Fall-ing and can’t get up: Former Nexus writer Jon Valentine’s “Top 10 Things to Look Forward to in the New School Year” reads like a schoolboy manifesto. For our September 5, 2000 issue, he modelled his insight and prophesized the BC government’s end of a tuition freeze (resulting in the collective student debt of $500 billion), and, on the institutional level, the student society’s stark reduction. While these don’t quite measure up as things to look forward to, standing at a misplaced number 10 is the “Kentucky Fried Chicken Sweatin’ Weightliftin’ Gym,” which by today’s standards would satisfy the bonus protein we seem to be all searching for in the most unlikely of places. A timeless classic, “The end of the world,” makes the list, proving how angst is never out of style.
Feline fatale: An abandoned tenacious kitty that had sharpened its survival skills at Camosun College becomes the subject of a sex scandal, the headline reads, more or less. In this issue, we covered rescued cat Firsty, who was abandoned on the Lansdowne campus among her small litter of kittens. Fortunately, the single mother of two was brought home safe with Nexus managing editor Barbara Risto, where they found much needed TLC. Local pet rescuer Tryntje Horn says this wasn’t an isolated incident—at the time, she was caring for 21 cats in her personal residence. Prospective pet owners, they say, should follow six core tenets before looking for a furry friend: spay or neuter, water is essential, vaccinate, identify your pet, purchase quality food, and be trustworthy. But Firsty adds, provide plenty of treats.
Lacklustre blockbuster: In late summer of the year 2000, the Hollywood schlock factory was firing on all cylinders. Films that now line the dusty DVD and VHS racks of second-hand stores were stirring cinephiles into lines around the box office; at the front of these lines was none other than Nexus’ own Jon Valentine. This issue, he plowed through forgotten flicks such as What Lies Beneath, The Perfect Storm, The Cell, and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. With the exception of The Klumps, Valentine was surprisingly lenient in his criticism of the Y2K August lineup, calling The Perfect Storm “the best movie of the summer. Period.” While the statement is obviously false, it’s nice to see some respect for Wolfgang Petersen’s Hollywood era in print. Or maybe you just had to be there.