This Week in The Sheaf

This week in the Sheaf, March 27th edition is here!

Seems that the Sask Party has agreed to extend our tuition freeze for another year. For those of you who don't know, we've had our tuition "frozen" at the same level over the past few years, which has been great for me. However, as many have pointed out, this is a band-aid solution. Besides the simple fact that tuition is still too much for many, as soon as it 'melts' there's gonna be a big jump in tuition and where'll we be? Well, I'll already have my degree so it won't hurt me, but I feel for the future students. Pepler to the government: "no you di-n't." Of course, I think I remember him promising to eliminate tuition completely.

And that was really about it for the first section.


The front of the arts section has a picture of some band, and they're doing the classic everybody stare off into the distance like you have something deep and interesting on your mind, and maybe somebody stare intensely at the camera. These kinds of pictures bore the heck out of me, and I cannot think of what good it does to put it in the paper, other than take up space so that you can write less.

There is a big two page spread on webcomics, which obviously got my interest. Something about it bothered me though. The writer said that these comics could control people, and then halfway through said yes sometimes they do control people oh noes, and then at the end starts to say that comic writers don't think people will do anything stupid because of their comics. I dunno, just didn't work for me.

Also an article on feng shui. Feng shui has been studied and practiced for thousands of years and is rooted deep in organic and holistic traditions. ORGANIC TRADITIONS! YAY! Those sound important, don't they. Oh well.

That's it for this week.

Bonus lyric:
You lured me into repetition, you lured me to want to go to sleep

March Top Nineteen Albums

As judged by the first nineteen cds I found around my room.

1. Van Halen - 1984
I don't think I really get the eighties.

2. Champion - Chill 'Em All
This is a great album. Even better is seeing DJ Champion live. If you live in Saskatoon, there's a good chance that you have, or one day will. I've seen him perform here three times in the last year. I can't even begin to describe how much I love his concerts.

3.Led Zeppelin (The one with Rock And Roll)

4. Ozzy Osbourne - Under Cover
I bought it by accident, but this album actually introduced me to a couple other good songs and artists. Also, it has three John Lennon songs.

5. Robert Plant - Dreamland
This is one of two Robert Plant albums I own. "How did you come to own two Robert Plant albums?" you might ask. Well, I don't know, but this one has some solid tunes.

6. Shillelagh - Lemonade
This is a band I saw busking in Victoria I think a few years ago when I was on a band trip. Are they still around? I don't really know, but this album is solid fun.

7. Aerosmith - Honkin' On Bobo

8. Steppenwolf - 16 Greatest Hits

9. O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack

10. Eric Clapton - Me And Mr. Johnson

11. Neil Young - Harvest

12. The White Stripes - You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told) Single
I really like buying singles and I wish more were available. My favourite part of this song is when he yells, it almost makes you feel like you're right there. And I think the video was shot during their super cool Canadian tour.

13. Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High

14. The Blues Brothers Soundtrack
Do you just listen to soundtracks all the time Corey?

15. Barenaked Ladies - Everything to Everyone

16. AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

17. Santana - Shaman

18. Snoop Dogg - Rhythm & Gangsta (The Masterpiece)

19. The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
Two versions of Sympathy for the Devil in this list. One is here, where's the other?

So there it is for this month. Do I have terrible taste in music? You think yours is better? Well what should I be listening to then?

This week in the sheaf: 6 March

I don't really know what James Pepler (or anybody else) really does as USSU president, but I do know he puts on a good show. Apparently he recently spent an entire night in a snow fort to protest housing problems for students. Sweet. Also, he's a funny guy, and I regularly reminisce about the days when he wrote for the sheaf. The article said that students spend anywhere from $300-1000 a month for rent. This isn't exactly true. I spend less then that, but I'm lucky (also my place is a shivhole, but that's another story). In the last year, housing costs have risen %40! There's enough people who have to chose between living and going to school that it's a problem. Also some politicians turned out, maybe all of them NDP.

There's a little opinions article by Bronwyn Stoddard, whom I must admit I enjoy reading. I'm not sure I like the title "Guest Lecturer Visits Wonderland" as the whole time I was reading the article I was waiting for it to refer to some lecturer who had either recently been her, or soon would be. Still, it's no secret that I love Alice in Wonderland, so thank you for that Bronwyn. Also, I have a secret interest in language and linguistics, which is what this article was about (I even took a linguistics course with the author a year or two ago).
It brought up the question of singular/plural distinction vs. the use of non gendered language. This is a big pet peeve of mine. I hate hearing their instead of his or her. Brownwyn seems to be on my side, which makes me happy, as it generally seems to be a losing battle.

Anne-Marie Hickey's article on the internet was somewhat empty, except for the mulitple webcomic references. I urge you to take her suggestions and read Questionable Content and XKCD (at least I think she was recommending it by using a graphic from one of the comments to take up as much space as her article). And Anne-Marie, most webcomics have feeds, and I think using a feed reader would help you keep up.

The letters section of the sheaf is almost always good, and I'm going to reproduce one here:

Dear Vince Friesen, Crystal Clark,
and other borderline-illiterate
pretend-intellectuals,
The word ‘history’ is not derived
from the masculine pronoun; it
comes from the Latin historia.
Compare that to the Latin masculine
pronouns of ‘infit’ and ‘inquit’, then
instead of admitting your ignorance,
cry about the reactionary misogynist
who called you a retard in the Sheaf.
My God (pun intended) Friesen,
you used the term “etymological
precision” 50 words after mutilating
‘history’ into “his’tory”.
That took me two minutes on the
Internet,
Douche Bag!
Pat Thomson

Well put.

The comics section on the other hand. . . I used to love the sheaf comics, but now the only comics in there I've already read on the internet by the time the sheaf comes out.

The Arts section sucks.