By contributor Spencer Sheehan-Kalina
On October 12, First Nation communities and VIU celebrated the raising of a totem pole on the Nanaimo Campus, right outside of VIU’s Shq’apthut: A Gathering Place. Students, staff, public figures, community leaders, and members came together to honour the totem at this culturally historic event with speeches, ceremony, and delicious food.
Speeches and a ceremony took place at the site of the totem with tribute paid to all those who had played a part in its creation. Special appreciation was given to both Kwakwaka’wakw member and artist carver ...
By Arts Editor Brendan Barlow
You may have heard my CHLY Masthead interview with Daniel Clarkson, writer and creator of the wildly popular and soon to be arriving in Nanaimo, Potted Potter. This so-called “unauthorized Harry Potter experience” began in the UK, and has since made its way all over the world. The piece condenses the seven books of the Harry Potter franchise into a single 70-minute stage performance. For those not interested in doing the math, that means about 10 minutes per book, and let’s keep in mind that some of these books are over 600 pages. According to Clarkson, ...
Above: Darby Cronan prepares to pass. By Cole Schisler.
By Sports and Lifestyle Editor Cole Schisler
On Saturday October 22, the Mariners hosted the Capilano Blues for their second last home game of the season.
After a hard fought first half, Mariner’s forward Karen Battie opened the scoring against the Blues early in the second half. The Blues came close to tying the match, but Mariners’ keeper Emily Rowbotham dashed their hopes with a diving save to keep the Mariners in the lead. At the 85-minute-mark, Mariners’ forward Moira Brown tacked on another goal off the ...
By News Editor Aislinn Cottell
What
On November 3 there will be a Q&A session with artist Lynda Faulks concerning the “Sustainability Mural Project” hopefully coming to VIU this spring.
Where
Nanaimo Campus
Bldg. 305, rm. 440.
Session will run from 12 – 1 pm.
Why you should care
If you have any questions concerning the date, difficulty, or content of the Mural Project, the Q&A is a great place to ask.
Reminder: Applications for the Project are due by November 18.
What
VIU is co-sponsoring “The Gathering” with the Institute for ...
We sit, somber, silent, watching with lament. A slide show of the past, lapses to the present.
Photos grainy, black and white, shift to clear and coloured.
The war meant to end all wars gave way into others.
Heroes, still in the ground,
rest in the peace they fought for. Shells still fall from the sky, forgotten what they’re dropped for.
We sit, somber, silent, watching with intent. Remembering the past, forgotten in the present.
Cole Schisler
Above: Photo via japanesetimes.com
By Arts Editor Brendan Barlow
You may have noticed the release of a new season of Black Mirror in your Netflix feed. If you’re not sure whether or not to get on board, I’m telling you now to stop wondering, and jump right into one of the most frighteningly prescient series I have ever seen. Black Mirror looks at the ways our lives are presently run by technology, and shows us the different paths this reliance could take us. Even at its most bizarre and dystopian, there isn’t an episode of Black Mirror that seems as though it could never happen. ...
Above: Photo via christianitytoday.com
By Arts Editor Brendan Barlow
Here’s something completely different for those of you who have grown tired of my endless ramblings about horror and science fiction. Instead, let’s look at a juvenile, gross, problematic, and absurd little movie called Sausage Party. For those who haven’t heard, Sausage Party is an animated film that takes place in a grocery store and follows the story of Frank, a sausage, on a journey to find the truth of his, and his fellow groceries items’, very existence. In essence, their very lives are based on the idea ...
By Sports and Lifestyle Editor Cole Schisler
The Mariners began the basketball season in style, winning both games over island rivals, the Camosun Chargers.
The women’s team faced off first against the Chargers. Both teams played strong right out of the gate. While the Chargers put up stiff opposition, the Mariners ended the first quarter with a lead of 18—13. Things heated up in the second as the Chargers began to close the scoring gap. Big performances by Mariners Celina Guadagni, Emily Clark, and Victoria Brown, led the Mariners into a 27—27 tie at the half.
Throughout the ...
Above: Jordan Lindsay steals the ball. Photo by Cole Schisler.
By Sports and Lifestyle Editor Cole Schisler
On Saturday October 22, the Mariners hosted the Capilano Blues for their second-to-last home game at Merle Logan Field.
The Mariners struggled in the first half against the Blues. Mariner Joel Harry received a red card early in the first half which put the Mariners down a man for the match. Despite the disadvantage, they held the Blues back until the 31-minute-mark when Blues player Keith Jackson got the Blues on the board. Shortly after that, the Blues extended ...
By Arts Editor Brendan Barlow
“Fentanyl. Humanities Herbicide. 100 percent effective. Warning: Side effects include reducing... Residential B&E by 50 percent. Commercial B&E by 97 percent. Home Invasions by 52 percent. Auto Thefts by 63 percent.” These words were written on what looks like a cardboard box advertisement for a brand-new product. This comic was what more than one editor at The North Island Gazette deemed funny and appropriate enough to run as a comic in a recent issue. The implication of the comic is that those struggling with drug addiction can't perpetrate ...
By contributor Kelly Whiteside
The Vancouver Island Symphony (VIS) kicked off their 22nd season on October 22 with the first show in their series entitled Lifting the Human Spirit. This series aims to explore the musical spirit of four centuries while also reflecting our own time and home on Vancouver Island.
This season’s first show encapsulated the symphony spirit, showcasing songs by Calixa Lavallée, Keon Birney, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Antonin Dvorak. In the spirit of the symphony, the musicians took the audience on an emotional ride with this varied repertoire, with the final ...
By News Editor Aislinn Cottell
Fifteen VIU students will be hitting the campus stairs this winter to fundraise for the opportunity to further their studies abroad with a trip to several Vancouver prisons, the Canadian-American and American-Mexican border crossings, and Death Row in Arizona.
The trip is one of VIU’s Field Schools: short-term Education Abroad programs that give students a chance to explore the world a little further from home while still contributing to their degree. This particular field school was organized by sociology professor Sylvie Lafrenière and criminology ...
By contributor Shanon Fenske
The first time I saw the St. Louis Ghost Light I didn’t know what I was looking at.
One of my earliest childhood memories was of a strange cloud in the basement of our home. The room had inexplicably filled with a greenish fog that slowly rolled together and transformed into a human-like shape. My ears rang and my body froze. I tried to breathe. It was something I did not want to see. Somehow, I broke the spell and ran. My mom told me I was imagining things, but I learned as an adult she had also seen similar things herself.
Over the years, I ...
Above: Mid Natalie Crews goes in for a spike. Photo by Northfield Photography.
By Sports and Lifestyle Editor Cole Schisler
The VIU Volleyball home opener got off to an emotional start with the raising of the 2015-16 CCAA National Women’s Volleyball Championship banner.
Fired up by last year’s success, the Mariners women took to the courts against the College of the Rockies Avalanche. They came out strong, taking the first set 25–18. In the second set, the Mariners replicated their success, controlling the court with formidable defense and precise serves to end the second ...
Above: Cathedral Grove via cathedralgrove.eu
By contributor Chantelle Spicer
Last week I was going through my typical morning routine of making coffee in the creeping light of dawn while listening to CBC Radio, when my precarious balance of hope was shaken. This hope for a healthy earth and society I hold is like a fluttery candle—despite the growing sense of urgency surrounding climate change and its associated disasters, I hope we might somehow come to the realization that the planet and our fellow human neighbours are important and loved. That change will happen. My hope ...
Above: Artist Carey Newman with the Witness Blanket in front of Government House. Photo via Media One.
By News Editor Aislinn Cottell
Worn leather ice skates. Three piano keys, stained and grey. A lemon-yellow sign warning of “Soiled Linen”, mounted next to a brass door knob and lock. Two cut braids of dark hair, and a crumbling moccasin held together with red ribbon.
These are just a few of the 800 artifacts which make up the Witness Blanket, an eight-foot-tall, 40-foot-long installation created by artist Carey Newman to explore the ongoing process of reconciliation with ...
By Managing Editor Molly Barrieau
Halloween slowly approaches, and brightly painted trailers advertising the best selection of fireworks pop up off the highway, ready to sell dangerous concoctions of chemicals to brighten your spooky night. Before you go out and grab roman candles and cherry bombs, The Nav wants to share some safety tips gathered from our licensed fireworks technician and friend Lys Morton.
Morton works at the “bomb site” with a fireworks operator, shooting off multiple shows a year. His dad is a licensed operator, and works with Morton to put on shows in ...
Above: "You are just an orange dog. I am an orangutan-person.” - Chantek. Photo via pinterest.com
By contributor Dallas Bezaire
We just love to anthropomorphize animals. From The Lion King to this summer’s Zootopia, it seems that we can’t get enough of talking animals with feelings and emotions just like our own. This sentiment isn’t new either. Mythology and legend is filled with stories of talking creatures. However, the scientific consensus has taken much longer to come around to the idea.
It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that scientists started to recognize and ...
Above: Photo via tickledmovie.com
By Arts Editor Brendan Barlow
When New Zealand filmmaker and journalist David Farrier stumbled across a bizarre video of three men tickling a fourth who was strapped to a table, he did a little digging and found himself staring down the world of competitive endurance tickling. When Farrier reached out to the production company behind the videos, Jane O’Brien Media, he was met with an ice-cold reception and told that Jane O’Brien was not interested in dealing with “homosexuals”. Thus began Farrier’s journey into the world of competitive endurance ...
Above: I would do anything for loaf.
By contributor Melissa Partee
It’s getting colder outside, and the time for comfort food has arrived. This quick and tasty meatloaf is exactly what you’re looking for. You can use whatever meat you’d like, or even try it out with a vegetarian meat substitute. Whatever you choose, you’ll be sure to enjoy this; especially if you pair it up with some mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and your choice of tasty libation.
You’ll need:
1 package of ground meat (500g-750g)
1 box Stove Top stuf ng
1 egg
1 1/2 tbsp BBQ sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire ...
Above: Lynda Faulks (center front) with workshop group in front of the Memorial University of Newfoundland mural. Photo via Memorial University.
By News Editor Aislinn Cottell
The VIU Sustainability Advisory Committee (SAC) has endorsed a project this spring which seeks to express the concept of sustainability through collaborative art. The workshop-style event will result in a piece formed from 24 separate clay tiles, each created by a different individual, which will then be fused to form a full mural that will be installed on campus.
Participation in the project is free, and ...
Above: Photo by japanesetimes.com
By contributor Clayton Bambrough
I am a huge Godzilla fan. I’ve seen all of the Japanese films, as well as the two American remakes, so when I heard Toho was producing a new movie for the first time in 12 years, and it was getting a theatrical release in North America this October, I was more than a little excited.
The 2014 Godzilla production by Legendary was the second attempt at creating a western version of the monster, and was successful. I was mostly satisfied with it, but it still didn’t feel like a real Godzilla movie. Only ...
By Production Manager Catherine Charlebois
Halloween is here and the Nanaimo Museum is getting in the spirit with its October tours and exhibits.
Coming back for its fourth year are the Lantern Tours, which explore Downtown Nanaimo’s darker side. The tour, which runs every Friday from October 14 to the 28, takes museum goers on a walk through old Nanaimo’s cobbled streets, with stops at Downtown’s most notorious sites.
Back by popular demand, the tour stops by the old provincial jail, the courthouse and the Bastion, and tells stories of grisly events in Nanaimo’s ...
By contributor Shanon Fenske
When speaking of his upcoming book, Victoria’s Most Haunted, author Ian Gibbs says his intention isn’t to prove whether or not ghosts are real—he knows they are.
“I want to tell the story,” Gibbs says. “I don’t need proof.”
Gibbs was born in the United Kingdom. He was adopted, and came to Canada with his family when he was four years old. He has lived in several Canadian features, and has lived in Victoria for the past 16 years.
“When I was a kid,” Gibbs says, “I would often experience strange things.” His mother would tell him that he was ...
