Open Space: The ignorance of algorithmsOnce upon a time there were three princes who set out from their kingdom of Serendip for a bit of a lark. They went over land and over sea, met some fine folks, and through a happy accident that none of them were expecting, they all came back home fabulously wealthy. Come to think of […] Continue Reading |
20 Years Ago In Nexus: February 18, 2015 issueStill with the Family Circus?: We mentioned a while ago how one of our columnists from 20 years ago had spent some time trashing the comic Family Circus; the hate showed up again in a subsequent issue, and, amazingly, in a letter to the editor in our February 20, 1995 issue. After rallying against our […] Continue Reading |
The Prodigal Planeswalker: Levelling the playing fieldTournaments are a fun aspect of Magic: The Gathering. Competitive players can easily conjure up a cadre of the game’s most powerful, rare, and expensive cards from their 60-card deck. Back in 2007/08, I built a tournament deck that took me all the way to the City Championship finals in Vancouver. I managed to finish […] Continue Reading |
Ability’s Muse: Self-care crucial for non-able-bodied studentsHow does living along a continuum of poor-to-superior health apply to a non-able-bodied person? It makes all the difference in the world. A non-able-bodied person needs to spend proportionately more time on a regimen of self-care, a health-care term that refers to any necessary human regulatory function that’s under individual control, is deliberate, and is […] Continue Reading |
Lit Matters: John Steinbeck and the reality of a hangover“All great and precious things are lonely,” said John Steinbeck, best known as the author of books like The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. But Steinbeck also wrote many shorter works, including travel memoirs, modern fables, and hilarious novels like Cannery Row and Tortilla Flat, which turn Monterey, California into an early 20th […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: Sylvan’s Home hard to sit throughSylvan Home (Gentle Art of Music/E1) 3/5 I’ll be honest: I found Home, the 11th release by German band Sylvan, difficult to get through. It was promising enough, with intricate instrumentals that were somewhere between classical music and Euro-rock, but the lyrics filled with teenage angst were depressing. Then you combine those lyrics with the […] Continue Reading |
New Music Revue: The Golden Dogs are a beautiful messThe Golden Dogs 3 1/2 (Independent) 3.5/5 For 3 1/2, their fourth studio release, Toronto-based The Golden Dogs’ original dynamic duo of Dave Azzolini and Jessica Grassia, along with new blood Alejandro Cairncross and Stefanie McCarrol, give a fresh take on some familiar sounds. The dynamic, multi-genre album opens to a straight, funky bass line […] Continue Reading |
Victoria’s Copper Owl uses diversity to thrive as venueFor nearly two years, the Copper Owl has been a go-to music venue for emerging bands performing in Victoria. Since opening their doors in early 2013, the venue has hosted hundreds of performances by artists of all different genres, including folk, metal, electronic, and indie rock. Jzero Schuurman and Renee Crawford took over the venue, […] Continue Reading |
Hey Rosetta! team up with Stars for ambitious tourCanadian indie rock bands Hey Rosetta! and Stars are stopping in Victoria during their upcoming North American tour. With both bands busy promoting new albums, it seemed natural for them to team up. “We both had records that came out at the same time and we were both planning a pretty extensive tour,” says Hey […] Continue Reading |
Victoria hip hop community building from withinOn a clear winter’s day at the end of North Park Street in Victoria, Marco Bermudez stands in a circle of people who are freestyling rap verses. Sharing stories with each other, everyone in the group is in the moment, getting lost to the rhythm of the beat, and letting their feelings be expressed with […] Continue Reading |
