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.1
SPRING 2009

ISSUE

THE SFSS CONNECTION 3

IAT 313: MOST VALUABLE COURSE 9

SFU BUDGET CUTS 10

OPEN HOUSE 2009 11

Hiaspire Magazine
CONTENTS
FLOSSING THE NET 13
TABLE OF

TIME: WHERE DOES IT GO? 14

BEYOND WHALLEY 15

FALL 2008 WINNERS 16

7.5 FLAVOURS 17
STUDENT POEMS 19

THE ART OF ETUDE 21

STAFF 22
Spring 2009
S FU
URREY
TUDENT
ERVICES
GETTING THINGS DONE &
LEAVING POLITICS AT THE DOOR
Reported by Vivien Lo and Luyi Wang

As students of the Surrey campus, we were curious to understand how the issues of students are heard and addressed at SFU
Surrey. We decided to consult Bryan Ottho (IATSU Forum Representative, SCC IATSU Representative), and Ed Deeks (Surrey
Campus Coordinator) for more information.

The following is a summary of our conversation with Bryan Ottho (with some input from Brian Quan and Ada Nadison):

How did you get involved in student politics,

and why have you decided to continue?

I was part of Students for a Democratic University (SDU), a faction of SFU students that assembled to impeach Shawn
Hunsdale, the former SFSS President of 2006 and six other board members. After the impeachment was successful and the
BRYAN OTTHO

SDU was dissolved, positions on the SFSS Board of Directors were vacated, and I was encouraged to join the Board. This is
how I became a forum representative, and the Applied Sciences representative in 2007.

Although the opportunity to be part of the Board was somewhat thrust upon me, I have remained an active player in student
politics in the SFSS (Bryan is currently the Forum Representative for IATSU, the IATSU Representative on the Surrey
Campus Committee, and is on the SFSS’ Financial and Policy Committees). This is because after working with the SDU, I
and other participants were inspired to rid the SFSS of the “student politics ideological b.s.” that dominated the society. As
Henry Kissinger once said, “university politics are so vicious precisely because the stakes are so small”. We believe that
the main purpose of a student society is to run and provide services to the students, and getting caught up in politics just
gets in the way of achieving its purpose.

.3
 What are your thoughts on the recent rally at Burnaby campus about university
funding cuts, and Surrey students’ lack of awareness/participation in it?

We (SFSS) did our part to spread awareness about the rally at Surrey; we distributed buttons and flyers, and put up
posters around campus advertising the rally. The key point is that the school is lacking basic funding and this affects
BRYAN OTTHO

the quality of our education. The cut especially affects students in technical studies like IAT, because of the costs of our
lab TAs and equipment. It is important for us to change the government’s view that students just want to pay less for
their education. Rather, we want a BETTER QUALITY of education and funding cuts prevent us from achieving that. I
personally do not believe that a rally is effective in illustrating this point or inciting any real change. It is just a bunch
of people gathering to work up their collective sense of dissatisfaction, causing a scene, and then the rally is over and
nothing would have changed. The SFSS has regular talks with the provincial Minister of Education as well as local MLAs
about funding for the school anyway. I believe better lobbying for causes affects change, not rallies. Come up with
reasonable arguments, show the government how all parties would benefit from change, and play into their political
ideology to persuade them.

What are some recent SFSS issues that

would be relevant to SFU Surrey students?

One of the biggest recent topics is the ongoing court case with the CFS over our decision to no longer be a member of the
CFS. This case is still in deliberation, and as a result of this petition to the court, a large amount of the SFSS’ budget is
being withheld in the event that we lose the case (though this is unlikely). Since much of the SFSS budget is tied up in
this ‘structured deficit’, less funds are available to finance the usual SFSS services and functions, which include granting
funding for clubs.
BRYAN OTTHO

Another issue is the proposed Student Union Building. As it would be located in Burnaby, it is somewhat unreasonable for
students in Surrey to have to pay for a building most of us would never use. Therefore, I am trying to negotiate ways to
make this project fairer for Surrey students economically.

These examples illustrate that while on the surface it seems like SFSS issues do not concern Surrey students, they
actually do because we all go to the same school and are part of the same student society, and pay the same dues. I
encourage all students to get informed about the upcoming SFSS elections and vote from March 17 - 19. IATSU is also
having an election soon on March 17 at 2:30 in the Mezzanine. I and Brian Quan are graduating at the end of this semester
and will not be running again, so we encourage SIAT students to nominate themselves for IATSU executive positions! Find
out more about the election at our upcoming IATSU meetings.

Spring 2009
VOTE
Simon Fraser Student Society
General Election March 17, 18, 19
http://elections.sfss.ca
.5
 How are the concerns of Surrey students
represented in the university?

The main body that represents Surrey students is the Surrey Campus Committee (SCC). The SCC began operations
more on SCC and Joint Ops Advisory Group in interview with Ed Deeks

on August 24, 2006, and is comprised of student representatives from faculties at the Surrey campus. The SCC brings
Surrey students’ issues of concern to the SFSS Board of Directors, and makes recommendations to the Board about
possible courses of action.

The Interactive Arts and Technology Student Union (IATSU) represents the interests of SIAT students in liaison with the
SFSS and university administration. As IATSU’s current representative on the SFSS Forum, I play a part in influencing
SFSS board decisions, such as which questions are on the referendum. In the winter of 2005, during the Surrey campus’
transition from Tech BC to SFU, Brian Quan and IATSU spearheaded a campaign called “Project Infinity”, which involved a
research report presented to the SFSS Board. The report argued that the Surrey campus was insufficiently represented
and under-funded by the SFSS and presented several solution alternatives, which led to the establishment of the Surrey
Campus Committee. As a member of the Board of Directors, I was able to increase the SCC’s budget from the original
BRYAN OTTHO

$2,000 to $5,000. Even so, I still feel the Surrey campus is being short-changed in terms of funding.

The SCC has recently established an ad-hoc committee called the Joint Operations Advisory Group (JOAG), which has
meetings with facilities, administration, and Student Life. They meet to discuss issues of SFU Surrey students such as
how campus space (i.e. the mezzanine and advertising space) is used. Its current members include Surrey Campus
Coordinator Ed Deeks, as well as Ada Nadison, Cristel Moubarak, and Mona Law. Right now, the group and SFU Surrey
facilities are investigating the feasibility of implementing mobile furniture in the mezzanine to overcome the tripping
hazards that prompted facilities to cut off electricity in the mezzanine floor outlets. Also being discussed is the issue of
limited studying space on campus and ways to regulate its use.

SIAT curriculum changes are under the jurisdiction of SIAT’s Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, which is comprised
of SIAT faculty and administration, and one representative from IATSU (currently Brian Quan). As far as the recent
controversy about the IAT 402/403 course prerequisite change goes, the bottom line is that the UCC wanted to ensure
that SIAT students graduate with stronger writing skills. They jointly decided that a capstone course should accomplish
this, and thus instigated the IAT 309W requirement for IAT 402 during Spring of 2008. Although this change was initially
stated in the SFU Student Calendar, not all students read the calendar, nor are they aware when the calendar gets
updated and what exactly is updated. The issue of effectively communicating curriculum changes to students is currently
being looked into. To appease students affected by the prerequisite change, for the Fall 2009 semester ONLY, IAT309W
can be taken as a co-requisite with IAT 402/403.

Spring 2009
 ED DEEKS INTERVIEW
ED DEEKS INTERVIEW
The following is the Q&A we had with Surrey Campus Coordinator Ed Deeks
The following is the Q&A we had with Surrey Campus Coordinator Ed Deeks

1 What are the main functions of the Surrey Campus Coordinator?

1 What are the main functions of the Surrey Campus Coordinator?

The Surrey Campus Coordinator oversees the frontline delivery of membership services and operations in the Student
Society’s Surrey office. The position liaises with the university administration and the Society’s Burnaby offices as
The Surreyfacilitates
needed, Campus Coordinator oversees
SFSS clubs and the frontline
departmental studentdelivery of membership
union activities services
in Surrey, and operations
and serves in theresource
as a non-voting Student
Society’s Surrey
officer for office. Campus
the Surrey The position liaises with the university administration and the Society’s Burnaby offices as
Committee.
needed, facilitates SFSS clubs and departmental student union activities in Surrey, and serves as a non-voting resource
officer for the Surrey Campus Committee.

2
What role does the Surrey Campus Coordinator play in addressing the needs of SFU Surrey students, clubs,
and student unions? How does the Surrey Campus Coordinator facilitate communication between SFU Surrey
students and the
the Simon
SurreyFraser Student Society?play in addressing the needs of SFU Surrey students, clubs,
2
What role does Campus Coordinator
and student unions? How does the Surrey Campus Coordinator facilitate communication between SFU Surrey
Studentand
students services: self-serve
the Simon Fraser5Student
cent copier, 5 cent printing, faxing, textbook consignment; maintain student lounge, Surrey
Society?
webpage and print resources; information and referrals for health plan, legal clinic, Ombuds office, Women’s Centre, Out on
Campus,
Student Societyself-serve
services: Officers, etc.
5 cent copier, 5 cent printing, faxing, textbook consignment; maintain student lounge, Surrey
webpage and print resources; information and referrals for health plan, legal clinic, Ombuds office, Women’s Centre, Out on
Clubs and
Campus, DSUs:
Society coordinate
Officers, etc.Surrey Clubs and Unions Days, club registration, financial records and grant applications; room,
equipment, and banner bookings; common room issues, club lockers. Assist with event planning, new group start-ups,
strategic
Clubs planning.
and DSUs: Liaise with
coordinate SFSS
Surrey General
Clubs and Office
Unionsand Student
Days, club Union Organizer,
registration, and SFU
financial administration.
records and grant applications; room,
equipment, and banner bookings; common room issues, club lockers. Assist with event planning, new group start-ups,
SFSS Communication: Resource the Surrey Campus Committee. The SCC represents and advocates for the needs of Surrey
strategic planning. Liaise with SFSS General Office and Student Union Organizer, and SFU administration.
students with the SFSS, maintains a dialogue with SFU Surrey administration about student issues, and collaborates with
Clubs and DSUs to build community through special events (see brochure for more info). Work closely with SFSS Surrey
SFSS Communication: Resource the Surrey Campus Committee. The SCC represents and advocates for the needs of Surrey
Board Liaison, University Relations Officer, Member Services Officer, and Burnaby staff to share information and address
students with the SFSS, maintains a dialogue with SFU Surrey administration about student issues, and collaborates with
issues for students in Surrey.
Clubs and DSUs to build community through special events (see brochure for more info). Work closely with SFSS Surrey
Board Liaison, University Relations Officer, Member Services Officer, and Burnaby staff to share information and address
issues
How for students
does in Surrey.
the Surrey Campus Coordinator assist in reconciling the requirements of both the students and SFU Surrey
3 Facilities? For instance, what procedures are involved in acquiring permissions to host a student event somewhere
on campus? What happens when the needs or practices of students and Facilities conflict with each other?
How does the Surrey Campus Coordinator assist in reconciling the requirements of both the students and SFU Surrey
3 Facilities? For instance, what procedures are involved in acquiring permissions to host a student event somewhere
onThe Surrey Campus Coordinator:
campus? What happens when the needs or practices of students and Facilities conflict with each other?
_Facilitates room, equipment, and banner bookings with the Surrey scheduling office, library, CaRS (ACS), Events and
Marketing department and Facilities department.
The Surrey Campusdirect
_Coordinates Coordinator:
bookings for SUR 3330 (along with Student Life office) when appropriate.
_Facilitates room,
_Liaises with mall equipment, and banner bookings
and tower management withspecial
to facilitate the Surrey
eventscheduling
bookings inoffice, library,
the parking CaRS
lot, (ACS),
tower, Events
or front and
plaza areas.
Marketing department
_Liaises with the Surreyand Facilities
Student Lifedepartment.
Coordinator to represent and advocate for student interests at the Surrey campus.
_Coordinates direct bookings for SUR 3330 (along with Student Life office) when appropriate.
The_Liaises
Surreywith mallCoordinator
Campus and tower management
also serves astothe
facilitate special
SFSS staff event coordinator
resource bookings infor
theThe
parking
Surreylot, tower, Committee,
Campus or front plaza areas.
which
_Liaisescomplaints
receives with the Surrey Studentfrom
and feedback Life students
Coordinator to represent and advocate
(surrey-committee@sfu.ca fornew
- also student interests
website at the
and online Surrey campus.
feedback form to
come shortly) and the Surrey Campus Coordinator, and works to resolve issues that arise between student interests and those
of Surrey
The the SFUCampus
administration.
Coordinator also serves as the SFSS staff resource coordinator for The Surrey Campus Committee, which
receives complaints and feedback from students (surrey-committee@sfu.ca - also new website and online feedback form to
.7 come shortly) and the Surrey Campus Coordinator, and works to resolve issues that arise between student interests and those
 SCC meetings are held bi-weekly, and are open to all students at SFU. This spring, a new Joint Operations Advisory Group
was set up to discuss student needs and issues, and negotiate solutions with SFU Surrey administration. Three SCC
representatives and the Surrey Campus Coordinator are delegated to attend these JOAG meetings and report back to the
committee. Finally, the SFSS President, Member Services Officer, University Relations Officer, and Surrey Board Liaison
can all be tasked, as needed, to assist with resolving conflicts and concerns on behalf of SFU students or Society groups.

4 What were the circumstances behind the shutting off of the mezzanine floor electricity for use on regular occasions?
Who requested this to be done, and for what purpose?

The action was initiated by the Surrey campus Safety Committee, and was subsequently discussed by
the Joint Operations Advisory Group. Also, a member of the Surrey Campus Committee was recently
appointed to represent students on the Safety Committee. The new kiosks and mobile sofas represent
initial experiments in an on-going effort to resolve multiple issues in the mezzanine.

5 In your opinion, are there any inefficiencies with the protocols of engagement between SFU Surrey Students, the Surrey
Campus Coordinator, and SFU Surrey Facilities? If there are, how would you suggest for these to be resolved?

The emerging and unique nature of the SFU Surrey campus has introduced numerous operational challenges,
as well as opportunities for both administrators and students here. Collaboratively, we have done a great
deal of work over the past two years to address the issues as they arise. There is still much to be done, too.
Feedback and suggestions from the student population are extremely valuable in helping to identify and
motivate opportunities for improvement.

6 In light of recent thefts on campus, fires, and the campus’ proximity to the Whalley district, etc... in your opinion, how
safe are the students of SFU Surrey? Is there any cause for concern?

While SFU Surrey is an open campus, there are many ways that the university works to protect students here. For example:
_Security is present on campus 24 per day, 365 days per year. Every classroom is equipped with direct telephone access to
the main security desk, and campus monitoring systems are state-of-the art.
_Access to campus is restricted after 9:00 p.m., and a sign-in procedure helps to locate students and staff in case of late
night emergencies.
_The “Safe Walk” program provides a personal security escort, on request, for students walking to adjacent parking or
Skytrain facilities late at night.

Based on usage patterns and available feedback, I believe that most students feel reasonably safe at the SFU Surrey campus.
Ultimately, a cohesive and aware community among the students and staff here is our best defense against safety or security
issues.

HIASPIRE Magazine would like to especially thank Bryan, Ed, and everyone else who contributed for their candor in
participating in these interviews.

Spring 2009
 T 3 1 3
IA MOST VALUABLE
COURSE
If I were asked to write about the most valuable lengthy paper on Metal Gear Solid 2, and
course Iíve taken at SFU, I would probably choose I still remember complaining about the dif-
IAT 338 and come up with several reasons that
ficulties of writing a team essay or
the frivolity of reading so much meaning
everyone expects and has probably already heard into a video game. But only lately have I
many times over. But in terms of a class that may
realized the appreciation it instilled in me
for that (and other) games I play.
sometimes be overlooked but is valuable in its own Last week, as I was replaying MGS while
right, I would say IAT 313 is a course that I have
my sister watched, I found myself picking
up on and being amused with details that
come to appreciate over time. she gave no notice to. I’d never noticed it
before, but I was glad to not be taking such
IAT 313: Narrative in New Media, is agency, and non-linear storytelling intricacy for granted. Understanding the
one of those courses that will only give may have seemed obvious and maybe effort and consideration that goes into what
as much as you put into it. It may have even unnecessary at the time. However, makes a narrative successful – it inspires
seemed informal and disorganized on the they are terms and concepts I have me to put such deliberation and thought
surface but the content was there for any continued to think of and apply over into all the stories or experiences I create
of us to learn and digest if we chose to in- the past semesters. Interactivity and now.
volve ourselves in it. I believe that making multi-linear experiences seem to be
and developing good narratives requires an involved in so many of the projects Our final project was an ambitious, multi-
understanding of narrative structure and we create in SIAT, so obviously it is linear and interactive story built in Flash
new media (which is what many of us will important to be understanding such that would’ve been a pretty rad portfolio
end up using as our medium). Learning concepts on a meaningful level. piece, if only we had simply had the time to
about hypermediation, immersion, My team’s game analysis was a fairly complete it properly.

.9
 Budget Cuts
SFU
Last March (Spring 2008), the provincial
government cut funding for post-secondary
institutions. The first university to get a
budget cut was Simon Fraser University with
$50 million – the largest cumulative amount
of all university budget cuts. This was not the
first time that the provincial government has
cut funding.
The provincial government has not done
anything to stop the deficit, other than to
cap our tuition increase by 2% per year.
Throughout this decade, including the time
before the tuition cap, our tuition fees have
risen by more than 108%.
Although the Ministry of Advanced Education
announced that there would be no additional
budget cuts, the Ministry did not announce
how it would help our universities and
colleges. Because of the actions of our
elected officials, SFU will terminate 80
positions, 30 sessional faculties and 50
staff members, from the university in order
to balance the budget – as required by the
provincial government.
Last year, Simon Fraser University suffered
from an estimated $15 million deficit. Simon
Fraser University is not the only university
that has a deficit. University of British
Columbia, in the same year, suffered from
a $50 million deficit while the University of
Victoria only suffered from $5 million.
ANDY SHEN
Simon Fraser University has made an
effort to balance our budget by cutting
services offered by the university. As a
result we have less tutorials being offered,
larger lecture sizes, less lectures being
offered in a year (which also means that
you graduate later), etc. Simon Fraser
University has also been admitting more
International Students, mostly from
China. International Students are a body
of students consisting of around 10% of
Simon Fraser University's total student
population who pay 5 times the tuition of a
normal student.
In some departments such as Psychology,
mandatory tutorials for more than 80%
of its courses have been eliminated. The
budget cut is the main reason why SFU
has abolished the method where students
can pay their tuition through credit card on
goSFU.
If there are more budget cuts, we may have
to remove goSFU from our systems and
use the pre-2006 systems where students
have to call Simon Fraser University
and register for our courses over the
telephone.
Spring 2009
 THE BIG PICTURE
AT THE SFU SURREY
OPEN HOUSE
2009
Every Spring, Simon Fraser University
Surrey opens its doors to the public for
the Open House event. The Open House
is, in a nutshell, the night where faculties,
student/academic services, and student
clubs located at the Surrey campus get to
show visitors what our school is all about.
There is something for all the 1500+ guests
who attend the Open House, including
campus tours, presentations, projects by
undergraduate and graduate students,
entertainment on the mezzanine stage, and
a variety of freebies and prizes!

On the right are some of the sights from

Open House ‘09, impeccably captured by
Helen Chan, a 4th year SIAT student and
HIASPIRE design team alumnus.

Check out more Open House photos and the

rest of Helen’s portfolio at Flickr - flickr.com/
photos/helenchanphotography

BY: VIVIEN LO

.11
Looking up at the early evening festivities on the Mezzanine floor
The crowded Galleria at night

Appreciating the World’s literature

The many volunteers and staff who

Ken Zupan becomes a part of his IAT 336 students’ lighting display made it all possible

IAT 338 instructor Russell Taylor contemplates Untitled (SpACe) by Interactive fiber-optic lighting project by SIAT Spring 2009
SIAT students Ryan Lai, Ross Papa, Jack Chen and Jackie Fok Ph.D candidate Jinsil Seo
 Flossing
the net
By: Dominic Renaud
Many readers of this magazine have probably
heard of, and probably often use, various forms
of free, licensed, open-source software. Open-
source software is built from the ground up to be
available to everyone, so that they can tinker with
it, learn from it, and possibly help build it.

The concept of free, open-source software

began with the foundation of the Free Software
Foundation in 1984, currently located at http://
www.gnu.org. There have been other groups in
support of free licensing, but this one is the most
notable and most specific to software.

Why, you might ask, should we bother with this

open-source software? It is often incomplete,
buggy, or not as fancy as the closed-source
counterpart. While this is often a fact of life when
it comes to open-source software, it should also
be noted that many great projects come out of
the open-source projects. The Linux operating
system, as well as many of the base GNU
programs that help operate it and other Unix
variants are probably the most famous. As well,
Mozilla’s Firefox web browser is a major program
that has come from the depths of sourceforge.
net(one of the largest repositories for open-
source programs). For those of you who work
with MS Office files, there is OpenOffice, and
for those who enjoy gaming, there are various
good open-source games, like Battle for Wesnoth,
Nexuiz, or Spring.
Now, I’m not saying that it is absolutely vital that all
software be open-source. I’m simply pointing out that
there are many programs with open-source equivalents
that are well-supported, well-designed, and highly
useful. At any rate, it could save you some much needed
money for school.
Update from previous issue (DRM): It seems many
companies have realized the error of the crusade for
digital control, and have decided to reduce the measures
used to prevent you from using your software or media.
Quite notably, Apple has launched the iTunes Plus
service, which offers DRM-free versions of most
of their library for the same price as the old, restricted
versions. Hooray!

.13
Time: Where Does it all Go?
By: Tiffany Chang
Time - we “see” it every
day, it “flies” when we’re not
paying attention and it can be
agonizingly slow to go through
when we give it our undivided
attention. Yet there are questions
that remain unanswered, how can
we manage time when it seems
to go by in a blink of an eye?
What can we possibly do to make
sure that time is not wasted, but
is actually being put to good use?
Many students discover the
need to develop or sharpen
their time management skills
when they enter college or
university. Unlike high school,
where teachers frequently
structure your assignments and
classes filled your day, in college
or university, you will have less
in-class time, more outside of
class work, and a great deal of
freedom and flexibility.
Now, you may be wondering, what
can I do to ensure that my time
doesn’t just zoom right by? Well,
one approach to this is to have
an awareness of what your goals
are; it will help you significantly in
prioritizing your activities or tasks
that needs to be accomplished.
Another approach is to develop
and maintain a personal, flexible
schedule. Create a schedule
that works for you and you
alone; it does not revolve around
other people. Include things like
homework that needs to be done,
projects, leisure time, etc., and
set a specific time frame for each
task or activity. For example, for
homework, you can set the time
from say 3pm to around 5pm
with a few 5, 10 minute breaks in
between so that your brain can
have a chance to relax instead of
making your brain work overtime
(which is never a good thing).
There are also online resources
you can go to if you still need help
with managing your time. Just
Google “time management” and
there should be a considerable
amount of resources that can
help you manage your time
better. The ‘Managing Your
Time’ online resources from
the SFU Learning Commons
(http://learningcommons.sfu.ca/
strategies/managing.htm) also
provide many useful how-tos and
scheduling tools for SFU students
specifically.
Next time that you are swamped
with endless piles of work or think
that you think that you won’t
have time for your friends and
family, you will know what to do,
because with the right tools, skills,
and attitude, time will always be
on our side.
Spring 2009
 l e y
a l o ha
n so
n
s i
lac
s a ea.
nt y ar ore ot
k
to

h
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.15
 SPOT THE DUCK CONTEST WINNERS
Last issue we had a contest called Spot
the Duck! For this contest we asked you,
the readers to count and see how many
ducks there were in the issue. Front to
back including Darth Vador duck there
were a total of 35 ducks! Our winner for
this contest with a guess of 34 ducks is
Chi Hsi. Congratulations from Hi’s staff!

Upon our issues release we also asked

students to design their own ducks,
these are the winners congratulations!

Coloring contest winners:

Best overall duck: Phaedra Harder
Best non-duck: Jack Chen (Farthest Left)
Best super duck: Alanna Kho (Farthest Right

Honorable mentions:
Georgina Chaplin (Centre)
Nabil Lam
Jordan Manning.

Best overall-duck Best super-duck Best non-duck

Phaedra Harder Alanna Kho Jack Chen

Spring 2009
7
AND A HALF
FLAVOURS
OF AWESOME

1
F*** My Life
www.fmylife.com

You think your life sucks? This website

should give you a better perspective.

2 3
PostSecret The Battle for Wesnoth
postsecret.blogspot.com www.wesnoth.org/

An ongoing community art project where The Battle for Wesnoth is a free,
people mail in their secrets anonymously open-source, turn-based strategy
on one side of a postcard (some of which game with a fantasy theme.
were used in an All-American Rejects
music video).

.17
 4
i’m in like with you
www.iminlikewithyou.com

Multiplayer flash games with an

emphasis on social networking activities.

5 6
Last.FM fuseproject
www.last.fm www.fuseproject.com

Formerly known as Audioscrobbler, this fuseproject is an award-winning

is the foremost music tracking social industrial design and branding firm.
networking application in existence. Past projects include the Birkenstock
Birkies, Slingbox, XO Laptop for OLPC,
and the Kada stool for Danese.

7
50 US Celebrities Sell Out for
Foreign Commercial Bucks
www.listaholic.com/50-us-celeb-
rities-sell-out-for-foreign-commer-
cial-bucks.html

Hollywood actors like Leonardo DiCaprio

and the Governator in the cheesiest ads
endorsing more canned Japanese energy
drinks than you can handle.

Spring 2009
 Asleep At Your Grave
The furrows of wrinkled limbs,
crumpled up into folds of fabric,
on a cold cobblestone road,
that winds and finds,
Its way through a million
faces, places, leaving traces
of your sweet soul,
on every being,
fleeing past
my old withered soul,
wrapped around
the lone daisy
you pushed
for me
……..my dear
-Ravdeep Sall

.19
I was the one... Secure in the sultry warmth of her belly,
I’d float
In the amnion of dreams and fancies
In her cushioned sweet jelly,
I’d dwell
On the beauty of her love
In the heaven of her care,
I’d wallop
Giving her nothing, but pain and twinge
But she held on to me, for blithe
Which I provided, but just a dollop
She’d still be by my side, with love-powered lithe.
I wish I was, but what I should have been for her
For I was all she had…
She was enamored, by the one who smote her
She held on to me all the time,
Even when I showed my black in my mime
She gave me all her warmth
And I pilfered all her charm.
She’s been the God for me…
The candle, who burnt herself, to enlighten me…
And I could never give her anything,
Perhaps, not even the happiness,
of my presence by her side
I was the one,
The one, who killed her dreams…
I am sorry mom.
Harsimran K. Kalra
President- Poetry Café.
Spring 2009
The Art of Étude
by Ethan Johanson
This year at hiaspire we discussed
a variety of topics for potential
articles that we thought would be
relevant to our student population.
One of these was what music do
you find best for studying and
schoolwork? Being hiaspire’s
resident collect-all-sorts-of-music
guru, I was looked to for direction
.21
in this endeavour. Really though,
there is no one answer for this. A
lot of it comes down to taste and
what works for you. Regardless,
no harm can come from some
suggestions and guidelines, so
here goes.
Avoid music with lyrics you really
get into. Unfortunately, there is a
lot of rather good pop music like
this out there, but singing along to
Paul McCartney or Anthony Kiedis
isn’t exactly conducive to learning.
Alternatively, this same uptempo
pop music can be very helpful
when doing work that requires
more doing than thinking.
Some genres I find to be quite
useful are shoegaze, experimental,
post-rock, classical, and ambient.
Jazz and Ska can also work quite
well.
As for specific artist/album
recommendations...
s Broken Social Scene: “You
Forgot It In People”
s David Bowie’s Berlin albums,
“Low”, “Heroes”, and
“Lodger”
s Any ambient works by Brian
Eno
s Anything from Sigur Ros,
except their newest, more
poplike album “Með suð í
eyrum við spilum endalaust”
s Anything from Explosions in
the Sky. The band even has
some (legally) free downloads
on their website.
s Radiohead’s “Kid A”, though
most else from the band does
not quite work.
STAFF PAGE
Production Staff

Vivien Lo Editor-in-Chief
Dennis Yip Director of Operations
Ethan Johanson Secretary Extraordinaire, Columnist
Andy Shen Web Services Assistant, Columnist
Anna Koniarska Layout Director, Columnist
Tiffany Chang Designer, Columnist
Amanda Chan Designer
Cheryl Cheong Designer
Nicola Sznajder Designer
Dominic Renaud Columnist

Contributors
Helen Chan Photography
Alanna Kho Writer
Luyi Wang Reporter
Harsimran Kalra Poetry
Ravdeep Sall Poetry

Spring 2009
ISSUE
10
hiaspire
magazine