Olympics
Ambivalent at the Olympics
February 6, 2010 · Leave a Comment
By Bev Schellenberg The Vancouver Winter Olympics will open in six days, whether British Columbians like it or not. The other day I was sitting in a Burnaby chiropractor’s office across the waiting room from a white-haired lady when she suddenly blurted, “I don’t want the Olympics here. They never asked me.” I looked around, wondering who she was talking to; she wasn’t looking at me or the receptionist. Fortunately, the receptionist responded, “Well, too late for that! They are coming.” The other patient-in-waiting harrumphed and began to list the problems that... [Read the full story]
Media
The West is in? Really?
February 6, 2010 · Leave a Comment
By Frank Moher The more Maclean’s changes, the more it stays the same. At a recent public discussion in Calgary, co-presented by Maclean’s and CPAC and titled “The West is in. Now What?”, the panel included Fort McMurray Mayor Melissa Blake, Alberta Minister of Culture Lindsay Blackett, Saskatchewan Environment Minister Nancy Heppner, University of Winnipeg president Lloyd Axworthy, and Rob Anderson of Alberta’s Wildrose Alliance. Sounds pretty Westy to me. But who, besides CPAC moderator Peter Van Dusen, were the journalists on the dais? None other than Maclean’s... [Read the full story]
Living
PlayStation nights
January 12, 2010 · Leave a Comment
By Jodi A. Shaw I cringed this past Christmas while purchasing a PlayStation 3 for my husband. It didn’t exceed my budget and the shopping experience was quick and easy, but I was disgusted with myself for finally giving in. I’ve long had a distaste for video games and have been unapologetically vocal about it. The reasons were partly personal: for years I desperately wanted in on my brothers’ Nintendo playing, and the damn things were also responsible for the downfall of a four-year relationship with a boyfriend who seemed to love his time with Castle Wolfenstein more than his time with... [Read the full story]
Culture
If we stand on the shoulders of the dead, we can make millions!
January 28, 2010 · Leave a Comment
By Rachel Krueger If 2009 was The Year When All Those Famous People Died, 2010 is shaping up to be The Year of Chronic Grave-Robbing (where the “grave” is metaphorical and the “robbing” is more like “exploiting”). Mind-bogglingly unsubtle fame-whore and living manga doll Tila Tequila (who is famous solely for throwing herself repeatedly and frantically into the public eye) made no secret of her epic grief when her fiancee Casey Johnson passed away in January, which was Actually Really Sad. However, Tila didn’t allow her overwhelming sorrow to halt her manic... [Read the full story]
Features
Todd Butler’s Act Two
January 9, 2010 · Leave a Comment
“Nimble-fingered maniac” Todd Butler makes the leap from concert stage to the theatrical kind ~~ By Jan Beecher ~~ On a gentle west coast evening, Todd Butler is opening the Islands Folk Festival at Providence Farm near Duncan, BC. I have just arrived along with a thousand or so other people for a weekend of music and festival-like festivities. It’s Butler’s job to get the show started and get the crowd “in the mood,” and he does it extremely well. By the end of his set a full audience has gathered and we are dancing, clapping to the beat and, of course, laughing. Butler is... [Read the full story]
Arts and Books
By the book
December 28, 2009 · Leave a Comment
WHAT THE FURIES BRING By Kenneth Sherman The Porcupine’s Quill 170 pages; $19.95 Review by Frank Moher What does it mean to be an intellectual? Does it simply mean to think a lot, and vigorously, about something other than yourself? If so, some cab drivers I’ve had are among the most impressive intellectuals in my experience. Does it mean to be well-read? Can that possibly be enough? If you’re an idiot, but a well-read idiot, does that make you an intellectual? In Canada, what we call “intellectuals” are generally academics with some sort public platform — a newspaper, say. This... [Read the full story]
Media
The West is in? Really?
By Frank Moher The more Maclean’s changes, the more it stays the same. At a recent public discussion in Calgary, co-presented by Maclean’s and CPAC and titled “The West is in. Now What?”, the panel included Fort McMurray Mayor Melissa Blake, Alberta Minister of Culture Lindsay Blackett, Saskatchewan...
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Technology
Hitler to Wait for HP Slate
Apple’s iPad has been out for awhile now, long enough for tons of opinion pieces to be written, so no need for me to add to the noise, especially when so many of my reservations have been so well expressed by none other than Adolph Hitler. Apparently, for him, the final straw was the iPad’s lack of multitasking. That’s...
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Living
By Jodi A. Shaw I cringed this past Christmas while purchasing a PlayStation 3 for...
By Jodi A. Shaw Am I the only one without an iPhone? The magical touch screen has...
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Culture
If we stand on the shoulders of the dead, we can make millions!
By Rachel Krueger If 2009 was The Year When All Those Famous People Died, 2010 is...
By Rachel Krueger I love me some bias and hyperbole, which is why I’m such a fan...
Read More Posts From Culture »