November 24, 2004 | Page 12 Idol Receives Mixed Reviews dees PHoTO By MARLON FRANCESCINI Ian Yip won first place in the Most Entertaining category at UNBC Idol held on November 17th and 19th. ‘By CAROLYNNE BURKHOLDER EDITOR IN CHIEF On Wednesday November 17th, the Agora was filled to the brim with people enjoying and not so much enjoying the vocal talents of their fellow UNBC students. Serena Hartl, Director of Campus Activities at NUGSS, has organized the event for the past two years. “The crowd is awe- some this year,” she said, “and the performers are always good.” Aspiring singers completed for prizes for being the most talented or the most entertaining. The latter category Hartl described as, “pret- ty good up on stage, but don’t sing so good.” As viewers of the original Idol are well aware, the judging of the event is one of the most entertain- ing parts. UNBC Idol was judged by NUGSS General Manager April Williams, along with the Director of University Affairs Jeremy “Big Man on Campus” Belyea, and the Director of Finance, Abdul Mohammed. “We felt no stress at all,” said Williams, “everyone is just fabulous.” Judging from the comments many performers received, how: ever, not everyone was fabulous. Performers had many different reasons for competing in this event. ~ ”Y en here for the fans. Vm not in it to sell out. As long as the people from UNBC are enter- tained, I'm happy.” - Elden McLeod First place winner, April Pidhaichuk, was a semi-finalist in Vancouver Idol. “I just sing for fun,” Pidhaichuk said, “I had a blast participating in UNBC Idol.” Mo Habib was a second time competitor, who performed “Bedtime” by Usher a cappella. “This is a fun thing to take part in,” Habib said, although he was primarily there “for the money.” “I'm here for the fans,” said Eldon McLeod, UNBC Idol's reigning champion in the enter- taining category, “I’m not in it to sell out. As long as the people from UNBC are entertained, I’m happy.” “I should probably be drunk before I do this,” said participant Heather Glasgow. She participat- ed in UNBC Idol primarily for “self gratification.” Not all reviews of this event were positive. One participant stated that he was “very disappointed with the lack of variety in songs. There were many more songs last year” Another stated that the judges were “funny, but I expected some- thing better.” One student observing this event commented “I know lots of good singers who would never dream of being in this event. They are too afraid of being made fun ro) aa “T really don’t appreciate being forced to listen to mediocre vocal talent spouting shitty songs,” said Vanessa Webber. “This totally dis- rupts my day.” Justin Frey a participant in this year’s competition was unhappy with the publicity this event receives. He said, “I didn’t even know this event existed before today.” Culture Shock: Sub Culture Aged for that Smooth and Mellow Flavour TrAvis NIELSEN DISTRIBUTION MANAGER There are many connoisseurs out their in our world, but none have a reputation as hidden as the connoisseurs of Scotch Single Malt Whiskey. No drink in the entire world has the reputation of having a subtle change in taste from bottle to bottle. The time and effort it takes to make a Scotch is phenomenal, usu- ally about 10 years for a satisfacto- ry bottle, and aging as long as 50 or 60 years for top quality Scotch. This makes Scotch two things: first, a high quality product because of the effort and time that are needed to produce it, and sec- ond, a highly sought collectors item because of the limited avail- ability of high quality product. It is these factors that lead to the high price of Scotch, and probably why Scotch lovers fall into their own sub culture, as not everyone is ready to shell out 4-5 hundred dol- lars for a high quality bottle of Scotch. There are, however few of us that do pay and enjoy this grand use of malt and do so because of its special flavour, varying subtly and beautifully from drink to drink like the clouds in the sky. The appreciation that connois- seurs have for the drink stems deeply into their sub-culture, where they can almost tell if you are a fellow connoisseur the minute that you walk into pub or restaurant and ask for an ounce of your favourite brand. Scotch lovers usually gather in small groups, whenever the bartenders know their stuff about the “One Real Whiskey.” Though tough to get into, this sub culture of people are some of the finest people that you'll ever meet. Take a trip to the liquor store or pub and find out more about Scotch for yourself, this is an art meant for everyone of age to enjoy, make it part of your culture today. Samara Takes Over Cinema CNC By ALEX DEEVY STAFF WRITER Ina town where our only theatre can justify devoting three screens to the “Incredibles” (a story about a white/ American, suburban fam- ily with super powers), but has trouble finding streen time for “Motorcycle Diaries” (The story of Ernesto “Che” Guevara in his for- mative years) some people are bound to get a little culturally deprived. What Wal-Mart is to shopping, and McDonalds is to fine dining, Hollywood is to culture. Well, one of Prince George’s best kept secrets: Cinema CNC might just be the cure. No more will you have to split gas between six people to make it to Vancouver to see some- thing uncensored by the American Parents Committee of Film Sterilization. Peter Maides, an _ English instructor at CNC goes yearly to the Toronto film festival to choose the best films for Cinema CNC. On. average, nine movies are shown per season, with one movie per week and two screenings per movie. The films come from all over the world, many are from Europe, some from Asia, few are from North America, and some are cooperative productions with unlikely film makers coming together. The fast film 1 Saw was called “Samsara”, set in the Himalayas and made by Indian, French, and Ttalian artists. The movie itself con- cerned a Buddhist monk named “Tashi”, who after spending three years in isolated meditation returns to his monastery as a respected member destined to be ,an elder. Three years of meditation is a long time to think about life, and Tashi returns with questions the older monks can’t answer. This is a tale of lOve, self-discovery, and the struggle between the ancient unchanged culture of the Himalayan peoples and the med- _ ern material driven world that lies at the bottom of the mountain. Unfortunately there aren’t many tickets available, so I’m compelled not to tell you how to get them. But if you’re really interested, ask around, make some phone calls, and you should be able to get a PHOTO CONTRIBUTED Samsara features love, self-discovery, and the struggle of modernity.