Opinion piece on Red Bull

By Dale De Ruiter

'Energy drinks'’ have become the new snake oil. Peddled to the tired, the studying and sometimes even the stupid. People do not drink these because they need more energy or the vitamiB. They actually drink them because of snappy advertising and the placebo effect of the swindling. ($330 million spent on advertising and promo in the last six years in the U.S.) Just like the old barters of the past the new cons pull up with their wagon of miracle water and the stooges start drinking from that cooper mini and swear that they actually feel better.

Red Bull is banned in France and Denmark because it is believed to pose a danger to public health. The problem is not just kids drinking Red Bull vodka bombs and dying, like what happened in Sweden a couple years ago. Apparentlyly when you mix energy drinks and alcohol you get super mega trashed but still feel a bit sober from the ‘invigorating effects.My room mate can attest to this as he had to listen to me bemoan the tragic loss of my stomachache lining while I rocked back and forth in the fetal position clutching my abdomen and whimpering the day after I tried a few or six of these. I didn't actually loose my guts the day after I decided to see how crazy the Red Bull vodka bombs made me but I would have sworn before a court of law that I had been fed sulphuric acid.

The problem with Red Bull is the uncertainty of the long term effects of its ingredients. The two ingredients in question are Taurine and Glucuronolactone. Both are naturally occurring in the human body and this is a claim that Red Bull uses to its advantage. Taurine (the drug attributed with increasing concentration and overall mental prowess) is a semi-essential amino acid that is found in meat. Heavy carnivores get about 400 mg per day. Red Bull packs 1,000 mg in each 250ml tin. Glucuronolactone is an anti-oxidant that is also found in red wine at 20 mg/L at the higher end. Red Bull manages to stuff 600 mg in their measly 250 ml cans. That is 2400 mg/L. By all rights on my one night stint I should have been fully detoxified and smarter that deep blue but I can'’t really gauge my intelligence level because I was too busy sweating while fading in and out of consciousness.

The two aforementioned chemicals and the shady grey area of side effects are correlated to the reason it took so long to get full strength Red Bull in Canada. Up until June of 2004, in its present form, Red Bull was actually illegal. (Before that date the shelves were occupied with a different recipe) Changes to the natural health product regulations are what allowed red bull to be marketed here. More specifically the changes allow a product to be sold if a company can present data to back up efficacy claims.

According to the FAQ section on www.redbull.com The desired effects that Red Bull claims to achieve and apparently has the data to back up claims this meeting efficacy are:
- Increased performance
- increases concentration and reaction speed
- improves vigilance (sic)
- improves the emotional status (sic)
- stimulates metabolism

These claims as vague as they may be are understandable for the most part. I am entirely ok with the company claiming that their product can increase performance and even stimulate the metabolism. But what exactly do they mean by “improves the emotional status.” Does that mean happiness I sure could handle that. Who doesn’t want to be happy. Is that why everyone drinks these little suckers before class to curb their depression and settles us all in at a better status level. Why stop their why not give the kids crystal meth apparently there is enough of it in Vancouver and they will become so productive it’ll make the Red Bull kids look foolish, happy but foolish non the less. Because Red Bull has naturally occurring ingredients it comes from mother nature so it must be good. How can you fault mother nature she is always right.

Poison Ivy and Bees are also naturally occurring Every time I have a ‘natural’ run in with those bastards it all ends bad. I am not going to be so bold as to say that drinking Red Bull will give you a sore red rash that will make your ass itch for a month straight. I’m just saying watch your natural ingredients because sometimes mother nature likes to fuck with you a bit.

Basco 5

By Dale De Ruiter

Faces of Basco 5 is at the Les Gallery 1879 Powell Street February 28 by appointment (lesstudiogallery@yahoo.ca)

“Basco5's work is like eating a chocolate chip cookie and then washing it down with strawberry milk, it gives you a nice feeling but that feeling is altogether different. The work is street bubble gum. It's pink in a wall full of gray's (sic). It's like a bright green cactus in the middle of a desert.” This quote from the artist statement/bio is a damn close description of what you will see if you manage to make your way down to the Les Gallery as I did on opening night Jan 28th.

I grabbed a beer from the ever perky Lisa Giroday who is in charge of both the gallery and the bar. I then perused the art work in a very laid back no nonsense there for the art feel that is going to make the gallery such a hit. I interviewed Nils Blishen aka Basco 5. He took his graphiti name from the word Tobasco which he has a love for. He was always good at the 5 section of his multiplication table in grade school hence that is why it was tagged on the end.

Even though he has had his art at coffee shops and done group shows in the past this is the First solo gallery exhibit for 23 year old Basco 5. He chose human faces for his art muse because he wanted something simple and easily approached by new comers so that people can easily become involved.

It is very likely you have already seen Basco 5’s work. Just simply walking around town you have consumed his brilliantly coloured cartoon style. He has been putting as much of his art up as he can. It has been stuck everywhere from back alleys just off of Hastings to store fronts along Robson. Witness to the street art scene for just over five years Basco 5 has been placing stickers on walls, dumpsters and just about anything that he can get the wheat paste wallpaper glue to stick to.

“Plywood is good to stick art to because the city won’t touch it.” Basco 5 explains that is why when plywood is up it won’t be closely monitored like regular walls and lamp posts are. This is why it is common knowledge that anything put on the boards will be around for a while. During the summer time renovations on Robson street Basco 5’s cartoon characters were prominently displayed on the pieces of plywood that covered store fronts as they were being built.

When asked about the reasoning behind his guerrilla art methods before the show Basco replied “I do it to get out of the studio. So people have something to look at and enjoy.” I also asked how he felt about the fact that his art would not be attributed to him without his reference in the art “I don‘t want people to identify it with a brand it is nice to just see art without alterior motives.” and added further “I like the fact that people can’t necessarily put a face to my art. The viewer then becomes a part of the art.

MOTHER FUCKIN MONSTER TRUCKS

Vancouver was home to motor madness last weekend and i was there to witness the sheer awesomeness. Her are some pictures.


arachniphobia came out and broke some shit





than a jeep came out and to my squeely delight he smashed the bus and the little bicycle. HA take that children.





Then out came grave digger. He got twice as much air as everyone else, spun a doghnut on the sign and jumped the bus while smoking out his backend. He basically spit in the other trucks faces while they cried like little girls and said thanks for packin the dirt down you scrap head shit bags.











wish some one would pick up my bumper when i rip it off crushing cars





watching a demolition derby is like cuddling after sex. Sure If you didn't just have sex you would say to your self man i am totally touching boob right now but then your like but grave digger smashing cars was like me and this girl fucking like greased up dirty farm pigs in mud. Aww fuck it they are still smashing each other and that still rules.. just like touching boobies.

here are my tourist pictures from toronto. Aparently someone didn't believe i went.




while in toronto i visited much music and was on tv





giant thimble and buttons my second favorite to tits and ass



some shitty city scene with the skydome in the background