Editorial– April/May– 2003
The Seasons Change– Look On The Bright Side

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For those of you planning to come to Vancouver in May, I hope you will make time for one special event. The Ironworks Gallery, 235 Alexander Street, Vancouver V6A 1C2 is having a showing of Sam North’s collection of Europeans photographs – the show entitled ‘Out of Season’ has an opening night on May 1st. We spare no expense at Hackwriters to make sure viewing my images is as painless as possible. But if you are in town, you are welcome. It runs from May 1st to 31st to there’s time to come and view. Bring a friend. Check their new website designed by our own Carine Thomas The Ironworks Studios April 29th from J.T Brown in Japan I visited the online version of your upcoming show "Out of Season" after reading your commentary for April. Now THAT was brilliant. Every picture. My 6 year-old daughter loved it too, she was absolutely fascinated by the pictures of people living their lives amidst the water filled streets of Venice. My personal fav was #4 "BeachHut". I can't help but feel that there's a story in that picture especially. Something Hemingwayesque. All the best at your exhibit this coming month! Knock 'em dead. JT

'Out of Season'

Photo: © Carine Thomas

With Saddam toppled, the war about wrapped up, can things return to normal now? Well maybe. Airlines are going bust all over the world as tourism comes to a crunching halt. Now S.A.R.S. is breaking out all over with thousands already in quarantine in Hong Kong, Toronto and elsewhere. Toronto is in trouble thanks to the WHO advising people not to go there. Now the Far East is banning all travellers from Canada. A bit much when you think it continues to run amock in China. As I write this 21 deaths so far in Toronto four on the critical list. That's something around 14% of those who get it die from it. Yet It is worth recalling that more people die each day in the same city from smoking related deaths. So, let’s think about the good things in life. Blossom. I love blossom and Vancouver is blossom city. In Kits, where I live, the trees are laden with heavy whites and pinks; the magnolia trees are like stark wild giant orchids suddenly ripening on our city streets. It feels me with hope and seems to deny the bleak headlines that fill our TV’s, radios and newspapers. Actually I tend to thing there will be a post-war surge of optimism. Sure many people have been killed and war is wrong, but things could have been worse. For those liberated in Iraq we should be happy, for those who died to protect Saddam and his crushing terror, it's hard to feel completely sympathetic. Many civilians got caught up in this and died as well. Of course they haven't actually found any weapons of mass destruction but they have found hundreds of millions of dollars stashed in various Saddam cronies homes, all stolen from the Iraqi people. Now the people of Iraq know they are free to be free, the awful truth of this Arab dictatorship will be known. 24 years of being systematically lied to must be so surreal. May their regime change be successful.

SARS a new pandemic?

Today we walked past several people wearing masks in the street. People are scared of SARS, but hey, do you actually know how many people die of ‘flu every year or get run over by SUV’s? It’s hundreds of thousands. If you want to really run a protest movement let’s march against big tobacco, or General Motors, or the drug companies that can’t quite bring themselves to cure the common cold that underpins their huge profits every year. Meanwhile I'm off to try hang 22 pictures in a straight line. This is a bigger challenge than you think.
The May edition wil be slightly delayed on account of the exhibition.

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This month in Hacks.
JT Brown on North Korea and Japan, there’s a lot of new fiction, first chapters from exciting new writers, film and book analysis from Alex Grant and Charlie Dickinson, James Skinner and Barry Mitchell on politics and lots of world travel. Hackwriters remains diverse and international. Thanks for reading and spread the word.

© Sam North
editor@hackwriters.com
Updated April 27th 2003
Next update May3rd


Previous Editorials:
INTERESTING TIMES -March
Oscars have a message
WAITING FOR WAR February
Winning the Peace
THE MUNSTER HOUSE
Renting in Kits
Winter Escape to the UK
Hacks takes a break
TOO MANY MOVIES- IT'S AN AVALANCHE OF CULTURE
What will you seeing at the movies? November
VANCOUVER REALLY IS A FUN CITY October
'The city where everyone gets to live a millionaire lifestyle'
It’s SECTION 9 in the N.Y. Sunday Times
A cornucopia - October
LADY LUCK
The Kids stay in the picture- August
PEOPLE IN GLASS HOUSES
Hacks visits the new Museum of Glass in Tacoma- August
Hot Sweats in a Cold Read at the Anza Club- August
LIFE ON FAST FORWARD - Vancouver on speed -September
SUPERNOVA NINA & ROAD
SweetSista'Shorts Carousel Theatre- Granville Island - Off Fringe
ROUNDHOUSE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY. - September
Arts in the Community is for real -
WE ARE ALL GURUS NOW - September
Time to enrol
MOVIEWORLD October
Vancouver Film Festival Trade Show report

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