Blogs

Why doesn't the NHL do more to prevent it?

By: Elyse Lefaivre

Enforcers, players whose entire purpose is to intimidate the other team, have always been a part of the National Hockey League. In recent years, however, they have been garnering attention for reasons other than their tough play and intimidating presence. In the last few years medical researchers have begun to examine the effects repeated head injuries have on professional athletes. Researchers have discovered that repeated blows to the head suffered by athletes can result in a form of dementia. This form of dementia known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a new disease that has only been seen in people who have suffered repeated blows to the head. CTE is a progressive degenerative disease that has been linked to the deaths of many young athletes, including Minnesota Wild enforcer Dereck Boogaard. Boogaard was 28 years old when he died from the disease in may 2011. The disease results in the degeneration of brain tissue, which in turn causes dementia, as well as addictive and depressive behaviour. CTE is the only form of dementia that is preventable yet the National Hockey League (NHL) is plagued with head injuries. Although the NHL has made changes to rules in order to help prevent head injuries, players are still suffering from concussions.

Flickr image.

By: Elyse Lefaivre
"They won't treat you unless you show up with a severed arm in your hand" is what Michel Lemieux has said about the treatment in Montreal emergency rooms. Michel has had his fair share of Montreal emergency room experiences this year, having visited the Lakeshore General Hospital numerous times in the spring of 2011. Despite this severe assessment of Montreal emergency rooms, Michel and those around him still believe in Montreal's emergency room system.

Image source: Flickr

Attention Montrealites readers and contributors! We are currently inviting members of the Montrealites community - meaning you guys - to submit entries for the short story/ personal essay competition. If you're interested, here are the guidelines:

• Word Count: Maximum 1000 words.
• Last Day for Submission: March 30, 2012 at 12:00 am.
• Winning Entry Prize: 100 $ CAN. (cha-ching!).
• Submit your Entry via e-mail to our fiction editor L. Edith Featherstone and title it "short story competition".

We're anticipating your entries and encourage everyone to go for it! Competition information may also be found on our twitter and facebook pages.
Good luck you talented lot!

In the world of Planetary Politics, where's the race?

Shakespeare's Petruchio left Verona en route to Padua, Italy to meet his Shrew; "I come to wive it wealthily in Padua", he declared. He left Verona on an empty purse and an empty stomach confident Padua would fill both. Padua would certainly have a lot to offer Petruchio but can it match Verona, a city famous for certain indiscrete elopers and pizza topped with mushrooms and Prosciutto crudo?

Image source: Flickr.

From what Iʼve seen, a bad convict runs his mouth about how smart he is (even if he isnʼt), a good convict will be honest with how much intellect he has, and a great convict wonʼt tell you a thing. So as I ran my mouth about how much I knew about the stars my interviewee sat quietly. I told him when you look into the stars, you are also looking into the past, because it takes thousands of years for the light of a star to travel to us. As I continued running my mouth, my interviewee eventually told me about looking into the past, and I could understand he meant much more than what his words said alone. The life of crime is as far from me as the stars are, and each time I read over this interview, I see something new in it. Itʼs because of this, and for his own protection, that I named the interviewee after his favorite nebula,the Dark Horse Nebula, or DHN for short.

Twitter is a terrific forum in which one may have plenty of exposure to parts of the internet that may otherwise go completely unnoticed.  Following news outlets is especially enlightening because of how they "tweet" whenever a new article is added to their online database.  Most recently, this article from the Montreal Gazette reports on a doggy-daycare center that lied to the owners of a dog that was killed in their care.

Without even finishing the article, it's hard to understand the owner's hesitation to press chargs.  While Stanely, a Montreal Shih Tzu was at doggy-daycare, he was unfortunately mauled to-death by some of the larger dogs at the center.  Though this tragedy could have probably been prevented, the real upset is in the manner in which the owners of Montreal Dogs dealt with the situation. The owners were told that Stanley had run away.  Owners and employees helped search for the dog and post reward posters, already knowing that Stanley had deceased.

Losing a loved one, no matter what their bodily form, is a difficult and emotional task.  Closure is a notable ingredient to successfully making it through such a period, and it is completely unfair to withhold that from someone in mourning.  Perhaps the owners of the Dog center felt that they cushioning the blow this loss - unfortunately it seems as though only more pain was inflicted, and perhaps a lawsuit.


(On the topic of dogs, be sure to take a look at Seth Casteel's amusing photo series of dogs jumping into water)

I just stumbled upon this article that records the notes of some nurses who are surrounded with human mortality on a daily, working basis.  The article, as seen in The Guardian, highlights common regrets expressed by those who are reflecting on their lives - something for each of us to think about throughout our chaotic lives!

By: Amber Bressi

By: Elyse

As you already know cancer kills. It kills the young and the old, men and women, friends and enemies; it can kill anyone. The fight against cancer is one that has been as lengthy as it has been expensive. That is why charities that raise money for cancer research are necessary to the fight. One of these charities is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC), a Canadian charity, whose goal is to cure cancers of the blood. The LLSC has raised millions of dollars since its creation in 1956, and relies heavily on volunteers to help them raise the funds needed to find a cure. One of the more recent ways that volunteers have begun raising funds is through LLSC's Team in Training. Team in Training is a group of athletes who train together to run marathons. The marathons are used as a way to raise money for the research. In 2012 Team in Training has joined with Montreal's The Beat 92.5 radio station to create a team of dedicated volunteers to train for a marathon to be held this June in Alaska.

By: Skittles

Being someone who has been dying her hair all funky for the last six years, I've gotten all kinds of questions about it. I've had every colour in the rainbow in my hair, literally at the same time so I wager I must be a pro at DIY dying by now. So this is my guide to getting rockin' hair that won't disappear after two or three washes.

By: Skittles

For most people, colouring their hair means buying box dye at the pharmacy or going to the salon, but for me, it means finding the brightest colours possible. I've found a product that has never let me down: Punky Color by Jerome Russel.

Image source Flickr.

The music industry suffered an incredible loss this weekend with the tragic death of Whitney Houston (1963-2012).  The singer was discovered Saturday evening in the bathtub of her Beverly Hills hotel room.  Her cause of death has not yet been established, though there have been many speculations, many surrounding her various drug prescriptions.  For an extensive profile of her life and career, check out this article from the Lost Angeles Times.  

What does Restauration mean?
It is the French word for restoration, which has deep cultural roots in both politics and theater. It is also commonly employed when restoring works of art or buildings to their once and former glory. Many times during the following interview at Shäika Café on the corner of Sherbrooke and Old Orchard, just across the street from the Empress Cultural Centre, I questioned whether or not the term could be applied to one's faith in elected political leaders. I believe it can.

The following is an interview with Peter McQueen, City Councillor for NDG, who was halfway through his term at the time of this interview in October. He will be up for re-election in 2013.

Play with Me is an interactive media game where the narrative may advance when the player clicks on one of the illuminated objects in the dollhouse. This game is dark, twisted and the outcome is uncontrollable... play it here!

All are strongly encouraged to forward this blog: http://murraymakingadifference.wordpress.com/ to Marvin Rotrand MRotrand@ville.montreal.qc.ca and ask him why he makes promises to do what is in the best interest of all of us, and then reneges on doing so.

Please see this link for the latest statistics on charitable giving in Canada and just how terrible the stats are for Quebec.

In this video Murray Levine is escorted out of a city council meeting after Marvin Rotrand misrepresents himself.  In Levine's personal opinion, Marvin Rotrand is a politician in the worst possible sense, and is no longer a person. It has reached a point where Levine says that he actually finds Rotrand to be pathetic.

Hidden away beneath the shadow of its commercial, highly visible cousin, the world of underground dubstep is set to deliver an excellent year of releases. The third Deleted Scenes single from originators Distance and Pinch has finally dropped after three years of waiting, Goth-Trad's New Epoch LP is just weeks away and there are many rumored upcoming LPs from seminal artists such as Quest and V.I.V.E.K. I can think of no better way to herald what has the potential to be a monumental year than a brand new, totally unexpected, DMZ release. For their 22nd release, DMZ has chosen to put out a pair of Digital Mystikz (producers Mala and Coki) singles entitled "Marduk" and "Enter Dimensions."

By: Meghan M.D.

The concert led with a darkened Bell Center and screams of anticipation.  While the guitarists punched holes through a wall that separated them from the excited audience, the lead singer bored one through that same wall with a laser cutter, expelling a glowing red light. This was it. It was about to begin. The minute he sang, I don't think anyone could help but notice the LED light was in his mouth! The drums exploded, ringing out like hammers. This was the beginning of a spectacle Montrealers had been awaiting for the better part of a decade.

After a ten-year absence from Canada, fans were beginning to wonder whether Rammstein would ever cater to North American again. The last time they were in this region was during the Mutter tour in 2001. However, December 9th of 2010 changed everything. They came back from their hibernation, rocked North America and are planning to do so again on May 1st, 2012. The German sextet is back and better than ever!

By: Sara Bojarsky

"The arrow, you don't see it?" my graphic designer asked. No, I replied. "Turn the logo sideways, don't focus on the letters," he insisted. Still no arrow. "Look between the E and X." And there, nestled brilliantly between the negative spaces, the arrow in the FedEx logo surfaced.

By: Ben KerrA new gym can be a lot like going to a new school for the first day. You're not quite sure what to expect and you're very afraid of the people there. After some getting used to though, the new school eventually becomes "your" school, likewise with a gym.

Image source Flickr

Warning! This video contains adult language.

Giorgio, Old Port Montreal. Photo by Tegan Wiebe, 2011.

Hooves clop along the cobblestone paving with a carriage rolling behind. The driver and I exchange nods as the carriage passes. I pause to fill my lungs with the sweet air of vacation and new experience, condensed into one afternoon. But after having trolled around for the better part of the afternoon, tilting my head back to see the top of Notre-Dame Basilica's two steeples, watching a man riding a unicycle in a no-car zone, and walking past historic architecture, my stomach tells me its time to move on.

The Prestige is a film adaptation of Christopher Priest's novel of the same title. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film winds its way through mystery, romance, double lives, and magic. The two principal characters are Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale). These two men begin the film as apprentices of a magician, but an accident and finger pointing drives them to a life-long rivalry: sabotaging shows and stealing secrets. As physical injuries mount, lives end, and magic tricks become more daring and fantastic, the movie's climax twists everything we thought we knew, into something else entirely. The films mixture of a Victorian atmosphere, mystery, glamor, science fiction, and betrayal, unfortunately, also mix with Hollywood's poor examples of morality. However, the technical skill displayed in this movie's script astounded and intrigued me. The cover warned me that I'd want to watch it again. I did.

E-readers like Amazon's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook, and the Kobo have been around as early as 2007, but now, more than ever, are proving that they may really change the way the world reads. In 2010 e-reader sales hit almost 13 million dollars worldwide while e-books made up more than 8% of sales in the trade (Carlson). Imagine the amount of books bought worldwide every day, from Twilight to The Bible, than consider that 8% of those innumerable purchases were for e-books. E-readers and their corresponding e-books are certainly rising in popularity, but is this a positive evolution or marring disadvantage for literature? (Image source flickr)

Being one of the largest cultural hot spots in Canada, Montreal is an important stop for most major bands that tour across North America. That being said, there are a variety of incredible venues to choose from for any band visiting this vibrant city. From rock to hip-hop to metal and everything in between, there is a venue in Montreal to suit any musician's needs. In this list I'll break down my top five venues to catch your favorite rock band rip it up.

5. The Bell Center