LETTITOR

 

 

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow
up to be film directors

By Liam Britten

As we’re all undoubtedly aware, it’s back to
school time for students everywhere. If you
weren’t aware... why the hell are you back to
school? Your presence here makes no sense, I
tells ya.

Anyways, we’re all here at Douglas for
different reasons. For some, this is our first day
of university transfer so we can pursue degrees;
others are here just “taking classes” until we
find out what we actually want to do; and some
are here because we’ ve lost our purpose in life
and have no idea how to find it again.

Well; hopefully that last reason isn’t why
you’re here. It was the reason that brought me
here, though.

It was back in ol’ 2006, when a young
Liam Britten had just had his dreams freshly
crushed by the weight of the cold, cold world.
I had graduated from high school with a lot
of potential; class valedictorian, honour roll,
scholarships, the whole shebang. I decided
I wanted to pursue a creative lifestyle, but
unfortunately I wasn’t really good at much of
anything. So, I decided that I’d go ahead and
take on a career where my lack of talent would
be least detrimental: I wanted to become a film
director.

In my mind, it made sense. I can think of
plenty of talentless film directors. Michael Bay
sucks. Woody Allen has sucked since 1979.
Kevin Smith sucks hard and he sucks on a
low budget. If those clowns could do it, why
not me? I was sure that I had the talent to tell
people what to do and give important-sounding
interviews. My first feature film was mere
weeks away.

Until I went to film school. I knew after
the first few months of film school that this was
not going to work out. I was surrounded by
people who were way smarter and way more
creative than me but for some reason, I decided
to stick it out for a second semester. Maybe I
had become too attached to this goal of mine
or maybe I was just unwilling to accept that I
couldn’t do it. But I continued into a second
semester, where I had the opportunity to direct.

I also got the chance to have a nervous
breakdown. No wonder every person I know
who works in film tends to be depressed or
angry all the time; 18-hour days for months at
a time will do that to you. I wound up passing

my first year of film school and getting a
“certificate” at the end of it, but even though I
passed, I had failed.

To make matters worse, I had absolutely
no back-up plan to speak of. Instead, I went to
work in warehouses. I was able to make do for
a while until they put me to work alphabetizing
boxes of old x-rays in a warehouse where they
were testing fire alarms. If you’ve never had the
pleasure of alphabetizing boxes of old x-rays
while a fire alarm as loud as an air raid siren
blares in your ear every 30 to 45 seconds, I
can’t recommend it highly enough; it’Il make
you either want to go back to school and
improve your life or kill yourself. Either option,
by the way, is better than stacking those boxes
of x-rays.

So, I chose to improve my life by going to
school. I was in the “taking classes” boat for a
few semesters, but eventually I started taking
Print Futures, a writing program at Douglas,
and more important, I joined up here at The
Other Press. One of my better decisions, all
things considered. Working in publishing has
been very rewarding, even if I’ve just been at
a college paper and an intern elsewhere. It’s
given me something of a purpose.

I hope you, gentle reader, aren’t here out
of desperation for a calling or a better life. I
hope you already have good things going for
you and Douglas is just the first step to the life
you really want. But if it is poor circumstances
that bring you to this place, I hope you find
your education and whatever comes of your
education extremely fulfilling.

And if things don’t work out for you,

I know a place that needs some x-rays
alphabetized.

Your friend in high fidelity,
Liam Britten

Editor in chief

The Other Press

 

 

 

 

hen I read Caitlyn Therrien’s

article entitled “9/11 conspiracy

theorists have no respect for
our intelligence” [Issue #27 Vol. 35, May
11 2009], I had to laugh. Her reasoning
as to why 9/11 conspiracy theorists are
unintelligent and ridiculous is so full of
holes, it makes Swiss cheese look like
mortar.

So where do I begin? Well, according
to Therrien, “If 9/11 were in fact about oil
we would not be struggling to scrounge up
money to put in our gas tanks.” Who told
you that conspiracy theorists believed it was
about oil? Did you speak to them? You’re

 

a

 

 

assuming that is their view without even
speaking with them. Not smart. Having
followed the 9/11 truth movement for many
years now, I would say the vast majority of
9/11 truthers do not hold the view that 9/11
was about oil. So get your facts straight.
According to Therrien, “The facts
about 9/11 do not indicate in any way that
9/11 was an inside job.” Oh really? So twin
towers that collapse into a pile of rubble at
the speed of gravity is normal? Apparently
Therrien was away the day they taught
basic physics at school. Or how about a 47-
storey building that collapses into itself at
the speed of gravity despite only suffering

9/11 truth movement raises valid concerns

from a small fire? What about a Boeing
757 that strikes the Pentagon but leaves
hardly a trace because according to officials,
the plane disintegrated in the fire? These
are only a few of the literally hundreds of
red flags surrounding the events of 9/11.
To disregard these unusual events is like
watching a mouse eat a cat but claim it is
normal.

Furthermore, Therrien implies that
9/11 conspiracy theorists are disrespecting
those that died on 9/11 and those soldiers
at war in Iraq and Afganistan. Gimme a
break! To ignore the glaring red flags in the
governments account of 9/11 is a slap in

the face to all those who died on 9/11 and
continue to die in Iraq and Afganistan. To
allow our government to send our men and
women to war on false pretenses is to be
complicit in murder.

Therrien ends her article stating,
“Without educated decisions we are as
ridiculous as those conspiracy theorists.”
The only thing ridiculous is Therrien’s
complete lack of rationale. But Therrien is
correct about one thing: I have no respect
for her intelligence.

—Ethan Chan