By Copy Editor Diana Pearson
Have you ever tried, in those sweatily joyous moments after orgasm, to find the right words to describe climax? Textures. Squiggly lines. Sunbursts. Flocks of birds. Shooting junk in a sun-drenched field.
Sarah Barmak knows the struggle to describe this elusive human experience. But this is just one of the wonderful topics she covers in her summer release, Closer: Notes From the Orgasmic Frontier of Female Sexuality.
This short, sweet, sexy whirlwind tour of Western female sexuality is refreshing from start to finish. It will arouse, enrage, ...
Above: Photo via ghostbusters.com
By Arts Editor Brendan Barlow
Well, it’s finally come. The remake that would ruin all childhoods, emasculate everyone, and bring about the complete and total breakdown of society as we know it. I’ve seen rants, raves, fits, and complaints leading up to the release, but was pleased to see that critical reviews were actually pretty good. Of course, the reviews were not without the dissenting voices and man-babies, but I went to the movie expecting to enjoy the work put forward by the cast and the director.
At the end of it all, who was ...
By VIU Communications' Dane Gibson
Parksville Qualicum Beach Tourism and VIU are asking for residents’ and visitors’ support to shine a light on the incredible experiences they have within one of the most ecologically significant regions on Vancouver Island—the UNESCO designated Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region MABR.
Thanks to funding provided by Parksville Qualicum Beach Tourism, Destination BC and support from VIU the Amazing Places project is being launched to ask the community to nominate 10 Amazing Places within the MABR that inspire them most. The nomination ...
Above: Harambe via Harambe Facebook page
CNN headline: “Harambe memes prompt Cincinnati Zoo to delete Twitter accounts”. I couldn’t help but laugh. It finally happened. The Harambe meme had officially transcended Internet culture and become mainstream.
To be fair, it’s impossible to pinpoint the exact moment of transcendence, but there is something hilariously real about the thought of some poor Cincinnati Zoo social media manager finally admitting defeat against the non-stop barrage of Harambe tweets.
Harambe polled at five percent in a recent presidential poll, there are ...
By Production Manager Catherine Charlebois
School is starting and we’re all still clinging on to that summer high, with its sun and freedom. Before hunkering down and embracing autumn flavours of pumpkin and deep aromas of cinnamon, have yourself one last glass of summer—with added benefits too. One of the more gentle essential oils, lavender is also an effective stress and anxiety reliever. According to collective-evolution.com, “lavender oil possesses amazing anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, antidepressant, antiseptic, antibacterial, antimicrobial, ...
By Managing Editor Molly Barrieau
It’s been a little while since you last caught up with us here at the newspaper, but while we were all out enjoying our break, Nanaimo was still making headlines. Here are a few of our favourites:
1. Beekeeper in Nanaimo finds first instance of zombie-like bees
Starting off with a doozy, finally our apocalyptic fantasies are closer to reality with this recent insect-based parasite. Sarah Wallbank, a beekeeper outside Nanaimo, reportedly heard tapping on her porch at night, and awoke to find her normally hibernating bees “smashing ...
By Managing Editor Molly Barrieau
Building 310, forever known as Malaspina Theatre on campus, finally received its much needed facelift on Friday, September 2. After news broke about beloved professor Mike Taugher’s passing in August 2015, the Theatre Department has tirelessly spent the last year gathering donations and support for the overhaul.
“I am very proud to have the opportunity to finish what he started in the rejuvenation of the theatre,” said Leon Potter, Theatre Chair and professor.
First to go were the tired seats, replaced with bright blue theatre seats to match the ...
By Sports Editor Cole Schisler
For many students arriving for the fall semester, the first glimpse of Nanaimo came from the deck of a BC Ferry approaching the terminal of Departure Bay. Along the harbour, some may have seen sea planes, sail boats, and people laughing as they splashed along in kayaks. With the help
Located at 1840 Stewart Dr., the Alberni Outpost Adventure Centre offers a variety of services such as canoe, kayak and stand up paddle board rentals, paddle board yoga, lessons on kayaking and paddle boarding, as well as paddling events throughout the day ...
By Web Editor Spenser Smith
TSS FC Black vs. VIU Mariners at Merle Logan Field on September 2.
VIU won 2-0
Catch the VIU Mariners’ soccer game on September 17, beginning at 1 pm and 3 pm with back-to-back women’s and men’s games at the Nanaimo turf field.
Above: Photo courtesy of Amazon.com
By Arts Editor Brendan Barlow
Start off the school year right with this excellent selection of albums released over the last few months. Hopefully there’s a little something for everyone on this list.
Frank Ocean – Blond (August)
Knowing my love of “grown-up” R&B like that found in dvsn and The Weeknd, I had a pretty good idea that I was going to enjoy this new entry from Frank Ocean, and sure enough, my instincts were correct; Ocean’s album is fantastic, unique, and beautiful. It’s clear that Ocean puts a lot of ...
By Arts Editor Brendan Barlow
It's hard to overlook the huge boom of craft beer, and local breweries cropping up all over the place. In Nanaimo alone you can find three breweries, one of which opened recently down near Maffeo Sutton park. This is definitely a great time to be a beer drinker, however, with so many choices, and more opening all the time, how could someone possibly choose just one brewery to visit?
In the interest of treating ourselves, my partner and I embarked on a modified version of what The Growler magazine calls “The Ale Trail”. Our version of the trail ...
By Managing Editor Molly Barrieau
A one-time funding decision from the Ministry of Advanced Education has allowed VIU to offer the Community Health Promotion for Aboriginal Communities Certificate at around $3K instead of $6K.
The program was created in part due to the concerns raised from the Island’s First Nations communities, where healthcare can be hard to come by.
Parksville-Qualicum MLA Michelle Stilwell told VIU, “Our government is listening to the healthcare challenges Aboriginal communities want to address and that’s why we have targeted funding of $83,000 ...
Above: Microphone via Canadian Federation of Students Facebook page
By contributor Chantelle Spicer
Membership is something we take very seriously in our society. categorize or label ourselves to find our place in the world. Where would we be without knowing our place in a crowd? It provides us with protocols of behaviour, boundaries, and expectations. We navigate all our lives by this, identifying our alliances, potential friends and enemies through a variety of ways that signify our memberships: clothing, language, gender, secret handshake, something as simple as a button, or as ...
Above: Photo via theverge.com
By Arts Editor Brendan Barlow
Wow. Wow. Wow.
Quick background to start things off, Stranger Things is a Netflix-exclusive series created by Matt and Ross Duffer (collectively credited as The Duffer Brothers). This duo previously worked on a movie called Hidden in 2015, which I strongly recommend. To call this a meteoric rise would be an understatement, because they have rocketed to being the minds behind the most talked about show of 2016; this is an honour they wholly deserve.
It’s not often that a show gives us so much to get ...
Above: Generations Church, photo by Cole Schisler
By Sports Editor Cole Schisler
Generations Church hosts Protestant worship services at 1300 Princess Royal Ave. every Sunday morning at 10 am across from Terminal Park Mall.
Churchgoers can gather at 9:30 for a pre-service prayer hosted in the church’s prayer room. This also provides an opportunity to connect with fellow church members and enjoy a free coffee or tea before the main worship service.
Worship is kicked off with an energetic performance by the church band, then the service is led by Pastor Darcy ...
Above: Vancouver Island black bear via hellobc.ca
By contributor Chantelle Spicer
Every time we walk through a city or provincial park, all we take in has been orchestrated to enhance or hide certain things in the area.
The path bends a certain way, showing us a particular view; benches are particularly placed, giving us space to relax there; pathways are lined with fallen logs or mossy rocks to make us feel as though we are not being led somewhere. We even now have apps designed to enhance these experiences, providing us with field guides, ...
By Sports Editor Cole Schisler
CareerVIU is an online job-listing site geared towards VIU students, alumni and faculty with a range of job opportunities both part-time and full-time, on campus, in the community, across the country and all over the world.
With an average of 100-200 opportunities available—74 available right now—and over 1800 employers with active accounts, CareerVIU is one of best career-building resources available to VIU students.
“Working on campus allows my work schedule to be coordinated with my course schedule,” says Jaime Stephens, “which ...
By Managing Editor Molly Barrieau
90 days. That’s how long it took me to hate living in Vancouver. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great city full of diversity, luxury and nature, but for me and many others, it can be very daunting.
Growing up just a strait away from the metropolis led to a growing desire to be a part of the Big Smoke. I decided, without much consideration, to drop myself right into the thick of things and test out the city in the easiest way possible—a summer job.
However, I soon learned that in Van, just leaving the house seemed to cost money—luckily I was also not ...
Above: “I got a Pidgey!” is overheard in the crowd of Pokémon trainers at the popular Departure Bay Beach Pokéstop.
By contributor Sarah Packwood
Pokémon Go, a mobile game released this past July, seems to have everyone, young and old, playing to be "the very best Pokémon trainer". Players are required to choose from three teams to play on: Instinct, Valor and Mystic, each represented by their own team colour (yellow, red, and blue, respectively). From there, players carry on to catch and evolve Pokémon, and to battle or train in gyms.
Pokémon can appear in any setting, ...
Above: Ignorant Canadian is amazed there are no advertisements in the ocean. (Photo by Natalie Gates)
By Associate Editor Natalie Gates
“FOODIES WELCOME”
The larger than life hamburger greeted us the second we crossed the border, its meaty face staring down at us from its billboard perch. The restaurant inviting those with a passion for gourmet food? McDonald’s, of course.
This was just the beginning of a great McDonald’s journey, as each exit along the highway had one just waiting for the “foodies” to swoop in and grab a bite.
Of course, the golden arches weren’t ...
Above: Photo via ChanceRaps.com
By Arts Editor Brendan Barlow
Well, we've been away since April, and so you haven't had your trusty copy of The Navigator to let you know what is awesome and what is not; as a result, your trusty arts editor has assembled this handy guide of things you might have missed (and one thing it seems NO ONE missed) to get you back on track.
Gamers: Inside (PC)
Developer Playdead, who recently brought the monochromatic nightmare that was Limbo, returned in June with Inside. The game combines the deceptive simplicity, and vague story that Limbo had, ...
By Associate Editor Natalie Gates
Corrupt. Biased. Annoying. Pointless. Liars. Dying out. Taking over. Creative. Storytellers. Hard workers. Truth seekers. Essential to the business and political worlds. Essential to society. Me.
What comes to mind when you think about public relations (PR) people or journalists?
I spent my summer (and still am) working for a PR firm that specializes in getting entrepreneurs and startup tech businesses off the ground and into the wild world of tech media. As a journalism student, this kind of seemed like selling my soul at first.
It’s no ...
By Editor Diana Pearson
Despite our so-called sexually liberated society, myths and shame-filled guidelines about sex continue to be rampant. I’m going to venture a guess that you, like many of us, have spent your share of long, anxiety-ridden nights Googling questions about sex. It can be frustrating and difficult to find thoughtful, informative, and sex-positive answers amidst all the online information available at our fingertips (pun intended).
Well my friends, if you’re starved for sex-positive, well-informed discussions on sex and sexuality, look no further.
This ...
The more the merrier! Submit your bunnies and stairs to The Nav by emailing editor@thenav.ca or Tweet us at @theNavVIU.
Bunny: Something nice, funny, positive, or sweet that happened in your life.
Stair: Something mean, annoying, negative, or gross that happened in your life.
