Columns

From Where I Sit – Look Up

Despite being bombarded with advice on how to save our sanity during the holidays, most of us still get caught up in the madness. The mall shopping crowds seem well, ?crowdier,? and the list of needed gifts continues to grow. The November credit card statements confirm we are part of the growing debt load problem…. Read more »

Write Stuff – Personal Best

Break out the eggnog and power up your tablets. It’s time for that annual ritual: the flurry of lists that recommend the best books of the year. It’s a fine tradition, but I say we start a new one for 2013. Let’s make it the year to discover our own personal best. I’m not sure… Read more »

The Mindful Bard – Holly Cole, Night

Album: Holly Cole, Night (2012) ?A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.? Maya Angelou ?When a singer truly feels and experiences what the music is all about, the words will automatically ring true.? Montserrat Caballé This Songbird Built the Golden Cage and Comes and Goes at… Read more »

From Where I Sit – No Promises

How is it possible that It’s already mid-December? Unbelievably, there are only two more issues of The Voice before It’s put to bed for another year. I guess It’s the old ?time flies when You’re blah, blah, blah? phenomenon. This year, as always, there’s so much to do and so few days left to do… Read more »

AUSU Update – December 2012

AUSU e-newsletters a success AUSU has been piloting the use of e-newsletters to contact our student body over the last year. We began by sending these newsletters to students registered on our website, and after a very positive initial response, we are now sending e-newsletters to all students currently enrolled in any AU undergrad course,… Read more »

Write Stuff – Dirty Books

Wait?you didn’t think we were going to talk about those kinds of dirty books, did you? Oh. Sorry to disappoint. But if You’re keen for a tale involving creepy stuff like bedbugs, mould, mouse droppings, and E. coli, read on. they’re all things that might be hiding among the pages of your favourite books. If… Read more »

The Mindful Bard – Give Me the Banjo

Film: Give Me the Banjo (2011) Writer/Producer/Director: Marc Fields Cast: Narrated by Steve Martin, with appearances by Béla Fleck, Dom Flemons, Pete Seeger, Rhiannon Giddens, Alison Kraus, Taj Mahal, and many others Genre: Documentary ?This machine kills fascists.? A sticker on Woody Guthrie’s guitar ?This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.? Inscribed on… Read more »

Write Stuff – Selling Dreams

For a while there, it looked as though the traditional but highly flawed publishing system was down for the count. The self-publishing (as opposed to vanity publishing) movement had gained traction, and indie authors were reaching the bestseller lists. But publishers may have found a way to stay in the game after all: by selling… Read more »

From Where I Sit – On My Own Two Feet

Like everyone else under the sun, I have some talents. Unfortunately, the list of shortcomings is equally long. I can craft a sentence better than I can bake a pie. I’m good at teaching a preschool-aged grandson, but abysmal at algebra. I can read between the lines but struggle with . . . well, you… Read more »