By Lindsey Rivait
Arts Editor
November 18, 2009

When you dream something, you dream if for a reason, and even if that dream includes owning your own animatronic pizza place band, that dream is yours.
Enter Chris Thrash, a 33-year-old disc-jockey from Phenix City, AL, who liked the Rock-afire Explosion at Showbiz Pizza Place so much that he saved up until he could buy one of his very own. Now Thrash is the topic of a new documentary, The Rock-afire Explosion.
In 2008, Thrash began programming his own shows and posting videos to YouTube of the Rock-afire Explosion performing more modern songs. These unique videos caught the attention of over a million viewers, one of them being Brad Thomason, writer and editor of The Rock-afire Explosion.
The performance in question was the Rock-afire’s rendition of Bubba Sparxxx’s “Ms. New Booty.” While Thomason says he hadn’t seen the Rock-afire Explosion since he was a kid and didn’t remember much about it, he phoned Brett Whitcomb, producer, director, and editor for the film, and the pair decided to make a documentary about it. >>

By Robert Zuniga
Lance Writer

November 18, 2009

Edmonton band Social Code has reflected on what rock ‘n’ roll means to them on their new release, appropriately titled, Rock ‘N’ Roll.
The band took a step back and reflected upon their musical influences from AC/DC to Bruce Springsteen while working on the album.
“We defined rock ‘n’ roll by those ten tracks that are on this record. It’s about a statement, a journey of what rock ‘n’ roll meant to us,” vocalist Travis Nesbitt said from this Edmonton home.
It is not surprising that Social Code’s new record would definitely bring a new message to many musicians and fans alike.
Rock ‘N’ Roll comes about following a very successful 2008 tour after sharing the stage with Theory of a Deadman, Sum 41, Die Mannequin, Finger Eleven, and Three Days Grace, among others.
However, the group found themselves at a crossroads.
“I think the biggest change was just us four being united into making this record because we really never sat down to decide what kind of a record we wanted to make before the writing process,” said Nesbitt. >>

By Kyle J. LeBel
Lance Writer
November 18, 2009

One way to measure how good a film is comes through in how often the said film invites subsequent viewings. Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon, screened this past Sunday at the Windsor International Film Festival, is such a film.
Shrouded in mystery and intrigue, The White Ribbon moves at a pace that forces the viewer to reflect deeply on the events unfolding, all the while creating a world that seems instantly recognizable, yet completely removed from existence at the same time.
It should be stated that this review will be scant on some details, as I have only had the chance to see the film once, and still remain puzzled by much of the film. However, the questions raised are likely to remain unanswered, for Haneke is more interested in showing how the characters’ actions are representative of human nature, rather than finding resolutions in situations where none can be found.
The White Ribbon, set one year before the outbreak of World War I, focuses on a small village in Northern Germany that undergoes a series of transformations that slowly shakes a seemingly virtuous settlement to its core.
First, the village doctor falls off his horse and is sent to the hospital for a month, and then a mother of a farming family is found dead from what seems to be an accident.>>