http://werewolf.co.nz/

Enter the 'Wolf

Apologies for the late arrival of Werewolf this month, which was due to illness and Easter and sundry other lame excuses. This April edition of Werewolf focuses on the descent of Christchurch into survival mode, and the ways institutions that have done little so far - ie, the banks - can be induced/compelled to do more. More at least than simply defer taking profits from a community struggling to meet the current demands on them. As any visitor to Christchurch will tell you, conditions in the city are far worse than they seem on television, and just how the battered citizenry will earn a living/pay the mortgage becomes more grey and uncertain by the week - as does, in the medium term, funding for the region's schools and public services. Elsewhere in this issue, Harry Johnson puts the 90 day trial for new workers in historical context - and argues that the 90 day probationary period signals that the current government has reneged on a decades -old agreement whereby access to personal grievance procedures was supposed to be the trade-off for limitations on the right to strike.

Ever since late 2009, Werewolf has been carrying stories about the innovative indie musician Merrill Garbus, who performs under the name TUnEyArDs. In this issue, Garbus has done an exclusive interview with Werewolf columnist Rosalea Barker - and begins by describing how her schooling at a liberal, women-only college helped transform her from a shy teenage wallflower into the fearless vocalist/percussionist/performer she is today. In this month's Milestone Movies column, Brannavan Gnanalingham celebrates pulp novelist Jim Thompson by considering the recent film The Killer Inside Me, and the 1980s movie Coup de Torchon - and makes reference to the outcry against screen depictions of extreme violence against women raised by The Killer Inside Me in particular. Our music column The Complicatist examines the links between music and drugs. In his satirical column From the Hood, Lyndon Hood discovers striking similarities between a popular children's book and the rags to riches saga of the nation's beloved PM. Meanwhile, the Classics children's book column celebrates the life and works of the late Diana Wynne Jones. In March, Scoop Editor Alistair Thompson once again took his camera with him on his annual pilgrimage to the Womad festival, and we've selected some of those images.

Finally, Cartoon Alley this month offers new work by Brent Willis and a further installment of folklore history by Mike Brown and Mat Tait. Thanks to David McLellan for helping me post this online. Werewolf is a thank you to Scoop readers and is intended as an outlet for local writers and artists. If you want to be involved, contact me at gordon@scoop.co.nz

Gordon Campbell

Editor, Werewolf.

Gordon Campbell
Werewolf/Scoop
gordon@werewolf.co.nz

The contents of this edition are:

Scavenger City
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/04/scavenger-city/
Christchurch, and the politics of subsistence
by Gordon Campbell

Sleight of Hand
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/04/sleight-of-hand/
With 90 day trials, the government has broken its decades-long bargain with workers
by Harry Johnson

The rise of Islamophobia in Europe
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/04/the-rise-of-islamophobia-in-europe/
As Europe officially separates its anti-Islamic tendencies from racism it becomes more culturally intolerant of Islam
by Markha Valenta

Images of Womad 2011
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/04/images-of-womad-2011/
Womad is a world unto itself…
by Gordon Campbell and Alastair Thompson

Left Coasting : Becoming, Herself
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/04/left-coasting-becoming-herself/
An interview with Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs
by Rosalea Barker

From The Hood : Learning To Read The PM
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/04/from-the-hood-learning-to-read-the-pm/
Politics is child’s play
by Lyndon Hood

Classics: Diana Wynne Jones R.I.P.
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/04/classics-diana-wynne-jones-r-i-p/
Celebrating the author of Archer’s Goon, Howl’s Moving Castle etc.
by Gordon Campbell

The Complicatist : Music for Stoners
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/04/the-complicatist-music-for-stoners/
Drugs and music, pros and cons, highs and downers
by Gordon Campbell

Milestone Movies : The Killer Inside Me (2010) and Coup de Torchon (1981)
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/04/milestone-movies-the-killer-inside-me-2010-and-coup-de-torchon-1981/
Film violence against women, via the ‘dimestore’ novelist Jim Thompson
by Brannavan Gnanalingham

Cartoon Alley : Brent Willis
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/04/cartoon-alley-brent-willis/
Brent Willis currently lives in Lyall Bay, Wellington and has been making underground self-published comics since the mid 1990s.
by Brent Willis

Cartoon Alley : Mat Tait & Mike Brown
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/04/cartoon-alley-mike-brown-mat-tait/
Mat Tait is a South Island based cartoonist and illustrator. Mike Brown lives in Wellington and is currently writing a PhD thesis on New Zealand vernacular musics.
by Mike Brown & Mat Tait

Cartoon Alley
http://werewolf.co.nz/2011/04/werewolf-cartoon-alley/
Reviews, commentary and comics from local artists
by Werewolf

THE IMPORTANT BIT - WHY WEREWOLF?
from Scoop General Manager Alastair Thompson

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