By Rod Mickleburgh One of the early things I did after ending my daily journalism career of 119 years, besides endless Googling of past Montreal Expo games, was take in the Vancouver public hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in September, 2013. The experience was overwhelming. It’s one thing to read about the unspeakable […]
Why I was Charlie Hebdo
By Mark Leiren-Young I’d just read the news about Charlie Hebdo when CBC Radio contacted me. They wanted me to come on the air the next morning and talk about what happened, share a satirist’s perspective. They did a pre-interview with me. I burst into tears. I’ve had people threaten to kill me for my […]
Chip bandits and Nic Cage: Canada’s very viral week
It’s been a very good week for Canadian students on the internet. Or perhaps a very bad one. First, York University student Vanessa Hojda went viral after she accidentally attached a picture of actor Nicolas Cage to a job application, rather than her resumé. It wasn’t so much the fact that she made a mistake […]
Burlesque dancer teases B.C. censors
A BoB short B.C. liquor laws have forced Miss Rosie Bitts, a Victoria-based burlesque dancer, to cancel her PG-13 show Shimmy Town. The performance was supposed to take place on June 29 at Svelte Cocktail Lounge in Victoria. The choreography included a kiss between Bitts, 37, whose real name is Trinda Reed, and a male […]
The UVic rabbit problem: lessons from the woods
By Bev Schellenberg Imagine Avatar with a few plot changes. Keep the introduction, the meeting with newly-blue Jake and nimble Neytiri, and the seeds of Eywa floating around Jake in ethereal, foreshadowing bliss. Keep Jake’s hunting mission and the introduction of the Turuk. However, change the plot from the point when the Colonel tells Jake […]
Kevin Neish and the flotilla: human rites
By Frank Moher I got to know Kevin Neish, one of three Canadians currently being held by Israel after its attack on the Gaza aid flotilla, last Fall, when a production of the play My Name is Rachel Corrie that I had directed toured to Victoria. Kevin was instrumental in bringing the show to his […]
Wake Up Call
Jodi A. Shaw “I think, if luck were real,” David Arthur Johnston says, “that I’m one of the luckiest people on the planet. To have a grand scope in my head, that’s weird, but makes me feel like a superhero most of the time. “A lot of people love me, though most of them think […]
Wake Up Call – page 2
Continued from page 1 January 24, 2004: From David Arthur Johnston’s Journal of the Occupation of St. Ann’s Academy Last night I had gone to bed early (around 8PM). Around 9PM a security guard came up and fervently asked me to leave. SG- “Please leave. I must ask you to leave. You cannot stay here. […]
Wake Up Call – page 3
Continued from page 2 December 5, 2008: From David Arthur Johnston’s Journal of the Occupation of St. Ann’s Academy The ‘order’ is something all parties involved in the Charter case must sign to finalize the case. The city says its going to ask the judge to amend the ruling to add the words ‘at night’. […]
The man in the turban
Topaz Avenue is one of my favourite places to walk, here in Victoria. It’s a fairly steep climb (excellent for burning calories) and at the top is Summit Park, a quiet patch of wilderness secluded from urban life, where I like to go and think. Also on Topaz, about halfway up the hill, is a […]
