N X Blue Star Cabaret has the right pinch of spice by Belinda Li >> Statf Writer “Tm going to sit here and bare my soul for you,” announced Dawn Desrochers as she prepared to perform some of her original songs. Her tunes, along with clas- sics of various genres including jazz, show tunes, and the eighties, were all part one of the concert hosted by the Bluestar Cabaret on October 2. As a means to support local artistic talent, The Bluestar Cabaret formed about two years ago and puts on shows on the first Saturday of every month at Artspace that feature our very own musicians, poets, and other per- forming artists. This month’s show featured The Seasoning, a local jazz group that comprises of Dawn Desrochers, vocalist, pianist, and song-writer, and whoever is performing with her at the time. This group formed about two years ago and has per- formed in various locations across British Columbia. Though mem- bers of the group tend to change depending on the gig, a couple of her regulars include guitarist Eric Tompkins “and pianist David Sproule. The band for this cabaret-style show consisted of Dawn’s own friends and collegues. The instru- mentalists included Eric Tompkins on guitar, Eric Forster on drums, Rod Simmons on trombone, Bruce Baycroft on bass, and Paul Forster on piano. Catherine Hansen McCarthy, who performed along- side Desrochers in local produc- tions of Annie and Chicago, was also featured as a guest singer. “Dawn did this cabaret last year and actually approached me in Annie and asked me to do the show this year,” explains McCarthy. In being so comfortable per- forming with each other, the group - created a casual and fun atmos- arn your way British Columbia Open University Can't get the courses you need? Earning the post-secondary credentials you need is not always easy—from getting into the classes you want to balancing school work with other commitments. The BC Open University offers over 500 distance university and college courses, many of them open for registration throughout the year. Transfer the BCOU credits you earn to the program of your choice or apply them to a BCOU Credential. www.bcou.ca 1.866.282.BCOU ey BCOU British Columbia Open University BCOU is becoming part of BC's newest university in 2005. phere that, according to McCarthy, is “a little less formal” for the audi- ence. “Everything just meshes and clicks,“ comments Desrochers. That “click” was evident in how the music was very natural sound- ing in a solid togetherness that could not have been achieved by simply practicing. “The band is really experienced. We have only. rehearsed about three times,” remarks McCarthy. Indeed, rehearsing only three times was more than enough for The Seasoning as the show was very well received. The audience filled up the Artspace entirely and showed much appreciation with enthusiastic applause. With the success of this year’s cabaret, and seeing the positive comments of last year’s show, Desrochers hopes that this will become an annual event since it is such a great expe- rience for everyone. “I’m having so much fun, just this big fun haze,” exclaims Desrochers. A NU. fa >> photo by Eric Chlebek Dawn Desrochers of The Seasoning gave an electrifying performance at the Bluestar Cabaret. Nicotine and the Death Instinct by Earson Gibson >> Copy Editor Quitting smoking is like pulling a rooted plant out of your mind. Sticky black tendrils in your neur- al structure being torn from their lashings will shred your brain on purpose. This is the defensive fear reaction of the addiction, a mental opponent who fights with the ferocity of a cornered octopus. It is a will-dissolving inner battle that offers quick and painless cessation. “Quitting is easy, I’ve done it many times.” The sardonic humour of terrified people. “Think of it as an antj-orgasm that ‘fasts a month, and every two minutes you get a call froma talking cigarette try- ing to sell you relief.” The prolonged effects of nicotine on the brain inevitably lead to per- manent staining of the sensitive chemistry therein. No one can pull the roots out without leaving a hole in the dirt, a hole that would have not otherwise opened up. The condition of nicotine with- drawal is an environmentally caused mental disorder by any objective clinical standard, although not considered as such by the current medical institution. This is because both cigarette pro- ducers and hospitals work within a capitalist framework, and are both very wealthy areas of eco- nomics. This is enough to make their businesses acceptable by our current lawmakers. The leaves of nicotine affliction resemble rabies; a gnawing hunger in the blood, continuous and seem- ingly unyielding. Think of it as an anti-orgasm that lasts a month, and every two minutes you get a call from a talking cigarette trying to sell you relief. This month-long mental disor- der manifests itself with nervous twitches, distracting thoughts and irrational fears. An addict denied nicotine (imagine someone you know) will react threateningly if they think you have a cigarette and are not a smoker. The irrational fears of the recovering addict are similar to the hydrophobia of rabies victims, who develop a mor- tal fear of water and will not drink it until death inflicts them. Water is essential for life, as important as air. The smoker’s fear becomes fresh air, and they're so afraid that they’ll smoke to keep it away until death inflicts them. The relationship between the addict and nicotine is abusive, as not only does the addict abuse the drug but the drug abuses the body of the addict. The false love addicts have for nicotine is the love a person can have for an abu- sive partner. This relationship is a perversion of what Freud postu- lated as the ‘life instinct’, all of the instincts that keep us alive. The ‘Thanatos’ was coined and intro- duced to explain patterns of human behavior that irrationally go against the life . instinct. Thanatos was the ancient Greek god of Death; son of Nyx, Goddess of the Night. and daughter of Chaos (the Void). Thanatos also had a twin brother named Hynpos (Sleep), both emerging from the bowels of their mother. Not a happy family. “The false fove addicts have for nicotine is the love a person can have for an abusive partner.” Thanatos is a theorized uncon- scious desire to die, the psycholog- ical reaction to our struggle against the natural forces we must con- stantly withstand to stay alive. A similar instinct can be witnessed in the behaviour of gazelles when being attacked by lions. Once the lion has good claw hold on the flank, the gazelle collapses with no further struggle despite the killing blow not having yet been adminis- tered. This is like the hold a ciga- rette addiction has on a smoker. The Thanatos of humans is more complicated than that of any other animal, even the lemming. Freud defined it as an unconscious drive, but when the Thanatos enters the conscious drive of an individual the dilemma becomes more com- plicated. Is nicotine addiction sim- ply a drug-induced failing of the will? Do addicts realize that every smoke steals about a minute from their life?