Columns

Music Review – Before the Flood

Band: Before the Flood Album: Hole in the Sky Sometimes I come across a band that writes such astounding lyrics that I can’t help but love their music. Before the Flood is capable of writing lyrics that not only captivate listeners, but come from deep in the heart as the stories they write are universally… Read more »

Mindful Bard – Sequoia

Film: Sequoia Director: Andy Landen “It’s not the number of lives that It’s important to save? It’s the amount of life.” – Doka quote, from Sequoia Reilly, the lead character in Sequoia, takes it for granted that things should go her way, so She’s pissed off when they don’t. Strangely, at the same time she… Read more »

In Conversation with Director, Erik Poppe

Norwegian Erik Poppe started his career as a photojournalist, covering war zones in several different countries before deciding to direct films. Many elements in his latest feature, A Thousand Times Good Night, the story of a photojournalist torn between career and family, are autobiographical (he admits that some lines in the movie came from his… Read more »

The Travelling Student – Parking’s a Beach

My name is Philip Kirkbride. I’m a college graduate from Ontario studying at AU. I’ve always wanted to do an exchange program or study abroad but never found the right time to do so. This is the story of how Athabasca University has allowed me to create my own study abroad program. In the last… Read more »

Primal Numbers – Fairy Dust and Facials

Want to reduce your wrinkles and renew your cells? Get the shiniest, healthiest hair on the block? Countless skin care and cosmetics brands promise to do all that and more. They’ll regenerate, prime, micro-sculpt, brighten, and lift, all with the aid of anti-oxidants and other wondrous ingredients. Trouble is, there’s not much science to back… Read more »

The Fit Student – Practices for Coming to Peace with Yourself

Most everyone wants to feel calm, purpose-driven, and peaceful under any circumstance. While not always achievable, you can change your brain to accept more frequent bouts of calmness. You can retrain your mind to calm down during life’s pressures. You can retrain your mind to show patience at any sign of tension. You can even… Read more »

The Mindful Bard – Anoushka Shankar

Artist: Anoushka Shankar Album: Home “To us, music can be a spiritual discipline on the path to self-realisation, for we follow the traditional teaching that sound is God?Nada Brahma: By this process individual consciousness can be elevated to a realm of awareness where the revelation of the true meaning of the universe?its eternal and unchanging… Read more »

In Conversation with Vinyette, Part II

Vinyette is a rock quartet based in New York City, their music reminiscent of the grunge exuberance of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There recent single, “Charlie,” is a hard-driving rock protest song about love?with an American-style gypsy?gone bad, a paean of praise to the charms of the lost love at the same time as… Read more »

Music Review – Stephanie Braganza

Artist: Stephanie Braganza Single: “When We Last Kissed” feat. Drega The thing I love most about songs included in the Electronic Dance Music, Pop, and R&B genres are that they are often incredibly catchy, energizing, and uplifting. Stephanie Braganza’s latest single “When We Last Kissed” featuring Drega is all of these, and includes such intoxicating… Read more »