Columns

Fly on the Wall—History Electives

Protean possibilities, boundless as one’s imagination, begin with raw facts.  Think of how you feel in any given moment of whimsy, dipping salted French fries into a milkshake for instance, and it’s clear that the stuff of reality is also the mean of reality’s transcendence.  The present tense, seemingly immutable and certain and stolid, is… Read more »

Dear Barb—Studying Procrastination

Dear Barb: Hi, I recently completed first year university and I did alright, but I must learn to manage my time better.  I felt very scattered and barely completed my assignments in time.  I ended up feeling stressed all the time.  It is not that I was partying a lot, I just couldn’t seem to… Read more »

Music Review—Future Considerations

Artist: Trashed Ambulance Album: Future Considerations Alberta punks, Trashed Ambulance, have released their most recent album, Future Considerations. The album is available anywhere you get your music. Trashed Ambulance calls this album “33 minutes of angry yet hopeful punk anthems” and is inspired by artists such as Pulley, Face To Face, and The Flatliners. I… Read more »

Beyond Literary Landscapes—Caribbean Literature

From my early beginnings as a young introvert, the public library has always been a bit of a refuge.  Years later, not much has changed, albeit with an additional affinity for endless hours spent scouring second-hand bookstores to add to my ever-growing “to-read” pile. From one bookworm to another, this column will be underscoring and… Read more »

Homemade is Better—Cream Salsa Penne

I was looking in our fridge one day and saw half a jar of salsa.  It occurred to me that store-bought salsa is mostly chunking tomato sauce, and if I mixed it with a dairy product, it could pass as a sort of rose sauce.  This is a recipe where something that we might not… Read more »

Music Review—Ollie Ollie Oxen Free

Artist: Authority Zero Album: Ollie Ollie Oxen Free Arizona punks Authority Zero are touring across Europe, Japan, The United States, and even a few stops in Quebec, in support of their latest album Ollie Ollie Oxen Free. The album is available for streaming anywhere you get your music. Authority Zero consists of Jason DeVore on… Read more »

Fly on the Wall—Where the Magic Happens

“Electricity comes from other planets” jovially declared the proto-punk songwriter Lou Reed in 1967 (online).  Jupiter, a planetary marker of joviality in that it heralds the outer planets (once known commonly as the jovian planets) suggests by its swirling eye that we are in the centre of a great cosmic mystery.  Colours, textures, swirls, to… Read more »

Homemade is Better—Potato Salad

I cannot think of a summer function that would be complete without it; even some weddings will serve potato salad.  I once catered a wedding where the bride and groom wanted a summer cookout theme, and they included potato salad as one of the dishes.  As I mentioned in my Hot German Potato Salad recipe,… Read more »

Beyond Literary Landscapes—Mario Vargas Llosa

From my early beginnings as a young introvert, the public library has always been a bit of a refuge.  Years later, not much has changed, albeit with an additional affinity for endless hours spent scouring second-hand bookstores to add to my ever-growing “to-read” pile. From one bookworm to another, this column will be underscoring and… Read more »