Brian Hough
Contributor
The Navigator
The Violent Century is the latest novel by the World Fantasy Award winning author of Osama, and Israeli/South Africa writer, Lavie Tidhar.
The Violent Century is a sprawling, whirlwind ride though the history of the 20th century as seen through the lens of a generation ‘Ubermensch,’ as they are largely known—beings who have been given superpowers thanks to a “probability wave” unleashed by the experiments of “Dr.Vomacht” in an imaginary 1930s.
The story is told through a series of vignettes hopping throughout space and time—from Stalingrad to ...
Luara Rodgers
Canadian University Press
Vancouver (CUP) — At Kwantlen Polytechnic University, students hoping to learn the art of brewing beer can hop to it with a new two-year diploma program.
They’ll get to learn brewing techniques, science, and business skills to help them barrel into the beer industry.
While craft brewing has been booming across Canada for some time, there are scarcely any formal programs to teach would-be brewers the ropes. The first such program opened at Niagara College in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario; in 2005, and in 2013 they partnered with Olds College to ...
Alexandria Stuart
Contributor
The Navigator
The Radio Malaspina Society (RMS) Board of Directors called a Special General Meeting (SGM) for Monday, January 13, to request permission to take out loans to ease the Society’s financial situation. Eight of nine board members and 48 voting members filled the Ladysmith Meeting Room at the Coast Bastion Hotel to participate in the process. As tensions have run high at previous meetings, Chairperson Doug Creba opened the proceedings with a statement that structure and calm would prevail.
RMS, created to run Vancouver Island University’s ...
Kelly Whiteside
The Navigator
The Accessible Icon Project began in Cambridge as an art project by Brian Glenney and Sara Hendren aiming to begin conversation about the way society views disability, but it soon became a global movement.
The original icon shows the wheelchair as part of the person, whereas their version shows the wheelchair as a tool. (more…)
Blake Deal
The Navigator
Victoria-based company, IKAN Installations Inc., is expanding their business to serve central Vancouver Island.
The company, founded in 2010 by co-owners Anthony Stubbs and Kyler Dovolosky, specializes in the construction and installation of IKEA kitchens. (more…)
Brian Hough
Contributor
The Navigator
The Nanaimo Museum will get an early start on one of the world’s most widely observed holidays, the Chinese Lunar New Year, on January 25 from 12-3pm.
Usually falling at the end of January or beginning of February, the Chinese New Year is a time to honour deities and ancestors. While rooted in Chinese culture, it is celebrated by many Asian cultures and countries including Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and many others. South Korea has its own New Year’s celebration that falls on the same day, and while many of the customs and ...
Blake Deal
The Navigator
The Nanaimo Museum is getting ready for the newest exhibit: “Navigating Nanaimo: Maps and Charts of the Harbour City.”
The exhibit will be looking at the growth and change of Nanaimo through the use of maps and charts. The maps and charts will range in date from 1791 to modern day. They will be looking at land, (more…)
Drew McLachlan
Associate Editor
The Navigator
If you often find yourself in political conversations with people, you may have noticed a certain quality in some. It’s an almost religious-like fervour dedicated to a political party, one that will never be swayed no matter how big a scandal or how vast a leadership or policy change that party goes through. I have a friend that likes to compare Christy Clark to Justin Trudeau despite the BC Liberals not being affiliated with, and considerably more right-wing than, their federal “counterpart.” (more…)
Leah Myers
Editor-In-Chief
The Navigator
There’s a fairly recent phenomenon sweeping over us, and for good or for shame, it seems to be spreading into an out-of-control entity in both social media and real life. “Shaming” is a recently coined term for placing blame on another person or group of people as a way to publicly denounce their behaviour.
The most prominent example that most are familiar with now is the term “slut-shaming,” which is used to describe the criticism for dressing or acting in a manner perceived as (more…)
Stephanie Brown
Contributor
The Navigator
The Snowed in Comedy tour arrived at the Nanaimo Port Theatre on January 10.
The tour began in British Columbia on January 3 in Smithers and will wrap up in Vancouver on February 8. An additional show (more…)
Denisa Kraus
The Navaigator
Interview with Jessica and Katie Gilray, the hosts of the weekly eclectic, psychotic show on CHLY 101.7.
Navigator: Why The Sister Act?
Jessica: Katie had a show before, The Riot Act. Exact slot, time, and day. We decided to take over, and to keep the continuity, we came up with the idea of The Sister Act. It’s an opportunity to hang out once a week.
Katie: It’s a way to spread the music. We always wanted to share music with people. We’d always go to a party, steal the iPod, change the music, and try not to make anyone notice. That was kind of the ...
Dr. Timothy Lewis
Contributor
The Navigator
In December 1911, Roald Amundsen became the first human to stand at the South Pole. As the Pole was the last significant landmass to be subject to human investigation, Amundsen’s accomplishment, in many ways, marked the end of the heroic age of exploration.
100 years later, Professor Jay Ruzesky, a descendant of Amundsen, travelled to Antarctica to honour his ancestor’s achievement. Upon his return, Ruzesky documented his journey in a memoir entitled: In Antarctica: An Amundsen Pilgrimage.
On Friday, October 18, Professor Ruzesky, a ...
Clayton Bambrough
Contributor
The Navigator
For some reason, I like bad movies. More precisely, I like movies that are so bad they’re good, usually because they’re hilarious. These ten, though, are just bad—the worst of the worst. If you haven’t seen them, I’m warning you to keep it that way.
The Criteria: Must have bad critic ratings and be considered terrible by people I know who have seen it.
(more…)
Denisa Kraus
The Navigator
Drum Circle Downtown Nanaimo brings people of all ages, skill levels, and interests together to explore themselves both as individuals and a collective through rhythm. With meetings taking place every other Friday, the group is always open to newcomers.
The drum circle started as a leisure event at VIU four years ago and (more…)
Denisa Kraus
The Navigator
Nanaimo Conservatory of Music is holding the third annual Vancouver Island Chamber Music Festival in two downtown churches on November 1 and 2. Featuring international stars as well as established local talents, the festival will encompass a wide range of classical music ranging from Renaissance compositions to contemporary pieces.
Alexis Harrison, marketing and communications representative at the Nanaimo Conservatory of Music, says (more…)
Drew McLachlan
The Navigator
Photos by Drew McLachlan
The following is an article that I wrote for Incline Magazine late last year. If you haven’t yet heard of Incline, I can’t blame you, but I can set you straight. The online magazine is run by a class of upper-level creative writing and journalism students, which includes some of the most talented writers at our university. Within the digital pages you’ll find a roster of great articles on everything from bondage to bronies, and sturgeon to stand-up comedy. If you’re at all a fan of the feature article (or creative non-fiction) I ...
Drew McLachlan
The Navigator
Hub City Cycles, Nanaimo’s bike co-op, officially opened in March 2012. What started as home-based repair has now become a popular downtown fixture underneath the China Steps. Tyler Walker has been with Hub City for over a year and runs many of the co-op’s workshops. He claims to “live, breathe, and eat bicycles,” and has ridden through Central America, (more…)
Jacey Gibb
The Other Press
New Westminster (CUP) — Fall is coming, orange leaves on the ground, blah blah blah whatever else. Let’s get to what’s actually important about October: pumpkin ales. What started as a novelty beverage has sprouted from liquor store shelves like weeds in the summer, but it’s a difficult recipe to nail: not too heavy, with enough pumpkin flavour to make an impression and not overload the taste buds. In order to help you navigate the pumpkin ale landscape, I took the liberty of trying five of the season’s most popular beer. Yeah, you’re welcome.
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Kiera Obbard
The Fulcrum
Ottawa (CUP) — For many university students, the demands of academic life are stressful to say the least. To cope, some of us turn to liquor, chocolate (or any other comfort food), coffee, or cigarettes. Some of us take caffeine pills to stay awake, sleeping pills to fall asleep, or anxiety pills to stabilize our frayed nerves. We’ll try anything to get us through our degree, especially if it gets us an A.
For more and more students, this list includes academic doping.
(more…)
Stephanie Brown
Contributor
The Navigator
Rotary of Nanaimo’s used book sale will be held at Nanaimo North Town Centre between October 18 and 23. The used book sale is a semi-annual fundraiser used to raise money for a variety of international and community events.
Proceeds from book sales between July 2011 and March 2013 totaled $14k, with 85 per cent of the proceeds going to needs within the community and the remaining 15 per cent towards international projects.
(more…)
Blake Deal
The Navigator
Vancouver Island University will be hosting Jorge Gutierrez, International Representative of CESINE Business School this month.
CESINE is a private university in Spain. Ranked as the third best school in Spain for international students, CESINE offers multiple routes for Business students to take.
Laurel Piper, a former student of CESINE, said one big draw for students is the one semester, five class Certificate in International Business Management. (more…)
