The Convenience of Kings: A travel piece
Above: 7-Eleven on Bowen Rd., Nanaimo via waymarking.com By contributor Philip Gordon When given the opportunity to escape the monotonous hell-hole that is small-town Nanaimo avail myself of the sights and sounds of a distant land, I was ecstatic. Visions of a Pacific Ocean sunset and sakura blossoms danced behind my eyes—or maybe the shores … Continued
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth book review
For a man that has been to space three different times, Chris Hadfield is incredibly down to earth. His pragmatic dealings with situations have led to countless opportunities and an understanding of how he has moved from point A to point B. And yet this is a man who is full of dreams, curiosity, and … Continued
The sharing at a time of Thanksgiving
By contributor Don LePan Canadian Thanksgiving is over for another year; American Thanksgiving approaches. The piece below—more a short work of speculative fiction than an essay—is not specific to either one of these. I know this will be an unpopular argument: I want to speak out against something we have come to accept as part … Continued
The scourge of The Premature Merger
We’ve all seen it happen. The construction-triggered special one-day-only pop-up-surprise merge road signs appear, and cars immediately force their way from the right to the left lane; it’s not so much a merge as a game of Chicken. Ahead, the right lane stretches, vast and empty, for a full block, to where the truck with … Continued
Unicorn Chaser: Eyebleach for the fall season
After making it through the Federal Election Campaign—78 days that felt more like nine months, which is about the time it takes to grow a baby—I think we can all use a Unicorn Chaser. For those unfamiliar with the concept, Unicorn Chaser is a term coined when, after scanning social media and news headlines filled … Continued
I’m a tryptophan-atic
Editor’s note: this is not to brag, boast, or show off—I merely want to share the trials and tribulations that occurred over the weekend of Thanksgiving. I want to give thanks to the three dinners I was involved in, and the familiar familial farces. Day one: Saturday After moving my immediate family’s Thanksgiving to Monday, … Continued
Death by summer
By contributor Sebastian Barkovic Wow, what a summer I had! It’s now the fourth week of school and I can barely get in the groove. I guess you can say that I had an abundance of fun. Where am I going with this? Surely no one wants to hear about my summer. I’m not here … Continued
The Townie’s guide to dating a Dean’s Lister (a twisted love letter)
Contributor name witheld When you’re a Townie, the only difference between August and September is what’s on TV. That’s how it used to be, anyway, before I started dating a Dean’s Lister. Yeah. I’m a Townie. I’ll always be one, even when nobody says it anymore. Long after the days of “town and gown” are … Continued
The Bearded Lady, the Alpaca Fiend, and the Perfect Sweater
By contributor Jess Reale It would be a bit rough perhaps, especially in the nape of my neck or the small of my back, but deliciously rough. Rough the way I like it. Sensual ecstasy. The whole thing was real in my mind. Enveloping me, embracing me, caressing my skin, sultry, and titillating. Perhaps a … Continued
When to put your camera-phone away, and when to take it out
Since the prevalence of camera-phone technology, we’ve all sort of become hobby multimedia journalists, mostly reporting on our own lives, but also mixed in with some good ol’ citizen journalism. As a byproduct of my formal photojournalism training, I think I’ve also learned some good camera-phone photography etiquette. I’d like to use this editorial to … Continued
