Lit Matters: John Gardner on monsters and menAmerican novelist, essayist, poet, and critic John Gardner is perhaps best known for his novel Grendel, in which he constructs the world of Beowulf from the perspective of a sensitive, curious monster. Grendel, who has a love/hate relationship with his terrible mother and hangs out with a philosophizing dragon, gives us a unique chance to […] Continue Reading |
Open Space: A Camosun student looks at Hong Kong’s recycling systemCompared to Victoria, Hong Kong is in the dump in regard to their waste management schemes: their landfills are expected to be full this year. The easiest thing to do would be to criticize them and suggest that Hong Kong adopt a system such as Victoria’s, where places to deposit recyclables, compostables, and garbage are […] Continue Reading |
Camosun alumnus Jeff Mason’s new book shows great promiseCamosun alumnus Jeff Mason’s first novel, The Symmetry of Belief (self-published), is heavily influenced by classic sci-fi, fantasy, and horror by authors such as H.P. Lovecraft, Frank Herbert, and J.G. Ballard. The story is reminiscent of Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” in which humans willingly fall from heaven, or, rather, ascend from paradise into the cruel void […] Continue Reading |
Arthur Black misses the mark in new bookArthur Black’s Paint the Town Black (Harbour Publishing) is a stream-of-consciousness series of opinion column pieces written by a 71-year-old white Canadian male who is an ex-CBC host and comes across as very anti-technology. This book’s content comes as no surprise but will still keep you shaking your head all the way through. I’ve never […] Continue Reading |
Victoria’s Nick La Riviere moves ahead with second albumWhen Victoria’s Nick La Riviere started to put together the material for Another Time Around, his second studio album, he knew that there was going to be one major change: the album was going to have vocals on it. His debut, 2009’s Too Much to Do, was completely instrumental, but the music dictated singing this […] Continue Reading |
Camosun College artist in residence compares moshing men and fishInteresting things are always going on around Camosun’s campuses; this year’s artist in residence exhibition is sure to be a good example of that. Current Van den Brink resident Ishe Barrett is a 2014 Camosun Visual Arts graduate and was selected from students and alumni to put on an exhibition. Barrett’s project is based in […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: Last round of Led Zeppelin reissues ends campaign successfullyLed Zeppelin Presence (Atlantic Records) 5/5 And so the Led Zeppelin reissue series comes to an end, for now, until the whole damn catalogue gets reissued again. You know what? Ain’t a rock band since that’s created so much richness in such a small amount of space as Zep did, so that’s fine by me. […] Continue Reading |
What’s Going On: August 19, 2015 issueFriday and Saturday nights in August Free flicks outside Let’s face it: it’s really hard to say no to checking out free classic movies like The Secret of Nimh (!) being screened for free at various locations outside (Beacon Hill Park, Broadmead Village, and the Legislature). What do you have to do that is possibly […] Continue Reading |
Camosun alumnus becomes Chargers assistant coachFormer Camosun student and Camosun Charger athlete Erika Sheen recently became an assistant coach for the Chargers women’s volleyball team. Even though Sheen didn’t actively seek out the opportunity to coach (and to be mentored by Chargers coaches), she says that she just couldn’t not be involved in the game, as it had consumed her […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: Lucero’s tenth album overflows with passionLucero All a Man Should Do (ATO Records/MapleMusic Recordings) 4/5 Long known in the musical circles I tend to gravitate towards as “the band that covered Jawbreaker’s ‘Kiss the Bottle,’” Memphis-based Lucero delivers their gritty country-rock with passion and confidence here on their tenth album. Don’t go thinking this is mainstream pretty-boy country-pop; this is […] Continue Reading |
