Have Faith Have Confidence
The concept of faith is in conflict; an idea that changes from person to person. To have faith is to believe. Whether it is faith in the unknown or in our fellow man, we humans choose to believe. It is a choice given to all sentient beings. Faith is an oddity. What is the reasoning for a person to have faith? And what is it that we gain by having faith?
En Route to Success
The basic premise behind the self-fulfilling prophecy is this: someone believes something is going to happen in the future. While the ultimate outcome isn’t determined, the individual acts in such a manner that he or she eventually makes the prophecy true, causing the predicted event.
Faith in Media
News is supposed to be a report of recent events and previously unknown information. Inherent within this definition is a code of ethics, an understanding that it is the duty of the news media to present an accurate account of the day’s events–to be ‘fair and balanced.’ The very notion of a news ‘industry’ is troubling.
What Would Mel Do?
The concentration of media under an increasingly small number of different banners has turned the business of media, including the news, into an orgy of synergy. A movie is advertised on stations, plugged on the same stations, in magazines and newspapers, and on the internet (www.this-movie.com). The money it makes is reported as actual news, the stars are interviewed, the social impact of the film is discussed.
Fleeting Celebrity Justice
The idea of celebrity culture, and the amount of faith many people have in celebrities, is very perplexing to me. Specifically, thinking about recent events in the news, I am forced to ask the question: given that fans worship the polytheistic world of Hollywood to such a large degree, why is it that when a celebrity gets into trouble –legal, personal, or moral—their once adoring public salaciously revels in their fall from grace?
We’ve Lost Wayne
In some respects, the way I viewed the world changed forever in the summer of 1988. In early August of that year, Wayne Gretzky left the dynasty that the young Edmonton Oilers had become, fleeing south for big money in Los Angeles. This, to a nine-year-old boy, seemed absolutely unbelievable. It made no sense whatsoever and challenging the blind faith I had in sports.
Okay Capitalism, Bad Apples
It is no wonder the clever new documentary The Corporation won the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It draws much-needed attention to the practices of the huge companies that have taken over the world. The film explores the idea that if corporations can be defined under the law as individual persons, their collective behaviour can be described as being consistent with that of a psychopath, according to the DSM—psychology’s manual for diagnosis.
B’s Get Degrees
Every two years I get a phone call from Statistics Canada regarding their “Youth in Transition” research study. Basically, they grill me for about half an hour with scripted questions, the answers to which will give them “a better understanding of the needs of youth.” It’s funny they would call tonight, just as I sit down to write this article for Mike.
Campus Conscientiousness Revisited
I don’t know if it has always been this way, but I personally have very little reason to have faith in my fellow students. What is happening, Laurier? Evaluate what it might be that could cause a declining sense of faith. Little things add up.
The Job: Once You Stop Thinking, You’ll Get It
Who are these people? Where do they come from? Flawed and mediocre, my coworkers do little to distinguish themselves, in appearance or manner. There are some personalities, but a lot of that distinction is due to what we might call aberrant features, from being overly boisterous and opinionated, to being good-natured and angry at the same time.
Letters to the Editor
The Students’ Union has decided not to renew Student Publications’ lease on our production space for next year. Why? Something about storage space and the expansion of the completely adequate 24-hour lounge (bigger is better). Thanks for nothing.
