What happens when what will someday happen exists parallel to what could have happened? When what didn’t happen is interspersed with what still could be? Existentially confused? Oddly enough, that can be a good thing. In Mr. Nobody, Belgian filmmaker Jaco van Dormael takes on heavy questions of existence, choice, and consequence, and weaves them… Read more »
So, have you broken them yet? I’m not talking about the ugly vases gifted to you by your easily-offended mother-in-law, but points to you if you managed to pull it off (talk about a great start to the year!). I’m talking about the much-hyped, much-desired, and frequently much-maligned New Year’s resolutions. Equal parts serious, self-building… Read more »
This selection originally appeared August 27, 2010, in issue 1834. Sustained triple-digit temperatures, no rain, and the resulting death of my azaleas and tomato plants have led me to appreciate water a little more this summer. That’s why, when I came across National Geographic‘s Water Footprint Calculator, I was intrigued. I’d had to break out… Read more »
This fiction piece originally appeared on April 23, 2010, in issue 1816. ?Lilium Enchantment,? Val says as she puts a bulb into the hole she has made with her hands and covers it with soil. Val and her mother, Rhea, are planting lilies in the back garden on the Saturday after the long weekend in… Read more »
Happy New Year! we’re ringing in 2011 by celebrating what The Voice Magazine is all about: outstanding writing and great selection. As always, the first issue of January highlights some of the best work we’ve published during the preceding year. It also makes a nice snapshot of The Voice‘s focus. From personal accounts to historical… Read more »
This piece originally appeared November 12, 2010, in issue 1845. Last year, I celebrated Remembrance Day in Afghanistan, 20,000 km from my home in Vancouver, BC. We got up at five in the morning and left our Forward Operating Base to do a routine patrol, and at noon, when we came back dusty and soaked… Read more »
This editorial originally appeared May 28, 2010, in issue 1821. According to the people with something to sell, privacy’s a thing of the past. Nobody wants it anymore. If you aren’t posting photos of yourself or sending tweets about your personal grooming habits, You’re going to be left out. Left out of what, I’m not… Read more »
The doctor reads the sperm count aloud, and Ben comes to a sudden, sickening realization. Even with his own rudimentary understanding of science and mathematics, he is almost certain that the number disclosed in the file should consist of many more millions. The doctor, a slim, grey man, stifles a yawn and taps a rhythm… Read more »
?Like a kid at Christmas.? The popular saying conjures up a romanticized image: a couple of sweet children dancing excitedly around the Christmas tree, eyes wide at the pile of presents from Santa, faces alive with the magic and wonder of the season. But what is a kid at Christmas really like? As parents?whether in… Read more »
Who wants to live forever? Throughout the centuries, the human race has hungered after immortality, all the while struggling to make sense of its various manifestations. Many thousands of years BC, Gilgamesh set out on an epic quest to learn the secret of immortality. Yet his searching was fruitless; he returned home with nothing more… Read more »