Jason Shining

For some reason, when I think of spring, I think of serial killers. Everyone knows one of those sweet, secret-but-slightly-scary make-out point. I guess I just have a lot of them so they’re on my mind. Here are the top three serial killer movies you probably haven’t seen.

Elephant: This crazy movie shot from the different points of view of a bunch of high school students. There are a lot of single-scene shots and it came out around the columbine era. It’s a tastefully done film examining not only the psyche of the killers but the people whose lives they affect. Personal and shocking, this is one of my favourites.

The Talented Mr.Ripley: An all-star line up with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Matt Damon, Jude Law, and the ever elegant Gwyneth Paltrow. The movie is about Tom Ripley (Mat Damon) and his adventures in Italy right around the 1940s. It’s a great take on identity theft and the power that an impression can make. The scenery is gorgeous, and it’s a unique look at the perils money can lead to.

Polytechnique: A black and white French subtitled flick about the Ecole Polytechnique shooting in Montreal. Raw and shocking, this film chronicles the motivation behind the shooter, painting a frigid and authentic feel of Montreal in the dead of winter. This is not for the faint of heart and, although none of the movies are especially gory, this film definitely left me shook.

Pretty Ugly

The Argus

There’s been a lot of hype about this cat Dam Funk. He’s part of the Stones Throw label out in LA and run by Peanut Butter Wolf. If you’re unfamiliar with Stones Throw, it’s a major label run like an indie one. It seems the artists are left to their own devices, and the result is often so left field – in a good way.

Dam Funk has been dropping some funky singles for a year or so. Now he’s compiled, shortened, and arranged 24 songs for his album toeachizown. It’s a crazy blend of 80s synth sound, but a lot more spacey and funky. It can be Kid Cudi-esque, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he collaborated with Ratatat and MGMT at some point.

And as simple as his music is, you cannot deny the unbelievable danceability Dam Funk sets up. The power of groove seems to unhinge any loose joints!

Study: students at risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer

Stacey Goyan

News Editor

According to a study done by two fourth-year Lakehead Kinesiology students, Thunder Bay post-secondary students don’t love their fruits and vegetables.

Kelsey Dool and Reid Matheson, both Kinesiology students, surveyed students to find out how many fruits and vegetables they consumed on a daily basis.

The study included 101 Lakehead University and Confederation College students in all years of post-secondary education.

Dool and Matheson found that on average only 14.8% of students were getting the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables suggested by Canada’s food guide. Almost 10% more women met the recommendations than men did.

While men and women seemed to eat roughly the same amount of fruits and vegetables, the Canadian Food Guide recommends men eat more fruits and vegetables than men.

The data found that men ate less than half of recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, while women ate closer to two thirds.

On average, students are consuming 3-4 fruits and vegetables per day, in comparison to the recommended 7-8 servings for women and 8-10 servings for men.

The students found that all students at least consumed some amount of fruits and vegetables, the lowest amount being 0.63 servings and the highest consuming 10.63 servings.

Dool said that it’s not a surprise students are not eating enough fruits and vegetables.

“Basically it’s a food desert [at Lakehead]. There [are] no grocery stores here.” Dool argued that cafeteria pricing encourages unhealthy food consumption by making food like pizza cheap and salads expensive.

Matheson recalled that while living in residence he ate very little fruits and vegetables. Despite this, he warns that the health implications of an unhealthy diet are serious.

“You don’t notice the effects now,” notes Matheson. “[When students reach] forty, when cardiovascular rates increase, it will be very noticeable.”

Dool and Matheson noted that insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables increase risk cardiovascular disease and cancer, two of the leading causes of death in Canada.

“Studies have found that fruits and vegetables can decrease your risk of these conditions,” said Dool.

The students hope to create awareness of these trends through a poster display on Monday. Posters from various student projects will be on display in the CJ Sanders Fieldhouse during the afternoon.

Michelle Poshtar

Even anime characters are shown making unhealthy food choices. Despite the food shown in many of the series, the characters all look fit and trim. They can run, jump, and most important of all, battle their opponents with speed and accuracy. The unrealistic shapes of many of the young girls; Sailor Moon looks similar to the dazzling Barbie, eats like a pig and does not gain a pound.

In the Sailor Moon English Dub, Lita offers Serena some homemade muffins. The muffins were actually rice balls edited with some sprinkles and coloured darker while Serena exclaims they have chocolate chips on them. So why not keep the original, healthy Japanese selection?

The erasure of the Japanese culture in the English dubbed versions of anime bring in Western types of food – sandwiches, donuts, muffins, crackers, ice-cream sandwiches, chocolate cakes etc. The majority of the shows have a children-based audience in which the companies decide to lure them in with fatty foods.

Western children would not identify with the traditional Japanese foods and would experience a cultural shock if they would see something different. Instead to educate their children-based audience and keep the traditional foods, the companies lure them in with unhealthy food options in selected episodes.

In Tokyo Mew Mew (another magical-girl series similar to Sailor Moon), the four main girl protagonists pack bento (boxed lunches), which have a variety of Japanese foods.

Of course, in the English dubbed version, the rice balls are easily replaceable with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Sandwiches also make their appearance within Pokémon as well.

In one episode, of course in the Japanese version, there is a huge rice ball that rolls down a hill; however, in the English dub the rice ball is edited out to replace a giant rolling sandwich, resembling a hamburger much more than a regular sandwich. In addition, the character Brock loves to cook, and as a result there is an on-going joke with Pokémon fans when Brock refers to rice balls as “jelly-filled donuts.”

Anime fans develop an amusing game for the replacement of the rice balls, most likely thinking, “Oh jeez, what will the rice balls be this time?” There are many other hilarious examples of edited rice balls and foods on YouTube.

“I can understand it, but it’s not necessary. The kids will get confused when they see an edited rice ball as a ‘jelly-filled donut,’” says first-year student, and anime fan, Cory VanTeeffelen.

“A lot of the time it’s bad editing that looks really out of place. The companies should leave a subtitle about what a rice ball really is at the bottom, or put more healthy food choices if they do choose to edit it.”

Drop in Saturdays from 4-8pm in room UC 1017 for LUM to view purely traditional and non-North American edited anime. Come check out these anime series for some more (undubbed) food for thought!

Vitamin D crucial to activating immune defences

Anthony Marrelli

Argus

The human immune system is a mysterious and important focus in medical science. When death occurs, the immune system along with everything else shuts down. In a matter of hours, the body is invaded by all sorts of germs that normally have little effect when the immune system is working properly.

In just a short time these organisms completely dismantle the body and eat away at it until nothing remains. The immune system is doing something amazing to keep all of that dismantling from happening when a person is alive.

Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that Vitamin D is crucial to activating the human immune defences and that without sufficient intake of the vitamin, the killer cells of the immune system, T cells, will not be able to react to and fight off serious infections in the body.

For T cells to detect and kill foreign pathogens such as clumps of bacteria or viruses, the cells must first be triggered into action and transform from inactive and harmless immune cells into killer cells that are primed to seek out and destroy all traces of a foreign pathogen.

The researchers found that the T cells rely on vitamin D in order to activate and they would remain dormant, naive to the possibility of threat if vitamin D is lacking in the blood.

In order for the specialized immune cells (T cells) to protect the body from dangerous viruses or bacteria, the T cells must first be exposed to traces of the foreign pathogen.

This occurs when they are presented by other immune cells in the body, known as macrophages, with suspicious cell fragments or traces of the pathogen.

The T cells then bind to the fragment and divide and multiply into hundreds of identical cells that are all focused on the same pathogen type.

The sequence of chemical changes that the T cells undergo enables them to both be sensitized to and able to deliver a targeted immune response.

Professor Carsten Geisler from the Department of International Health, Immunology and Microbiology explains that “when a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signalling device or antenna known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D.

This means that the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won’t even begin to mobilize.”

T cells that are successfully activated transform into one of two types of immune cell. They either become killer cells that will attack and destroy all cells carrying traces of a foreign pathogen or they become helper cells that assist the immune system in acquiring a metaphorical memory.

The helper cells send messages to the immune system, passing on knowledge about the pathogen so that the immune system can recognize and remember it at their next encounter.

T cells form part of the adaptive immune system, which means that they function by teaching the immune system to recognize and adapt to constantly changing threats.

Vitamin D is important for calcium absorption and the vitamin has also been implicated in diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis, and now it is known to be crucial to activating the immune system.

Most Vitamin D is produced as a natural by-product of the skin’s exposure to sunlight. It can also be found in fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel or taken as a dietary supplement.

No definitive studies have been carried out for the optimal daily dosage of vitamin D but as a large proportion of the population have very low concentrations of vitamin D in the blood, a number of experts recommend between 25-50 micrograms per day.

Pretty Ugly

Argus

Props to all of the wild attire that turned out. Out of the four Tokyo Pop Shocks this was my first. I was expecting a lot of sailor moons and samurai pizza cats but the crowd had a much more gothic style. A lot of black, a lot of red and a lot of underwear on the outside, myself included.

Kilroy’s was pretty cool. I went and saw Rock Truck and it was heavy metal party music. But Despite the drug soaked riffs and powerful vocals of the “dreaded” lead singer the crowd just was not giving it up. So I went to BPP.

Forever Dead and the Auditor General both had wild sets with new material and the crowd was a little more engaged than at Kilroy’s. There was even a quick whirlwind of a mosh pit. It felt as if a brief tornado of people swarmed around, spun out of control for a bit, then settled down.

All in all an awesome night and my only regret was the lackluster dancing, but I love to boogie so it might be biased. Towards the beginning of the morning there was a super hero show down judged by the crowd and it came down to a robot from a 40s sci fi flick that looked like a dishwasher with legs. I can’t remember which won, but I hope it was the robot. Home appliances can be super heros too!

Pretty Ugly

Argus

So kick ass. The art show put on by the Def Sup crew was wild, and for some reason, there were three pieces about dead babies. It’s weird just writing that, but whatever. At first it was hard to digest the images but after a couple walks past I couldn’t look away without still being shock awed. You have to check out this gallery at the college. And the spread was definitely on par with all of the art. So rock and roll. I also didn’t know it rained in Thunder Bay let alone people owned gumboots. Just loving these puddles and throwback k-way jackets; nothing tops the quick two-second rain coat with a little flair flanking the zipper. I wish they still turned into fanny packs though. So west coast. I also caught an early episode of America’s Next Top Model and the girls are fine. A lot edgier than previous seasons. One girl who didn’t quite make the house cut had some metal in her face which was rad, another girl has a shaved head, and one has these thick as caterpillar eyelashes, but all are fierce personalities and know what’s up. Their shoot, they had impersonate a favorite model and although one girl shouted out Megan Fox the other 11 nailed it. All I have to say, this cycle, exotic. For sure. And also, if I didn’t see you at the Argus’s acoustic party, I’ll get atcha next time…2 dollar pizza slices and beer? Hell Yeah.

Mission accomplished: 2010 Mazda 3: Raging Bull or Civilized Griffin

Sohaid Zahid

Zoom Zoom, I ask, What is it? I guess something that we refuse to out grow because a 16 year old is still inside us. It is the spark, that a lucky few never lost. For us, driving is expression, exhilaration, liberation. It is the attitude to get noticed. It is Passion. It is heart and soul. It is what matters. It is 2010 Mazda 3.

Mazda 3, when it came along 5 years ago our first thought was oh dear! Here we go again, replacing a successful Protegė brand and experimenting with a new breed, it is definitely going to disappoint its bank manager. However, the first generation of Mazda 3; the sedan and the hatch was absolutely superb. Now here comes the flamboyant second album. Its a brand new car and amazingly its called the Mazda 3, more like a proud dad to a successful son. For Mazda, new doesn’t mean reheated left overs, its got a new interior, a new body, a new chassis, this really is brand new. Its still got Mazda 3 written all over it. It handles amazing, has a front engine and its a very fast entry level compact car.

This is also the most powerful Mazda 3 ever. With available 169 hp from a new 2.5L 4-cylinder, 0-100km takes only 7.4 seconds. The base 2.0L engine is also very promising with, umm….I guess OK fuel economy. The previous generation of Mazda 3 was a real wam-bam-thank-you-mam, punch in the back and the New Generation is business as usual, rather with a more civilized surge. The Zoom Zoom is in the blood and that is not surprising because Mazda 3 is after all a driver’s car.

On the outside the aggressive front bumper and a spoiler in the back keeps the tradition alive, but in the inside instead of track day harnesses and fire extinguishers you get dual zone air conditioning, a hands free module, Satellite navigation and even a display that greets you with “Hello” and says “Good bye” when you turn the ignition on and off respectively; a real polite car Eh!

Basically, Mazda has got ambitions, and when small car companies get ambitious thats usually a big roar. Its easy for a car company to build an everyday compact car. Just get an engine and some hardware and you have got the recipe. But its very hard to build a segment leader, something that you can live with everyday; rain, shine or snow.

Nevertheless Mazda 3 has stepped out on to the tightrope and I am happy to report that they haven’t fallen off. The handling is absolutely superb, you turn it and it just grips and grips and grips, it feels as if it is riding on rails. I am sure, if you put it in the automotive torture chamber at Nürburgring, it sure will survive without any pain. And yet for all that, the ride is perfectly comfortable. The Mazda 3 really is the sort of compact sedan/hatch that you can use everyday and still have fun. Yes! it is a bit thirsty on gas, it might have a controversial smiley face, but none of that really matters for one very good reason; it’s 14 feet of almost nothing but passion, flare and style makes you happy.

For Mazda 3 Engineers, the challenge was not the crumple zones or the air bags but to put a little extra in the recipe. They answered it by blowing a soul and placing a heart in the car, and Mazda calls it the Zoom Zoom. You can sense the adrenaline and feel the excitement in Mazda 3. Its like a pop song, really short, quick, exhilarating 3 minutes, bish-bash-boosh, big smile on your face and THE END.

I think the reason Mazda has pulled off such an amazing car is because they have kept everything simple. Competition like Civic and Corolla are falling short of their names. To me Civic is just a bucket load of Math and science inside and Corolla is just old and boring, just like a wall paper which only looks amazing if seams could vanish and rather a modern design is available. Whereas, in a Mazda 3 the door is just a door that opens like a door, everything is where it should be and how it should be, with a punch of excitement.

With every new Mazda 3, Mazda seems to take a step closer to the world’s best. In short Mazda 3 does for other cars in the segment what laptop did for the typewriter, what iPod did for Sony music Walkman. I respect it hugely, the same way I respect the technology in my iPhone. It is now the yard stick for the compact car segment. It is the genesis of fun and perfection. The 2010 Mazda 3 is an evolutionary engineering exercise which kept all the plus of the old generation and perfected the car, therefore keeping the Zoom Zoom spirit alive.

Sohaib Zahid
Argus

When a good old dose of electricity has been used to power things, switching over to battery power has always made sense while using regular gadgets like telephones, mp3 players or laptops.
But with car motors, the use of a watt or two to power it has generally had a diminishing effect. Less rampant rabbit, more asthmatic aardvark. The problems of harnessing the low-emission benefits of electric are huge when it comes to vehicles, principally because storing or generating enough power to do more than out-sprint a milk float requires whacking great batteries. Lots of them. And that means space, and weight, and cost.
And of course, the batteries tend to run out, fast. Unlike a hybrid, where you can switch to dear old fossil power and carry on, the only method of propulsion once the batteries have given up the ghost is gravity, or a hefty shoulder to the C-pillar. And once at a place where the current can flow back into them again, you’d better have a box set of The Sopranos to plough through while you wait for the needle to hit full.
It’s a worry, especially for the motorist new to electric avenue, and there’s even a name for this psychological condition: range anxiety.
To avoid this physiological condition, Toyota has an answer with its new Prius, the third in over a decade’s worth of petrol-electric hybrid cars from Toyota.
After shocking the world with its home-market introduction in 1997, the Prius continues to represent the standard by which all other hybrids are measured. Under the car’s hood is a more powerful 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle inline-4. Despite being bigger, Toyota claims that this engine achieves better fuel economy than the old one because it makes more torque, allowing lower rpm on the highway.
The stats are promising: 3.8 L/100km, 89g/km, 134hp. That’s up by 22hp and down by 15g/km CO2 emissions over the last-gen Prius, and easily outshines the Honda insight, VW Gold TDI and VW Jetta TDI.
Also promising, is Toyota’s talk that it’s made the Prius a genuine mainstream contender, a car whose green credentials are just part of the appeal, not most of it. Performance is up, emissions down, practicality and safety increased, refinement and aerodynamics improved. It’s even getting a bit German in the press conference with talk of ‘increased driving pleasure’.
The restyle in bang on the money - instantly recognizable second-gen DNA given extra athleticism with an aggressively creased shoulder line and more rakish headlights. Inside, Toyota has used the so-called ‘ecological plastics’ (‘the world’s first injected molded material derived from plants,’ says the press material, which came from well-managed forests and other controlled sources, thanks heavens) might sound a bit cheap when you bang on them.
As a hybrid, of course, the engine’s also boosted by an electric motor stowed beneath the trunk, and a nickel-metal hydride battery. Both are lighter, smaller and significantly more powerful than before.
This Prius, though, isn’t just a one-trick urban pony. Fully charged, the Prius can slip around on battery power alone at up to 50 km/h for as long as 2km if you press the EV button. In fact, the petrol engine will regularly shut down at speeds of up to 70km/h meaning the Prius now makes more sense for out-of-towners than its predecessor did. And, on the open road, the extra power doled out by the new 1.8-liter engine comes into its own. The power is fed to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The engine’s extra muscle means you don’t need to work it as hard as the Honda insight, while extra attention to noise reduction means you notice less what noise there is as opposed to a diesel in VWs.
According to Toyota, there’s increased torsional stiffness, better steering feel and improved stability, but don’t go expecting a BMW-rivaling drive. The Prius is perfectly acceptable for the person who just wants to get from A to B, even if A is Ajax and B is Brampton. The Prius is also notably better than - here it comes again - the Insight. The steering has none of the vagueness around the dead-ahead and is just a little quicker too; the handling is a lot less vague at higher speeds; and ride is in a different league. You may be tempted by the $3600 savings the Insight waves under your nose but, seriously, the improved ride quality is almost worth the premium on its own, and when you factor in the Toyota’s improved performance, refinement, interior quality and better tech, well, you’d be slightly mad to hand your cash to the competition.
All in, the Prius impresses as mush as Toyota claims. Although I am yet to establish how close it comes to delivering 3.8 L/100km in real world driving over a more representative period of time. Rest assured, we’ll find that out soon enough.