Photos by Matty Flader / Photo Reporter

Last August, The Pale Blue Dot (240 James St. North) ran their first clothing swap. It turned into a huge success, with a lineup out their door. On Oct. 7, they will be running another one, this time at Grain & Grit brewery (11 Ewen Road). The Pale Blue Dot is a sustainable, eco-conscious store named after the 1990 photograph of the Earth taken from space. Mary Luciani, the owner of The Pale Blue Dot, emphasizes how important it is to be mindful of where and how we get our clothes.

“The reason we wanted to start it was because we wanted people to realize that there’s a different way to go about consuming clothing,” said Luciani. 

The Pale Blue Dot strives to provide support for people trying to live an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

“I really wanted the space to be a community hub as well, that was one of my major goals, to make the Pale Blue Dot a place where people could come and ask their questions, learn about new ways that they could live a low waste lifestyle or a lifestyle with a low impact. More than just a little general store of earth friendly goods, I wanted to have different workshops and events going on in the space that showed people how they could make a difference,” said Luciani.

The clothing swaps initially began as the brainchild of Luciani and her friends Kayla Whitney, Pam Huffman, Monika Benkovich and Liz Enriquez. Together, they created Good Habit Events, a collective that organizes affordable and eco-conscious events and workshops. 

“Through Good Habits, we reach out to different missions, different services, different locations in the city. We chat with them to see who’s in need,” said Luciani. 

All clothing that is not swapped is donated to those who need it. Admission to the event is $5, and the money raised will go towards environmental initiatives in the community.

“We want to make sure those funds get allocated into projects that will benefit the city, and benefit the environment at the same time,” said Luciani.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3FHjM5nVrl/

This year the clothing swap will feature curated Halloween sections, with different costumes set up. There will also be regular clothes available, depending on what clothing is donated.

Participants can bring in their clothing to either Grain & Grit or The Pale Blue Dot from Oct. 1 to 6 ahead of the swap on Oct. 7 at Grain & Grit. Each item of clothing is worth one ticket, and one ticket can then be redeemed for a different item of clothing at the event. The full list of rules is available on the event page and on both of the brand’s websites.

The textile industry is a huge contributor to pollution. Environmental sustainability has become a major topic of discussion among Hamiltonians and the greater community. Those who are looking to combat climate change and help protect our pale blue dot can count on this event to be a first step towards building a better future. 

 

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Welcome to the live-blog of the Student Representative Assembly (SRA) meeting for October. You can watch the event live at this link, or in the embedded player below. Online reporter Shane Madill will update this post as the proceedings occur You can also get live updates on our Twitter page.

6:50 p.m. - Technical issues with the projector is causing a delay. 15 minute presentation followed by a 15 minute question period from the Ontario Public Interest Research Group-McMaster (OPIRG) to come.

7:07 p.m. - Questioning period has now concluded for the OPIRG projected expenses presentation. Most questions were directed at the issue of opt-outs. The total projected programming expenses totals $107,042. Full-time undergraduate students were charged $7.47 as a refundable levy.

7:15 p.m. – Announcement of a new annual open accessibility forum on Nov. 27 in CIBC Hall, intended as a safe space to discuss issues, and to gather feedback about accessibility from McMaster students.

7:28 p.m. - Work is being done on a campaign for minority groups to better express their voices and opinions on campus. Other priorities stated by MSU president Teddy Saull also include safety on campus, and the importance of a response coordinator.

7:31 p.m. - A reminder of the upcoming Hamilton mayoral elections, and the MSU mayoral debate taking place in MUSC on Oct. 22 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the MUSC Atrium. More information can be found here.

8:20 p.m. - After discussion on Women and Gender Equity Network (WGEN) and other issues, the committee has passed a vote to re-adjust the ordering of the agenda.

8:30 p.m. - Saull withdraws motion to allocate $215,000 to Campus Events towards a year-end celebration. There are still two more options for $170,000 or $95,000 that are in play.

8:45 p.m. - Discussion from Saull about the background behind the year-end celebration motion. Lack of details attributed to "not wanting to put the cart before the horse," and wanting to first discuss motion to garner feedback.

10:50 p.m. - Options 2 ($170,000) and 3 ($95,000) for the year-end celebration have both failed to pass by tallies of 0-24-4 and 7-15-5 respectively.

11:10 p.m. - Motion passed unanimously to expend $10,000 to increase the capacity of the 2015 Frost Week concert.

11:17 p.m. - Motion passed unanimously for CFMU hardware upgrades with a cost of $9,395.92.

12:35 p.m. - Motion to recommend a one-week break beginning in the fall of 2015 to the Fall Break Committee passes by a tally of 18-9-1.

Bahar Orang
ANDY Editor

This Halloween I’m dressing up as Amy Winehouse. I experimented for a long time before finally mastering the hair. I tried several different techniques and experimented with several different household objects before settling on a loufah, which I will shove beneath a thick lump of hair. I also plan to don the thick black eyeliner drawn from tear duct to hairline. I’ll complete the look with her many tattoos drawn all over my body. When people ask me what my costume is, I’ll respond with very, very bad renditions of “Valerie” or “Back to Black.” It will all be part of a larger costume - the 27 club - musicians who died at a startlingly young age. There will be a Kurt Cobain - with shaggy hair and an oversized 90’s plaid shirt. There will be a Janis - complete with fuzzy locks, hippie pants and large round glasses. And there will be a Jimi Hendrix - with a fake guitar and a brightly coloured vest hanging from his torso.

One particularly crude friend insisted that we add a second layer to our costumes, which shows how each musician died. She got really creative and (in very poor taste) suggested that my Amy Winehouse interpretation include white make-up powder somewhere on my face. We decided against it.

As we brainstormed more possibilities for our costume, we started realizing how utterly strange it was that all of these fantastic, ground-breaking musicians all died at the same age - at a young, awfully specific, but still very random age. When I imagine myself at 27 - I imagine that it’ll be at the peak of my life - I will be a fully formed human, an inspiring artist, I will have mastered things, I will have loved and lost, I’ll be as good-looking as I’ll ever be.  I don’t imagine that I’ll be on a stairway to heaven.

I’ll reach that age in a few short years - to imagine dying at 27 is terrifying, unjust, surreal. And these musicians - all of them brave, beautiful, and talented, makes it even more scary and unfair. It’s also decidedly spooky. My friends and I have only covered a few of the club’s members. The club’s Wikipedia page includes quite a long list of musicians who died at 27 - from Chuck Barry to viagra 20mg for sale Brian Jones. The artists span many generations and musical genres.

And all of them were supposedly found with white lighters in their pockets - just three years shy of 30. It’s weird.

Perhaps some higher power is calling it to our attention - perhaps someone or something is saying - look at what’s happening! Take notice! Open your eyes to these problems - problems of drug abuse, suicide, and celebrity culture - look at what you’re doing. You silly humans!

We have responded with a group Halloween costume. I will sport an orange loofah in Amy’s honour.

Michael Gallagher
The Silhouette

5. Dead space

Before Gravity showed us how scary space can be, Dead Space redefined the horrors of space. The player controls Isaac Clarke as he makes his way through an abandoned mining star ship, only to find a slaughtered crew and the aliens that killed them. In official canadian pharmacy order to prevent the enemies from killing you, they must be dismembered limb by limb (instead of a typical shot to the head). This, coupled with the ability to fight in zero gravity makes Dead Space unique and thrilling.

4. Silent Hill

The survival horror Silent Hill games in many ways deserve to take the number one spot. This is because they represent some of the earliest and most influential titles in horror video gaming. What makes them so great? Composer Akira Yamaoka’s eerie music, the use of unique camera angles, and the gripping story. If you want to be scared this Halloween, check out any of the Silent Hill games, but my personal favourites are the first and second.

3. Outlast

Red Barrels’ Outlast is a horror gaming treat. You move through an insane asylum armed with only a night vision video camera to navigate the dark. The game is truly frightening. This lack of weapons means that players are only able to run away from enemies and cannot fight back.

2. Amnesia

Amnesia: The Dark Descent pushed horror video forward by removing weapons and forcing players to be unable to fight back, paving the way for Outlast and Slender in the future. You control Daniel, a young man from the early 1800’s London, as he solves puzzles in a creepy castle. The only tool Daniel has is his lantern, which leaves players unable to fight back at the horrors that await them. This game is so incredibly scary that I found myself unable to carry on through some of the levels. If you want to have a fun time this Halloween, get your friends together and check out Amnesia: The Dark Descent or the sequel Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. You won’t be disappointed.

1. Slender

The free-to-play indie-horror hit Slender: The Eight Pages is one of the most enjoyable horror games to date. The game is incredibly simple; players move through a forest armed with just a flashlight, as they collect eight pages to win. Soon, a mysterious figure known as “Slender Man” pursues you, and the character moves faster to get you with each page you collect. The game’s ease allows even non-gamers to give it a try, but still produces Amnesia level scares, something worthy of the number one spot.

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