Tuesday, June 11. 2019

Today's schedule is CDAB

C Block Criminology - Today we start our week long look at Russell Williams. Canada hasn't seen a case that has drawn so much media attention since Robert William Pickton or Paul Bernardo. The case received coverage in Canada (both "Above Suspicion" and "The Confession" from The Fifth Estate on CBC and "Fall From Grace" shown on Global's 16 X 9) and in the United States as well ("Name, Rank & Serial Killer" on CBS 48 Hours, "Conduct Unbecoming" on NBC Dateline). Today we'll start by looking at the case in detail and then we'll watch "Above Suspicion".

There are lots of places to find information on the case but a good place to start is the accompanying website to the CBC documentary "Above Suspicion" and the Vice article "He Was a Top Officer in the Military, and Also a Serial Killer".  By the way the documentary was originally aired on September 24th, 2010 which was three weeks before Russell Williams plead guilty to all charges in the matters against him.

Be an active consumer of media for this one. Remember:

• Who created this media product? What is its purpose? 
• What assumptions or beliefs do its creators have that are reflected in the content? 
• What is the commercial purpose of this media product (in other words, how will it help someone make money)? How does this influence the content and how it’s communicated?
•  If no commercial purpose can be found, what other purposes might the media product have (for instance, to get attention for its creator or to convince audiences of a particular point of view)? 
• Who and what is shown in a positive light? In a negative light? Why might these people and things be shown this way? 
• Who and what is not shown at all? What conclusions might audiences draw based on these facts? 
• What techniques does the media product use to get your attention and to communicate its message? 
• In what ways are the images in the media product manipulated through various techniques (for example: lighting, makeup, camera angle, photo manipulation)? 
• What are the expectations of the genre (true crime television programming) towards its subject?

We will be comparing this true crime piece from the CBC with American coverage tomorrow.

D Block Law - Today we'll begin watching the black comedy of The War of the Roses, based on a book by Warren Adler. From the "All Movie Guide" by Hal Erickson:

The War of the Roses can best be described as a slapstick tragedy concerning the decline and literal fall of a marriage. After 17 years, Oliver and Barbara Rose want a divorce. Not for this couple is there anything resembling a "civilized understanding": Barbara wants their opulent house, and Oliver isn't about to part with the domicile. Barbara nails the basement door shut while Oliver is downstairs, Oliver disrupts Barbara's fancy party by taking aim at the catered dinner, Barbara lays waste to Oliver's sports car....and so it goes, culminating in a disastrous showdown around, about and under the living room's fancy chandelier.

We will watch this movie today and next week in class.

A Block Physical Geography - So today, we'll finish Home. The narrator (Glenn Close) says,

"Must we always build walls to break the chain of human solidarity, separate peoples and protect the happiness of some from the misery of others? It's too late to be a pessimist. I know that a single human can knock down every wall. It's too late to be a pessimist. Worldwide, four children out of five attend school. Never has learning been given to so many human beings. Everyone, from richest to poorest, can make a contribution" 

Good Planet Foundation President Yann-Arthus Bertrand (the film maker for Home) says "I think it’s too late to be pessimistic. There’s no way to think optimistically or not – we need actions. Everybody has a mission and everybody can do something. The way you live is very important, in your private life.


After the documentary we'll talk about natural climate forcing and climate feedbacks (we'll look at anthropogenic climate change tomorrow). So stuff on
1. Milankovich Cycles (eccentricity, or orbit; obliquity, or tilt; and precession, or wobble)
2. the Thermohaline circulation system, and
3. Climate Feedbacks (including the PETM - Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum)




You have five questions:

1. Explain why the emission of CO2 from fossil fuel use is a climate forcing, while the solubility of CO2 in seawater is a climate feedback.
2. Explain how the positioning of Gondwana at the South Pole contributed to glaciation during the Paleozoic.
3. Most volcanic eruptions lead to short-term cooling, but long-term sustained volcanism can lead to warming. Describe the mechanisms for these two different consequences.
4. If the major currents in the oceans were to slow down or stop, how would that affect the distribution of heat on Earth, and what effect might that have on glaciation?
5. Explain the climate implications of the melting and breakdown of permafrost.

B Block Human Geography - Today and tomorrow we'll look at the Key Issue, "Why Do Cities Face Challenges"? Our focus will be on the division between the downtown CBD and the suburban residential neighbourhoods...using Vancouver as an example. We'll look at "filtering" (and SROs in Vancouver), public housing, gentrification and the Downtown Eastside (DTES). For help with your questions look at the following sites and videos:
The people of the Downtown Eastside
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside changing with development
City of Vancouver Downtown Eastside Plan
Welcome to Hell: A walk through the Downtown Eastside
Vice: Downtown Eastside