Like pieces of a puzzle: Amalgamation in Greater VictoriaIf you’re looking to get emotions flying in Victoria, I suggest you say this one word: amalgamation. Amalgamating would mean that the 13 municipalities that make up Greater Victoria would merge to form one, two, or three units. It’s far from a new idea: municipal amalgamation has been a topic of discussion in this city […] Continue Reading |
Fast fixes or health hazards?: Exploring our willingness to follow food bandwagonsSometimes, when faced with endless choices at the grocery store, you feel like you’d just rather live without it, but you can’t: food is our bread and butter. But how much do we really know about the sweet ambrosia we shovel down our gullets? The truth is that a lot of people today will eat […] Continue Reading |
The writing’s on the wall: a poet laureate, an activist, and a writing professor weigh in on words and the power they holdWith the onset of Ted talks and viral Upworthy videos, many people are finding their inspiration online. These kinds of videos are becoming increasingly popular and are flooding social media. But this raises the question: what is happening to the written word? Is writing losing its effectiveness in provoking thought? Do people pay as much […] Continue Reading |
Mars or bust: Sooke resident Marina Miral gets a chance at a one-way ticket to the red planetSince the dawn of their appearance on Earth, humans have dreamt of leaving their planet and taking up shop somewhere else. To many of us, it may seem like an inevitable end; the waters are rising, the ozone layer has a genetically receding hairline, and soon the last drop of oil on Earth is going […] Continue Reading |
Comedy nights boost Victoria’s already growing comedy sceneIf it seems like Victoria’s comedy scene is taking off in recent months, it’s because it is. According to promoters and local comedians, comedy in Victoria is booming. One big reason for this recent comedy resurgence is the development of regular comedy nights on Wednesdays, now taking place at the Stone’s Throw Restaurant and organized […] Continue Reading |
Finding Santa: One writer’s quest to understand Christmas leads her through the highs and lows of mall Santas and a man named… Santa ClausA few weeks ago, I sat in Starbucks drinking my first eggnog latte of the season. For me, every Christmas season seems to start with the release of perfectly packaged beverages and the presentation of beautifully themed and decorated displays at Chapters. But as December approaches, I can’t help but search for the spirit behind […] Continue Reading |
How the TED ideas conference changed the worldToday, when we hear someone use the term “TED talk,” we know exactly what they’re referring to. We’ve all stumbled upon one of the quick and captivating video presentations as we’ve perused the internet. There are over 1,500 TED (technology, entertainment, and design) talks uploaded to ted.com, and with events happening frequently, as well as […] Continue Reading |
Adventures in Laos: Elephants, “penis,” and existentialismWhat would it take for you to drop everything and move to a third-world country that you’ve never heard of? Why would you leave your whole life behind and travel alone to a foreign land without speaking one word of the language? For me, it was the painful end of a long-term relationship, cueing an […] Continue Reading |
Fractured reality: Victoria’s William Head on Stage prison theatre project reveals humanityThis is a story about a live theatre production featuring puppets. But it’s also a story about men in prison. How these two things intersect is the tale of William Head on Stage, the only theatre production company in Canada that holds public theatre inside a federal correctional facility. Co-directors Ingrid Hansen of SNAFU Dance […] Continue Reading |
Humanities trade: a recent Harvard study says enrollment in humanities is on a sharp decline. How is it holding up at Camosun?A report released by Harvard University in June has stirred up some debate on the state of the humanities in education. The report focuses on the change in humanities majors enrollment at Harvard since the 1960s, a whopping 50 percent decline. Whether this is representative of other postsecondary institutions in North America is not really […] Continue Reading |
