Editorial
by Eva van Loon “Water is best,” goes the ancient Greek proverb. As a teen, I thought it a dumb saying. The best as compared to what? It stuck in memory as I learned that water covers 71% of the planet, that 97% of the water is ocean (not counting polar ice!) and people consist mostly of water, 55% to 78%. An alarming discovery was the short time it takes for a human being to die of thirst as opposed to hunger: only three or four increasingly painful days, while we can last for weeks without food. Drinking seawater or urine only makes things worse. Where drought is marching across the land, as in Somalia, people are already dying of thirst every day, while on the Sunshine Coast we go about our lives, swilling down coffee, soda and juices as if there’s no tomorrow, forgetful that each human life depends utterly on ingesting two to three litres of water every single day. Put so starkly, that fact sends me straight to the cold-water tap with a “Thank you, Dr. Suzuki,” for pointing out recently that our tap water is a wonderful healthy blessing and that, while we can still call this treasure our own, we neither need nor want bottled water trucked in. ClimateWizard is a new online toy that will predict changes in temperature and precipitation—precious water—in a given area for 2050 and 2100. For now, it’s mostly good for the US, but even so, the expected desertification is mind-boggling. Not that I didn’t know that places like Australia, Maui, and California are already burning up, or that there are predictions out there that the West Coast will lose 30% of its annual precipitation, but it was a shock to see that big red knob of heat and dryness on the map, right up to the Canadian border. We’re fools if we think nobody’s going to be panting after our water. |
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Many people had been asking about Immanence Magazine. We’ve had to take a brief hiatus, but are back in action after the completion of our new office and production headquarters at 4691 Marine Avenue (across from the Jailhouse Cafe). The space is shared with CMG Printing and Neko Rei Music Production, and is open for walk–in traffic Thursdays and Fridays from 10–5pm, and 11–4pm on Saturdays. Come by and have a look next time you’re on Marine. CMG Printing is a new endeavor of Core Media Group (the production company that designs and prints Immanence and a proprietorship of Corey Matsumoto). A print shop that offers 100% recycled paper as standard stock is an exciting prospect, however a busy print shop means reduced time for the behind-the-scenes work that makes each issue of Immanence Magazine possible. As a result the magazine is moving to a quarterly publication schedule, rolling with the seasons and enabling us to produce a fatter magazine packed-full of well-written, informative articles. We also have an announcement about an exciting new program called the Powell River Sustainability Stakeholders (PRSS) that rewards local shoppers for working towards local sustainability. All are encouraged to sign up for the program—not only to save money at participating businesses, but also as a way to show support for the local sustainability movement and help keep Immanence Magazine on the fore-front of engaging independent media in Powell River. See page 31 and 32 for more details or visit www.immanence.ca We hope you enjoy this Fall issue—the largest issue we’ve put out so far. |
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Many people are wondering "What's happening with Immanence Magazine? Our new office space at 4691 Marine Avenue (shared with CMG Printing) opened August 21, 2009. CMG Printing is the designer/printer/manufacturer of Immanence Magazine, and as a result of increased work load at the print shop we have shifted the magazine to a quarterly publication schedule. Immanence Magazine will now roll out with the seasons on the solstices and equinoxes of each year. We've also been working hard behind the scenes to establish an exciting new program called the Powell River Sustainability Stakeholders. |
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Just for info MCP hsn't abandon Jump it is in a transition period there are 2 proposals to take over so before something is printed maybe you should do some research before you print. |
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Welcome to our new website. There are more features to be added, such as our online store which will enable subscription and back issue purchasing, as well as enable direct purchasing of classified ads. The Article Database has a ton of updating still, but I hope to have it up to date within a week. Enjoy the site and the information is has to offer, and please consider posting your writings for the benefit of all. It's easy to do, free, and you can choose to have your writings considered for publication in our print issue. Thanks for visiting Immanence Magazine Online! |
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by Corey Matsumoto The written word is a powerful tool for expressing ideas. In essence, Immanence is an open, safe forum for sharing ideas, opinions, and knowledge from all members of our community. We accept writings from anyone who shares our interest in spreading new ideas—even if it challenges our own belief systems. It is through new (often radical) ideas that societies progress and develop. Some members of our community may reject certain articles (or the magazine as a whole) based on the past writings of one or more of our contributors. This is unfortunate, but nevertheless we will continue to publish writings, without censorship, from anyone, except that the libellous, fraudulent, or unlawful will be edited out or, if that is not possible, the piece will be rejected. Immanence is proud to be Powell River’s truly independent community medium. We hope you learn as much from each issue as we do. |
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by Corey Matsumoto Welcome to our first publication of 2008. We enjoyed our time off in January but have been anxious to get on with a whole new year of publishing quality informative articles from the Powell River community. You may have read in our July, 2007, issue (you can download past issues from our website) that we are intent on creating a magazine that is entirely locally produced and printed. We have been successful in keeping Immanence Magazine a fully local publication until the December/January issue, when we were forced to print about 85% of the print run out of town (gasp!) because of local printer breakdowns. This is a temporary setback. As you read this, we are working hard to acquire our own production machine, to ensure that locally printed media return to Powell River. February 7th marks the beginning of a new cycle of the Chinese lunar calendar as the Year of the Rat returns at the head of the 12-year cycle. This symbolises new beginnings, and hope to all who wish for positive change in their lives and communities. On this note, please participate in this month’s civic by-election by educating yourself about all six of the candidates and casting your vote on February 23rd. It’s your town, your future, and ultimately your responsibility to participate as members of the Powell River community. Help steer our city towards positive change and a prosperous future! |
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by Jana Pierce-van Loon My mother, who has stepped in as editor of this fine rag you hold in your hot little paws, asked me for an editorial on my oft-seen but little thought-of email signature, “Love IS the Movement”. I was, to put it lightly, flabbergasted. “Um, ok,” I said hesitantly, unwilling to admit that I hadn’t given it much thought when I’d assigned it as my signature – it had just sounded cool! But as most things in my life, this was serendipitous; for, while thinking on what the heck to write (and past deadline!), I discovered a valuable lesson. I have been an activist my whole life. It was born into me, and it will leave me only by death or lobotomy. Combined with that activism is a deep river of rage, thick and juicy in its depths, red like the floes of magma beneath the earth’s flimsy crust, ready to burst forth at a moment’s notice. And no wonder. I have much to be angry about. My parents’ generation, the hippies of Free Love and maybe just a little too much LSD, my predecessors in the Great Fight, did a bang-up job. We owe them quite a bit. They paved the road for the activists of today, much as the suffragettes and activists before them paved their path. The hippies had the right idea, folks! Love IS the movement. Much as they may be cast aside, dismissed derisively by young idiots who don’t know what their apathy is losing them, without them our world would be a lot worse. I am proud of people like my mom, people of my mom’s generation, who fought the good fight in a time of civil rights infringement, injustice, and phony wars. Wait, that sounds familiar...I wonder why. |
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by Corey Matsumoto & Eva van Loon Our last issue of 2007 is dedicated to trees –the lungs of the earth and symbols for strength, shelter, and longevity. How we depend on trees! We build our homes out of trees, burn trees for warmth, create musical instruments and works of art with trees, and write love letters and publish books on tree products. We even wipe our behinds with trees (how insulting!). You may have noticed our new paper stock if you are reading a printed version of this issue (kudos to those who choose to download digital copies from our web site). We are experimenting with an FSC-certified paper (Forest Stewardship Council–www.fsc.org), which guarantees that the paper comes from properly managed forests. It is a small step towards reducing our impact on the planet. Our first publication of the new year will be in February, to allow for a bit of time off to play catch up with our own lives. We are looking forward to an excellent 10-issue year in Powell River, 2008. We invite you to think through your expectations for 2008, from Kathuamixw and sports events to the proliferation of arts and business and the elections slated for the fall. Thanks for supporting local Powell River artists and businesses, the lifeblood of our community. We wish you all the best over those Holly Daze and into the Year of the Rat. |
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by Eva van Loon In spite of starting my life in the treeless Netherlands, I was born for forest. When my war-shattered parents moved us to Canada, I flew out the door every day—to feed the milk-wagon horse, roll in the cut grass, build “forts” on the riverbank, go stick-and-string fishing in the tree-lined river, eat myself sick on chokecherries, design leafy temples, and dream of wildlife which, of course, wanted more than anything to be my friend. In school I yearned over large green patches on the map, parks and forests and untraveled country, the further north, the better. I drew fantastic Christmas-treed landscapes of an imagined Alaska, and sneakily read and re-read The Furry Forest Bears inside my boring math text. Every spare minute was spent in my secret, sacred grove of conifers in a nearby ravine, meticulously picked clean of rubbish by me, who hated taking out the garbage. The once little Dutch girl was melding with the First Nations reverence for trees, so well articulated in The Golden Spruce (John Vaillant ), which won a Governor General’s award for the story of the magnificent and unusual golden-needled conifer slain 500 years before its time by a twisted eco-activist. The Haida grieved long and hard over that tree, as I did over my special glade, long ago sacrificed to city “needs”. |
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