Lydia’s Film Critique: Buffalo ’66Vincent Gallo’s Billy Brown is pathetic. He whines and shouts and contorts in frustration. He moulds his expression into a man-child tantrum in an abrasive defense to care. He entered prison this way and he exits it the same. Volatility was learned and loneliness is the by-product. Indeed, Billy needs what he isn’t owed: a […] Continue Reading |
Pieces of Performance: Decathlon Queen running for gold in designThe multi-talented Decathlon Queen has made a name for herself in the past three years of drag. From Ottawa to Vancouver Island, this decathlon-runner-gone-drag-queen has something to prove. “Sports is the main reason I got into drag… My name is the track-and-field event I competed in up to a national level,” says Decathlon Queen. A […] Continue Reading |
Dropping the Needle: The Beatles changed music foreverIn an industry as opinion-based as music, it’s hard for people to agree on anything. However, many do agree on this: The Beatles are the greatest band ever. But why? What makes these guys from Liverpool stand above everyone else? The answer is influence. The Beatles didn’t just dominate music in the 1960s and early […] Continue Reading |
Reasons to Live… In Victoria: Garden: a noun and a verbI love gardening. You might not guess that if you were to walk by while I’m cursing the weeds or momentarily blacking out as I stand up from the garden beds (low blood pressure), but despite the back-breaking spring cleanups and landscaping projects, it brings me joy and balance. Except on days when I find […] Continue Reading |
Lydia’s Film Critique: A Face in the CrowdIn his little old town of Riddle, that’s where scruffy vagabond Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes earned his southern Americana charm. His bluesman aptitude to carry a tune. His folksy witticisms. No, Riddle does not really exist. It’s more of a composite, or, rather, a compost heap, he says. Still, it runs deep through his very veins, […] Continue Reading |
Pieces of Performance: Rallying in prosperity in the Forbidden LandAs I passed through the US border in March, I was terrified. Having recently changed my gender on my passport to X, during a period of a new “president” law-maker, there is a potential to ban me from entering with the accusation of fraudulent paperwork. All for a little alphabetical letter. I don’t think I […] Continue Reading |
Fellas, Let’s Figure It Out: Toxic vs. healthy masculinityA lot has been made in recent years about the concept of toxic masculinity and its harmful effects on society. In this piece, I am going to attempt to cut through some of the noise surrounding this topic to get to the core of the discussion: what differentiates the two. First, I want to establish […] Continue Reading |
Lydia’s Film Critique: Everybody Rides the CarouselIf one is so lucky, they will be granted all eight stages of life. They will weave through the grandeur of age collecting landmarks of maturity and, even often, losing them simultaneously. They will ferment, find themselves, find each other, learn to love, learn to care, and then, when nothing more could be left to […] Continue Reading |
Reasons to Live… In Victoria: Reconnecting with my cultureStudying at Camosun has inspired me to further explore my Indigenous identity. My k’wala’yu (reason for living), my child Frankie, is a daily reminder of the importance for me to reconnect with our Kwakwaka’wakw culture. I’ve started learning some of the language, thanks to online resources like FirstVoices and lessons uploaded by Kwak’wala speaker Pewi […] Continue Reading |
Dropping the Needle: Howdy countryFor years, country music had found a home with songs about beers, trucks, and Friday nights—and, to its credit, the songs dominated the radio. But as radio airplay declined in the streaming era, this genre became niche, and was trapped in a cycle of predictable themes, sound, and songwriting. Then, something changed. Country found a […] Continue Reading |
