
SEE PAGE 5
Micro plastics
in Great Lakes
2CONVERGED CITIZENNEWS NOVEMBER 27, 2014
CCAC to cut nursing visitsCitizen Staff
The Erie St. Clair
Community Care Access
Centre is planning to cut
services to address its
deficit.
According to documents
acquired by the Converged
Citizen the local CCAC has
a deficit of $5.9 million.
They have been meeting
with the Local Health
Integration Network to
devise strategies to ensure
they have a balanced budg-
et going forward.
The 11-page document
explains how they got to this
point and what they plan on
doing to balance the budget. It
even instructs service
providers how to answer
patients’ questions about why
they are being discontinued or
having their visits reduced.
The CCAC plans to reduce
visits by 33 per cent or 300
visits a week. They also plan
to hire seven more care co-
ordinators and reduce the
average cost per short-stay
patient by 23 per cent.
Many of the strategies
include fostering partnerships
with community support serv-
ice agencies and connecting
patients with these agencies
instead of treating them
through CCAC. One such
example is respite services.
“We can no longer provide
respite services as it is a dupli-
cation of resources when there
are community agencies that
provide this service,” accord-
ing to the CCAC documents.
The Hospice of Windsor and
Essex County provides many
different services, some of
which fall under services that
CCAC is looking to eliminate,
like respite care. Several
agency spokespeople said they
are not able to comment on the
CCAC cuts until there is more
information about the effect
on their programs.
Another community service
provider, the Canadian
Diabetes Association, offers
services and programs to peo-
ple who have diabetes.
Diabetes can lead to foot
ulcers and other medical con-
ditions that could require
CCAC involvement. In an
email statement, Harriet Lee,
the communications manager
for CDA, said they are leaders
in the fight against diabetes
and are aware of the CCAC
cuts.
“The Canadian Diabetes
Association believes people
living with diabetes should
have access the best health
care possible in order to live
their lives to their full poten-
tial,” said Lee. “We’re aware
of the changes CCAC has put
in place, and we will be
assessing the impact it may or
may not have on people living
with diabetes in Ontario.”
Numerous attempts to con-
tact CCAC for clarification
have gone unanswered. If you
or someone you know has had
their services discontinued or
changed by CCAC recently
and you don’t agree with the
changes you can file an appeal
with CCAC on their website at
http://healthcareathome.ca/eri
estclair/en . This site also has
other useful information about
CCAC and the services they
provide. If you would like to
speak to someone in person
you can call 1-888-310-7230
for more information.
Mark Brown
Citizen Staff Reporter
Windsor’s downtown business
association is calling attention to
the diversity of the neighbour-
hood’s restaurants while reaping
the benefits of the recent film fes-
tival.
The Downtown Windsor
Business Improvement
Association is using social media
to promote the uniqueness of
eateries in the downtown core.
Debi Croucher, acting director of
the DWBIA, said participants can
benefit from showing off
Windsor’s restaurants.
“We really wanted to use social
media to spread the word,” said
Croucher. “A lot of ‘foodies’ enjoy
taking photographs of the meals
that they’re having. What we
wanted to do was encourage them
to post those photos to Twitter,
Facebook or Instagram.”
Croucher said the promotion,
which runs throughout the month
of November and is called “30
Days Dining Downtown,” is very
user-friendly and anyone with a
cellphone can take part.
“Just snap a photo,” said
Croucher. “It (the restaurant) has to
be within our boundaries, then
they would tag it ’30 Days Dining
Downtown.’ At the end of the
month, we will pick an overall
winner and then a number of win-
ners would win gift cards to vari-
ous establishments.”
Croucher said the response to the
program has been varied so far.
Among the restaurants that have
had photos sent in are Maxim,
Terracotta, Windsor Star News
Café, Squirrel Cage, Naturosweet
and Chanoso’s. Croucher said the
program is also a terrific way to
promote Windsor’s downtown
restaurants ahead of the holiday
season.
“This is a great time to do that,
we’re leading up to the holidays,”
said Croucher. “For folks who are
looking for that perfect gift, per-
haps folks would have seen a par-
ticular restaurant and consider a
gift card.”
The buildup to the holidays
comes in the afterglow of the
Windsor International Film
Festival which had its run earlier
this month at the Capitol Theatre.
Croucher said downtown busi-
nesses got a real boost from the
eight-day event.
“It’s been huge,” said Croucher.
“Restaurants, particularly those on
University, Pelissier and Chatham
have raved about the attendance,
which is really encouraging. They
always do well with WIFF
because of the demographic that
the independent film attracts.”
Restaurants that are popular with
the downtown lunch crowd saw
an increase in business during the
film festival. Brian Khan, coordi-
nator of special events and mar-
keting at the DWBIA, said the
response at some places exceeded
expectations.
“Frenchy’s (Poutinery) had a
lineup outside the establishment
because of the film fest. And this is
around 10:30 a.m. or 11 a.m.
when they open on a Tuesday,”
said Khan. “This is not a normal
crowd that you would have on a
weekday.”
Croucher said she is hopeful the
energy provided by the film festi-
val will carry over into the upcom-
ing Winterfest, set for Nov. 29
with the traditional Santa Claus
Parade.
The “30 Days Dining
Downtown” promotion runs
through Nov. 30. For more infor-
mation, contact the Downtown
Mosaic offices at (519) 252-5723
or visit
www.downtownwindsor.ca.
Downtown restaurantsget support from WIFF
Photo by Mark BrownBrian Khan, marketing and special events coordinator of theDowntown Windsor Business Improvement Association andDebi Croucher, acting director, pause outside the DWBIAoffices on Pelissier Street, downtown Windsor, Nov 10.
A ‘magical’ experience at the U of WKristine Klein
Citizen Staff Reporter
Windsorites experienced their
first Tedx at the University of
Windsor which featured many
speakers, including a young magi-
cian.
Tedx is an event much like a Ted
Talks, where guest speakers have a
chance to share their ideas or dis-
coveries. The event started with
the hosts taking a selfie and
encouraging the audience to do the
same.
After many speakers, magician
Keith Brown took the stage. He
has been performing magic since
the age of six and his speech was
“The Magic of Thinking.”
“Magic and creativity go hand in
hand,” said Brown. “In order to be
creative I need to be willing to go
the distance. I need to be willing
not to quit…I need to immerse
myself completely because I’ve
noticed my creativity evolves over
time.”
Brown talked not only about cre-
ativity, but also other magicians,
one being Canadian Dai Vernon,
who he considers to be one of the
greatest magicians of the last cen-
tury.
“Vernon once said ‘most magi-
cians stop thinking too soon.’ He
believed that magicians were shal-
low thinkers instead of deep
thinkers, that magicians would set-
tle with the first possible answer as
the answer instead of an answer as
one of many,’’ said Brown. “What
if this doesn’t apply to just magi-
cians, what if we all can stop think-
ing too soon?”
Brown said his goal is to get the
people of the world to believe in
his show.
“My job as a magician is to give
you every single opportunity to
entertain the idea that what I am
doing really is magic,” said
Brown.
Brown successfully made the
Tedx audience believe in magic by
the show of hands after his per-
formance. If it really was magic,
the audience will never know
because a good magician never
reveals his secrets.
The goal of a Tedx event is to
change your life with something
exciting or different. Jenny Van, a
U of W student, said that she will
be participating in the 30 day chal-
lenge, with was part of a pre-
recorded video shown at the event.
It is a challenge where you do
something for 30 days to create a
good habit or to do something
interesting.
“The 30 day challenge really
stood out to me… My 30 day chal-
lenge will be to take photos every-
day with friends because I don’t
take many photos with them,” said
Van.
Keith Brown preforming his teleporting card trick in front of theaudience at the Tedx at the University of Windsor on Nov. 8
Photo by Kristine Klein
FOLLOW US AT HTTP://TWITTER.COM/THE_MEDIAPLEX
The town of LaSalle’s website:
www.town.lasalle.on.ca
WEBSITE
3CONVERGED CITIZENNEWS NOVEMBER 27, 2014
Windsor-Essex County housing market is booming
Photo by Johnathan Hutton
Dave Antovski, 42, stands in front of his recently sold residence in South Windsor.
Johnathan Hutton
Citizen Staff Reporter
Home sales in Windsor-
Essex are up 6.22 per cent
since September and are
predicted to continue ris-
ing, according to the
Windsor Essex County
Association of Realtors.
Windsor has been hit
hard by the 2008 recession
which led to the closure of
its General Motors trans-
mission plant in 2010 and
several other business
resulting in job losses and
layoffs. As a result many
Windsorites lost their
homes or had to move else-
where.
According to Cindy
Sorkopud, a realtor from
Royal Lepage Realty in
Windsor, after the all time
market low in 2008, they
have no where to go but up.
“Windsor is currently a
balanced market, leading
towards a sellers’ market.
There has been a shortage
of inventory but there is
also supply and demand,”
said Sorkopud.
Other reasons Sorkopud
gave included lower inter-
est rates for home buyers.
“Of course supply and
demand always drives the
market, but I think low
interest rates have helped
also, said Sorkopud. The
interest rates have been
low for quite some time. I
think right now you can get
a five year mortgage for
2.89 per cent.”
According to a study
done by Statistics Canada
in 2011, about four in five
people who bought a home
between 2006 and 2011
had a mortgage.
Favourable interest rates
encourage home buyers to
sell and buy new homes.
A study by the WECAR
showed that the housing
market in the region is
making a comeback.
In one year housing sales
have increased by 12 per
cent.
This demand for homes
in Windsor is reflected in
the prices of the homes,
which have slightly
increased. According to
the WECAR, the average
price of a home has
increased by $9,005 since
last September. The most
common price point of the
year so far for houses are
the ones that are between
$100,000 and $139,999,
with 782 being sold so far
this year.
New housing develop-
ments have been springing
up to meet these demands.
Typically home buyers
tend to be older as they are
usually the ones with
greater job security.
Statistics Canada shows
that 31.5 per cent of
recently purchased house-
holds between 2006 and
2011 were by people less
than 35 years old. This
means that approximately
70 per cent of all home
owners in Canada are over
the age of 35.
“For me, my demograph-
ic market is more between
age 40 and 60,” said
Sorkopud.
Many buyers who can’t
find what they are looking
for in this demanding mar-
ket are deciding to build
their own homes.
Dave Antovski, 42 , is a
resident of south Windsor
and has researched the
housing market for over
three years. Although he
and his wife tried to find a
home in the south Windsor
area, they were unable to
find the house they wanted
in the area they preferred.
“It was this indecision
that helped us decide to
build our house instead of
buying,” said Antovski. “It
was important to move into
a home that was specked
out exactly the way we
wanted. We dictated the
layout, how big the rooms
were going to be and what
features we wanted to add
to it.”
Eventually they bought a
property in LaSalle that he
said was close to friends
and family and in a nice
area.
Whether people are look-
ing to build their own
homes or buy them, they
should be prepared to pay a
little more to get the home
they are looking for.
Taylor Busch
CP Editor
In the weeks following the
election, LaSalle councillors
reflect on their town’s recent
purchases as they decide what
to do next.
Dale Langlois is the current
deputy treasurer and manager
of finance for the town.
He said the outgoing council
did a good job of putting away
money for unexpected pur-
chases and the new council
should do the same.
“We had to take on some
debt for a new building but we
didn't fully fund it with debt,”
said Langlois. “For other
building projects around town
we will make sure we have the
money available before we
spend it. That's just sound
financial planning.”
In addition to growing costs
and staff wages, Langlois con-
firmed that the council will
announce increased spending
in other areas. In LaSalle’s
2013 final budget, the town
reported spending less than
$100 on employee training
and $2,500 on tuition fees.
This year, the council planned
to spend roughly $1,000 on
employee training and $5,000
on tuition fees.
“We have a program where if
people take a course and it's
related to their employment
the town will pay for it, and
more people have been taking
advantage of it,” said
Langlois. “It's a very minimal
part of our budget and it bene-
fits the town.”
Newly appointed deputy
mayor Mark Bondy said he
thinks the new buildings were
a good investment for the
town. He believes more
investors will be drawn to
LaSalle as a result of the
development.
“We spent a lot of money on
new facilities, but if we want
investors to come to our town
we have to invest in our town
which we’ve done,” said
Bondy. “If you talk to other
municipalities they might not
say it publically, but off the
record they're saying they
want to emulate LaSalle finan-
cially.”
According to Langlois, no
departments are expected to
spend less than they did in
2013, but some of the depart-
ments expected to spend near-
ly the same amount.
New sidewalk construction
is expected to cost $200,000,
sidewalk repairs $60,000 and
trails $50,000.
“I think we've been building
those items up over the last 15
years,” said Langlois. “Our town
slogan is ‘Healthy, Vibrant and
Caring,’ so we want people to get
more active. And because the pro-
gram has been around for about 15
years, some of the stuff is starting
to need to be replaced.”
Re-elected Mayor Ken Antaya
said he does not feel pressure from
residents to decrease spending this
term because of the overwhelming
support he received from voters
during the election.
Not unlike Eddie Francis during
his term in office, Anatya said new
buildings are the key to drawing
more businesses and big-ticket
events to LaSalle.
“Over the past four years we
reconstructed all of our municipal
buildings. It cost us over $30 mil-
lion, but now we are set for the
next 30 or 40 years,” said Antaya.
During the election, one of the
concerns raised by LaSalle resi-
dents was a lack of transparency in
spending.
Langlois said residents can view
the town’s budget at each council
meeting or by visiting their web-
site.
“I don't know how we could be
more transparent,” said Langlois.
“All projects go through council
and every single cheque that's writ-
ten is included in the council's
report each meeting.
Everyone is welcome to go to
the council meetings and voice
their ideas on how to make things
more transparent if they have any.”
LaSalle’s next council meet-
ing is scheduled for Dec. 1.
The current agenda calls for
new councillors to be sworn
in, property taxes to be debat-
ed and the 2015 proposed
budget to be announced.
LaSalle council reflects,looks forward
4CONVERGED CITIZENNEWS NOVEMBER 27, 2014
Sports centre’s future debated at meetingMark Brown
Citizen Staff Reporter
The fate of a sports and
recreation complex was a key
component of the agenda at
Monday night’s town council
meeting in Lakeshore.
Lakeshore Town Council
voted 6-3 to begin the process
of seeking the help of a realtor
for the listing of the Puce
Sports and Leisure Centre,
which houses the Lakeshore
Academy of Fine Arts. The
operator of the school, Sarah
Ilijanich, had been hoping to
purchase the building and ren-
ovate it, but council stuck to
its bottom-line price tag of
$500,000.
Ilijanich had told council
members at Lakeshore Town
Hall she had access to up to
$300,000 to renovate the
building, but members
believed renovations, includ-
ing asbestos removal, would
push the cost up further.
Ilijanich said her only concern
is keeping her school an
important part of the
Lakeshore arts scene.
“I’m not asking you to build
me a building,” Ilijanich said
in front of council. “All I’m
asking is that you quote me a
price. I’m here fighting for the
arts. I’m here fighing for
Lakeshore.”
Ilijanich had offered the
town one dollar for the build-
ing earlier this year, similar to
the arrangement Windsor
made with the Windsor
Symphony Orchestra for the
Capitol Theatre downtown.
Council rejected that proposal.
Ward 4 Councillor Steven
Bezaire told Ilijanich that her
latest proposal will not work.
“Some things just aren’t
meant to be,” said Bezaire. “It
just doesn’t seem viable…this
is not the right building for
you to buy.”
Steve Salmons, Lakeshore’s
director of community and
development services, said the
Puce Sports Centre had been
appraised for $860,000, and a
similar building in the area
had sold for $1.2 million.
Ward 2 Councillor Dave
Monk noted the asbestos pres-
ent in the building and that the
cost of its removal would
account for much of the pur-
chase price.
Council members eventually
passed a motion to turn the
process of selling the property
over to a realtor. Councillors
Bezaire, Monk and Dan
Diemer voted against it.
Ilijanich said she was disap-
pointed and is already looking
to relocate elsewhere.
“I have $300,000 to spend
and it won’t be in Lakeshore
anytime soon,” Ilijanich said
outside council chambers.
She said that she has
been talking with a casting
director about working in
London, but she believes in
the Windsor-Essex area
and has spoken with an
unnamed company about
the possibility of moving
the school to St. Clair
Beach.
The meeting was the
first regularly-scheduled
one held in Lakeshore
since the Oct 27 municipal
election. Councillors
Bezaire and Charles
McLean did not win reelec-
tion, though Mayor Tom
Bain and Deputy Mayor Al
Fazio will join the remain-
ing councillors and return
for another term.
Photo by Mark Brown
Members of Lakeshore Town Council confer following their meeting Monday, Nov 10. From left,Councillors Dave Monk and Charles McLean, Mayor Tom Bain, Chief Administrative OfficerKirk Foran, Councillors Steven Bezaire and Linda MacKinlay.
British theme lost on Fox and FiddleSharon Ramirez
Citizen Staff Reporter
I have been in the Fox &
Fiddle restaurant twice
now and both times I was
impressed with the food.
The first time I was able
to get a soft drink, the
potato boat appetizer, the
macaroni and cheese and
dessert for $40, including
the tip I gave to my sweet-
heart of a waitress. The
second time, I tried the
spinach, cheese and bacon
dip as appetizer, a glass of
wine and the mushroom
cheese burger which came
to around $38 including a
tip.
Not only did I get so
much for little, I got some
incredibly delicious food.
At other restaurants, I
would have paid a $100 or
more for all of that.
Despite the delicious
food at low prices, the
restaurant’s theme was far
from British.
Fox & Fiddle calls itself
a British-style pub, but if
they had removed the
nameplate from the build-
ing, I would have thought I
had entered a themeless,
no-name restaurant.
When I think of a British
pub I think of old, cherry
or mahogany tables,
Victorian-style, black
wrought-iron chandeliers
with light bulbs meant to
look like flames. I also
think of a more rustic feel,
one exhibited through
autumn-coloured walls.
Instead, what I got was a
bar with a white marble
counter top, black leather
seats and black and grey
walls. I’m assuming the
point was to take the origi-
nal old-English, British-
style pub and modernize it,
but in doing so they lost
the British aspect altogeth-
er.
The only thing that felt
British to me was the live
band playing instrumental
songs reminiscent of old
English pubs. This band
only plays on Tuesday, so
on any other day they play
the same music I hear on
my radio.
The waitresses wore kilts
that were incredibly short
and not made for manoeu-
vrability when they had to
clean the tables. For a
British pub, the kilts were
culturally off-base, not to
mention completely
impractical.
Despite their attire, the
waitresses were very
sweet. My second time
there, one drew a heart and
a smiley face for me on my
bill, so that was new. I’ve
definitely never had that
before.
The British theme was
more obvious on their
menu, offering Shepherd’s
pie, fish and chips and a
beef and Guinness pot pie.
I give this establishment
seven out of 10 because
although the theme was
lacking, their food was
incredible. I would recom-
mend it to those who are
interested in great food and
able to overlook the inabil-
ity to match their establish-
ment to their theme.
REVIEW
TUESDAYS @ 6PMCogeco Channel 11
5CONVERGED CITIZENHEALTH NOVEMBER 27, 2014
Breast cancer awarenessIesha Coburn
Citizen Staff Reporter
The month of October is
Breast Cancer Awareness
month. Although many people
are aware of what breast can-
cer is, the National Breast
Cancer Association is taking
the extra step by making the
whole month to inform people
on how to check themselves to
prevent it, and to educate on
the fact that even men can get
breast cancer. They also
fundraise for the whole month
of October.
Breast cancer is a malignant
tumour that can start in the
breast tissue. Malignant means
that it may spread. It is the
second most leading cause of
death from cancer for
Canadian women. On average,
67 Canadian women will be
diagnosed with breast cancer
every day. According to the
Canadian Cancer Society, men
can also develop breast can-
cer, although less than one per
cent of breast cancers do occur
within men.
That is what makes Breast
Cancer Awareness Month so
important. Knowing these sta-
tistics, St. Clair College held
multiple breast cancer aware-
ness fundraisers by selling t-
shirts, popcorn and cotton
candy at both the Main
Campus and the TD Student
Centre.
Sarah Ryrie is the Student
Representative Council
President at St Clair College.
She organized the fundraiser
and feels very fortunate to
come from a family that has
minimal family members that
have been affected by cancer.
I do have friends who their
families have been torn apart
from cancer so it’s a vicious
cycle and it’s something that
needs to end. I have friends
who have lost friends, I have
friends who have lost moms, I
have best friends that their
families have been torn apart
from this disease so although
I’m not a scientist and I know
that I don’t have it in me to
develop a cure, said Ryrie. She
does as much as she can to
help.
“Whether it be cotton candy
or making popcorn and sell-
ing it to students for mini-
mum donations of 50 cents
cause we want students and
know that that they don’t
have a lot of money to spare,
but we’ve had a lot of people
giving $20 bills for a 50 cent
popcorn or cotton candy, it
gives me chills but it just goes
to show that people are being
affected,” said Ryrie.
One of the things that Ryrie
thought to help girls be fully
aware of their bodies is put-
ting posters in the bathrooms
of the school showing how
girls can check their breasts
for lumps, etcetera. She
understands that college stu-
dents can’t be as proactive as
desired because of classes
and other daily activities that
may take their time and
money.
“People may not have the
money to give us but their
time, everybody as a little bit
of time- if you have time to
change your Facebook status
or upload an Instagram photo,
you probably do have spare
minutes of your day that may
be promoting the things that
are happening around the
county,” said Ryrie.
Amanda Broski is a St. Clair
College student and talked
about her experience this
month raising awareness for
breast cancer.
“You know you just have to
give support. I did the breast
cancer run and it was very
emotional but I think that what
people have to understand is
you have to be aware, you
have to help them and you
can’t look at it as a sentence
you can’t be like, ‘I’m affected
now I’m done, you have to
know that there is hope,” said
Broski.
Run for the Cure is a nation-
al fundraiser for breast cancer.
It not only raises money for
more innovative research but
it brings a lot of emotions and
has different ways of getting
more people involved. When
Broski attended the Run for
the Cure she was one among
127,000 participants and vol-
unteers that had come together
to show support, and accord-
ing to CIBC’s Run for the
Cure website over $25 million
was raised this year.
“Everyone was smiling and
crying, different teams had
different names. My favourite
team was called “Steps for
Strength” and then they had
this part where all of the peo-
ple who had cancer were on
top of this stage and they were
holding up signs and everyone
had ‘I’m still fighting’ signs or
‘I’m going to get through this
in months.’ There was this girl
that was there that had four
different types of cancer. It
was just emotional and then
laughter, everyone had fun,”
said Broski.
To find out more infor-
mation about Breast
Cancer such as where to
research prevention, risks,
signs and symptoms, or
even on where to donate,
you can go online to
http://www.cancer.ca/.
“These things that wash our
face and help us look pretty
are having a huge impact on
the Great Lakes,” Helm said.
Sherry Bondy, Ward 4 coun-
cillor in the Town of Essex,
addressed what she called “a
disconnect” between Essex
County towns and the Great
Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities
Initiative, the organization
responsible for conducting the
research.
“As a councillor in the coun-
ty, and my family lives on
Lake Erie, I’m surprised how
disconnected the local munici-
palities are to the Great Lakes
and how disconnected their
elected officials are to the
Great Lakes (and St. Lawrence
Cities) Initiative,” Body said.
It’s kind of upsetting.”
Various locations in the U.S.
such as Illinois, New Jersey
and New York have begun to
introduce legislation that will
require companies using micro
beads to remove them from
their products. Helm said the
argument is that micro beads
are present in the Great Lakes
and they’re coming from prod-
ucts that don’t need to be
there.
“As a result of that kind of
public awareness and advoca-
cy, the industry has said,
‘You’re right, we can find
alternatives,’ and so many of
the companies have commit-
ted to removing them from the
products starting in January
2015,” Helm said.
Ontario has yet to create
such legislation.
Stefan Grigorakis is study-
ing micro plastics for his mas-
ter’s degree at the University
of Windsor. He agreed with
Helm that one of the biggest
obstacles is how little is cur-
rently known about the topic.
“There’s only been a handful
of fresh water studies of micro
plastics and all of those have
been pretty much quantifying
how much is in the water…”
as opposed to looking into
sources or effects, Griogorakis
said. He is more interested in
researching the effects of
chemical build up and how to
remove the micro plastics,
whereas Helm’s studies are
focusing largely on the sources
of the plastics.
“We don’t really see the
micro beads, but we’ve heard
a lot about them,” Helm said.
“It’s easy to show that these
things are there, it’s not so
easy to show what kind of
effects there are. It’s very dif-
ficult to make claims that it’s
having a huge impact at this
point.”
Helm said this current lack
of information about the con-
taminants and the potential
effects should not stop people
from taking the issue seriously
and acting responsibly.
Photo by Josh Teixeira
Paul Helm speaks to an audience at the Ojibway Nature Centreon the cause and concern of micro plastics in the Great Lakes.
Windsor indignitaries comemmorateRemembrance day at the Cenotaph inWindsor on Nov. 11.
Photos by The Converged Citizen Staff
7CONVERGED CITIZENGALLERY NOVEMBER 27, 2014
Gathering shows respectCaleb Workman
Citizen Staff Reporter
November 11 is a day to remember
and many in LaSalle took time to
make it out to the new Cenotaph to
pay their respects.
The commemoration of all who
have sacrificed took place at
Cenotaph Park, the new park outside
of LaSalle Town Hall. The ceremony
started at 11 a.m. and veterans, old
and new, stood alongside the civilians
of LaSalle to look back and remem-
ber the service of those who fought
for the country.
Retired Master Corporal of the
Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment
and current town council elect, Mike
Akpata, was there to remember his
service and the service of those he
fought alongside.
“During the moment of silence, I
usually think specifically about the 22
Canadians that were killed on my tour
in Afghanistan. The ones whose
ramp-ceremonies I attended,” said
Akpata. “My mind starts to expand to
the 158 killed in total, but then I look
at what I call the senior veterans
whose friendships I’ve made… So it
starts off intimate and small and it
begins to grow as I look at the losses
of members of the military communi-
ty who have served.”
Akpata said he was very happy with
the number of people who made it to
the cenotaph.
“It says that people care. It says that
people, despite the busy-ness of life,
will stop by,” said Akpata. “It says
people will remember. It says that
people understand the sacrifice that
has taken us to this point where we
can gather in a beautiful place free
and unafraid.”
Among the people gathered at the
cenotaph was silver cross mother
Theresa Charbonneau, mother of Cpl.
Andrew Grenon who died during his
last tour in Afghanistan in 2008.
“Every year, as I prepare for
Remembrance Day, my feelings do
get stronger and get more resolve,”
s a i d
Charbonneau.
“I feel more
fortitude and I
realize that
when I
s p e a k ,
because of
what I’ve
b e e n
through, I’m hoping that I teach and I
give others a reason to remember and
a means for them to thank present ser-
vicemen and veterans that the see.”
Charbonneau said she hopes to see
everyone remember, not just today,
but throughout the year as she does.
“If you saw my house, you would
see remembrances everywhere, front
and back,” said Charbonneau. “Every
time I see somebody who I recognize
is a veteran, who I know is a service-
man, I always give them a hug and a
kiss and I thank them.”
Charbonneau said she feels it
shouldn’t take a specific day for peo-
ple to take the time to remember
those who have laid down their life.
“Every citizen
should react
when they see a
uniform. That
should be all it
takes,” said
Charbonneau.
L a s a l l e ’ s
mayor, Ken
A n t a y a ,
said he remembered his uncle, who
had served during the First World
War, during the moment of silence.
“You never heard a word of com-
plaint from the guy and that’s what
you find from most of the veterans,”
said Antaya. “Even though a portion
of their lives was taken away by
being injured, by service, or by seeing
a friend die next to them they never
complained.”
Antaya said he was very happy
with the day’s event and was
proud of all the people who came
out.
“It was moving. Well done, well
organized by the Legion. We
were proud to be part of it and I
think that it was a great day to
launch our cenotaph and I think
everybody is embracing it,” said
Antaya.
The new cenotaph, placed at the
northern edge of the park, hon-
ours World War One, the Second
World War, the Korean War, the
United Nations Peace Keeping
Missions and the newly added
Afghanistan War.
“It’s beautiful just to see
Afghanistan at the bottom,” said
Akpata. “To have Afghan on it, in
the year 2014, without problem,
without political crash or fight-
ing, is a testament to those gen-
tlemen for what they fought for to
get Korea included on their ceno-
taphs.”
“It’s been a phenomenal day, as
it always is,” said Charbonneau.
“It’s not over yet though, and we
will remember.”
8CONVERGED CITIZENENTERTAINMENT NOVEMBER 27, 2014
RPGs provide access to other worldsKenneth Bullock
Citizen Staff Reporter
When people think about
church, humorous nuns are
not usually their first thought,
but Put the Nuns in Chargemight change that.
The improv comedy play
written by Chicago. resident
Vicki Quade will be coming to
St. Thomas of Villanova
Catholic High School’s
Festival Theatre on Nov. 28
and 29.
Quade is the creator of the
longest-running religiously-
themed Chicago play LateNight Catechism. That play
has been in theatres across
North America for over two
decades with positive recep-
tion and a 4.2 rating from tick-
etmaster.com.
Put the Nuns in Charge,
which came after Late NightCatechism, is regularly per-
formed at its home theatre, the
Royal George Theatre, in
Chicago. It has been traveling
around North America due to
its positive reception and fam-
ily-friendly nature. The play’s
religious background tries to
teach the world about certain
religious aspects through
laughter.
“I love writing religious
comedies and it’s just a no-
brainer to do something on the
seven deadly sins,” said
Quade. “We take a look at the
seven deadly sins and take a
modern spin on relaying the
story.”
Quade said she tries to iden-
tify the worst sins that are
being carried out by people in
the world now and, through
the play, teach the audience
how to avoid continuing with
these sins.
The play is a two-hour, one-
character show which features
several actresses.
The school in LaSalle will
be visited by Kathleen Puls
Andrade, an actress who has
been with the show for almost
ten years. The Chicago native
considers herself a “Jill of all
trades.” She has been
involved in acting since the
mid-90s and is also involved
in writing, voice acting and
teaching others to voice act.
“About ten years ago I asked
Vicki Quade, the writer and
producer, if she was hiring,”
said Puls Andrade. “She was
coming up with a new show
called Put the Nuns in Charge,
so I auditioned and I’ve been
doing it ever since.”
Puls Andrade said audience
participation is essential for
the play to be carried out the
way it was intended to be.
“It’s almost as if there is
another character in the show
which makes it a lot of fun,”
said Puls Andrade. “You have
to suspend yourself from dis-
belief as an audience member
and enjoy yourself.”
Puls Andrade said she
believes a lot of people enjoy
the show because the show
has a way of bringing up old
memories. Although the play
has religious ties, the main
goal is to get everyone to
laugh. She said it doesn’t mat-
ter if people are Catholic, the
play is intended for every-
body.
“The tagline is ‘laugh your
sins off’ but it is really meant
for anyone,” said Puls
Andrade. “No matter what
background they come from,
everybody laughs. It’s very
respectful to Catholicism and
people will come up to me
after the show and ask me if
I’m a real nun.”
The play itself takes place in
a classroom setting with the
character Mary Margaret
O’Brien, an ex-nun who still
has nun-like qualities about
her. While the audience learns
about the seven deadly sins
they take part in the play’s
overall outcome.
“Each show is different,”
said Puls Andrade. “It’s
because each audience is dif-
ferent. In essence, no two
shows are alike, but everyone
still laughs and has a good
time.”
Quade said she hope the
show does well in LaSalle so
they can bring more opportu-
nities here.
“We have tons of shows
and we hope to be bringing
entertainment there for
several years to come,”
said Quade. “Bring your
kids, bring your mother
and bring your grandmoth-
er. It’s going to be a good
time
You are an extension of
yourself, transcending what
limits you in real life.
If you search online for
Dungeons & Dragons, video
game role playing games or
cosplay, entire followings can
be found. This is because
RPGs and roleplaying in gen-
eral are a lifestyle. The feeling
some get from RPGs is almost
magical.
Clinton Hammond, a long-
time D&D player said he first
tried the imaginative game
back in 1979. Hammond said
he enjoys the game for the
social aspect and the ability to
make characters based on
your personality. However, he
said there are too many rules
to the game and it takes away
from the openness role play
brings.
“Running a fast and loose
game for people who have
never played before can be
thrilling when you watch
them open up,” said
Hammond. “It’s when they
lose themselves in the story
and exhibit some truly lateral
thinking.
The longer Hammond
played RPGs for, the more he
realized their one glaring
flaw: The idea of having a
game system in general. The
hardcover rulebooks and
accessories drew away from
the stories Hammond
immersed himself in. After
this epiphany, he threw away
character sheets with num-
bers and focused more on the
Nun-busting comedyCaleb Workman
Citizen Staff Reporter
several Youmacon attendees,
according to Roberts.
Her advice was “Rules for cos-
tumes change based on the event
organizers and venues, so before
attending a convention, everyone
needs to familiarize themselves in
order not to cause any
problems.”
CEO and founder of Z-Day
Production Micheal Reeve is
well-known in Windsor for his
very detailed costumes. He was
recently featured on The Comic
Book Syndicate sporting his
Deathstroke costume. For Reeve,
cosplaying is having fun and pay-
ing homage to characters you
enjoy.
“I got into cosplay from expand-
ing my enjoyment in dressing up
for Halloween to other events that
allow me to have more fun and
more often making and dressing
up in costumes,” said Reeve.
“Generally I wear my costumes
anytime I have a justifiable reason
for it. Any costume party, event or
anything that can be construed as
a reason to wear one. ”
According to Reeve, most of the
time he spends working on a cos-
tume goes into research. Research
for Reeve is watching the source
material, finding a design version
of the character and deciding
whether to stay true to the source
material or make his own version.
Instead of dressing up and cele-
brating due to a holiday, cosplay-
ers truly try to replicate their char-
acters. Replicating these charac-
ters is more than just specific
detail on the costume, they also
reflect the characters movements
and mannerisms. Cosplayers are
truly dedicated to playing dress
up.
descriptions of the characters
themselves.
The purpose of an RPG is to
place yourself in a different
world and mindset. Aside
from RPGs, there are also
people who merely role-play
online. Care Schrei, a cos-
player and online roleplayer
said one of the reasons for her
love is to break away from the
norm.There are story-role
plays people can participate
in, but Schrei prefers one-on-
one roleplaying.
“I like seeing what will hap-
pen with different actions and
reactions,” said Schrei. “It’s
sort of like a book written by
two people.”
Schrei explained how
important is to have similar
interests with someone, or
else it’s difficult to co-ordi-
nate a story. Another impor-
tant facet of doing a roleplay
is setting guidelines. Trying
to improvise without some
kind of plan will not end well.
An amateur roleplayer may
want to make their character
invulnerable. Schrei calls this
“godmoding.” A potential for
death makes a character more
realistic and closer to life.
Roleplaying isn’t about
breaking every limit of the
human experience, but rather
making little tweaks to give
you more leeway while still
keeping life-like limitations
such as emotion and injury.
Some people will take an
established idea, like from an
anime or television show.
Others will create an entirely
new concept. D&D was one
of the first forms of RPG to
appear.
“Who your guy was, what
he was good at, what he
wasn’t good at, as Game
Master, I had a pretty good
handle on what was probably
going to happen,” said
Hammond. “The better play-
ers were at creatively impact-
ing and interacting with the
storyline, the more things
tailed to them.”
Hammond said he has
more fun when his charac-
ter has many different lim-
itations. One of his
favourites was a legless
warrior, riding around on a
saber-toothed cat. When
asked what Hammond
would say to someone who
wanted to try out D&D, he
merely said…“Do you
wanna play?”
Mckenna Roberts poses in her Faith Connors costume from theseries The Mirror’s Edge on Nov. 3.
Photo by Sean Frame
FROM PAGE 1
9CONVERGED CITIZENNOVEMBER 27, 2014ENTERTAINMENT
Sean Frame
Managing Editor
A little over nine years ago
Shawn Cousineau and two of
his friends opened up Rogues
Gallery comic book shop, at
327 Chatham St. W., with a
start-up fund of around
$30,000.
With help from a self
employment assistance pro-
gram, Cousineau put $10,000
towards the company, and
two others put up $20,000 col-
lectively. According to an arti-
cle written by Chuck
Kosanski, owner of Mile High
comics online store a smaller
comic shop costs roughly
$50,000 to start up with
$10,000 for fixtures, such as
racks and shelves, $30,000 for
basic inventory, $5,000 for
advertising and a safety
reserve of $5,000. In the arti-
cle Kosanski also said most
comic shops end up buying
their fixtures secondhand due
to the high cost for new equip-
ment and the labour involved
in putting the fixtures
together.
A basic breakdown of the
monthly cost for Rogues
Gallery Comics is $21,600.
This includes rent for the
month at $1,600 and the cost
for stock each week being
$5,000 on average. Based on
those overheads, Cousineau
would have started off in the
negatives.
“My biggest struggle upon
starting up was money,” said
Cousineau. ” Having enough
money each week to make my
stock orders was a bit of a
struggle.”
For a new store owner,
Diamond Distributors,
where most comic shops
get their stock, offers a 40
per cent discount for stock
and as the store gains
momentum the discount
may raise as well.
For 500 trades, which
would be a startup in order
to stock the store, and each
trade paperback on aver-
age costing $19.95, cost
for trades would be $9,975
at full retail. With the dis-
count, owners would still
owe $5,985 to the distribu-
tors and 500 comic trades
is roughly only one copy
of each popular comic
title. A single issue comic
cost roughly $2.99, and on
average a store stocks
more than 200 issues a
week. According to
Kosanki’s article, a suc-
cessful comic shop won’t
only stock books but col-
lectibles as well to bring in
a wider demographic of
customers, adding to the
cost of an already expen-
sive stock.
Currently, Cousineau is the
sole owner of Rogues Gallery
and spends most of his time at
the store, which has cut labour
costs for him. Every month
Cousineau makes a profit, but
it took almost four years for
him to start earning a profit.
Now, Rogues is one of
Windsor’s most popular spots
for comic books, in a prime
location close to downtown
and right across from the bus
station.
Pushers hosts firstfashion show
Ryan Brough
Photo Editor
Katrina Kryza is seen walking in the fashion show held atPushers Collective Saturday Nov 15. It was the release of theclothing line Tie Brain.
Photo by Ryan Brough
Pushers Collective held a
fashion show to help bring
local fashion designers to the
public.
Pushers Collective had their
grand re-opening on the after-
noon of Nov. 15. Pushers is a
clothing line, record label,
idea shop and production
company founded in 2011.
They released their new cloth-
ing line Push or Starve. Doors
opened at 2 p.m. and by 5 p.m.
the place had customers com-
ing in and out frequently. The
store’s owner and founder, Ali
Ahmed El Gamrini, said the
release of their new clothing
line was very successful.
“We had a great turnout and
were pleased with the amount
of supporters. We sold out of
all our promotional clothing
from the Push or Starve col-
lection,” said Gamrini.
One of the artists releasing
his new line-and his first line-
was Anthony Di Fazio. Di
Fazio, the designer of Tie
Brain, is an artist on many
platforms. Born and raised in
Windsor, he is currently work-
ing on a book, performs in two
local bands, draws, paints and
has just released his first
clothing line called Tie Brain.
He said he wants to do film
next.
“This is a cool way to
release some art work, to have
people wear it, it’s just so
cool,” said Di Fazio.
When Di Fazio displayed
artwork at the Alley Art Show
last summer, one of his cus-
tomers turned out to be Ana
Stulic. Stulic is the owner and
founder of Chelsea Studios,
which organized the fashion
show. Stulic got in touch with
Di Fazio shortly after pur-
chasing his art work at the
Alley Art Show. A couple of
months later, Di Fazio’s first
clothing line, Tie Brain, was
released at the Pushers event.
Di Fazio admitted he had no
idea what he was getting him-
self into but was excited to get
started.
“It was a lot of work but I
didn’t mind, I felt like this is a
sign,” said Di Fazio.
Stulic’s fashion background
comes from studying Fashion
Design at Istituto di Moda
Burdo in Milan, Italy. She has
worked in Paris, Montreal,
and Toronto and also worked
for a label called Minga
Berlin, in Germany.
Stulic is currently working
on her online store and getting
Tie Brain in shops around
Windsor.
Next for Pushers, they
plan to expand and have
Pushers flagship stores in
all major cities in North
America.
Holistic retreat teaches how to live happy life
Shelbey Hernandez
Associate Managing Editor
People can increase their
happiness by paying attention
to their health, wealth and
consciousness.
During a day retreat at
Gesstwood Camp and Retreat
Centre, three women who
practice holistic medicine
focused on how individuals
need to regain control of their
lives and do what makes them
happy.
This retreat was called a
holistic retreat, with a focus
on spiritual elements. Those
who practice holistic medicine
believe if someone’s emotion-
al or spiritual self isn’t work-
ing correctly, it can affect the
physical body. Using yoga,
meditation and crystals is
common in holistic practices.
Holistic therapy does not use
medications to help with ail-
ments. Nearly 40 per cent of
American adults use some
form of alternative medicine
which includes non-tradition-
al therapies.
Although some people sup-
port the use of alternative ther-
apies, others argue there is no
proof holistic therapies help.
When people say the therapies
help them, it’s often assumed
to be a placebo effect. A place-
bo effect is when someone is
told something will react a
certain way and because they
are told that beforehand, their
body mimics the reactions.
The host of the event,
Heather Chauvin, is a mental
health and self-esteem expert
with a bachelor’s degree in
social work and a number of
holistic therapy certifications.
Chauvin also works on the
medical advisory board for
Enchanted Makeovers, a not-
for-profit organization that
transforms women’s shelters
by funding renovations. In her
presentation, she talked about
how dealing with cancer
changed her. She also said it is
important for mothers to not
feel guilty taking time for
themselves and that people
should not let their lack of
confidence get in the way of
doing what they want.
Heather Nodello is a spiritual
counselor who helps people
deal with family, relationship
and divorce issues, she created
Truthful Healings in 2010. She
and two others, use a holistic
approach to counsel people by
focusing on what they really
want in life. At Truthful
Healings she offers services
including intuitive readings,
counselling and emotional
freedom techniques. She said
people assume the more
friends they have, the happier
they will be. However, accord-
ing to Nodello, the need to get
approval from others can actu-
ally do more damage to some-
one’s happiness.
Chauvin said the retreat was
able to teach women about
things they may not have been
taught before.
“I think health, wealth and
consciousness are three main
areas of our lives that we kind
of don’t know how to bring
SEE PAGE 12
Rogues Gallery Comics is expanding
10CONVERGED CITIZENLIFESTYLE NOVEMBER 27, 2014
Networking and awards night funding soughtShelbey Hernandez
Associate Managing Editor
For the eighth annual
Journalism Awards Night to
happen, journalism students
will have to make more than
$700 per month by April.
Last year, JAN cost more
than $4,000. Former JAN
president Sarah Ryrie had
made a little more than $1,000
but was able to make up the
money she didn’t have by sell-
ing the JAN tickets according
to Ryrie. These tickets were
$40 each and there were
approximately 180 sold. Food
alone made up 92 per cent of
the total cost for JAN.
This year, although the club
is close to making $1,000
from the first semester, there is
still a long way to go.
The JAN club is a journalism
student club that works to
raise money for an end-of-the-
year event. This event is called
the Journalism Awards Night,
where students from each year
are presented awards for a
variety of categories.
Last year, some of the cate-
gories included Bell Media
Journalist of the Year, Beat
Reporting, Convergence
Technology, CP Editing and
Photojournalist of the Year.
At last year’s event, there
were many media outlet repre-
sentatives present, such as
Dan Appleby, the news direc-
tor at CTV and CBC’s David
Common, who was the guest
speaker.
Taylor Busch, the current
president for the club, said
part of the problem was not
having any money at the
beginning of the year.
Everything had to come out of
her own pocket for the first
event which cost approximate-
ly $300 to put together.
Busch also said she may not
personally know how much
she has to raise, but she does
have a goal in mind.
“My goal is to make about
$500 every month and I only
came up with that because for
the barbecue thing which we
were hoping to break even, we
made $400,” said Busch. “So
my goal is to do a little better
than that every month going
forward.”
Ryrie said when she was the
JAN club president, one of her
main issues was not having
much help. She only started
with $14 in the bank, so like
Busch, she had to pay for a lot
of things.
Last year, many students
were unhappy with the cost of
JAN tickets, but Ryrie said she
had no choice. She had hoped
to have extra money for the
next year’s club, but it was
impossible. She was a full-
time student, a vice president
for the student government,
the JAN club president and
worked part-time so she never
had enough help. Since she
had to do so much with little
help, she said it upset her
when people complained.
“There was times when I
was doing so much JAN stuff
that I didn’t even have time for
my own stuff. My grades defi-
nitely even took a toll… and
that’s why it bothered me that
the people were complaining,”
said Ryrie. “I was like, ‘You
don’t have to do any of this.
You get to go to bed at a
decent time. You get to just go
to your work.’ It was so hard
to work and do all of this at the
same time.”
Ryrie also said the awards
night is crucial for students to
develop future careers. At that
event, she said journalism stu-
dents are able to make connec-
tions with potential employers
so it is important for students
to support the JAN club. “At
the end of the day, we go to
school because we want to get
a job and our Journalism
Awards Night really helps
people make those connec-
tions and increases our chance
of getting a job. We’re not in
an easy field, so we need to do
as much mingling and meeting
people as we can.”
JAN club president Taylor Busch poses for a picture, dressed upin costume to exhibit school spirit during the journalism pro-gram’s newspaper day on Oct. 31,
Photo by Shelbey Hernandez
Mark Brown
Columnist
OPINION
The news on Nov 7 that a
bankruptcy judge approved
the process that helps the city
of Detroit emerge from bank-
ruptcy did not particularly sur-
prise me. I knew that the
Motor City was resilient and
could bounce back from any
challenge. The city’s motto is
Speramus Meliora; Resurget
Cineribus. Translated from
Latin, it means:
We hope for better things, it
shall rise from the ashes.
The 313 has been to hell and
back many times over its 313
years of existence, and
Windsor-Essex has been along
for the ride for much of that
time. The motto goes all the
way back to the early 1800s
and was penned by a French-
born priest who would later
become a U.S. territorial dele-
gate – Father Gabriel Richard.
The town of Detroit was
destroyed by a fire in 1805,
but was quickly rebuilt. The
seal of Detroit depicts this
event by showing two women
– one grieving over the ruined
remains of Detroit, the other
happier and looking toward
the future…
We hope for better things, it
shall rise from the ashes.
Throughout the early 1900s,
Detroit became the city that
put the world on wheels, a city
of unbelievable work ethic
and where Henry Ford intro-
duced the $5 work day. But
the Great Depression hit
Detroit hard like it did almost
every American city. It took
the Second World War to show
that Detroit could reinvent
itself and produce the
weapons that fought off fas-
cism and anti-Semitism.
Detroit became the Arsenal of
Democracy…
We hope for better things, it
shall rise from the ashes.
Detroit had a population of
almost two million when it
celebrated its 250th birthday
in 1951, but it’s been declining
ever since. The exodus of res-
idents moving to the suburbs
began at this time, while in
tandem, the pressure cooker of
racism began to rise through-
out the ’50s and ’60s. It all
exploded on a hot summer
night in July 1967 when the
city burned for over a week in
what was then the deadliest
civil unrest in US history. It
took the city rallying around a
baseball team that won the
World Series the following
autumn to help the city heal…
We hope for better things, it
shall rise from the ashes.
Since then Detroit has dealt
with rising crime, racially-
based politics, widespread
urban blight, poverty and
unemployment. TV crews
would come to Detroit from
all over the world to watch a
city setting fire to itself around
Halloween each year. The
city’s downtown is certainly
undergoing the renaissance
that was meant to have been
started by the opening of the
RenCen, but all that has been
outweighed by corrupt, greedy
politicians and gross civic
mismanagement. That mis-
management brought Detroit
into bankruptcy. True to the
motivation that guided her
through three centuries,
Detroit is now out of bank-
ruptcy…
We hope for better things, it
shall rise from the ashes.
Being a native Detroiter, the
news of Detroit conquering
bankruptcy is good for me,
because it means that a Detroit
treasure will be protected – the
Detroit Institute of Arts. The
museum’s priceless collection
was at risk of being sold to
appease creditors. Now that
the collection is safe, I’ll still
be able to enjoy it as much as
I did while I was growing up.
While watching WDIV-
TV’s coverage in 2001 of
Detroit’s 300th birthday
party, a montage was run of
great moments in the city’s
history. When it was over,
anchor Carmen Harlan tear-
fully said into the camera,
“Happy birthday, Detroit.” I
get that feeling as well when-
ever I read the city’s motto,
which is pure testimony of a
city that refuses to quit under
any circumstances…
We hope for better things, it
shall rise from the ashes.
Detroit, a city rising from the ashes
CONVERGED CITIZENFEATURE NOVEMBER 27, 2014
Vegetarianism, an alternative lifestyleShelbey Hernandez
Associate Managing Editor
Everyone has probably had
their mothers tell them, “Don’t
forget to eat your vegetables!”
But can eating just vegetables
be bad for you?
Although some studies have
shown that following a vege-
tarian lifestyle can reduce the
risk of cancer, heart disease,
diabetes, stroke and obesity,
other studies have shown get-
ting specific vitamins is much
harder to do on a vegetarian
diet. Plus, with fewer options
to choose from, many vegetar-
ians may resort to eating easy
and cheap boxed food.
Even with these issues, it is
still possible to become a
healthy vegetarian. You just
have to know how to do it
right.
# 1 Ask yourself why you
want to be a vegetarian
There are a few reasons why
people become vegetarians.
Some do it for philosophical
reasons, some to improve their
health and others, like Leesa
Larochelle, do it because eat-
ing meat appears to make
them ill.
Larochelle is an employee at
Carrots n’ Dates, a gluten-free,
vegetarian and vegan café.
She has lived as a vegetarian
for almost five years. At first,
she stopped eating red meat
because she said it made her
feel “dense” and “sick.” Later,
she cut out all meat, including
fish.
“…I kind of stopped eating
red meat and I was feeling bet-
ter and it was a natural pro-
gression,” said Larochelle.
“…it’s definitely allowed me
to come into a whole lifestyle
of it as opposed to just not eat-
ing meat.”
According to Trisha Wilson,
a registered dietician, it is
important to consider your
health if you want to be a veg-
etarian. For example, some
people may want to lose too
much weight, so Wilson said
you may need to talk to a dieti-
cian or doctor before changing
your diet.
# 2 See a dietician or doctor
Even though you may have
done plenty of research, it is
still important to see a dieti-
cian or a doctor.
For every type of vegetarian,
there are different nutritional
needs. These nutritional needs
change depending on how
restrictive a vegetarian diet
you have. A vegan’s nutrition-
al plan will be much different
from a pescetarian, for exam-
ple, who has access to more
alternatives.
# 3 Ask yourself what kind
of vegetarian you want to be
Vegetarians are more than
‘herbivore hippies’ and their
motives, beliefs and practices
vary. According to
Wilson,there are three types of
vegetarians. The first are
lacto-ovo vegetarians who eat
eggs and dairy, the second are
pescetarians who eat fish and
the third are vegans, who
don’t eat anything that is made
of, or comes from, an animal.
Think about these categories
and decide which one would
work best for you. In the case
of Larochelle, by not eating
any meat, she says she feels
much better.
“Emotionally, I feel better.
Mentally, my head’s clearer,
physically, my skin’s better,
my hair grows longer, I’ve lost
weight over the years,” said
Larochelle. “I have so much
more energy.”
# 4 Do your research
Vitamins such as B12 and
iron are found in much higher
concentrations in meat than in
plant-based foods. Wilson also
says the body only absorbs
half of the iron found in any
single plant-based food
source, so you have to double
your plant intake to get the
right amount of iron. To help
with absorption issues, she
suggests taking Vitamin C.
If you are a lacto-ovo vege-
tarian or a pescetarian, it is
much easier to get B12
because it can be found in
eggs, dairy and fish. For veg-
ans, these vitamins are harder
to get. Also, vegans can often
have issues getting essential
amino acids. However, there
are soy-based substitutions
which can provide these acids.
# 5 Remember that just
because you’re a vegetarian,
doesn’t mean you are automat-
ically healthy
Many people assume that
becoming a vegetarian is
always a healthy choice.
However, if you are a lacto-
ovo vegetarian, you can still
have cake and Kraft Dinner,
among other unhealthy food
choices.
To combat this issue,
Wilson says she uses the
quarter plate method. The
top half is all vegetables
and the bottom half is
divided into two separate
quarters, one quarter for
protein, the other for
starch. For pescetarians,
the protein quarter which is
usually for meat will be
replaced with fish, eggs if
you’re a lacto-ovo vegetar-
ian, or nuts, seeds and soy
if you’re a vegan.
Although mothers are
right to tell their children
to eat their veggies, it is
important to know that
there are certain vitamins
that need to be supplement-
ed accordingly when on a
vegetarian diet. It is not
enough to eat those dread-
ed lima beans. You have to
do your research, see a pro-
fessional and find some
supplements so you can do
it right.
‘Strange feeling’ sparks a YouTube sensationKlay Coyle
Citizen Staff Reporter
Have you ever felt a light
tingle shiver through your
body from the tip of your head
and down through your spine?
If you’ve experienced it, the
sensation may seem ran-
dom—a reaction without a
noticeable cause or pattern.
For those who have developed
a greater awareness of this
physical phenomenon—
known as ASMR—there’s a
growing community dedicat-
ed to helping people repro-
duce these feelings.
ASMR, or autonomous sen-
sory meridian response, is a
sensation that often occurs
first during childhood.
Generally discovered by acci-
dent, ASMR can be a very
calming experience produced
by a variety of audio and visu-
al stimuli commonly known
as triggers. If you’re having
trouble understanding what
this means, imagine the click-
ing sound of fingers on a key-
board. How about the distinct
yet soft sounds produced by
flipping through the pages of
a magazine. Do any of these
sounds trigger a reaction?
Perhaps hearing them simply
produces feelings of calm.
These are examples of trig-
gers that have been effectively
delivered in videos and used
by people to make them relax.
ASMR content creators, also
known as Asmrtists, create
ASMR videos with either a
single trigger or a combina-
tion of multiple sounds or
actions, such as hand move-
ments. A common trigger,
found in most ASMR videos
is whispering or soft-speaking
because of the mood it cre-
ates. Everyone has their own
personal triggers, so experi-
menting with multiple videos
is a good way to find what can
set off your ASMR.
Max Percy, 21, discovered
ASMR by chance when his
babysitter introduced him to
Bob Ross videos. Ross is
known for his soothing narra-
tion while teaching people to
paint. At the time Percy, didn’t
know that he was experienc-
ing ASMR, but now he’s
rediscovered it through videos
developed for YouTube. Percy
likes to listen to ASMR videos
as background for when he is
gaming.
“Normally I use it to relax
when I’m playing a game that
doesn’t have much in-game
sound,” he said. “I’ll just lis-
ten to that and relax. It’s awe-
some.” Percy’s favourite trig-
gers are the sound of scissors
snipping and the variety of
soft sounds created during
role-plays.
When it comes to the ASMR
community, there are as many
different kinds of triggers as
there are Asmrtists to recreate
them.
Justin M, 25, is an Asmrtist
known as FatFr33Pudding
who makes ASMR videos for
YouTube. He does this part-
time while attending college.
ASMR has had a positive
impact in his life and he wants
to share his experience with
others.
“I’m hoping to pave a way
in the ASMR community,”
said M. “Help invigorate it
and help shine a light on the
benefits of what we as content
creators can provide.”
M has been experiencing
ASMR since he was young,
usually using it to help him
focus while doing school
work. He thinks that ASMR
helps people in many different
ways, even if they don’t expe-
rience the tingle effect nor-
mally associated with it.
According to M, ASMR can
help with relaxation, anxiety
control, insomnia and de-
stressing after a long day.
Other things I’ve heard from
people in the community are
relief from headaches to re-
living childhood memories of
experiencing ASMR,” he said.
The ASMR community is
ever-growing with new videos
and Asmrtists surfacing regu-
larly. With such a large variety
of content, chances are any-
one can find something that
gives them the shivers.
Max Percy listening to ASMR while he plays a video game in hishome on Oct. 29, in Windsor.
Photo by Klay Coyle
11
CONVERGED CITIZENSPORTS NOVEMBER 27, 2014
Windsor Legion youth boys team earn gold
Justin Thompson
Production Manager
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. —
The Windsor Legion Track
and Field Club’s youth boys
team took home the gold at the
Athletics Ontario Cross
Country Championship Nov.
16.
Track and field clubs from
across Ontario met at
Firemen’s Park in Niagara
Falls for the Cross Country
Championships, where the
Windsor Legion placed sev-
enth overall.
Miles Matthews, 16, placed
third overall in the six kilome-
tre youth boys race, despite
facing injuries.
“My shins have been in pain
but it was a pretty good battle
of a race,” said Matthews.
“Four guys were battling back
and forth and I ended up
sprinting right at the end and
getting beat by a second or
two. It was a good race but it
could have went better.”
Matthews said he was unsure
if he would even race that day
and decided to as a “game day
decision.” Matthews’s main
focus now is the Canadian
Cross Country
Championships in Vancouver
on Nov. 29.
“Just hopefully heal up a
bit and I’ve got a few more
workouts over the next two
weeks,” said Matthews. “I’m
just really looking to prepare.
It’s eight kilometres, so two
kilometres longer. There’s
going to be more competition
there but I’m hoping to finish
in the top six.”
Matthews said the extra
two kilometres is a big differ-
ence and feels more difficult
in the middle of the race than
at the end. If Matthews fin-
ishes in the top six in
Vancouver, he will qualify to
represent team Canada in the
North American Central
American and Caribbean
Championships.
Miles’s father, Brian
Matthews, coached the club
temporarily because the
club’s full-time coaches were
attending a coaching clinic in
Montreal. Brian said he first
started coaching as a volun-
teer when he was in college.
“We know we’ve got a real
strong team, the youth boys
are the strongest in Ontario,”
said Brian. “We ended up win-
ning the gold medal today so
that was very good. That was
our focus coming in today to
this meet.”
Brian said he spends a lot of
Photo by Mandy Matthews
Miles Matthews (left) approaches the finish line of the six kilometre race at the Athletics OntarioCross Country Championship in Niagara Falls, Ont. on Nov. 16.
time with all of the kids at
practices but had to shift his
focus from being a parent to a
coach for the day.
“I had to definitely make
sure I caught everybody today
because sometimes my focus
is on Miles by quite a lot,”
said Brian.
The Windsor Legion will
continue training and making
preparations for the trip to
nationals. The club is hoping
to capture a team title in
Vancouver.
“We want to win a team title
there,” said Brian. “We’ve
won six years in a row so it
will be our seventh in a row if
we happen to win there.”
Vipers support fansChelsea Lefler
Sports Editor
Eight-year-old Maiysn
Spencer lost his battle with
cancer early Monday, Nov.
17.
Spencer died from Non-
Hodgkin lymphoma. This
cancer affects the lymphatic
system, that filters out bacte-
ria and viruses from the body.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma
makes the cancer cells start to
grow uncontrollably. If a
child is diagnosed with this
cancer it is likely their sib-
lings could develop it too.
Acording to the Canadian
Cancer Society website, says
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is
the fifth most common cancer
with 8,000 people diagnosed a
year.
Spencer was a supporter of
the LaSalle Vipers and the
team is paying its respects by
wearing green skate laces and
using green stick tape.
The Spencer family was at
the Vollmer Recreation Center
for the LaSalle Viper game.
His two siblings Maddiysn
and Mackennze, delivered the
official game puck to the ref-
erees and there was a moment
of silence for Spencer.
“That kid has been a huge
fan for us since he was born,
…, everyone is pretty sad in
the room. I’m sure we will be
rocking green for the rest of
the season,” LaSalle Viper
forward Brett Primeau.
Vipers forward Brendan
Harrogate said it’s important
to recognize him, because he
came to a lot of the games.
“We try to give back to our
community and to our fans,”
said Bill Bowler head coach
of the LaSalle Vipers. “It’s a
little gesture, the guys love
doing stuff like that and hope-
fully it was a good moment.”
Photo by Chelsea LeflerMaiysn Spencer’s siblings Maddiysn and Mackennze deliver thepuck to the referee on Nov. 19, at the Vollmer RecreationComplex in LaSalle.
abundance to and we’re not
really taught these things.
We’re not taught in school,
it’s not in the mainstream typ-
ically and it’s all connected,”
said Chauvin. “When you
understand how to better
them, your whole life is trans-
formed.”
Near the end of her talk,
Nodello had the participants med-
itate. She also had people take a
10 minute walk. She said in every
retreat, she has tried to get partic-
ipants to go for a walk because
doing so helps them get connect-
ed to nature.
“When you go out for walks,
nature and energy go together. So
when you’re out for a walk, espe-
cially on a retreat, I like that break
so that people can go in their own
thoughts,” said Nodello. “The
outside helps them because it just
increases everything plus it’s a
beautiful setting so every retreat I
make people go outside.”
The last speaker Christa Realba,
a yoga instructor, encourage par-
ticipants to have confidence in
themselves and worry less.
“We create a life we love by
doing what we love,” said Realba.
“It’s not rocket science.”
Health, Wealth and Consciousness Day Retreat speakersHeather Chauvin (left) and Christa Realba (right) join partici-pants at the Gesstwood Camp and Retreat Centre on Nov. 16.