REAL FRIENDS
These fictional tweets were written by Molly "Yeezus" Barrieau and Antony "T-Swizzle" Stevens to satirize the ongoing feud between Taylor Swift and Kanye West.
The strange street names of Nanaimo
“Spenser, you have two deliveries,” says Khoung, as he points at two tall paper bags stuffed with Chinese food, “The first one goes to 262 Twiggly Wiggly Rd. The second goes to 3338 Dingle Bingle Hill Rd.” Khoung goes back to peeling carrots. Meanwhile, I’m giggling to myself as I struggle to fit both bags in my arms. I start to wonder: Who came up with these wacky names?
According to Nanaimo native Paul Gogo, former mayor Frank Ney is responsible. Gogo, the keyboardist for the band Trooper, wrote Ney’s biography, Frank Ney: A Canadian Legend. Ney served as Nanaimo’s mayor ...
BCHL Referees Put to the Test with Grizzlies in Town
By contributor Reid Eccles
The Nanaimo Clippers were in Frank Crane Arena Friday, January 29 to face off against Island Division rivals the Victoria Grizzlies, and face off they did. The match was one of the more physically ruthless Clippers games in recent memory, and it seemed the British Columbia Hockey League’s (BCHL) officials were in over their heads.
It started as any other game might, with the Clippers taking an early lead; a Nolan Aibel slot shot found its way out of the Grizzlies goaltender’s glove and over the goal line. This is when the Grizzlies began to play their ...
Nama’spray: De-stressing yoga mat spray
There have been many times walking into a yoga studio where I’ve wondered if, or how long in between uses, they wipe down their mats. I’m sure there’s a required standard, but I’ve always wanted my own, just to give it a wipe before I start using it to bend, stretch, and twist. Stumbling upon a yogi YouTuber from Texas named Adriene Mishler, I found the solution to my dilemma. With Natalie, the Nav’s fellow yogi and News Editor, I settled down to make our own cheap, quick, and easy DIY Yoga Mat Spray.
Ingredients
Distilled water
Essential oils*
Witchhazel astringent ...
Mental Health Matters: Female sex bias and mental illness
This is the latest in a contributor column by Zoe Lauckner. Check back next issue for the latest in mental health.
We’ve all seen it, whether on television or in the real world, where a woman is depicted as the stereotypical crazy girlfriend or the psycho ex-girlfriend. Other likely renditions might include words such as neurotic, dramatic, hysterical, and so on—you know the tune. Maybe you’ve seen an episode of Family Guy when they come across a “crazy lady” and one of the main characters references Canadian actress Margot Kidder, the O.G. Lois Lane from the 1978 Superman? Why is it ...
Handcrafted Valentine’s treats on Vancouver Island
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and the stores are positively blushing red and pink—maybe even purple. Forget run-of-the-mill name brand chocolates or sweets—this isn’t Halloween. Your sweetheart deserves the highest quality, locally-made, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Below are a few options, all handcrafted on the Island.
A Wee Cupcakery
Around the corner on Fitzwilliam St., nestled in-between two buildings, lies A Wee Cupcakery. Open Tuesday to Saturday, “Nanaimo’s first and Only Artisan Cupcake Bake Shop” has a multitude of cupcake flavours on offer and other ...
Dinner and a view: Valentine’s day in Nanaimo
Valentine’s Day dates usually involve a lot of sitting and inactivity. Instead of Netflix, why not get outside and talk to your partner this year. Spending time outside with your loved ones can be invigorating—regardless of the weather. Here are a few ideas to break up the monotony of Valentine’s Day activities.
Pipers Lagoon and Neck Point
These two go hand in hand. Pipers is accessible, and the oceanic views are pretty hard to beat, with the long stalks of grass swaying in the wind. Anyone up for a nice stroll can’t possibly object. Bring your dog, make a driftwood shack, and ...
The Danish Girl movie review
Above: The real Lili Elbe, subject of The Danish Girl. Courtesy of telegraph.co.uk
I’ve been looking forward to Eddie Redmayne’s next project ever since his spectacular performance in The Theory of Everything as Stephen Hawking, but I was not prepared for this.
Filled with raw emotion and stunning cinematography, The Danish Girl depicts the struggle of Einar Wegener (Redmayne), a late 1920s Danish landscape painter as he transitions into a woman. Married to Gerda Wegener (played by Swedish actress Alicia Vikander), a successful artist herself, the couple first appears to be ...
One Act Plays at the Malaspina Theatre.
Above: The Satyr Players last year, via Facebook
By contributor Sacia Burton
At the peak of my winter hermitdom, I was summoned from my social slumber to attend the One Act Festival at the Malaspina Theatre. A true antidote for the winter blues, the selection of one act plays were altogether earnest, heartfelt, and rousing.
From January 27 – 29 the Satyr Players hosted the festival. All five shows were original works, with a handful of local writing talent on display (including VIU theatre professor Ross Desprez). Local talent shone in all areas of production: the shows were all ...
The best and worst movies to watch on Valentine’s Day
THE BEST
Love Actually (2003)
This exceedingly charming romantic comedy comes chock-full of some of the best actors that jolly-old England has ever given film. With performances from Martin Freeman, Emma Thompson, and the late Alan Rickman, you’re sure to enjoy at least one of the many intersecting stories this movie offers up. While not the biggest fan of romcoms myself, there’s no denying the charm of this one. If you’re looking for something brimming with hopeless romantics, then you’ll love this one.
Once (2007)
I would hesitate to call this a musical, but that’s probably ...
VIU Services: Advising Centre
You should never be afraid to ask for advice, whether it’s a personal health struggle or a tough course load at VIU. Advisors are there to help you through every step of your university career, from choosing a program, to solving problems, enriching your experience, and preparing you for graduation.
As an incoming student, advisors will help you navigate the VIU website. They will research post-secondary education and training with you, as well as career options. Your advisors will take the time to get to know you, and work with you to determine your goals and create a plan that ...
Don’t ask me where I am; I’m using a GPS
By contributor Michael Robert Caditz
Another drizzly Wednesday night in Vancouver. My Mount Pleasant evening is winding down as I leap into my car determined to catch the last ferry of the night back home to the Island. I’m counting on a trouble-free drive, otherwise I’m stranded in the big city overnight with nowhere to go and I’ll miss my morning Media class.
Google Maps, on my phone with GPS, is there for me 90 per cent of the time—but not this time. I pull into still-heavy traffic, fumbling with my phone and barely managing to specify “BC Ferries Tsawwassen Terminal” as my ...
Mulan: Better with percussion
On February 5, the Port Theatre was host to the Nanaimo Chinese Cultural Society’s 2016 Lunar New Year Gala. The evening featured traditional singing and dancing performances from local artist groups which ranged from adorable to interesting and beautiful. These performances were enjoyable to be sure, but the icing on the cake came in the form of a 90-minute percussion performance of Mulan.
Mulan was performed by The Red Poppy Ladies, the first all-female percussion group in China. The ladies combine elements of Kung Fu, dancing, and fantastic percussion techniques. Utilizing ...
Kindergarten: Da Bin Ich Wieder
The Vancouver Island Short Film Festival (VISFF) begins on February 12, and will feature works from filmmakers from all over the world. Including Vancouver’s Aubrey Arnason, who wrote, co-directed, and starred in her short Kindergarten: Da Bin Ich Wieder.
Kindergarten tells the story of Aubrey, a jingle writer who finds herself disqualified from working for a new client after it is revealed that she never completed kindergarten. As a result Aubrey must go back and finish kindergarten in order to work on the new jingle. Along the way she learns some valuable lessons and gains new ...
Scars of Love at Neck Point
It’s the first day of February and the morning radio show is already talking about Valentine’s Day. I guess “already” is disingenuous—they’ve been talking about the date since the department stores changed from Christmas decorations to candied hearts. I’m in the car on my way to Neck Point Park—listed in the top three of “Things to Do in Nanaimo” according to Trip Advisor, and what one user called their “favourite park on the Island”—and the weather is as gloomy as a late winter morning gets without spilling buckets of rain. The sun has only just hobbled out of bed on the crutches of ...
Stop stopping the presses
It was January 2015 when I thought I had my foot in the door in my niche videogame journalism sector. I was just starting to write for Canada.com and was selected to be a core contributor there, catching the eye of the relevant editor with the National Post. Not three weeks later, I received a message from my editor saying Canada.com was going into limbo and that he was going to be temporarily migrated into the National Post. He didn’t say it, but I knew right away I was shit out of luck. Over the next 12 months, Postmedia, the mega-conglomerate newspaper network that owns the Vancouver ...
Curvie and Ken
Dear Mattel Inc.,
Hi. Yes, it’s me: former storyteller, fashion designer, and architect to the 11-inch disproportionate toy you so famously tout. I heard, after 57 years, you decided to switch things up this week, unveiling a new line of diverse and realistic dolls. These additions are now taller, shorter, and curvier than the original, boasting seven skin tones, 22 eye colours, and 24 new hairstyles. (I applaud you for finding over 20 different colours for dolls’ eyes.)
First things first, that “Evolution of Barbie” commercial is a little underwhelming. The casting director really ...
Everyday Earth:
Shawnigan Lake Community Watershed at Risk
Above: Shawnigan Lake via thesra.ca
By contributor Chantelle Spicer
It doesn’t get more everyday earth than water. Water is our most valuable resource—giver and taker of life—and I am searching to get to know it better. After researching and writing last issue’s column, “Going with the flow,” I realized I could not examine issues surrounding watersheds in the Vancouver Island area without examining the turmoil over the Shawnigan Lake watershed.
In the summer of 2015, many community watersheds of eastern Vancouver Island, including those in Nanaimo and Parksville, were under ...
You Jelly of the Immortal Jellyfish?
By contributor Chris Dwyer
Immortality: the stuff of legend, myth, and fantasy. It’s the subject of countless works of fiction, deeply rooted in humanity’s fear and comprehension of its own limitations. But what if I told you that at this moment there are creatures in the murky depths of our oceans who possess such an ability?
One question you have to ask yourself: Even if you could live forever, would you want to? Some would consider it man’s greatest achievement, but others an endless curse. Luckily, this conundrum has never crossed the mind of this animal—maybe due to the fact ...
Vandana Shiva Coming to Victoria
By contributor Chantelle Spicer
Many questions and concerns are being raised regarding food security on a global scale, as well as on our Island. With the costs of fruits and vegetables noticeably on the rise, it is becoming a reality affecting our diets and wallets. More and more, people are beginning to realize that the value of food lies not only in the fact that it keeps us alive—though that is very important. Food systems not only keep us healthy, but also, if done in non-industrial methods, increases the health of the land and communities who use it. It is really a whole new way ...
The VIU MUNsters are at it again
Inspired by VIU’s Model United Nations (MUN) club, students will soon have the opportunity to earn academic credit from a new MUN course.
Dedicated to training students to participate in conferences, as well as develop attributes such as public speaking and diplomacy, MUN encourages students to engage with topics of global politics and develop skills for further studies or professional work.
The new three-credit course will begin in September, as the MUN executive team has been working with Political Studies professor Mark Williams over the past several months to develop the ...
VIU urged to take action on sustainable development goals
It could be considered a miracle that all 193 countries at the September 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Summit agreed to all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169 sub-targets. Maybe, if that is possible, is it possible to actually attain all these goals by their 2030 deadline?
Highlighting the new political landscape in Canada, members from the BC Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC) asked VIU students and members of the public this question after their presentation during VIU’s International Development week on February 1. The BCCIC is a civil ...
VIU Professor to speak about Indian Residential Schools
By contributor John Hill
The Indian Residential School (IRS) system has become more familiar to Canadians in recent years, but the terrible aims of the schools, the abuses that occurred there, and the sheer scale of the project remain hard to grasp. At 10 a.m. on February 19 in the Malaspina Theatre, Professor Laurie Meijer Drees of VIU’s Department of First Nations Studies will give a presentation on residential schools as part of the Arts and Humanities Colloquium series.
For more than 100 years, continuing until the 1990s, over 150 thousand First Nations, Métis, and Inuit ...
See historic residents at the newest Nanaimo Museum exhibit
Nestled in the back, past the Bathtub Race relics and the First Nations art display, lives the Nanaimo Museum’s latest exhibition: Characters, Con Men, and Celebrities. Featuring 30 historic Nanaimo residents in 200 words or less, the exhibit has all sorts, from the prominent, like Mayor Frank Ney, to the lesser-known, like early 1900s brothel madame Millie Clayton. The exhibit, running from February 1 to May 7, hopes to inspire museum-goers to draw their own conclusions.
“It’s about the people that didn’t make it in traditional exhibits,” says Aimee Greenaway, Nanaimo Museum’s ...
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