vegan events in st. catharines

From Niagara Action for Animals, two events of interest to socially-conscious vegans and their political allies...

First:

Wednesday, November 30 at 7 pm, Brock Animal Rights Collective Film Screening Series presents, along with the Live Free Collective and Queer Action Niagara, MARK, winner of the Best Feature Documentary, The Accolade Competition, La Jolla, CA, 2010.

Director Mike Hoolbloom, who will be at the screening, introduces us to "an impassioned animal rights activist, political vegan, [and] dedicated mental health worker," through visual remains and interviews with family, friends, and "his life-partner of ten years, trans performance artist Mirha-Soleil Ross." Mark Karbusicky committed suicide in 2007.

The event is free to the public and everyone is welcome. Vegan treats will be provided. Contact dylanjamespowell@gmail.com or checkout the event page on Facebook.

And a regular event with a special guest:

NAfA Potluck Series presents Justice for Migrant Workers, Friday December 2, 7 pm at the Unitarian Congregation of Niagara, 223 Church St., St. Catharines (Beside Delta Bingo).

This event features guest speaker Tzazna De Las Tunas from non-profit collective Justice for Migrant Workers.

The potluck is free to the public, but all food must be vegan and marked for common allergens.

Also accepting non-perishable food donations for a vegan food serving program at The RAFT!

More information on the event page.

animal news mash-up

Yesterday was about metal; today is about the animals, a couple bits of recent news and info that caught my eye.

Apparently it's worldwide vegan bake sale week. The website has a list of participating bakers and fundraisers. Locally (as in southern Ontario) you can find baked goodies in Toronto, Guelph and London. Not posted there is the Niagara version - June 28th from 1-5 at 73 St. Paul Street in St. Catharines, with all proceeds going to Story-book Farm Primate Sanctuary located in Sunderland, Ontario.

Thursday and Saturday CBC/CBC Newsworld is airing a documentary focusing on dolphin exporter Chris Porter. Apparently the film is not about Porter himself particularly but his activities and the ethics involved. What are the ethical implications of catching wild dolphins and selling them to aquariums for $100,000 US each? Does swimming with the dolphins contribute to more ethical human/dolphin relationships or is it exploitation? CBC Documentary: The Dolphin Dealer.

cbc pays attention to anvil

I'm terribly behind on my metal documentary watching, and this weekend's Anvil! screenings in Toronto have just reminded me how much. Even the CBC website noticed the Anvil movie and though the Spinal Tap comparison is probably warranted it may be a bit harsh...

Maybe I need to start compiling a summer viewer list.

Canadian film : do zombies own their ideas? do zombies have ideas?

Okay, I've lured you in with a misleading title, but now that you're here...

Anyone see the new zombie film Pontypool yet? I very much want to check it out. Brain-infecting zombies rather than brain-eating zombies, I hear. I have a Bruce McDonald weakness anyway.

I also came across a CBC write up on a new documentary on copyright and intellectual property - RiP: A Remix Manifesto. According to Matt Hays, the re/inter viewer, the doc is a complex of illustrative narratives that challenge the logic of copyright law without completely throwing the idea of intellectual property out the window. But this is the part that really got me:

RiP achieves the documentary sublime when Gaylor successfully connects a series of copyright issues — from music downloading to AIDS medication patents to the patenting of a newly developed plant species (which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled was A-OK). That puts the intellectual property debate into the realm of the chilling: corporations could actually claim ownership of an entire species.

Put this one on my 'gotta see' list.