Autumn, a time for new beginnings By Sophia Boccagni eptember roars into our lives, S bursting with activity, not only for those returning to school, but for everyone else returning from summer holidays or weekend getaways. It’s a time of new beginnings—for us, a new school year, new notebooks, new projects; community groups meet regularly once more after a two-month hiatus and our beloved Canucks return filling fans hearts once again on the second Monday of October. It’s the time of preservation, getting ready for winter, and fall fairs abound throughout the Lower Mainland. Summer’s laziness has abated along with the humidity. And we’re full of energy to prepare for winter, whether it’s by lining our cupboards with jams and chutneys or filling our freezers with produce. Food, food, food: home-style cooking celebrates our abundance and to honour it, we eat, and eat to the point of discomfort . And that’s okay a with mci x “Yellow autumn moon ... a .. dia beginking unimpressed the scarecrow stands eeedebdsic cise of the month, simply looking bored” abundance of food some of the —Kobayashi Issa every single day. leaves have started to change colour, fallen leaves litter driveways and curbs. By the end of September, we’re fully into fall, and negotiating that weird wardrobe conundrum of having to dress warmly in the mornings, but not wanting to lug heavy jackets in hot afternoons. Fall is the time for cozy warm sweaters and There is no scarcity for the average North American and our waistlines are proof of that. Corn mazes delight children as well as adults, who are happy to get lost together. We go on pumpkin patch tours and carve pumpkins simply or elaborately. Decisions about turkey need to be made: fresh, organic, stuffed, size, thick warm “So enviable ... and whose oven it'll Book®; selon maple leaves most glorious roast in. It always it’s hard to contemplating death” comes back to the get out of bed food. because it’s —Kagami Shiko Homestyle too cold in cooking is the morning, and when we choose flannel pyjamas at night. Around the Fall Equinox, the moon shines bigger and brighter, and shorter days show off its brilliance in dark, crispy cool evenings. That Harvest Moon tells us scarcity is gone for now, we have plenty, and yes we will make it through the dark, cold winter months. This abundance shouts “Death to the Red Hag!”—the personification of starvation—and for that we're grateful. Many cultures mark the abundance of autumn with a holiday: Rosh Hashanah, which was on September 21 this year, is a Jewish festival celebrating the new year; the Mid-Autumn or Moon Festival is a Chinese holiday, celebrated on October 3 this year; and in Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving comforting. We know we like the dishes, the tastes are familiar, our expectations are usually met and the unmet ones become lore for following years and the annual tradition marks the year. It’s not only food that gets us through the winter months, but our kith and kin as well. At my house, Canadian Thanksgiving was an event for the non-Canadians among our family friends. Especially those people who had no family to return to. Thanksgiving gave us a reason to create our own community of friends in lieu of family. All these rituals and celebrations help us get through the dark months ahead, constant reminders that the seasons will turn again, the sun will return, and spring will bloom anew. Get rid of your mirrors By Shoshana Berman, Opinions Editor down about how you look, get rid of your mirrors and don’t even consider reading a magazine. Before we had mirrors we only knew what others thought of how we looked. If our lovers thought our eyes looked like limpid pools, we took their word for it. Now we peer in the bathroom looking glass illuminated by bright overhead fiorescent lights at our every blemish. Some hotel bathrooms even come equipped with magnifying mirrors that let you examine every pore in detail. I’ve always marveled at young girls who constantly preen and fix their make-up. I usually think they look better before or at best the same after this ritual. I went to visit family in the U.S. once and their condo was filled with mirrored glass, the walls, the doors, about half the surfaces in the entire place. I could watch myself sleep, dress, shower, eat etc. In fact, I couldn’t avoid watching myself do these things. There was no escape and I felt like I looked terrible the entire time. When I came home to my one rectangular mirror at chest height that I only look into if I want to, about twice a day, I felt much better. Never ever read fashion magazines, they will make you feel fat. Even other magazines will make you feel not quite up to par. Martha Stewart Living, O, Us Weekly, |: you are having a bad day or feeling Hello, etc will all just make you feel less beautiful than the beautiful people. That’s why we can’t help ourselves from looking at the photos of stars cellulite or bad hair days, or should I say, hair-like-the-rest-of-us days. The French government is even considering legislation that would mandate that a health warning must accompany all altered photos. As reported in the Metro News on September 22, French Parliamentarian Valerie Boyer stated that, “These images can make people believe in a reality that does not exist.” Under this law, all enhanced photos would have to be tagged with “Photograph modified to alter the visual appearance of a person.” Katie Couric was made 20 pounds thinner in all the promotional materials for her news anchor position, not to mention air brushed after hair, makeup, lighting and hundreds of photos to choose from. Kelly Clarkson was made significantly thinner for a magazine cover without her permission. Keira Knightly was given breasts for the Pirates of the Caribbean posters, again not something she had agreed to. In real life, these people look an awful lot like you and me. So next time you want to know if you look nice, instead of asking your friend or partner, “Does this make me look fat?” just wear what feels good put on a big smile, and take their word for it. You look great. Always remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all cats are grey in the dark.