Columns

The Not-So Starving Student—DIY Hot Pot

A few years ago, when the first French fondue restaurant opened in Edmonton, I recall the amount of hype it received in the community.  Everyone around me was bringing their spouse, children, friends, and relatives to gather around a pot dipping their various entrees into liquified cheese.  The sight reminded me of my days in… Read more »

From Where I Sit-Unpack and Examine

“Warm, funny…unbearably moving.”  Such is just some of the high praise for Fredrik Backman’s debut novel, A Man Called Ove.   Like one of life’s sweetest surprises, I stumbled on this book entirely by accident.  During a visit to the Canmore library I checked out the book sale rack.  I was drawn to the book’s somewhat… Read more »

Fly on the Wall—Students of the World: Relax!

At AU we have all felt a lingering shadow of dread as a deadline approaches. Maybe we’ve squandered spare time we could have used to apply ourselves; perhaps life just got in the way. It’s as though we’ve revelled amidst plenty only to realize that our privilege can be crushed at any moment. Yet we… Read more »

The Fly on the Wall—Handmaidens of Untruth

Fwap, splash, fwap! Imagine a dream where you are ambushed and smacked across the face with a sopping filthy mop.  Why this assault, and from who? A few feet away leers a dour figure.  It’s the janitor of the building.  What does s/he want from you? The answer is spat out in syllables at once… Read more »

In Conversation—with Given Names

Given Names is an intellectually engaging electronic rock duo of two artistic designers, one from Brooklyn and the other from Chicago.  EP 2 is their four-song sophomore release (listen to the single “East to West” here).  Recently duo-members David Raymond and Jeremy Perez-Cruz took the time to answer our questions about their history, the new… Read more »

The Fit Student—Smoke Shows

Did your dreams ever go up in smoke?  A waitress called my dyed hair a smoke show.  But I desired more than smoke shows—I craved Nobel prizes, Saddledome events, half-a-million-dollar television shows.  Crazy? Yes, desire swallows all. I desired to win a Nobel prize for measuring the travel of thought.  Let me explain. Years ago,… Read more »

Course Exam—AU Courses, Up Close

According to the syllabus, MATH 315 (Methods in Applied Statistics) “is designed to enable students to develop familiarity with various parametric and nonparametric tests and to gain the knowledge and skills needed to apply statistical concepts to solve applied problems.” In this course “students will learn the logic, the procedures, and the use of common… Read more »

The Study Dude—Washboard Bellies Get A-Grades?

How do you reward your study spurts?  With ten-minute washboard-ab workouts?  Ten-minute zombie zone-outs?  Or ten-minute roasted prairie dog pig-outs?  I’ll opt for all three. But rewards mean little when lacking structure. During my undergrad, I studied steady: 30-minute sessions; 15-minute breaks.  I scored the highest grade in most every math class.  To quash resentments,… Read more »

From Where I Sit—A Better 2018

Have you ever been warned off a particular store because it’s ‘dangerous’ in there?  That very thing happened to me during my last acupuncture appointment.  During the roughly-hour-and-a-half I’m there there’s plenty of time to talk about things other than my knotted body or blocked chi. Ruby is a Chinese woman who’s been in Canada… Read more »