Nav Vol 46 Issue 07

No 07

DEC. 03

JAN. 13

Vol 46

NAV I GATOR VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY STUDENT PRESS

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WHAT I LEARNED FROM EBENEZER SCROOGE

VIU TOTEM PROJECT TO SHOWCASE LOCAL HERITAGE

ALBUM REVIEW: MELOPHOBIA

BY CAGE THE ELEPHANT

I love everything about Christmas: the bright lights that my neighbours string along rooflines and in hedges, the nativity scenes, and inflatable Santas that fill the yards.

By the New Year, a large patch of land outside VIU’s Shq’apthut: A Gathering Place will have two new towering additions.

Melophobia, a fear of music, is exactly what Kentucky five-piece Cage the Elephant needed coming out of their last release.

Contents

NEWS

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Editorials

VIU totem project to showcase local heritage

Moves towards cheaper education

Eighth annual charity marathon

Sociology Students’ Union breaks underwear barrier on campus

FEATURES

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What I learned from Ebenezer Scrooge

Book review: Posh Lust by Louis Cabri

Point of VIU

Overgrowth

A mischief of rats

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The fifth element of Valentina Cardinalli

Album review: Melophobia by Cage the Elephant

Book review: The Circle Game

by Margaret Atwood

Gong Show

Café review: Two Chefs Affair

ARTS

Student Art Sale

SPORTS

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Men’s basketball undefeated heading into break

Women’s basketball enters break on winning note

Buccaneers battle for second place

Odds and ends Comics, Sudoku, and more

Women’s volleyball climb back to .500

Clippers leading Island division race

Mariners men’s volleyball among Canada’s elite

02 CONTENTS

THE NAVIGATOR

Letters

Growing up KALEIGH STUDER I imagined entering my 20s would be incredible, and it is.

The realization that I’m no longer a minor quickly shifted my mindset to the question: “What are you going to do with your life?” I always dread answering. This topic seems to come up frequently, and what happens next is called a “mid-life crisis,” except I’m too young for that. A “quarter-life crisis” is more appropriate. My definition of this would be a time and age where regrets about decisions made in university become apparent—the classes I didn't take, or could have tried harder in. It’s basically any opportunity missed out on that can cause a lot of regret in life.

The thought of “growing up” and figuring out my life seems to consume my thoughts. It turns out that this is a confusing age. How am I supposed to be independent when I can’t support myself? I’m in school but without a career. I’m terrified of ending up with a tedious, low-salary job. These decisions and choices that seem so crucial in the next few years will shape my role in society, a society that is becoming more challenging to fit into. I can see that my 20s, the first chapter into adulthood and proper independence, could be stressful.

After a few months of thinking and talking with family, I realized something important. My whole perspective changed. Today’s youth should understand that shaping their own lifestyle is a part of growing up. They could go the opposite direction their parents went. Everyone is going to make mistakes; we can’t live life wondering “What if?” It’s

important to take chances, make mistakes, and learn.

The world is enormous, and it wants to be explored. I want to explore it. I have no debt, no relationship, no children, and no major obligations. Why not experience new things?

How often in life will this opportunity arise? Finding a newfound independence is exciting. We can’t live life worrying about things that haven’t happened yet.

Everyone should enjoy the supremacy of their youth because we have lots of time to find ourselves. I don’t want a career yet. I want to be carefree, live somewhere foreign, learn a new language, and maybe fall in love. I don’t want to miss out on opportunities now and regret not taking those chances.

I am learning as I go along in life, and realize the future is unknown. I don’t have all the answers, and won’t ever.

I sometimes picture myself at my favorite place on Vancouver Island: Mount Washington. It helps me reflect and imagine.

Breathing in crisp fresh air and slowly exhaling leaves a fog on my ski goggles. I lift them off my toque and wait for them to clear. It’s a panoramic scene of sun, cloud, and marshmallow trees; I could sit here until sunset. I dream of staying here forever; this place has no judgment or opinions of my life. Its natural simplicity makes me feel as though I shouldn’t have a worry in the world. This is my favorite place.

It’s where I grasped that my life would be okay. Appreciating the simple things are vital. My breath is a thick white cloud. I put my goggles back over my eyes and head down the mountain.

We are hiring for next semester!

The Navigator has a new position available, Online Content Reporter: You will be responsible for making sure we have content going up on our website frequently so that timely, relevant news content is available as it happens. The online exclusive reporter/editor will report, edit, and upload stories from Nanaimo’s community and VIU campus as they break. The stories will be short and succinct, and cover all areas: news, sports, arts, and features. The online content reporter writes tight copy, is a strong editor, and has basic Wordpress skills to upload their own stories and rich media content.

www. thenav .ca THE NAVIGATOR WELCOMES READER CONTRIBUTIONS

• To submit, visit <www.thenav.ca> or email <editor@thenav.ca>.

All submissions must be original work of the author. Editors reserve the right to refuse submissions, and to edit for space or clarity.

CONTRIBUTORS Jennifer Cox Andrew Ferguson Jennifer Garceau Philip Gordon Shaleeta Harper Jon Hiebert Arlen Hogarth Drew McLachlan Chantelle Spicer

Letters to the editor should be no more than 400 words in length. The Navigator does not pay for letters. Opinions expressed in The Navigator are expressly those of the author and/or artist and do not reflect the views of The Navigator staff.

900 Fifth St. Bldg. 193, rm. 217 Nanaimo, BC, V9R 5S5 T: 250-753-2225 F: 250-753-2257

STAFF Leah Myers Editor-in-Chief

Blake Deal News Editor

Kotarah Rivere Copy Editor

Brendan Barlow Social Media Sp.

Christine Franic Business Manager

Rio Trenaman Art Director

Ben Chessor Sports Editor

Jessica Reid Graphic Designer

Antony Stevens Web Editor

Gareth Boyce Board President

Alexandria Stuart Associate Editor

Kelly Whiteside Production Manager

Dahlia Yuen Graphic Designer

Felix Naud Multimedia Prod.

Denisa Kraus Arts Editor

Molly Barrieau Senior Copy Editor

Euodia Mutua Ad/Sales Rep

Lynne Williams Bookkeeper

THE NAVIGATOR

LETTERS 03

Editorials

Deck the aisles Leah Myers Editor-in-Chief The Navigator “First responders reporting from retail stores all across the nation said the record-breaking post-Thanksgiving shopping spree carnage began as early as midnight on Friday, when 13 million shoppers were reportedly trampled, pummeled, burned, stabbed...”

In the United States this weekend, over 42 million are dead in what’s being called the bloodiest Black Friday weekend on record, according to America’s Finest News Source, The Onio­— Oh darn it. Well, fake news sources aside, American Black Friday has always been notorious for crowds, chaos, and contusions—so much that somebody thought it was necessary to dedicate a web domain for it: <blackfridaydeathcount.com>.

According to the website’s tally, since 2006 there have been eight deaths and 96 injuries linked to the massive shopping event.

Eight deaths and 96 injuries. The discrepancy between eight and 42 million somehow seems irrelevant; it’s still astounding how people are insane enough to put themselves in a stampede for sales, a mosh-pit for discounted merchandise.

Although, for our American friends, Black Friday has been different this year, with headlines dubbing it “Black Lives

Matter Friday” and “Black Out Black Friday” as protesters stood in solidarity regarding the Ferguson Mike Brown case.

Whatever your stance on the case, it’s hard to dispute that it’s nice to see crowds rioting on Black Friday for something other than selfish consumerism.

For Canadians, our version of Black Friday is of course Boxing Day, and no one has yet claimed a Boxing Day Death Count domain, thank goodness, although last year there were reports of Boxing Day arsenic, and shoppers getting egged and pepper-sprayed.

Personally, I feel the worst for retail employees working Black Friday and Boxing Day. Unlike the swarms of deal-hunters choosing to engage in the event, retail workers don’t really have an option. Usually if you ask your retail employer for the day off on Boxing Day, they just laugh at you.

Throughout the years, I’ve worked a few different retail jobs. I’ve worked as a server, an electronics sales associate, and a barista. During the jobs, I’ve worked holidays, including Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Years. Here are some of my personal “highlights” (maybe you can relate): The time I worked in electronic sales on Boxing Day. We worked on commission, however we needed to reach a target in sales before the commission broke over minimum wage and would essentially count. I was new to the position and one of my coworkers said that training wage was higher than regular pay, but as soon as I logged on to the network to track my sales, I’d convert to regular pay but probably wouldn’t make much commission because I was new. She suggested I use her account when I rang a sale through. What is it that they say about never trusting a salesperson?

The time I worked as a server on New Years Eve, and again, I was a new hire. The restaurant was semi-fancy, the kind of place where a couple can get away with eating for under $100, but they also serve water in nice glassware. After a night of serving hors d’oeuvres to stuffy customers decked out in their fanciest tie and shawl sets, the owner let me off at quarter to midnight. The owner also fired me and half the other new hires after that night, because apparently “seasonal hiring” can literally mean December 25 to January 1.

The time I worked as a barista on Christmas Day. This actually wasn’t so bad, other than the lineups out the door, the gentleman who thought the intricacy of his beverage had something to do with the lineup cue (I understand that you only want a cup of milk, but you’re still going to have to wait behind people who take five minutes to explain their custom drink), and the lady who handed me a $20 bill, and expected me to count the exact change from her wallet to give her a $10 bill back... (please, I’m paid to steam milk, not do your math).

Overall, though, I think Christmas Day is the best of the winter holidays if you’re working retail, because customers are generally pretty kind. Nobody wants to be a Scrooge, after all. They understand that you’d rather be at home underneath a Christmas tree, cuddling with your pet. I’ve heard people argue that working customer service builds character; it makes you empathetic to other retail workers.

In case you’ve never worked one, customer service jobs are trying at best, with low to moderate paying wages.

So this holiday season, be good to your sales associate.

Or better yet, consider staying home this Boxing Day, and don’t be another angry mob-shopper statistic.

Season’s f lavouring Alexandria Stuart Associate Editor The Navigator It’s that time of year again: Season of Flavour. As the days grow cold and dark, we’re seized by the compulsion to take a perfectly good flavouring—one that goes hand in hand with traditional revelry and feasting—and blast it all over the floors and ceilings, into our noses, and down our gullets.

Consider the humble pumpkin. It has been on the scene since September. Pumpkin spice to be clear: those spices associated with cooking pumpkin like molasses, allspice, and ginger. Delightful with pumpkin, yes, but now ubiquitous—everywhere you turn, pumpkin spice. Once the nostalgia-invoking essence of family fall dinners, pumpkin spice has officially graduated to “it” flavour status, and onto becoming the invoker of eye rolls. In simpler days the masses would salivate in anticipation of Starbucks’ release of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, first appearance, 2004. (That’s “PSL” for short. Yes, it’s even got an “initialism” [that’s like an acronym, but not].) Other coffee chains followed and the PSL saturated the landscape.

This blend of spices was once a convenient disguise for the fact that, in truth, pumpkin is a pretty bland squash. Now pumpkin spice is synonymous with the gourd itself, and partnered with some unexpected foods—it’s not just for coffee anymore. Limited time products pop out of the woodwork well before our Canadian Thanksgiving, though you’ll find even more south of the border than here: doughnuts and cookie dough, bagels and butter, marshmallows and muffins, potato chips and pudding, yogurt and cream cheese, dog treats (yes, dog treats), granola bars, ale, and whiskey.

And that’s just the edibles. Add the scented candles, pot-

04 EDITORIALS

pourris, hand soaps, and air fresheners, and you’re talking about some serious scentsory overload.

Who’s behind this anyway? Is there a Pumpkin Marketing Board working under the radar to elevate the lowly squash to a place of awed respect? Why pumpkin? Why not spaghetti squash? Acorn squash? Kobacha, butternut, blue hubbard, or sweet dumpling even?

Then, just as the pumpkin spice dust settles, we’re catapulted into The Holiday Season with its full-scale ‘nog-assault.

Under normal circumstances, cinnamon, vanilla, and nutmeg are flavours that bring me joy. In combination, under the moniker of “eggnog,” they graduate to nausea-inducing.

And if eggnog isn’t bad enough, they’ve gone and ruined other perfectly good foods with it: from cupcakes to custard pie, taffy to tea. And then there’s cookies and candies like bubblegum and saltwater taffy, custard pie and popcorn, panna cotta and pudding.

Eggnog stands proudly beside buttermilk and butter, so there’s a case to be made for flavoured coffee as well as dairy-based treats and confections: milkshakes and cheesecakes, even yogurt—frozen or otherwise. But malt balls and marshmallows? Have these people no shame? Why can’t a malt ball be left to taste of malt, a marshmallow left to taste of vanilla? Candy corn? Did someone spill their eggnog in the candy dish and emerge with the belief that nothing had ever tasted so fine? Well they were wrong.

Not only is eggnog revolting, but it turns out that the stuff is downright dangerous too. In a New Jersey laboratory this August, a vat of eggnog flavouring ignited, exploded, and injured two workers. How can the masses sleep at night knowing that the product they eagerly consume puts lives at risk? Oh, the humanity!

Then there’s the simple candy cane (aka “peppermint stick”) which is, for me, the final affront: from ice cream and cookies to bars and brittle. In fact, most of the food types we’ve already seen also come attached to candy canes.

Trendsetters must innovate in the kitchen, yes, but whatever happened to simply enjoying a thing for what it is: unwrap

THE NAVIGATOR

candy cane, suck on it, enjoy cool pepperminty goodness.

Simple. Though I’ll give them this: candy canes lend themselves rather more naturally to the booze food group. I don’t think I’d be too quick to turn down a Candy Cane Cooler or a Candy Cane Cocktail with Homemade Candy Cane Infused Vodka. But that’s where I draw the line.

Candy cane is also available as a scent, something to spray or burn in your home, because who doesn’t want their digs to smell like candy? But unlike the others, this one has its own font. The Candy Cane Font. This is real. That’s the one that does me in. Where do you go from there? A font!?

So when it comes to tidings of the season, I’ll pass on the pumpkin spice, you can keep the eggnog, and leave those candy canes right there on the tree where they belong. Hold the seasonal flavourings, please.

Where food is concerned, we’re all about tradition in my family. All-butter shortbread, cooked in a pan and cut like cake will melt on your tongue if you leave it there long enough. The traditional buche de noel (or “Christmas log”) made with dark chocolate cake and filled with white chocolate mousse is served all dressed up with rosemary sprigs and meringue mushrooms for that fresh-from-the-forest feeling. My mixed nuts are slow-roasted with earthy spices, a splash of maple syrup, and more salt than you’ll see any other time of the year. Finally, the crowning glory is the simple jam tart—raspberry freezer jam only, none of that mincemeat crap—heaped on a platter by the dozens (they aren’t supposed to be bite-sized, but where there’s a will there’s a way).

We keep with traditional flavours for the holidays because flavour and scent are so evocative—smell is memory—so I’ll thank you not to mess with mine.

Our house will smell of vanilla because I have been baking with it. It will smell of pine from the tree and spicy cinnamon from the mulled cider on the stove. No artificial flavours here, just a sack of flour and no less than eight pounds of butter waiting in the corner.

Be well. Eat well. And have a cool Yule.

News

VIU totem project to showcase local heritage By the New Year, a large patch of land outside VIU’s Shq’apthut: A Gathering Place will have two new towering additions.

Cedar logs donated by Timberwest Forest Corp. arrived from the west coast of Vancouver Island in May 2014. Carving began in the summer months.

The totem poles, as many students can see for themselves, are almost finished the carving process, under a tent near Shq’apthut on Nanaimo’s campus.

However, the anticipated unveiling of the totem poles has been delayed until 2015, while the carvers finish the two totem poles, and the Students’ Union awaits the possibility of a third totem.

The Shq’apthut is located on the Nanaimo campus, building 170.

The study area is open all day, and welcomes all students. The advisors in the Gathering Place offer similar services as counsellors and academic advisors.

Dale Hunt, an advisor for Recruitment and Retention Services for VIU, works with students at the Gathering Place to ensure they feel welcome and complete their studies at VIU. The totem pole project is “student led, student driven, for the students,” Hunt said.“That’s a very unique thing.”

The totem poles, according to Hunt, “represent the four indigenous families on Vancouver Island.”

The Kwakwaka’wakw is located on the northeastern tip of Vancouver Island and the adjoining mainland. The Coast Salish is on the east coast, spanning from Parksville to Esquimalt and the mirrored mainland BC. The Nuu-chah-nulth covers the remainder of west coast Vancouver Island, from Tofino to Port Renfrew, and the fourth and most encompassing family is the Métis of Canada.

“It’s a way to honour the communities that we serve on Vancouver Island,” Hunt says.

The families represent the three group’s territory that host VIU’s campuses, according to Sherry McCarthy, VIU Students’ Union Chair. McCarthy leads the totem pole initiative through the union.

“We want this project to help make the university a more welcoming and inviting space for these students,” McCarthy said.

“Aboriginal students come from many territories,” McCar-

THE NAVIGATOR thy said in an email. VIU attracts students from all over BC and the Yukon, incorporating Aboriginal traditions and welcoming the different cultures.

“We are a choice for aboriginal learners,” Hunt said, “We’re not too big, we’re not too small.”

VIU boasts the highest Aboriginal university student population in BC, with 1700 currently enrolled— an increase of 700 in the last eight years. This number is not the highest in terms of percentage overall compared to other colleges in BC— Northwest Community College’s 40 percent enrollment is only approximately 700 students.

VIU’s faculty and Students’ Union funded the project equally, as McCarthy saw “an opportunity to engage students and create learning opportunities for all students, as well as faculty and staff.”

The project’s popularity grew during the summer campus tours for upcoming students, as they were allowed to ask questions, see the totem poles mid-carving, and interact with the carvers.

The four carvers come from the represented indigenous families, including the Ahousaht First Nation and Snuneymuxw.

It was important to McCarthy to showcase the work of the artists in these territories.

“The carvers worked with elders from the territories,” McCarthy said. Together, they worked on stories to be carved for each pole. The Elders-in-Residence program on VIU’s campuses provide a similar insight to all students.

Hunt sees the elders on campus as “the heart and soul of what I believe to be the knowledge and wisdom that we look for in indigenous knowledge.”

The area by Shq’apthut is fenced off, while holes are dug and prepared for installment of the tall totem poles.

It will not be clear to most of the public viewing the poles which family is represented.

Therefore, signage provided will help identify each totem, according to McCarthy.

The unveiling celebration is scheduled for January. Intending to honour tradition, a private ceremony will take place in the morning, with a public celebration later that day. More information on the ceremonies will be available once plans are finalized.

“

THE NAVIGATOR

The totem project is “student led, student driven, for the students,” Hunt said.

“That’s a very unique thing.”

“

MOLLY BARRIEAU

One of the two totems under tents by Bldg. 170 Molly Barrieau

NEWS 05

Moves towards cheaper education BLAKE DEAL

THE NAVIGATOR

The Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services has endorsed students’ unions’ request for increased post-secondary funding.

The Canadian Federation of Students-British Columbia (CFS-BC), appeared before the committee to make the case for increased government help for student funding in BC. VIU Students’ Union organizer and advocacy representative Patrick Barbosa said they were asking for tuition fee reduction, the elimination of interest on student loans, increased per-student fund-

ing for colleges and universities, and the creation of an upfront needs-based grant system.

Barbosa said they highlighted the discrepancy in student funding. “There is no reason students in Nanaimo should receive less funding than students at UBC.” The CFS-BC is asking for a level of equality and hopes to be able to get the funding increased to the same as other institutions in the same scholarly category.

Barbosa said the committee endorsing their requests is a small step forward as they didn’t endorse it in its entirety.

“It’s not an amazing recommendation,” said Barbosa.

The recommendation from the committee is suggesting marginal funding increases to universities and colleges, considering a reduction in student loan interest, and exploring the implementation of a grants program.

Barbosa said the weakness of the recommendation sticks to the trend of the government cutting services to young people in favour of supporting baby boomers.

“Saddling students with debt is not a smart strategy,” said Barbosa.

The average student debt upon graduation is $25 to $35k. “University should be available for everyone with less debt,” said Barbosa. “People need to get involved with the political system and vote. Having people’s voices heard is important.”

Barbosa said funding has not kept up with inflation and although there is no shortage of tax breaks for baby boomers, there is a shortage of support for the upcoming generations.

“Young people can’t have other people making decisions for them,” Barbosa said.

Sociology Students’ Union breaks underwear barrier on campus DREW MCLACHLAN

CONTRIBUTOR

While VIU’s Sociology Students’ Union (VIUSSU) may have flown under the radar for the past few years, new executive director Carly Eldstrom is bringing the club back on course.

Most recently, VIUSSU commissioned their own custom underwear, a first for any club on campus.

“Lots of clubs sell t-shirts,” Eldstrom said, “but just like in everything we do, we wanted to be a little different. We had club meetings and discussed the possibilities of scarves, coffee mugs, and other merchandise. We settled on underwear because it appealed to everyone.”

In what Eldstrom called a “social media experiment,” VIUSSU held an underwear design contest over Facebook in order to find the graphic to use on the final product. The winner was decided by public vote, through Facebook likes. The contest received only three submissions, with the winning design receiving 28 likes and the runner-up receiving 21.

The winning design was created by Katherine Cunningham, a first-year English student. Though this is the first design of Cunningham’s to be sold on a product, she said that she has been screen printing her own t-shirts for over a year.

“I’m really excited to see my design being sold,” Cunningham said. “A major inspiration for me was the super hero feel—I was going for bright colours and comic book shapes.”

VIUSSU has managed to expand their membership this year from 10 students to over 40 through a weekly study group and events like movie nights, beer and burgers, and a textbook exchange.

The club begins selling their underwear this week in the upper cafeteria and building 356. Underwear is available as men’s black briefs and women’s white bikini-style. Each pair costs $8, with proceeds supporting the Sociology scholarship.

06 NEWS

Drew McLachlan

THE NAVIGATOR

Eighth annual charity marathon “The event started out as a couple people in a living room with a camera taped to a TV. Now, after the eighth event, the group has raised upwards of $2.4 million.”

BLAKE DEAL Victoria-based online sketch-comedy group LoadingReadyRun held their eighth annual Desert Bus for Hope online charity gaming marathon.

The marathon, founded by the group in 2007, consists of volunteers playing the video game Desert Bus for days on end, streaming the action online, while tens of thousands of people watch via live stream.

The marathon raises funds by charging for playing time by the hour. People donate to keep the game going with costs increasing each hour.

Players rotate every 12 hours and, during their shift, not only play the game but interact with the viewers as well.

This year the marathon lasted just a few hours short of seven days, running from Friday, November 14 to Thursday, November 20. The total amount of money raised this year was $635,415.04.

The event started out as a couple people in a living room with a camera taped to a TV. Now, after the eighth event, the group has raised upwards of $2.4 million.

The marathon is run by volunteers and all money goes directly to Child’s Play.

Child’s Play is a charity that provides children in hospitals with toys, books, and games. They are currently helping out 70 hospitals worldwide.

VIU Media Technologist Johnny Blakeborough has been on board with the event since its beginning.He started out as a volunteer, but in 2010 took on the role of leading the tech team and producing the broadcast.

“This event is one of the most powerful and rewarding I work on,” said Blakeborough.

He said he is amazed at how it has progressed from a couple of guys in a living room to a group of people in a studio holding auctions and having celebrities phoning in.

“The [Desert Bus] community is very involved and creative,” said Blakeborough. “They send us art, poems, and videos.”

Because of the live feed, people

THE NAVIGATOR will make donations along with requests. Requests vary from skits to singing popular songs in the voices of certain characters. Blakeborough said Skeletor is usually likely to make an appearance.

Silent and live auctions are a good source of income, but Blakeborough said the giveaways have been the best way to bring in money.

“We will offer a giveaway and have people donate something

like $5.55 or multiples of it to be entered in the draw. Because it is equal entry for all, more people have a chance.”

The marathon combines two loves of its volunteers and dona-

LoadingReadyRun group holding their online charity gaming marathon

Andrew Ferguson

People watch as Johnny Blakeborough takes his turn at playing Desert Bus

Andrew Ferguson

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tors: video games and charity. The problem initially was finding a game that isn’t fun to play.

“Marathons are supposed to be hard,” said Blakeborough. “So why not have us playing the worst video game ever?”

Desert Bus is a mini-game that was a part of an unreleased game for the Sega Genesis: Penn and Teller’s Smoke and Mirrors.

The game is ultimately uneventful. The player drives a bus in a straight line from Nevada to Arizona.

“There are no markers, no scenery, nothing,” said Blakeborough.

“Aside from the occasional bug splatter, nothing happens.”

The marathon has become a fullon event, and because of the participation of the thousands watching, this seemingly boring game becomes something more exciting.

The players are not alone while driving; there is a “co-pilot” in the room as well helping them along.

People are also doing skits and lots of other crazy things the donators ask of them.

Penn Jillette has been a supporter of the event for years. This year he phoned in to the marathon and started an auction.

“Penn called in and offered backstage passes to a show in Vegas, as well as a limo ride, and golf with him and his wife,” said Blakeborough.

After the bidding broke $7k, Penn said the three people who bid over $7k all got two tickets.

“We weren’t prepared for that,” said Blakeborough. “We don’t have it set up for multiple winners. But we made it work.”

The marathon has been making more money each year. “We keep thinking ‘this is the year we are going to plateau,’” said Blakeborough, “but it just doesn’t happen.”

The group is excited by their progress and started planning next year’s event at the wrap party of this year’s.

For more information on the event, the game, and donating to Child’s Play visit, <desertbus.org>.

NEWS 07

Features

What I learned from Ebenezer Scrooge JENNIFER COX

CONTRIBUTOR

I love everything about Christmas: the bright lights that my neighbours string along rooflines and in hedges, the nativity scenes and inflatable Santas that fill the yards, the carols in the shopping malls, and the blitz of parties and cookie exchanges around my community. But every year, as I flip my calendar to December, I have to brace myself against the pressure to open up my wallet and swap my limited resources for the elusive perfect gift. As malls ramp up for the season with Black Friday sales and holiday displays, the pressure mounts and my feelings turn to bitterness.

As a student, not only is my income limited, but so are the hours I have available to work. As we head into the holiday season, with all of its excess demands on my bank account, I wonder how much I’m willing to sell my labour for? This is a question Karl Marx poses when he argues that an individual’s connection to self and society is thwarted by alienating labour and property ownership.

According to Marx, the social self is determined by the mode of production in which the self exists. He writes about overcoming the alienation that is caused by the relationship to labour and property. He also raises important ideas that have not lost their relevance in over 150 years. For instance, his idea that labour alienates man from his spiritual nature—

his human essence—is well worth looking at, especially the question, “If my own activity does not belong to me, if it is an alien and forced activity, to whom does it belong?”

As I consider this question, I take a special interest in his comments about overcoming self-alienation, hoping for clarification around his theory that, “Communism is ultimately the positive expression of private property as overcome.”

The question at the forefront of my mind is, “How is this overcome?” The answer I find in Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts isn’t satisfying. I can’t wrap my head around the idea of universal property ownership. Contrary to Marx’s utopian vision, the reality remains that a certain degree of unsatisfying labour is required to survive.

Is it really possible to be free from alienated labour? Is it possible for a person’s activity to truly belong to them? Marx’s concern with overcoming alienation is never fully realized because he is too caught up in finding a communal answer, a solution where the immediate activity of a person’s individuality is only found in his existence for other men. Adopting Marx’s system trades one form of alienation for another, as a person always owes their existence to outside forces.

As I pull my Christmas boxes from under the stairs I am surprised to find answers in the pages of Charles Dickens’

A Christmas Carol. This story, written in Marx’s era, demonstrates how Scrooge’s selfishness and greed ultimately lead to his alienation. By the time he is visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley, he is alienated from himself and everyone he comes into contact with. As Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, he undergoes a lasting transformation from a crotchety old miser to a benevolent friend.

In Marx’s system of universal property, Scrooge’s free expression of love and goodwill to his fellow man would not be possible. The true freedom from alienation is not in a society that forces individuals to share their resources. Alienation can only be truly overcome by a society that encourages each to love their neighbour as themselves, changing individuals and ultimately the world with one act of love at a time.

Scrooge was determined to alter his life, and in this promise he “was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more.” By earnestly putting aside his selfish, “bah humbug” ways, Scrooge freed himself from alienation. This freed Bob Cratchit from the oppression he’d been living under in Scrooge’s previous tyranny, and created room for a deep and lasting friendship—the best gift any of us could give or get.

Café review: Two Chefs Affair SHALEETA HARPER

French toast at Two Chefs Affair

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Shaleeta Harper

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I visited Two Chefs Affair on the weekend with a friend, where we enjoyed people-watching at a table overlooking Commercial St. The colourful and eclectic artwork provoked a lengthy conversation, though overall it seemed like a function-over-form establishment. The restaurant was inspired by romance, but isn’t romantic itself. It’s a breakfast and lunch establishment, not at all about candlelit dinners.

Two Chefs Affair occupies a cozy nook, like many of the restaurants downtown. We were both amused at some of the romantic/poetic menu options, but I’m always the difficult one; I ended up wanting something from the breakfast menu which they stopped serving hours before.

In prime “the customer comes first” form, the waitress sweet-talked the chef into whipping up Love at First Bite (aka French toast). The thick wedges of eggy bread were fried crisp and spiced with pumpkin,

CONTRIBUTOR cinnamon, and vanilla bean and served with blueberries, sweetened cream cheese, and a side of real maple syrup. The flavour combinations were delightful: the cream cheese softened the sweetness of the syrup, and the sharp tang of the blueberries cut right through the thick bread. At only $9, it was a great deal.

My companion’s lunch dish had another curiously poetic name: Cheating Hear—a grilled braised beef and Monterey Jack cheese sandwich on sourdough bread with a side of soup, which was the highlight. The soup of the day, curried cauliflower with mango and a thick cream topping, was spicy and flavourful. A filling meal, this one was also a steal at $12.

Two Chefs Affair, in the heart of downtown Nanaimo, was a fun place to dine with a friend before heading to a funky boutique or shopping for records.

PHILIP GORDON

CONTRIBUTOR

Book review:

Posh Lust

by Louis Cabri

Book cover courtesy of <amazon.ca> {sequitur} Imagine the following: you’re at home, lying in your bed, propped up slightly on the pillows. You pick up a book that’s lying beside you and open it. But… what’s this?

Inside the book there are… words! What’s more, as you begin to look closely, you realize the words are made of… letters?

And the letters are made of… lines? And then suddenly you realize that everything in this book is an assemblage of some

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strange visual system of informational representation—there are things this book is trying to tell you. And so you have no choice but to read. Also, during all of this, someone throws a small Yorkshire terrier at your face. This is the experience of reading Louis Cabri’s Posh Lust, a hodgepodge of smooshy word sounds and experimental-ass poetry (or experimental ass-poetry, depending on your preference). {non-sequitur} One time I thought someone said, “Thaifood warning,” but they definitely said, “Typhoon warning.” I think. {sequitur} In a landscape of poetry which is becoming increasingly populated by hyperbolic, feel-good blurbs on the back cover, assuring us that each new potential volume to find a home on our shelf is “a new, breath-taking, utterly human mastery of language,” (paraphrased amalgam of pull-quotes from the ether of hypothetical publications), it can be difficult to determine what’s worth reading anymore. One good test is to pick up a likely-looking book, flip through the pages, and see what stands out. In Posh Lust, you might find • The phrase “the new widdle class” (possible playing with “middle”) arranged in all manners of concrete orchestration across the page, from a wiggling piece of string to a feather caught in a breeze, escaping from the confines of the print-margins.

• A reply to an email about the mark-up of a recently transcribed interview, complete with subject line, strippeddown Courier New font, and little reply arrows before each line > > >.

• The author of the book finding that, in the middle of writing a poem, he has accidentally put together something coherent: “Yes! All these words go together!”

And, of course, a great deal more that’s difficult to translate. {semi-sequitur} If I had a book of poetry published, I would outlaw a large number of words and phrases to avoid what I’ve come to think of as “back-cover blurb” syndrome. Several words might include “profound,” “mix of,” and “poetry.”

I might also just use quotes from Amazon reviews about products completely unrelated to my book: “It gets super hot and heats up really fast, it's really easy to use, and it's pink! I have nothing bad to say about this at all.” – Amazon purchaser Apryl Cote re: the Remington CI95AC/2 Tstudio Salon Collection Pearl Digital Ceramic Curling Wand, 1/2 Inch - 1 Inch – aka, my book of poetry. {sequitur} For those readers not immediately wooed by nonsense language, textual fragments, and other colourfully confusing snippets of poetry(?), there’s a case to be made for something more coherent. A great deal of the poems in Posh Lust are completely unapologetic about their inability to be understood—I found myself wondering, as I read through the entirety of the book, if there was some key or rubric I was missing that might help me make sense of the more puzzling arrangements of text. To his credit, Cabri does provide some minor illumination in the Notes and Acknowledgements section of the book: “Source Disclosure: ‘State of the Art’ bowdlerizes a conversation president Richard Nixon recorded between himself and advisors about a pending visit to the White House by Allen Ginsberg,” is one such mystery unveiled, but it doesn’t help the reader make sense of why the poem is in the book, nor do any of the accompanying notes do something similar. {non-sequitur} I have a personal grudge against silverfish. {sequitur} While there is an instinct in the academically masochistic to wade through word-soup in search of a deeper meaning, we already have Finnegans Wake for that, and it’s bound to take us an entire lifetime to decipher anyway.

That’s not to say there isn’t room for more noggin-scratching avant-garde shenanigans, but it can be a bit too much at times—just when you find one poem that might appear to be speaking to you in clear enough language to understand (“énvelopes envelòpes? envélopes / what // does one do with / a game when it’s put a way”—we can at least empathize with the searching for pronunciation, the resultant confusion, and the question lingering in our brains at the end), another will vomit sounds and syntax on your face with no sense of regret, all only to be thrust into another dose of the same on the very next page: “owl row / aisle row / oh wow.” Uh, what? Wow. {non-sequitur} Candy-apple rutabaga toboggan. So wacky! {sequitur} So should you read this book? I’m talking to you, the reader, directly. Hi, my name is philip (no capitals, please). Do I think you should read it? Absolutely! But I think you should read a lot of things. People should read more in general. I would recommend reading this book with an open mind, a small ice-cream bar of your choice, and, if at all possible, to read as many poems as you can out loud. I’ve gotten this same recommendation for Joyce’s work, and it seems to ring true here—feel the way “JOB’S TURKEY BAFFLE BITS” rolls around in your mouth before you spit it into the air. Be unashamed of being confused.

And if you get the joke? Well, that’s just the metaphorical cherry on the ontological cake. {non-sequitur} Arf!

09 FEATURES

Point of VIU DREW MCLACHLAN / CONTRIBUTOR

What’s the strangest gift you’ve ever received or given?

Arianne Savard, 18, Child & Youth Care

Candace Bolad, 32, Nursing

Jill Smith, 26, Mental Health

Mitchell Kenyon, 23, Psychology

“For my birthday, some of my friends wrote a bunch of things about me on a roll of toilet paper, rolled it back up, and gave it to me.”

“I got a 500mL can of sardines as a secret Santa gift, probably because they were cheap. I ended up regifting it.”

“A friend of mine had a crush on one of our other friends, so one day when we were all hanging out he brought her a bouquet of roses. When he realized we were hanging out because it was my birthday, he gave me one of her roses.”

“I got a monkey paw from some friends in Mexico once. Supposedly it’s good luck, but I felt sketched out by it and didn’t want to keep it, so I passed it on to another friend.”

Interdisciplinary Studies

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The Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies offers a program tailored to your unique interests and schedule.

Communication & culture, environmental studies, justice studies – whatever the emphasis, we’re committed to your academic goals.

Choose online learning with an on-campus residency or pursue the program completely online. Discover how the Royal Roads University experience is anything but ordinary.

We’re ready when you are: 1.877.778.6227

royalroads.ca/interdisciplinary

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Over growth ALEXANDRIA STUART

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Chantelle Spicer

LEFT The Arbutus treeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;also known as the Madronaâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;is the only native broadleafed evergreen tree in Canada. It can reach over 100 feet tall with a 10 foot diameter and live for 500 years. Its bark sheds in thin curling strips during the summer to reveal smooth greenish yellow bark that will turn reddish brown when the cold weather arrives. The Arbutus tree is facing extinction in some coastal areas as a result of climate change and disease Winter sun streams through the second growth forest of Colliery Dam Park

RIGHT A nurse log is a fallen tree that, through decomposition, provides a sustaining environment for seedlings to take root and thrive. They are an important part of the ecosystem, especially for Western Hemlocks like this one Standing under the arching branches of the willow trees at Transfer Beach in Ladysmith is a magical feeling. Two of the trees planted there have canopies that are braided together and stand like beautiful sentinels of the harbour

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11 FEATURES

f e i h c s i Am of rats

ALEXANDRIA STUART When I opened the door, there was the rat. I don’t remember why I was going to the mudroom at that moment, but there I was and there it was. For the avoidance of doubt, that rat was dead.

I assumed my “little fit” position, tiptoe on one foot with the other drawn up in an awkward sort of crane position, arms drawn to my chest, like the Karate Kid’s cowardly cousin. There may have been vocalizations. Had the rat shown the least sign of animation, the picture would have looked entirely different. Naturally, I fled and my boyfriend stepped in to deal with it. Thankfully, there were no obvious signs of trauma, gore, or struggle.

The cats in our house are hunters, with Lucy Kittens responsible for the bulk of the carnage, but that’s usually attached to feathers.

The rat was a mystery.

I was torn between revulsion and compassion. Rats are feared as bringers of pestilence and plague. They chew walls and insulation; contaminate stored food; spread disease with their little claw feet, excrement, and bites; and they carry ticks and fleas that host a whole realm of infectious disease.

THE NAVIGATOR Yet pop culture loves to deliver rats that are sympathetic characters. Don’t we all root for that sweet guy in Ratatouille? What about Ben, the rat that was so nice he made Michael Jackson sing?

Mythology also gives us rats that are to be admired. The Snuneymuxw share a story of a rat that rescued a woman who was about to be murdered by her husband.

Medical science has also made countless advances thanks to the selfless sacrifices of rats.

The American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association would have had a name for our rat’s colour: amber, which is, in fact, light golden fawn.

It’s an unusual colour for a feral rat, so our dearly departed guest, cleanof-coat and visibly mange-free, was probably the kind of rat that hadn’t done much time on the streets.

In its section on invasive species, the Electronic Atlas of Wildlife of BC looks at the two most common types of rats. The Norway Rat (Rattus norvegicus), stocky, grey, and prone to burrowing, probably arrived on Vancouver Island with the first sailing ships from Europe. The Black Rat (Rattus rattus) arrived here later and is a lighter-weight climber who favours trees and attics over basements.

But what about Nanaimo? Are rats a problem here or was I just lucky?

Seiriol Llewlyn Williamshile, a former resident of Nanaimo, published A Sanitary Survey of Nanaimo in 1931 while he was a student in preventative medicine at Harvard Medical School. He found that the fish processing plant, cesspools, and privies were obvious areas for nuisance rats. Our lack of a local slaughterhouse or open markets for meat, fruit, and vegetables helped though. He found large grey rats around the dumps, Chinatown, and occasionally near the waterfront.

The situation improved with the introduction of galvanized iron garbage cans and, after the city’s purchase of a second garbage truck in 1929, weekly garbage pickup.

As a port city surrounded by agriculture, it stands to reason that Nanaimo should still have rats aplenty. Turns out we don’t.

Gary Franson, former Manager of Sanitation and Recycling for the City of Nanaimo, reported that he didn’t consider them a big issue.

“There are rats in Nanaimo. We know the problem exists but rarely get calls on it.” Before he retired he noted a drop off in sightings, possibly a result of the reduction

in open land and unmaintained property, both of which attract dumping of household garbage and rats in search of supper. Charlotte Davis, current Manager for the Sanitation department, confirmed that their annual budget for rodent control is only $800. Less than half of that has been spent to date.

In the City of Nanaimo’s Public Works department, Trevor Cooke, Sewer Foreman, says there was a more proactive approach when he started the job 19 years ago. In the absence of clear benefits from that approach, he cut services and didn’t see any negative consequences. Raccoons are as big a problem as rats, he says.

Dean Robinson of Nanaimo’s City Wastewater department says that a rat’s needs are simple: food, water, and shelter. Rodent control is also simple: “Take the environment away and you take them away.” Similar to controlling mosquitos by getting rid of standing water where they breed, remove food sources and warm shelter, and rats will look elsewhere.

As colder temperatures arrive, so do rats seeking shelter, says Blair Dooley of Old Island Pest Control. “The roof rat lives in

trees, shrubs, and they’ll live in ivy vines. They love to go in voids of that nature. They get in some unique situations in homes.” Cutting trees and vines back away from structures, as well as patching holes—even holes as small as a quarter—is one way to keep rats out. Tree limbs that overhang a house can also provide a bridge to the roof where they will find a way into the attic, bringing with them havoc and sleepless nights.

While the mere mention of rats usually prompts a squeamish response from people, there can also be a sort of morbid fascination with the creatures. Robert Sullivan explores this in Rats: Observations on the History & Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants, a New York Times bestseller and mandatory read for anyone interested in the topic.

I accidently triggered an unsuspecting archivist’s phobia by asking for help with my research.

When I uttered the word “rat” it happened in slow motion: her face crumpled into a grimace, she visibly shuddered from head to toe, and reflexively shrank into a seated version of the fetal position. She was very open about the nature of her phobia and recog-

nized that it was beyond a simple fear. Intellectually, she understood that if she saw a rat cross a laneway there was no reason to avoid driving down that particular lane a year later. That didn’t mean she could tolerate driving down that lane. She kindly led me to what information she could find and excused herself.

Today, a Google search for “rat Nanaimo” lands multiple hits on the so-called Rat-Lady of Nanaimo. This was a local news story in 2010 about a woman battling a rat infestation, without the help of the landlord, in her heritage home. She took the story to the print and TV media where it happened to catch the eye of a producer from Animal Planet network’s Extreme Infestations. When their crew filmed here the story gained some national press attention in the Globe & Mail, and Orkin Pest Control stepped up to take care of the problem free of charge.

I also live in a heritage home— quaint, wooden, turn of the century (last century)—that sits on an unfinished crawlspace, a place I avoid at all costs. In the last eight years I’ve had four rat encounters. That’s an average of less than one a year, which I can live

with. Two of those were dried up and dead in the crawlspace. Since they didn’t even smell I probably could have just left them and erased their memory with a Xanax and a glass of wine. But I didn’t: as single-at-the-time-woman-homeowner, I bravely grabbed a stick, donned some gloves, and maneuvered the remains into a plastic bag for disposal in the garbage as per HealthLink BC (File #37) recommendations. Unfortunately, City of Nanaimo Collection Services prohibits dead animals in curbside garbage collection.

I’m ashamed to admit that I came down on the wrong side of the law that day and deposited the bodies in the garbage anyway (triple-bagged, of course).

Before the Dead Rats came the Rogue Rat. During the summer I caught the cats skulking around the stove, and on examination of the drawer under the oven, I found large droppings (¾ inch long rather than the ¼ inch size HealthLink BC attributes to mice). There was no sign of their furry depositor. The next day I saw Lucy Kittens in some sort of scuffle, so I armed myself with a wooden spoon and poked the handle into a space behind the shelf. Something was taking

cover there. It squeaked. Loudly.

And with anger. Then it grabbed the spoon handle and fought me for it. The cat and I were so disturbed by this display that we just left the room. I propped open the back door in hopes that the as-yet unseen rat would take the opportunity to exit as well.

I like to think that particular rat got in by mistake. The bubble burst when I spoke to Karyn Rathlou at The Pest Doctor. She said that you never have just the rat you see. Rats breed at an impressive rate. They can produce up to 12 litters a year, with an average of six—but up to 20—offspring in each.

In our house, 2014 has been a bad year. In November alone we added another four—count ‘em, four—rat encounters to the list (one consumed, two nonviolent deaths, and one that remains at large). The cats require a stern talking to about their role in the household and the speed at which they conduct their duties.

The Pest Doctor has about 30 residential jobs at any given time and each requires follow-up over several months. Rathlou said she answers all types of callers. Some people will be desensitized, maybe from growing up in a farming communi-

ty where rats were common. Others will be in more of a state of panic; they’re the ones that call (presumably from atop a chair) and request (demand) immediate assistance.

Rathlou said that problem areas can often be tied to socioeconomic factors: poor families with absent landlords are more likely to be overrun than a wealthy homeowner who is able to buy solid garbage cans and pay an exterminator. Like others, she didn’t give the impression that there’s a major infestation of rats in Nanaimo.

So what’s responsible for our unexpectedly low rat count? Our residents’ general garbage handling habits must be sound.

Perhaps domestic pets, our cats notwithstanding, are particularly effective at keeping the rats at bay. Avian predators like eagles, osprey, hawks, and owls also help to control rodent populations in urban environments.

In the absence of media-worthy infestations, why do rats still make so many of us squirm? While fear of pestilence makes sense, that’s mitigated by medical advancements that make it easier to fight disease.

Rats decimate crops, which is a big problem in developing countries, but not so much for Western agri-

culture, which has ways of coping.

Rats can also be heroes. Gabriola Island’s Sheila Morrison accidently fell asleep with a pot on the stove, but one of her pet rats harassed her awake before fire could take hold of the home. Rats were also used in coalmines, instead of canaries, as an early warning system detecting poisonous gasses. Again, selfless sacrifices.

Rats are highly social creatures and any owner of a pet rat will tell you about its unique personality. Science Magazine published an experiment in 2012 that was designed to test empathy and pro-social behaviour in rats. It found “strong evidence for biological roots of empathically motivated helping behaviour.” Rats care about each other. This makes me wonder whether more humans should care about them too.

In the end I couldn’t help but feel bad for that rat in the mudroom. I didn’t get the impression that he was in my home to spread disease or contaminate my food.

Perhaps he was an escaped pet.

He’d just taken a wrong turn. In the absence of a measurable rat problem in Nanaimo, it certainly doesn’t seem like he was on an invasion course. Or was he…?

Arts

The fifth element of Valentina Cardinalli

Starting off a Moths & Locusts concert with a spoken-word performance DENISA KRAUS

Y

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ou do not overlook Valentina Cardinalli in a crowd.

Wearing either a faux fur leopard jacket, a bright yellow and purple felt cloak, or at least a feeler headdress, she never just stands in the background or sits in the audience. She is the one painting a canvas or chalking the sidewalk, accompanying live instrumental music with spoken word or announcing the next performer. Ok, maybe when there is no event on, she will sit down at a table in a café, but she will take out her scrapbook and make a collage; write down ideas on film theory; or try to figure out how to support a friend’s project, promote an upcoming show or organize the next workshop.

When asked which part of her home is the most reflective of her, she immediately points to the corner of her living room where she stores her paper maché puppet and cut-out cardboard props from recent shows. Then she heads to the kitchen, where dozens of posters she designed for events she participated in or promoted decorate the walls, the fridge, and even the cabinets. These are her “trophies,” as she describes the colourful mementos of her artistic ventures.

Valentina Cardinalli lives and breathes art, and would never think of sticking to one creative category. She is as enthusiastic about theatre, performance, film production, and music promotion as she is about visual arts. She also runs or participates in multiple artistic initiatives and projects.

Maybe for its capacity to combine all other arts, Cardinalli was first drawn to film. She left her hometown, Belleville, Ontario, and moved to New York at the age of 19 to pursue an acting career. She graduated from the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts and even started her own theatre production company, but soon learned how challenging it is to fill the house in a big city.

ARTS 14

Denisa Kraus

“We did some excellent plays to the crowds of maybe six, seven people,” she recalls. “There's just so much to do and see. You're competing with Broadway and relying on your friends who are on the same level as you and come out to support you after they've worked all day and went to their own rehearsals.”

She ended up making a steady living as an extra in movies and got to meet and work with big names.

“You will not get that here,” she jokingly compares with Nanaimo. “You will not strike up a conversation with Francis Ford Coppola in a barber shop.”

But as much as New York embodied everything Cardinalli dreamed to be a part of, she considers moving to Nanaimo with her husband and son Nico a step in the right direction, although she doesn't recall it as a smooth landing.

“When we moved here nine years ago, it was a bit of a culture shock,” she describes switching from a big city to a rural island. “We didn't know many people and kept busy renovating the house, building our business from scratch, and running around Nico, who was three years old. We didn't do much else. It took time to find stuff to do. In New York, you can just open a magazine and there would be 12 things you'd want to go to that night, but here, we didn't know about much. There would be occasional shows—on the other hand, it was easier to get tickets here.”

The game changed for Cardinalli this January when she participated in the Top Men's “Le Voyage dans la Lune,” and worked with painter and actress Carly Neigum, her future collaborator on numerous projects. It was the first time she saw the potential for live art to be an integral part of any show, while also being able to fully invest herself in such a project.

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In her “day job,” Cardinalli assists her husband, musician Dave Read, with his record manufacturing company Vinyl Record Guru, where her “duties” involve paperwork, promotion, and adding her personal perspective to the operation.

Working from home allows her the time to focus on her many artistic ventures.

“I have more time to work on my projects because I don't have to work full time and fit in art and other activities into my time off,” she says. “I'm doing more here.”

Pony Girl Productions, for example, is Cardinalli's own umbrella project facilitating performance and spoken word events for guest artists. The latest and biggest event she produced was the Extraordinary Spectaculaire, a two-day mini-festival of music, readings, and spoken performance held at the Vault Café in April 2014. Cardinalli has done oneon-one performance workshops since then and is planning a public reading show with the working title “Mortified” in where participants will present their journals they kept as teenagers.

Although her art usually abounds with joyful colours and positive messages, Cardinalli draws on her darker streak, which she discovered and embraced early in life. Growing up, she remembers sewing clothes and costumes for her dolls, for whom she made up fantastical stories and worlds for them to live in. These worlds were dark and deep, full of poisonous potions and deep motives. Influenced by naïve artists such as Paul Klee or Joan Miro or a kinetic sculptor Alexander Calder or comic book author Art Spiegelman, Cardinalli is passionate about children's art both as an activity, a source of inspiration, and the creative style she has adopted not only in painting, but writing stories and making comic books as well.

“My art definitely has a lot of id in it,” she says. “But it is not boring kids stuff; nothing 'Disneyfied.'’ I like the fables where the wolf actually eats somebody. I like that little kid creepy stuff.”

But mainly, Cardinalli likes to think of herself as a sociopolitical artist and activist on a mission to promote arts education in elementary and high schools. Driven by passion for children's art, she volunteers at schools and organizes art workshops, but also campaigns and petitions for a better support and staffing of art and dramatic education. One of her dreams is to see, if not organize, a science fair in the district, that would involve art, math, languages, and science.

She hopes the new local government and set of trustees will support it.

“There are businesses that would bend over backwards to help make it happen,” she says, but admits it is still a tough nut to crack.

“It comes from higher up. The funding for education in general has been cut repeatedly, and we tend to blame the people in the middle and not those who make those decisions. I will continue to write letters, but I am only one person,” she says and explains that, unlike in her other groups and initiatives, people are more hesitant to join her efforts.

Her experience with AEIOU, a live-painting group Cardinalli has co-founded, is the opposite: “People come to me and say, 'You've changed my life! I want to be a part of this,’” she describes the growing public interest in the group, the title of which stands for Art Ensemble Initiative Of the Universe (and sometimes Yourself). It began production in January 2014, shortly after Cardinalli's first collaboration with Carly Neigum, with the idea of live painting on large canvases as a support performance during music shows.

“It is so neat to work with people like Carly. We don't even need to speak. We just paint,” Cardinalli describes the creative environment at these events. “We're lucky to have this space in Nanaimo, and the bands who want to collaborate with us.”

Cardinalli's role is to develop initial ideas and themes visually on the canvas. The other three co-founders are painters Alejandra Cano, Chantelle Spicer, and Daniel Appell, but the crew welcomes and encourages audience participation.

“We just don't do this enough. Our society still has these little pockets of isolation,” Cardinalli explains her motivation to connect individuals and bring them together into a creative, tactile process.

Cardinalli's motives, indeed, extend beyond the idea of art for art's sake. As the guest artist for the Nanaimo branch of Zero Waste, a Canada-wide grass roots environmental organization, she designs art pieces made of recycled material—plastic bottles and bags, cardboard boxes, and broken toys that she collects on her daily wanders around town. She believes her involvement with Zero Waste conveys a strong sociopolitical message.

“I collect, wash, and recycle anything that would otherwise end up in the landfill,” she says. “All that junk has the potential to be turned into something else. It's so much fun.

It gives everything a second chance at being used again.”

“As an artist, I have a hard time not picking up garbage on the streets,” she laughs. “My son is always embarrassed and goes, ‘mom, put it down!’ but then he thinks 'Wait, I could use this.'

He already thinks in that same mind frame. It is about how we

as a society can limit the excessive production of garbage,” she describes the main idea of the organization and the theme of her works, which include stuffed animals that have been taken apart and reassembled into new, otherworldly creatures with a third eye or extra body parts, or a giant paper maché puppet used as a dramatic prop at various events.

Cardinalli usually gives the toys away to the kids who help her make them during the school workshops.

“Making money is not my objective at all. I've gone down many roads in New York. I have worked for commission and it helped pay the rent, which was great, but I wasn't able to instantly drop a project and go where I felt interested, Cardinalli says about the lack of freedom chasing profits entails.

For her, visual art is about human relationships with objects in a creative, constructive way, while the final outcome is not necessarily the most important art.

“As soon as you add money to this, it changes everything,” she says.

Valentina Cardinalli in her fifth element

“Confetti cheerleader” at a Top Men show at The Globe

Her inner drive feeds the desire to express ideas and philosophies she creates for herself when she is trying to understand what is real and what matters in her life.

“I'm looking for my own truth,” she says. “When I finally find it, I can't see how that wouldn't affect someone else's life. When I see other artists being true to themselves in their work, it definitely moves me. It opens my eyes and ears.”

For the next project, Cardinalli is toying with the idea of time travel. A large scale indoor installation piece inspired by the stories of H. G. Welles will take visitors back and forth in time into a post-apocalyptic space where archaeologists dig up artifacts left behind from a closer future—for example, plates that replicate food onto themselves. Cardinalli plans to open this project to the public, so that everyone can contribute with their own futuristic item.

To join or contribute to any of the groups or events, befriend Valentina on Facebook, or see her at her next event, The Festivus Bash, December 20 at The Cambie.

Denisa Kraus

Denisa Kraus

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15 ARTS

Album review: Melophobia by Cage the Elephant DREW MCLACHLAN

CONTRIBUTOR

Melophobia, a fear of music, is exactly what Kentucky fivepiece Cage the Elephant needed coming out of their last release. Thank You, Happy Birthday, put out in 2011, transparently borrowed from larger alternative rock acts like The Pixies and Arctic Monkeys. Though Thank You, Happy Birthday had its moments, it was a far cry from the energetic, cacophonous clusterfuck that made fans fall in love with Cage the Elephant’s self-titled debut. It was a well-made album, though it was an album that could have been made just as well by any one of their contemporaries.

The writing and recording process of Melophobia, as the name implies, involved the band distancing themselves from their aforementioned influences. By silencing virtually all music from their lives, the five musicians were forced to fill the silence, finding their own sound in the process, making Melophobia’s greatest appeal its originality. While listeners may not find anything experimental or boundary-pushing, anyone familiar with alternative rock will instantly see what makes the album unique.

The most welcome element in Cage the Elephant’s newfound style is vocalist Matthew Schultz’s surprisingly honest lyricism. The synth-filled ballad “Telescope,” in particular, sees Schultz peering into his own life, which has drifted lightyears away from his younger aspirations. The song occupies the time spent home alone, as the narrator’s world begins to crumble in a fit of self-inflicted loneliness and worthlessness. For anyone who has experienced an extended period of unemployment, the song is excruciatingly relatable. While the chorus: “I don’t think you understand / There’s nowhere left to turn / Walls keep breaking / Time is like a leaf in the wind / Either it’s time well spent / Or time I’ve wasted” may have

you skipping “Telescope” in the presence of company, the dose of corniness is a fair trade-off for a level of sincerity and introspection rarely seen in the genre. Even the lead single off the album, “Come a Little Closer,” is drastically darker and more introspective than their earlier work. Ironically, while the serious tone has rewarded the band with a more mature and consistent sound, the change in direction may steer them off the chart-positioning path that “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” first opened up for them.

Beyond the lyrics, Schultz’s vocals have also undergone a thorough refinement since the band’s 2008 debut. While Cage the Elephant’s first singles, “In One Ear” and “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” saw Schultz rapping his way through the verses, he underwent a shaky transition into singing for Thank You, Happy Birthday. Melophobia sees that transition finally pay off, as the vocalist confidently belts each hook with a variety of emotions only hinted at in the two previous albums.

Within Melophobia is a level of energy comparable to the band’s self-titled album, though the bluntness of the latter has been refined to a sharp point. The band’s use of buildups, which were almost completely absent in their previous records, adds fuel to the explosive, frantic hooks that first garnered them attention.

Melophobia is the perfect showcase for Cage the Elephant’s newfound and pleasantly original sound. Despite refining their raucous style, the album maintains the energy of the band’s previous efforts. While the pop-rawness may have been pushed aside for a more traditional rock aesthetic, the band’s lyricism and musicianship seemed to have grown up rather than grow old.

Student Art Sale DENISA KRAUS

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Just in time for the holidays, VIU's Art department is having their annual Student Art Sale. Over 20 artists will be selling their artwork on December 3 from 10 am to 5 pm on the second floor of building 325.

Chantelle Delage, President of VIU’s Arts club, says the sale is a good opportunity for the students to promote themselves as an artist and get experience with showcasing.

“People come from all over to support students,” she says. “I highly recommend being a part of it if you’re in any year of the visual arts or graphic design program.”

The variety of works for sale ranges from paintings, prints, and photography to ceramics, sculptures, jewelry, and even Christmas cards.

“Everything is very unique and amazing,” said Delage. “I personally love Arie Bonsor’s handmade purses that she silkscreens on. They take a lot of time and dedication and I suggest checking them out.”

A third year Visual Art Major, Delage coordinates the event and has her own works in it as well.

“I will be selling stuff at the sale like my printmaking and illustrations,” she says. “I did it last year and I found it successful. Come show your support to the vastly growing group of talented artists in Nanaimo!”

As part of the sale, a silent auction with artwork donated by faculty and various artists will raise money for the Arts Club which will go towards VIU's year end art show, “Progressions.”

Cash, credit cards (and cheques, depending on the artist) will be accepted. Coffee and treats will be available by donation.

ARTS 16

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Book review: The Circle Game

by Margaret Atwood

JENNIFER GARCEAU The fruits of wandering through secondhand bookstores paid off recently when I found a wonderfully vintage 1976 edition of Margaret Atwood’s The Circle Game.

When I read this seven part poem I was moved in a way I wasn’t the first time I came across it in my youth.

Relating it to my life has allowed me to read The Circle Game and see a juxtaposition of individualism vs. altruism, childhood vs. adulthood and the cycle of the indoctrination of gender scripts that I never could have understood then.

Immediately within Part I of the poem there is a theme of cyclical of hidden messages within our social script. She begins with children outside singing and dancing in a circle, a rendition of Ring Around the Rosy. The folklore rhymes and songs we teach our children are so often about awful moments in history (Ring Around the Rosy is contended by many to be about the plague) set to song in order not to frighten but also to distract from the deeper meaning. We think of them as cautionary tales. Atwood shows us the use of cautionary tales to conform children into grouped thinking when she writes “that the whole point / for them / of going round and round / is (faster / slower) / going round and round.”

In Part II, we progress from the childhood lessons in social script into young adulthood of individualism. Yet as much as we are learning about the importance of individualism, we look to others to tell us who we are, “groping through a mirror / whose glass has melted / to the consistency / of gelatin.” The adult social script of gender differences has taken hold, “You refuse to be / (and I) / an exact reflection, yet / will not walk from the glass, / be separate.” We enforce these gender roles by policing each other, the fear of being different and of someone knowing it, “there is always … someone in the next room.”

CONTRIBUTOR By the time Atwood takes us to the next section of the poem the narrative moves into warning—trying to educate and alert the children of their participation in the cycle she writes, “When we read the legends / in the evening / of monstrous battles, and secret / betrayals,” noting that instead of hearing the call to break away, the children have become complacent to the threat of impending danger, “how / they could remain completely without fear / or even interest.” After a childhood of cautionary tales where danger comes but goodness prevails the children haven’t the ability to understand fear, they have locked themselves into “trenches / … fortified with pointed sticks / driven into the sides.”

Paired next to the fortification of the children’s trenches, Atwood circles us ‘round again to the tale of a man and woman, individualized by society but pretending to live together as a union. In Part II, Atwood illuminates this aspect of an intimate relationship when she writes, “You look past me, listening,” showing the challenge of truly hearing outside ideas when they first filter through your own sense of knowing and being. Perpetuating the idea of individualism and patriarchal gender differences keeps the general population distracted from the dangers we brush off in the cautionary tales, “I notice how / all your word- / plays, calculated ploys / of the body, the witticisms / of touch, are now / attempts to keep me/ at a certain distance … avoid admitting I am here.” Gender differences are a social construct reinforced in children when they take part in institutions like the education system.

In Part V, she writes, “The children like the block / of grey stone that was once a fort / but now is a museum,” reminding the reader that education used to be a fortress of protection against indus-

trialization and child labour but has turned into a preservation of tradition for tradition’s sake.

School is where we learn how to think like others.

The perils of individualism are emphasized when she writes “And you play the safe game / the orphan game,” telling the reader that only having to think of your own needs is a double-edged sword. A person who only has to think of themselves doesn’t need to break away from the comfort of the cycle they’ve always known, but they also run the risk of not having the connection to others who can help you with your own needs, “the ragged winter game / that says, I am alone.”

The cycle of Ring Around the Rosy, which the children started the poem off playing, has returned.

Cycles are meant to repeat, and we haven’t learned the lessons of the poem thus far. Even though the danger of individualism has been spotted we hang on to the beliefs which place us in peril ,“(a wasp comes, / drawn by the piece of sandwich … one of the children flinches / but won’t let go).” Perhaps where Atwood is most direct at addressing the reader is when she writes,“You make them / turn and turn, according to / the closed rules of your games, / but there is no joy in it.” Even though our values and indoctrinations are creating a complacent culture of individualized, blind consumers, we participate in the cycle which keeps it alive, “our lips moving / almost in time to their singing.”

Fear controls us, and Atwood wants “the circle / broken” because a circle is a trap, “a cage of bones.”

There are many more themes that could be argued as being a significant part of this poem: the reality of complacency allowing us to be in nature but not a part of it, income inequality, and a much more in-depth look at the social construct of gender.

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17 ARTS

Gong Show DREW MCLACHLAN

CONTRIBUTOR

The Gong Show is an annual tradition for the Satyr Players, VIU’s theatre club. The show invites VIU students to take the stage and show their talents. Audience members can cheer or heckle the performers, who will be gonged off the stage if they receive too many boos. Aside from a few unsuspecting non-theatre students, a majority of these acts are either improvised on the spot or designed to irritate the audience. This year’s Gong Show was held on November 28 in the Malaspina Theatre.

Liz Kraft returned to the stage for a second performance—setting up and arranging 20 chairs on stage. The audience was ready

Michael Anderson was able to reach the end of his performance—a mock suicide, I think

Despite a microphone malfunction, Brigette MacDougall (left) and her skit partner made it all the way through their performance of a song from the video game Portal

A group of theatre students performed a twerk-off/snake impression to Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda”

LEFT Colin Duff improvised his act on the spot with the help of a few audience members. He was gonged off the stage before he could tell his “orgy story”

RIGHT The judges’ panel gives feedback after each performance, whether or not they were gonged off

ARTS 18

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Sports

Men’s basketball undefeated heading into break BEN CHESSOR The VIU Mariners’ men’s basketball team has yet to suffer a setback during regular season play.

The Mariners enter the winter break with a perfect 7-0 record and have outscored their opponents by 142 points over those seven games. The team’s average margin of victory over the first seven games of the season is 20 points.

The Mariners’ last two games before the winter break were on the road against the Columbia Bible College Bearcats and the Kwantlen

THE NAVIGATOR Eagles and November 21 and 22.

The Mariners picked up their most dominating win of the season against the Bearcats on November 21. The Mariners dominated the game from the opening tip-off, and got contributions from every player on the floor in a 115-61 victory.

Chris Parker has 23 points for the Mariners, while Kadeem Stewart had nine steals to go along with 22 points of his own.

The Mariners’ game the next day against the Kwantlen Eagles was more closely contested, as the Mari-

ners found themselves trailing 17-15 after the first quarter. The Eagles kept the pressure on in the second half, not allowing the Mariners to come back. At halftime, the Eagles held a slim 37-32 lead. Then the Mariners came alive in the third quarter, scoring 32 points in the quarter to take a 64-52 lead heading into the fourth. The Mariners didn’t let the Eagles come back in the fourth, picking up the victory in their final game of the semester 87-69.

The Mariners are in first place in the Pacwest standings with

their 7-0 record. The team’s 14 points puts them two ahead of the second place Quest Kermodes. The Mariners’ undefeated record has given them some national recognition. The team is currently ranked third in the country amongst men’s basketball programs.

The Mariners return to action Friday, January 9 against the Camosun Chargers. The Mariners next home games aren’t until January 23 and 24, when the Mariners take on the Capilano Blues and Quest Kermodes.

Men’s basketball

PL

W

L

PF:PA

Pts

Vancouver Island University Mariners

7

7

0

627:485

14

Quest University Kemodes

7

6

1

552:482

12

Langara College Falcons

7

5

2

601:462

10

Douglas College Royals

7

4

3

590:537

8

Camosun College Chargers

7

3

4

505:562

6

Capilano University Blues

7

1

6

474:572

2

Kwantlen University Eagles

7

1

6

479:595

2

Columbia Bible College Bearcats

7

1

6

500:633

2

Women’s volleyball climb back to .500 BEN CHESSOR After a rough start to the PacWest season, the Mariners ended the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule on a high note. The Mariners picked up back-to-back wins against both the Douglas College Royals and the Columbia Bible College Bearcats. The four consecutive victories moved the Mariners’ record to 6-6 on the season. The Mariners lost their first four games of the season due to a league sanction for an ineligible player.

The Mariners hosted the Douglas College Royals November 21 and 22. In the first meeting between the two teams, the Mariners took the lead early, winning the first set 25-17. The Mariners dominated the second set, holding the Royals to just nine points, winning 25-9. The Royals fought hard in the third set, keeping the game close. But the Mariners sealed the 3-0 win with a 27-25 third set victory. The two teams met again the next day, with the game ending with the same result. The Mariners once again picked up the 3-0 victory (25-19, 25-14, 25-19).

The Mariners traveled to Abbots-

THE NAVIGATOR ford to play their final two games before the winter break on November 28 and 29 against the Columbia Bible College Bearcats. On Friday, the Mariners continued their dominance from the previous week.

After winning the first two sets, the Mariners completed their third consecutive sweep with a 25-16 third set victory. The two teams were back in action the following night. This time the match went to a fifth set tied 2-2. In the fifth set, the Mariners closed out their second straight perfect week, winning the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.

The Mariners’ 6-6 record gives the team 12 points on the season, good for fourth place in the standings, two points behind third place Fraser Valley Cascades.

The Mariners’ first game after the Christmas break is Friday, January 9, when the Mariners travel to Camosun to take on the Chargers.

VIU’s next home action is the following weekend, January 16 and 17, as the Mariners take on the visiting Columbia Bible College Bearcats.

For more information on the Mariners, visit <mariners.viu.ca>.

Drew McLachlan Women’s volleyball

GP

MW

ML

SW:SL

Pts

Capilano University Blues

11

10

1

32:12

20

Camosun College Chargers

12

10

2

34:13

20

Fraser Valley University Cascades

12

7

5

29:20

14

Vancouver Island University Mariners

12

6

6

18:23

12

College of the Rockies Avalanche

11

4

7

18:23

8

Douglas College Royals

12

4

8

14:29

8

Columbia Bible College Bearcats

12

0

12

11:36

0

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SPORTS 19

Women’s basketball enters break on winning note BEN CHESSOR The VIU Mariners’ women’s basketball team will take a 5-2 record into the holiday break, thanks to back-to-back wins on the team’s last road trip of 2014.

The team traveled to the mainland for games November 21 and 22. On Friday, November 21, the Mariners took on the winless Columbia Bible College Bearcats. The Mariners opened the game strong, taking a 14-7 lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, VIU continued to take the game to the Bearcats, opening up a 31-22 lead at the half. The Mariners did a good job of not letting the Bearcats come back in the second half, as VIU never let the game become close

AC tAXI DOllARS GIFt CERtIFICAtES

SERVING NANAIMO

THE NAVIGATOR again. When the final buzzer sounded , the Mariners secured a 61-44 win.

The Mariners were back in action the next day against the Kwantlen Eagles. For the second day in a row the Mariners started the game strong, dominating from the opening tip off. When the first quarter ended the Mariners were still yet to surrender their first points of the game, leading 13-0 after the first. Kwantlen managed to get on the board in the second quarter, outscoring VIU 12-11 in the frame, but the Mariners still led 24-12 at halftime. The Mariners ended any thoughts of a Kwantlen comeback in the third quarter, as the team kept the pressure on, tak-

ing a 34-21 lead at the end of the quarter. 57-35 was the final score, as the Mariners picked up their second win on the weekend, and third in a row.

The Mariners’ 5-2 record put them in a tie for second place with the Douglas College Royals. Both teams have 10 points on the season, four points back on Quest University, who have 14 points and a perfect 7-0 record.

The Mariners return to action January 16 and 17, as the team is on the road against the Langara Falcons and Douglas Royals. The Mariners’ next home games are the following week, January 23 and 24 against the Capilano Blues and Quest Kermodes.

Women’s basketball

PL

W

L

PF:PA

Pts

Quest University Kemodes

7

7

0

510:392

14

Douglas College Royals

7

5

2

461:376

10

Vancouver Island University Mariners

7

5

2

401:346

10

Camosun College Chargers

7

4

3

479:404

8

Capilano University Blues

7

4

3

471:453

8

Langara College Falcons

7

2

5

376:470

4

Kwantlen University Eagles

7

1

6

361:448

2

Columbia Bible College Bearcats

7

0

7

351:511

0

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Clippers leading Island division race BEN CHESSOR

Drew McLachlan

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Every time the Nanaimo Clippers suffer a setback, they bounce back. This setback saw the Clippers drop back-to-back games to the Victoria Grizzlies.

On Wednesday, November 19, the Clippers fell behind early in the second, allowing Victoria to take a 4-2 lead heading into the third period.

The Clippers got goals from Jake Jackson and Brendan Taylor in the third period to tie the game at 4-4.

But a late power play goal by Zach Dixon allowed the Grizzlies to pick up the 5-4 victory. The two teams faced off again two nights later in a game that ended in an eerily similar fashion. This time Taylor tied the game 2-2 with just under eight minutes to play, before Jake Emilio scored on a late Grizzlies powerplay to give Victoria the 3-2 win.

BCHL Island Division Standings

GP

W

L

T

OTL

Pts

Nanaimo

28

20

8

0

0

40

Powell River

26

13

7

0

6

32

Alberni Valley

26

14

9

1

2

31

Victoria

26

11

10

0

5

27

Cowichan Valley

27

7

19

0

1

15

20 SPORTS

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But since those back-to-back losses the Clippers have been on a roll, winning four straight games, including a 3-2 victory over Victoria on November 28. In that game the Grizzlies jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. But the Clippers battled back, getting goals from Jacob Hanlon and Cole Maier to tie the game 2-2 heading into the third period. After neither team could score in the third, the game went to overtime. In overtime, Sheldon Rhemple scored the game winning goal for Nanaimo.

The Clippers’ recent four-game winning streak has also included two victories over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs. The Clippers picked up a 5-2 win on Wednesday, November 26, before taking a 3-2 win, on Saturday, November 29. Both Clippers wins over the Bulldogs came on the road in Port Alberni, which is a very difficult arena to win in as the road team.

The other win during the Clippers’ four-game winning streak was a 2-1 victory at home against the Trail Smoke Eaters. Brett Roulston scored for the Clippers in the second period and Harlan Orr

answered for the Smoke Eaters, sending the game into the third tied at 1-1. With less than 20 seconds left and the game looking destined for overtime, the Clippers were given a power play. During that power play, Taylor scored the game-winning goal with just two seconds left in the game, giving Nanaimo a 2-1 victory.

The Clippers currently sit in first place in the BCHL’s Island Division. The team’s 20-8 record gives the Clippers 40 points on the season, eight more than second place Powell River Kings, who have a record of 13-7-0-6. The Clippers’ 40 points puts them in second place in the entire BCHL, behind only the Penticton Vees, whose record of 23-4-0-1 gives them 47 points on the season.

The Clippers’ next home game is Friday, December 5, against the visiting Merritt Centennials. The Clippers also play a home game the next night, Saturday, December 6 against the visiting Cowichan Valley Capitals. Puck drop for both games is at 7 pm. The Clippers play their home games out of Frank Crane Arena, at Beban Park on Bowen Rd.

Buccaneers battle for second place Drew McLachlan BEN CHESSOR As the calendar turns over to December and the VIJHL season hovers around the halfway point, there is still plenty of hockey to be played. But it’s starting to look like the Comox Valley Glacier Kings and Nanaimo Buccaneers are likely to meet in the first round of the playoffs. The two teams sit second and third respectively in the league’s North Division. The Campbell River Storm are well ahead in first place in the division, while the Oceanside Generals sit a massive 20 points out of a playoff spot. But the race between the two clubs for home ice advantage in the playoffs is still very much alive, with the two teams separated by just two points in the standings.

THE NAVIGATOR The last game between Nanaimo and Comox Valley was a crazy one, with the Glacier Kings picking up a 9-8 overtime victory on November 22 in Comox. The Glacier Kings led 3-2 after the first period. The Buccaneers fought back in the second, tying the score at 5-5 heading into the third period. Jared Fedosoff and Carter Turnbull scored two early goals for Nanaimo to give the Buccaneer’s a 7-5 lead early in the third.

Comox got power play goals from Grant Iles and Dylan Sampson to tie the game at 7-7. At 14:20 of the third period, Chad Bell scored to give Nanaimo an 8-7 lead. Bell’s goal looked like it was going to stand up as the game winner, but Sheldon Brett tied the game for Comox

Valley with just 12 seconds left in the game, sending the game into overtime tied 8-8. In overtime, Iles scored his third goal of the game to give Comox Valley the victory 9-8.

The game against Comox Valley wasn’t the only high-scoring game the Buccaneers have been involved in lately. In their last game, Saturday, November 28 against the Kerry Park Islanders, the Buccaneers

picked up a hard-fought 6-5 victory. Kerry Park led 2-1 after the first period and carried that lead into the third period of play. The Buccaneers got five goals in the third period to pick up the victory. The Islanders actually led 5-3 with eight minutes left in the game. But Nanaimo got goals from Fedosoff, Liam Craig, and Coleman Downey in the game’s final minutes to get the victory.

The Buccaneers’ next home game is Thursday, December 4, as Nanaimo takes on the Comox Valley Glacier Kings. The Buccaneers will have revenge on their mind, as they try to exact some form of payback after that 9-8 loss at the hands of the Kings. Puck drop for the game is at 7:15 pm. All home games are played at the Nanaimo Ice Centre below campus.

VIJHL North Division Standings

GP

W

L

T

OTL

Pts

Campbell River

25

20

2

1

2

43

Comox Valley

26

15

7

1

3

34

Nanaimo

26

15

9

0

2

32

Oceanside

28

5

21

1

1

12

Mariners men’s volleyball among Canada’s elite BEN CHESSOR

Drew McLachlan Men’s volleyball

GP

MW

ML

SW:SL

Pts

Douglas College Royals

12

10

2

32:9

20

Camosun College Chargers

12

9

3

30:14

18

Vancouver Island University Mariners

12

9

3

28:16

18

Fraser Valley University Cascades

12

6

6

21:23

12

College of the Rockies Avalanche

11

3

8

14:28

6

Columbia Bible College Bearcats

12

3

9

16:32

6

Capilano University Blues

11

1

10

13:32

2

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The VIU men’s volleyball team wrapped up the first half of the 2014-2015 Pacwest season with a weekend sweep over the Columbia Bible College Bearcats on November 28 and 29 in Abbotsford. The Mariners picked the 3-1 victory on Friday, November 28. The two teams met again for a rematch the following day. Tied 2-2 after four sets, the match went to a fifth and deciding set, where the Mariners picked up the victory for the second straight day.

A week earlier, the Mariners split two games against the top team in the Pacwest, the Douglas College Royals. The Mariners picked up the win in the first game played between the two teams, November 21, at the VIU gym. The Mariners handed the Royals their second loss of the season with a 3-0 victory. The Mariners won the first set 25-18, the second 25-23, and finished off the game with a 25-21 win. Douglas did manage to get some revenge on the Mariners the next night, picking up a 3-0 victory of their own.

The Mariners enter the holiday break with a record of 9-3.

The Mariners’ 18 points put them in a tie for second place with the Camosun Chargers. The Mariners and Chargers are only two points back on the Douglas Royals, who have a record of 10-2.

The Mariners’ success has gained them some national attention, as the team entered their weekend series with the Bearcats as the fourth ranked men’s volleyball team in the country.

The Mariners aren’t back in action until January 16 and 17 when VIU is at home against the Columbia Bible College Bearcats. The game on Friday, January 16 begins at 8 pm with action the next day starting at 3 pm.

SPORTS 21

Odds & Ends

What is your favourite part of the holiday season?

2 Kotarah: Honestly, the temporary chaos it brings. For example, family dinner at my house is made up of people with various, strange dietary restrictions. Whether vegetarian, meat-eater, or egg-only, they all criticize each other’s diets. Everybody makes such a big huff. That’s why I really love spending time on the beach with my love between family time. Peace, calm, and quiet among the ridiculousness. The contrast is fun.

Molly: The baggiest, tackiest, comfiest Christmas sweaters that a university student’s budget can buy. Then wearing them to work at the best job ever.

Blake: Watching my kids enjoy it. I’m not a fan of the chaos and all the gatherings but seeing the fun my kids have Christmas morning makes up for it.

Denisa: My favourite part is the first day just after the holidays. I like to watch all the holiday decorations disappear rapidly.

Ben: My favourite part of the holidays is spending time with my family. I like being able to spend time with those closest to me during the holiday season.

Kelly: I love all the decorations. Putting them up has always been a fun bonding experience with my mom, and they look so pretty, especially if it snows. I also love making gifts for all my friends.

Alexandria: One word, one syllable: food.

Leah: Spending time with my family and pets. Plus, cookies and chocolate, and attempts at baking other delicious treats.

Dahlia: Eating all the festive treats and baking them for friends. Getting some time to pause and focus on the important things in life. Spending time with friends and family.

Jessica: The weather. I love feeling cozy—curling up by the fire after rolling around in the snow with the dog, warming up your fingers and toes, while drinking a hot cup of coffee and Carolans.

Rio: Crimbus time is fun.

Comic by Jon Hiebert

ODDS & ENDS 22

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December

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

03

04

05

06

Free yoga class

1950s Christmas at the Nanaimo Museum

Indie Entertainment Year End Variety Show

Hub City Cinema Studio Open House

Nanaimo Museum - in the Port of Nanaimo Centre, 100 Museum Way

The Queens, 34 Victoria Cr.

Hub City Cinema Studio, 15 Lois Lane

$10

Free

$2 ($1.75 for students)

6 – 9 PM

5 – 10 PM

Nanaimo campus, Bldg. 193 Free (redeemable tickets available at the Students’ Union) 9 AM – 4 PM until Friday, December 5

10 AM – 5 PM

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

Brigadoon Dance Academy: Christmas Eve in Scotland

Christmas Shoebox Calendar

The Queens Goes Country

Toastmasters

Aladdin

The Queens, 34 Victoria Cr.

Nanaimo campus, Bldg. 255,

Nanaimo campus, Malaspina Theatre

Kismet Winter Film Showcase

Moksha Yoga, 5271 Rutherford Rd.

Author reading: And a Bird Sang by Diane Bestwick

By donation (for more

Free

Free

$12

5 – 6:30 PM

7 PM

Port Theatre, 125 Front St.

info, visit <nanaimo. mokshayoga.ca>)

$20 2 PM

9 AM – 5 PM until December 15

7 – 11 PM

Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society, 101-319 Selby St. Free

Harbour City Theatre, 25 Victoria Rd. $10 (Kismet students free) 2 – 4 PM

6 PM

14 Community Potluck & Jamboree Hub City Community Cycles, 12 Lois Lane Free (bring your own food & drinks) 6 PM

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CALENDAR 23

aimo Canadian Tir n a N r u o Y e At

For Play: Beer Pong Kits, Only $8.99 For Taste: Coffee Makersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;All the best brands from $16.99 to $169.99 and up For Cars: Oil Change from $45.99 to $55.99 (for most vehicles) Includes free battery test and alignment check For Projects: Tool Setsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;all sizes, colors, and prices For Wallets: Unbeatable deal prices For Peace of Mind: We are locally owned

Seasons Greetings & A Happy New Year