Qiatin Vancouver Improv Anywhere ‘How to have fun within a flash t last! Someone out there is providing an appropriate outlet or my desire to engage in random public acts of strangeness. The credit for this goes to Vancouver Improv Anywhere, who themselves are no strangers to similar unusual activities. The group has been responsible for organizing numerous events around the city over the last couple of years, such as a recent dance routine performed beside a line up at a wine festival a few weeks back and many others that fall under the theme of being a ‘flash mob.’ For those unfamiliar with the term flash mob, this is when an activity (a pillow fight or a freeze scene, to name a few common ones) is planned ahead of time to take place in a public area. The idea is to have the event seem instantaneous and then dissipate quickly after, leaving innocent bystanders surprised and hopefully amused. The exact motive behind the creation of flash mobs is unclear. Some say it was a test to see how connected through technology people could be while there is also a rumour that it was something developed to lure hipsters who were simply out to be a part of the latest trends. The origins are irrelevant though as flash mobs have broken into the mainstream, having been documented countless times on Youtube and have even occurred on shows like Weeds. One of the most recent assignments issued by the organization was a silent dance party on the Expo/Millennium line skytrain on April 9. Attendees were to bring personal music players and boarded the skytrain as normal civilians but would shortly after proceed to treat the public transit vehicle as a traveling dance floor. When | arrived at the predetermined meeting spot behind the Art Gallery, there were already at least fifty people waiting. Some were dressed in normal street clothes while some groups were clad in fluorescents and spandex. Anticipation was in the air as everyone shuffled while they stood around, aching to get their grooves on. Before the main event could take place though, the organizers took advantage of the assembled mass in order to execute a cancer awareness stunt, which involved freezing in places around downtown while displaying signs remembering cancer patients, followed by creating a ginormous daffodil using umbrellas in the square behind the Art Gallery. About two hours after the original Meeting time, the crowd again assembled as the organizers explained how the silent dance party would work. Agents would board at Vancouver City Centre and ride the skytrain for three stops before getting off and waiting for the next one, taking a break from dancing in-between. Each time a new train was boarded, a designated person would start dancing. After giving confused stares, others would slowly join in until over half the train was jiving to their own designated beats. Before hand, the agents were reminded to keep things “Canadian,” but even though dancers refrained from moshing or anything of the sort, some bystanders expressed their discomfort to the musical fuelled activities surrounding them. They were probably just mad they didn’t have headphones of their own. When the party reached Metrotown, everyone had been instructed to reverse directions, back to downtown. Unfortunately, I had other commitments to tend to so I bid farewell to the legion of dancers and was forced to ride, covered in sweat, on a skytrain void of any dancing. Till next year, Vancouver Improv Anywhere. If partaking in some planned public spontaneity sounds like your cup of tea, join the Vancouver Improv Anywhere Facebook group to be kept in the loop about upcoming events or check out their website www.improvanywhere.ca. Damage: Free 12 You gotta fight for your right toa party-free system By Daniel Burke politicians make me crazy! While the politicians play their childish yet serious games, all we citizens are left with are the bills and a pathetic choice between leaders who aren’t even chosen by us, but by their parties. Someone who is beholden to their friends and the insiders who gave them their position as leader cannot also put the general populace first, and anyone who thinks they can is either lying or delusional. In fact, it appears to me that we Canadians are given absolutely no consideration whatsoever except during election time when the strategy is to tell us whatever nonsense is necessary in order for us to put our X’s in the desired box on Election Day. When I was a child, a promise was as good as a contract. Let’s be honest here, politicians don’t make election promises, they spew propaganda. A litany of carefully arranged and doctored ridiculousness designed to divert our attention away from the obvious shortcomings and deficiencies of the platforms and persons running. I have had enough! First of all, the party system should be banished. Parties lead to the kind of system we have now where friends and insiders come first. Power seems to be the theme. What we should really be doing is directly electing our Prime Minister and Premier. These persons who put themselves forward would be qualified individuals, would not be connected to any party and therefore would not be under obligation or influences to put anyone first other than me and thee. We should also directly elect the ministers of the three or four most important ministries such as health, education and social services. [= had it! Politics and their It’s time working Canadians changed our politics We should have a choice between qualified persons who have extensive experience in these areas instead of hangers-on appointed by a biased leader. All MP’s and MLA’s must be considered part of the government. The adversarial system we use is simply not working. All this leads to is the wild pendulum swing we get when changing from one party with absolute power to another. If you want effective representation then the person we elect to represent our constituency should have real power. Legislation can be developed by committees or ministers and then brought forward to the assembly and debated and voted on based of merits. Because there are no parties, the local representatives can work and vote on behalf of their constituents without fear of reprisal. The Prime Minister’s or Premier’s responsibility would be to oversee all ministers and their ministries to verify that the work being done is for the good of the country and not personal agendas. Individual representatives can bring forward ideas and be heard by unaffiliated members of the house. In this way, all Canadians will feel that their votes matter. Watch the voter turnout skyrocket when people realize that the person they elect locally will have a true voice on their behalf in the development and implementation of legislation. We would also be free of only choosing between contenders approved and signed off by the party leaders. Anyone who chooses to and is a citizen can run. At the very least, we would have real choice. Of course, much more detail would be necessary to complete such a radical change in our electoral system, but the idea of trying something new and revolutionary is the beginning.