The Navigator Vol 46 Issue 09

No 09

JAN. 28

FEB. 10

Vol 46

NAV I GATOR VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY STUDENT PRESS

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THE LONG COMMUTE

MARINERS HAVING ANOTHER STRONG ATHLETIC YEAR

10th VISFF PREVIEW SPECIAL

Follow the adventures of intrepid VIU Creative Writing student Stephanie Brown as she travels across the pond to study abroad at the University of Hertfordshire.

The VIU Mariners are once again proving to be the class of the PacWest, no matter the sport.

•Local filmmaker returns death mocking comedy •Festival teaser with 14 filmmaker profiles • One-on-one interview with festival director •Johnny Blakeborough

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Contents

NEWS

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Editorials

VIU anthropology class creates ripple effect in community caring

VIU hosts free science & technology lecture series

Kitasoo students to visit VIU

VIU grad nominated for “most prestigious innovation award in Canada”

FEATURES

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Museum news: Who’s bugging you?

Point of VIU

Big trees

The House of Many Clocks

The Bearded Lady, the Alpaca Fiend, and the perfect sweater

The long commute: getting stamped Café review: Frankie’s Modern Diner

ARTS

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The 10th VISFF Preview

Festival one-on-one with Johnny Blakeborough

An emotional ride with Todd Jones

Kismet Winter Showcase

Essential viewing: The Third Man (1949)

Satyr Players return for annual festival

Arts & Humanities Colloquium talk on eating disorders and feminism

SPORTS

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Men’s basketball defends home court

Women’s volleyball team stronger as season progresses

Mariner women pick up come-from-behind victory

Odds and Ends Comics, Sudoku, and More

Buccaneers sailing towards playoffs

Clippers in first as season approaches final month Mariners having another strong athletic year Men’s volleyball eyeing first round bye

02 CONTENTS

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No 09

Letters

Shaw Internet: more for less SEAN LEE When you think “More for Less” you think of a bargain, a good deal where you get more than what you pay for. However, in the case of Shaw Internet, it does not mean what you may think.

Shaw has raised the price of their Internet service packages on January 6, 2015. This price hike is in line with their public statement issued on December 16, 2014, when Shaw VP Chethan Lakshman refuted a bubbling rumour that Shaw was planning to cut their Internet speed. He assured customers that the service was not being changed, though there would be a price increase regardless. Despite the VP’s words, on January 6 the prices were not the things that changed on Shaw’s website.

Every tier of Internet service provided by Shaw had gotten a huge cut in performance and data caps, while the price of the tiers remained the same.

• The lowest tier received a 50 percent cut in both performance and data caps, but kept the price of $25/month (instead of also cutting price to $12/month) • The highest tier received a 40 percent cut in performance, and 20 percent cut in data caps, but kept the price of $90/month.

Essentially, this leaves the customers of Shaw paying much more money, for much less service.

This is not surprising behaviour displayed by the monopolizing Canadian Telecom companies where customer sat-

isfaction and experience is second (maybe further down the list), to maximize profits. This is true especially on Vancouver Island and even more specifically Nanaimo, where citizens do not have any other alternatives to Internet service other than the Big Three (oh wait, Bell Internet is not available in BC). This obviously leads to the problem of giving these companies too much control over what they can get away with in terms of adjusting their prices and services to their liking. The VP of Shaw just flat-out lied to a major media publication and therefore lied to every single customer, and since then has declined any comment on the price hike. This is unacceptable behaviour for any corporation or company that provides an essential service to people.

We must recognize corporate giants who monopolize an entire industry. If we allow one company to get away with deceptive behaviour that overlooks and ignores the customers and their feedback, we are giving all other companies permission to do the same. We must let them know that these kind of actions will have negative consequences for them.

If you are a Shaw, Telus, Bell, or Rogers customer, let these companies know that such behaviour will not be tolerated by the masses. Let your MPs or your MLAs know that this kind of mistreatment of customers and deceptive business practices are not to be tolerated and that government should intervene to correct these wrongs. If we allow them to do this and get away with it once, they will continue to do so.

Chethan Lakshman Shaw Communications Inc. VP, Public Relations and Corporate Communications 1-403-930-8448 chethan.lakshman@sjrb.ca Doug Routley MLA, Nanaimo-North Cowichan 1-250-245-9375 or 1-250-716-5221 douglas.routley.mla@leg.bc.ca Leonard Krog MLA, Nanaimo 1-250-714-0630 leonard.krog.mla@leg.bc.ca James Lunney MP, Nanaimo-Alberni 1-250-390-7550 james.lunney@parl.gc.ca Jean Crowder MP, Nanaimo-Cowichan 1-250-746-4896 jean.crowder@parl.gc.ca

Old Tier Speed

Old Tier Price

Increased Price (2015)

Profit Increase

New Tier Speed

New Tier Price

Profit Increase

Old Plans

$ / 1 Mbps New Plans

$ / 1 Mbps Changes

100 Mbps

$90

$99

10%

N/A

N/A

N/A

10 Mbps

$5.90

5 Mbps

$10.00

169%

50 Mbps

$80

$87

8.75%

60 Mbps

$90

12.5%

25 Mbps

$2.68

15 Mbps

$4.00

149%

25 Mbps

$60

$67

11.7%

30 Mpbs

$70

16.7%

50 Mbps

$1.75

30 Mbps

$2.33

133%

10 Mbps

$55

$59

7.2%

15 Mbps

$60

9.1%

100 Mbps $0.99

60 Mbps

$1.50

151%

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

5 Mbps

$50

N/A

The above table shows the new price of the old service (left), price and tier speed of the new tier packages (right), and the increase in profits for Shaw in percentage.

For comparison, the following table is a cost per Mbit/s comparison between the old tier packages and the new tier packages, showing the percentage changes.

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 Marilyn Assaf Johnny Blakeborough Arielle Bonsor Stephanie Brown Binisha Giri Dr. Gordon Hak Shaleeta Harper William Hull Dr. Janis Ledwell-Hunt Edward Lee James MacKinnon Drew McLachlan Kathryn Ovenall-Carter Dean Pelkey Jess Reale Chantelle Spicer Rick Stevenson Sarah Torgerson Ron Wolf Spencer Wilson

No 09

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.

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LETTERS 03

Editorials

When to put your camera-phone away, and when to take it out the videos would actually almost be funny if it weren’t for the fact that these children are obviously agitated and have no anger management skills. Put your camera-phone away.

We don’t need to exploit these angry kids.

2

Leah Myers Editor-in-chief The Navigator Since the prevalence of camera-phone technology, we’ve all sort of become hobby multimedia journalists, mostly reporting on our own lives, but also mixed in with some good ol’ citizen journalism. As a byproduct of my formal photojournalism training, I think I’ve also learned some good camera-phone photography etiquette. I’d like to use this editorial to share it.

When to put your camera-phone away

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A little kid is swearing like a mothertrucker. Maybe this is a bit crotchety of me, but I hate hearing little kids swear.

I’d even go as far as saying that finding humour in children dropping f-bombs is a bit perverse. And I’m not against profanity, I just think it needs to be used tastefully. Hearing a kid swear is like seeing a kid drink coffee—it’s a privilege that should be earned alongside the hardships of adult life. The “Thug Life” compilation on YouTube is a good example. The video is primarily clips of young kids saying wildly profane things, followed by a dramatic zoom shot and the music of “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang” playing in the background. And

Someone’s emotional breakdown and you think it’s funny.

By now, you’ve all probably seen the video that went viral of a woman having a screaming fit at the Victoria ferry terminal. I first saw it on the Spotted in Victoria Facebook page, but since then, the video has also appeared on various news networks, including CTV Vancouver, which ran the very ironic headline “Viral video of ferry terminal outburst raises privacy questions.” Where do I start? First, this isn’t news, so let’s stop treating it like news (and no, trying to angle it as a “look at privacy laws” story isn’t fooling anyone). Second, I’m among the ranks who think this video shouldn’t have been taken in the first place. This video wasn’t taken with intention of being a case study on BC Ferries, human temperament, mental illness, etc. This video wasn’t shot and circulated with intent of citizen journalism.

It was shared so we can laugh at her. It’s sort of in the same class of humour as watching a guy hit his face off a diving board (or any other pain-for-humour stunts you’d see on Jackass, except those people actually give consent for the video to be shown). Put your camera-phone away. We don’t need to laugh at someone else’s misfortune.

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You’re 14 and a boy is asking to see your boobs. Or if you’re any age, really. This rule of thumb is pretty straightforward. Put your camera-phone away. Don’t take and share photos of your bikini areas unless you’re of age and trying to become a nude model/porn star. Then put your iPhone away, dial up a professional photographer, and go for it.

When to take your camera-phone out

1

You’re on a boat and a pod of orcas start circling. I’m a sucker for these videos. It’s times like these that I’m happy people have camera-phones, and they’re happy they have an otter-box for it. Take your camera-phone out. If there’s anything we know from the internet, it’s that people love cute and extraordinary animal videos.

2

It’s your first or second selfie of the year. Alternately, if it’s your first or second selfie of the day, you might want to stop while you’re ahead. There’s nothing wrong with a little occasional vanity, especially if it’s at just the right amount of low-resolution that you can take a close-up shot without it being way too much information.

Take your camera-phone out. In this day and age we can archive stages of our lives without needing a photographer: embrace it, but don’t spam it.

3

At a protest or other political event and you feel it’s your duty to record the happenings. Video evidence can be a powerful tool. Recent examples of citizen journalism include footage of the Sammy Yatim tragedy in Toronto, and recordings of protests at Burnaby Mountain in Vancouver. Take your camera-phone out. If you’re at the right place at the right time, seize the opportunity to be a citizen journalist. (However, don’t block or obstruct the way for real journalists. Just kidding, we’ll just plow through you anyway.)

Service please

Alexandria Stuart Associate Editor The Navigator Bad customer service is like an insect, the kind that burrows beneath your skin, laying eggs of resentment, and feeding until you’re left with a festering pus pocket.

It may not actually hurt, but the experience stays with you, itchy, just enough to annoy you.

On the receiving end of bad customer service it’s fair to ask yourself, “Was I the asshole?” Working in the service industry is tough, and I make a point of being pleasant to service staff. So let’s be clear—it’s not my fault and I don’t ask for it. We’ll drop the blame-thevictim mentality.

Consumers have a lot of choice when it comes to buying things, eating out, and hiring service providers. With such fierce competition between grocery stores, banks, telecommunications suppliers, and gas stations, you’d

think that the owners of these businesses would make sure that every customer was treated well. They want them back, right? Turns out, sometimes, not so much.

The other day I walked into a bank. One teller’s window wasn’t occupied so I approached and said, “Hi,” then told her what I needed to do. She didn’t acknowledge me and continued working on her screen for several moments. In the absence of a “This window closed” sign I had assumed—perhaps incorrectly—that the window was open for service. Yet there I stood, in polite British form, and waited. When she finally looked up (still no greeting), I passed her the paperwork, and throughout the transaction her movements communicated one thing: I was a nuisance. Her actions, slow as molasses, were punctuated by audible sighs and what may be characterized as “slammy” behaviour with the pen, stapler, and photocopier lid. She reminded me of my niece, Madeline, doing what she was told—all shuffling feet and limp body. Madeline is three and a half years old. When I questioned part of the transaction, the teller graduated to downright surly. Not only was I an inconvenience, I was impossibly stupid.

Here’s the rub: I was in too much of a rush to ask to see the manager. This is where the toxic customer service agent wins—they count on their victims being too overwhelmed

or busy to complain. That bug burrows in.

Sometimes a formal complaint can bring a happy ending. A friend recently emailed a large grocery chain about his experience with a cashier. The store manager went the extra mile, pulled the security video footage, and watched, in horror, as the entire transaction unfolded.

Apologies were given, plus a modest gift card as a gesture of good faith, and my friend returned to shop there another day.

But back to the bank; the clock is ticking on my email of complaint. Without an acceptable, timely reply, it’s likely I will close my accounts and never deal with them again. I’m a consumer that holds a grudge. Hell, I still avoid a particular gas station because the oil company supported Apartheid, in the ‘80s. I don’t forget this stuff.

Are businesses so overrun with customers that they can afford to lose them to bad service? Are there so many jobs out there that workers can act badly and if they happen to get fired, employers are lining up to hire them?

The economic climate is pretty tough right now. Businesses work hard and spend a lot of money to attract customers.

Why would they risk losing them? There’s no excuse not to demand a culture of excellence in customer service. As my friend said, “This ain’t the Wild West. There’s more than one bank out there.”

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04 EDITORIALS

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No 09

News

VIU anthropology class creates ripple effect in community caring

Students in Dover Bay Secondary School’s knitting club recently donated handmade items to the 7-10 Club. Left to right: Megha Chauhan; Gordon Fuller, Chair of the Board, 7 to 10 Club; William Sanderson; Alycia Patenaude; Shannon Busby, teacher; Hayley Farenholtz; and Katie Lundman. Busby started the knitting club as a community action project for an Anthropology of Homelessness class she took at VIU.

MARILYN ASSAF “A small act of kindness when multiplied by millions of people can transform the world.”

Those words spoken by Toronto street nurse Cathy Crowe resonated deeply with teacher Shannon Busby, and have now become the motto for a high school knitting club at Dover Bay Secondary in Nanaimo.

Five to 15 students gather every Monday during the lunch hour to knit colourful scarves, toques, and afghan blankets for those in need.

Busby was inspired to start the club “as a community action project” while taking an Anthropology of Homelessness class taught by professor Helene Demers at VIU.

No 09

Courtesy of VIU

CONTRIBUTOR “Anthropology 316 opened my eyes about homelessness in our communities,” said Busby.

On Monday, January 19, Busby’s students donated two boxfuls of hand-knit creations to Gordon Fuller, Chair of the Board of Nanaimo’s 7-10 Club, which provides a hot breakfast and bagged lunch to an average of 250 people a week, including those who are homeless or living on fixed incomes.

“This is the first time we’ve received a donation from a student club,” said Fuller. “It will be nice to give away toques, scarves, and blankets that are unique and handmade. We appreciate the students’ efforts.”

Busby knew that a knitting club

would provide some students with a place to be over the lunch hour and a purpose for being there. She also knew that students are more than willing to become involved in projects in which they can make a difference to others.

“Our core group meets each week. Some students come and go, and other students knit at home and drop off projects,” says Busby.

“The feedback I’m getting is that knitting is meditative and relaxing, and helps some students deal with anxiety.”

“I’ve also had many adults show interest in the project,” adds Busby.

“One of the school mothers donated a beautiful crocheted afghan to our club, and donations of yarn and

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knitting needles are coming in all the time.”

Students vary in their abilities to knit. However, many are learning a life skill and their enthusiasm for the project is growing.

“It’s a good hobby,” said grade nine student Megha Chauhan. “I feel proud of myself that I’m creating something special for someone.”

Student Alycia Patenaude joined the club to learn how to knit, adding, “It feels cool to help out the community.”

Demers is glad to see Busby’s community action project still going strong at Dover Bay. “We have some very community-minded students at VIU,” Demers adds. “Students in

Anthropology 316 engaged in a number of community action activities and projects this year, including the knitting club, a bottle drive for the Lake Cowichan Food Bank, a food and clothing donation drive for the Ladysmith Soup Kitchen, and assisting Social Planning Cowichan by collecting donations for their Day of Community Services during Homelessness Action week, among others.

“I’m pleased to say that although the course was taught in Duncan, many communities from Duncan to Nanaimo benefitted from the students’ civic engagement, which reflects the wide geographic area served by VIU.”

NEWS 05

VIU hosts free science & technology lecture series MARILYN ASSAF

CONTRIBUTOR

Everything from astronomy, to glaciation, to human nutritional needs will be discussed by expert scientists during VIU’s free Science & Technology lecture series.

The weekly lecture series is open to the public Wednesday nights at VIU’s Nanaimo campus until April. Each lecture is delivered by a local scientist or visiting scientist from as far away as Prince Edward Island.

“There’s a topic to suit almost every interest,” says Wendy Simms, co-organizer of the series, “and you don’t have to have a scientific background to enjoy these talks. The lectures are aimed at a general audience, including community members, students, and educators.”

Dr. Marc Trudel of Nanaimo’s Pacific Biological Station will describe migration patterns of the Pacific salmon and discuss areas for future research on Wednesday, January 21.

On January 28, VIU researcher Dr. David Gaumont Guay will speak about the research gardens at Shq'apthut - A Gathering Place, assessing the benefits of green roofs in the urban gardens.

Each lecture is followed by a Q&A session where audience members are invited to spark discussion on current issues and meet the researchers in person.

Other topics for upcoming talks include marine natural products, and the ecology and epidemiology of rat-associated pathogens in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

The series runs from 7–8 pm on Wednesday evenings in bldg. 356, rm. 109 at VIU’s Nanaimo campus. For more information and a complete schedule of topics, go to <http:// web.viu.ca/simmsw>.

VIU grad nominated for “most prestigious innovation award in Canada”

VIU graduate Breanne Quist has been nominated for the Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award, one of the most prestigious innovation awards in Canada.

Courtesy of VIU

06 NEWS

Dr. Marc Trudel of Nanaimo’s Pacific Biological Station delivers a free public lecture January 21 at VIU’s Nanaimo campus about the migration patterns of the Pacific salmon.

MARILYN ASSAF

Courtesy of VIU

CONTRIBUTOR

VIU graduate Breanne Quist is in the running for a prestigious national honour: the Ernest C. Manning Innovation Award.

Quist has been nominated for her work creating The Privacy Compass <www.privacycompass.ca>, a website designed to help BC teachers, parents, and schools navigate privacy issues when selecting and using learning management systems and social media tools like Twitter, Pinterest, and blogs.

The Ernest C. Manning Innovation Awards are dubbed the “most prestigious innovation awards in Canada.” Nominees are Canadians who have demonstrated recent innovative talent in developing and successfully marketing a new concept, process, or procedure. Quist finds out in March if she will receive one of two $10k awards from the Manning Awards Foundation.

“I’m super excited because being nominated is a huge honour,” says Quist, who graduates from VIU’s Master of Education in Educational Leadership program on Friday, January 30.

Quist holds two other VIU credentials: a Bachelor of Education degree and an Online Learning and Training Diploma (OLTD). She lives in Nanaimo and teaches all subjects in grades eight, nine, and 10; and high school technology classes for Anchor Academy, a distance education school in Salmon Arm. “Breanne started the seeds of her Privacy Compass project in my Social Media 506 class as part of the OLTD program,” says VIU professor Julia Hengstler, who nominated Quist with OLTD professor Randy Labonte. “She continued her work as a master’s student under my supervision.”

BC has some of the strictest privacy legislation in Canada and North America, says Hengstler, especially with regard to public schools and their ability to use social media and learning management tools.

Quist’s Privacy Compass website was designed to provide the information and support necessary to make informed decisions and support schools and teachers in selecting appropriate tools, support teacher knowledge, and obtain informed consent from students and parents.

“Breanne created a framework for identifying key privacy considerations, evaluating them, communicating them

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to teachers and parents, and creating relevant permission forms,” said Hengstler. The website also includes templates and submission opportunities for other educators to contribute to the available support documentation.

Quist’s work was reviewed by the Manning Awards Foundation nomination panel with experts in the field, and she was designated as a national “qualified nominee,” much like a regional finalist.

She will receive a certificate from the Manning Foundation to acknowledge reaching this significant level in the awards competition.

Hengstler praises Quist’s dedication and commitment to the project and her studies, considering that she juggled motherhood and school responsibilities.

Quist gave birth to two children within 18 months while completing her OLTD and master’s programs at VIU. “A lot of my blog posts for OLTD courses were posted at 2 am,” recalls Quist. “I was up with the kids, so I figured I’d be productive and get school work done. It was tough sometimes, especially when my husband was called out of town to work. I got through it thanks to the incredible support from VIU faculty like Julia Hengstler and others. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

The Privacy Company website showcases 10 online tools ,but there are literally hundreds out there, adds Quist. She plans to enhance the site by adding more tools, and possibly turning it into a business.

“It has a good potential,” she says. “The first week my website was launched in October, there were over 1000 views.”

Web users need to understand that there are privacy issues and risks when accessing online resources, adds Quist. “It’s about knowing what they are, and understanding the benefits of using the tools and managing risks.”

As an example of one potential risk, Quist points to the US Patriot Act. “If a student or teacher uploads online resources to Google Docs for a family genealogy project, the US government could read through all your family information,” says Quist.

“By signing up for Google, you’ve agreed to let them do this.

A lot of people don’t realize this.”

No 09

Kitasoo students to visit VIU Community Big House in Katasoo.

Kathryn Ovenell-Carter

“This is a great opportunity for the kids to experience things others take for granted.”

BLAKE DEAL The Kitasoo community school is raising money to send students on a trip to visit universities in Vancouver and Nanaimo.

The school is sending 11 of its 40 students on the trip to gain experience of what a BC university is like.

In May, the group is scheduled to visit UBC, SFU, and VIU over a nine-day trip.

Junior high school teacher Kathryn Ovenell-Carter said the students are really excited. “Living somewhere so remote, this is a great opportunity for the kids to experience things others take for granted.”

“Kids in small communities have extra barriers when it comes to university, like culture shock.”

She said this is a chance for them to see something different. “This will give them a better sense of what a university campus is like outside of what they see in movies.”

Ovenell-Carter said that because they live in such a remote area, going to university doesn’t seem like a real option.

“Bringing these kids to the universities makes it easier for them to imagine going there. We bring the younger kids as well to help get them excited about university. We want them to at least know they have the option.”

The school is running a GoFundMe campaign with hopes to raise

No 09

Interdisciplinary Studies

THE NAVIGATOR $10.5k, which will cover the bare minimum for the trip. After only two weeks they have managed to raise almost half that amount.

“We are a 12-hour ferry ride from Port Hardy,” said Ovenell-Carter.

“The travel and accommodations for this trip is expensive.”

“We are lucky to have such a supportive community,” she said. “People here have been very generous, even the ones with no ties to the school.”

The students have been quite excited by the support they have gained. “They get really excited when they see people they have never met before or who are not from the community donating online.”

“The kids constantly ask questions about what university is like,” said Ovenell-Carter. “They ask if you make new friends there, and if you get to choose what you study.

Basketball is a huge thing for many of the kids out here. They were surprised to find out they could go to university and play basketball.”

A big lesson for the students in raising the money for this trip is the hard work and commitment they have to put into the fundraising.

“It’s good for kids to work towards something big like this,” Ovenell-Carter said, “I remember big trips like this being quite formative at this age.”

While spending four days in Van-

couver, and two in Nanaimo, the group hopes to go to the Vancouver Aquarium as well as the space museum. They also hope to go to a movie at a theatre, an opportunity they don’t usually have.

“We are really excited to go to VIU. They have customized the tour for us a bit so we get to see a larger range of study than usual. It will be good for them to get the opportunity to talk to current students and get firsthand experience.”

The school used to do trips like this before, but hasn’t in the last couple years. With the embracement from the community and the recent progress of fundraising, she said the kids have even changed the way they talk about university.

“They talk about university now as a ‘when I go to university’ scenario.”

Some of the kids have messages posted on the GoFundMe page telling people why they want to go.

A grade eight student said, “The trip is important to me because we never do any big trips and this is our chance. It would give me an idea of what university I would like to go to. It would also be a lot of fun because in Vancouver we are going to Stanley Park, the Aquarium, and maybe a movie...”

For more information, or if you want to donate, visit <gofundme. com/jreruo>.

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NEWS 07

Features

Museum news: Who’s bugging you?

JAMES MACKINNON

CONTRIBUTOR

Bugs rule the world, and the sooner we realize this the better. But let’s clarify that. What many of us usually refer to as “bugs” probably fall into the phylum Arthropoda (Latin for sectioned-legs), a group that includes spiders, mosquitos, crabs, butterflies, and more than a million other invertebrates who live in different environments around the globe.

Together, Arthropods make up more than 90 percent of all species on the planet. Many have been around since before the dinosaurs. They’re the honeybees that pollinate our crops and the blackflies that torment us while we’re camping. They’re the mysids that feed our Gray Whales, and the barnacles who ride those whales from Mexico to Alaska and back again each year. Insects, crustaceans, arachnids, and the like play a huge part in our day-to-day lives whether we realize it or not. Here are some fun South Vancouver Island critters you can go find (or make a point of avoiding).

Butterflies/Caterpillars Butterflies and moths play important roles in many of our local ecosystems, as a prey source and as pollinators. Attracted by warmer temperatures, showy flowers, and the lure of sweet nectar in the springtime, butterflies show up in our region, traveling plant to plant to feed on the sugary juice while carrying pollen from one plant to another. Many plant species would not be able to reproduce without the help of these insects, but it’s a double-edged sword: the butterfly, in its larval stage—the caterpillar—is one of the most devastating pests, relentlessly feeding on fields of crops if left unchecked. Lepidopterans— the order of insects that includes nearly 200 thousand species of moths and butterflies worldwide—are a very exciting and often colourful part of the insect life we see seasonally around the south Island. In the colder weather, we don’t see a lot of moths and butterflies. They either travel south to warmer climates, or tough it out in their larval stage (the caterpillar). But once the warmer weather hits we see a flurry of activity as these creatures begin feeding and stocking up energy for the mating season ahead. While southern Vancouver Island is home to more than a dozen native butterflies and moths, each with its own distinctive lifecycles, most share certain attributes. By the springtime we see many of these species fluttering around our meadows and valleys, searching for mates and areas to lay eggs. Shortly after laying, their eggs hatch into caterpillars who develop for days to weeks, depending on species, by consuming huge amounts of vegetation. Once the caterpillars have grown to an appropriate size and certain critical developments have happened, they weave themselves a silk cocoon and disappear inside it for days or weeks, undergo a complete metamorphosis, and emerge a butterfly. This cycle will happen many times a year, and in certain species such as the Monarch Butterfly, each

Yellow-spotted Millipede

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generation will take part in a different leg of the migration. As the springtime approaches, keep your eyes on flower gardens, orchards, or any green space with abundant native plants, and there’s a good chance you’ll see them.

Dragonflies Another flashy airborne creature that shows up in the springtime is the dragonfly. We see over 40 species on Vancouver Island, ranging from two to eight centimetres long. Characterized by their long slender body, large multifaceted eyes, and two sets of broad wings, dragonflies are among the

West Coast Lady Butterfly Ron Wolf

strongest fliers of any insect; they’re capable of fluttering backwards, hovering in mid-air for over a minute, and reaching speeds of nearly 100 km/h. Feeding on mosquitos, flies, ants, and other small invertebrates, these insects belong to the order Odonata, the carnivorous flies.

The reproductive cycles of many dragonflies are similar to those of butterflies, except that almost all of the dragonflies’ activities, mating or otherwise, happen in or around wetlands.

Females lay eggs on or beneath the surface of water, attached to reeds or grasses, and within a few days the eggs hatch into

Rich Stevenson

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nymphs, or small larvae, which live underwater. They vaguely resemble the adult dragonfly in proportion and shape, just much smaller and without wings. The dragonfly’s nymph stage lasts anywhere from a few months to several years, where it lives underwater and feeds on small invertebrates, tadpoles, and fish. When the juvenile has developed sufficiently and environmental conditions are right, it will climb its way up the stalk of a partially-submerged plant, shed its outer layer of skin, and emerge an adult dragonfly. Once “hatched,” dragonflies in their adult form only exist for a short period of time, many species living only the few weeks it takes to mate and lay eggs before passing away. The best places to view dragonflies are the fringes of lakes and ponds, although slow-moving rivers will also provide some feeding habitat.

Millipedes While butterflies and dragonflies are considered insects (class Insecta), many critters from other classes that crawl around our forests are equally as interesting.

Belonging to the class Diplopoda, up to 30 different species of millipedes have been recorded on Vancouver Island, mostly in soils and under logs in moist forest systems. Their worm-shaped bodies are made up of dozens of round segments, each made up of a hard exoskeleton sprouting two pairs of legs. They often display elaborate colour schemes as a warning to predators that there’s poison within. Not to worry, though, the worst you will encounter when handling millipedes around Nanaimo is their almond-aroma, which is actually a very low dose of cyanide. In the forests around Nanaimo, most of the millipedes are between four and 10 centimetres long, and are often black with orange or yellow markings.

Millipedes are detritivores, feeding mostly on dead and decaying plant matter. They are a crucial part of many forest systems as they are often the first step in the decay process of fallen logs and trees, and the first step in creating the rich organic soils that nurture our forests. A walk in many of Nanaimo’s trails, especially near dawn or dusk, will give you a good chance to find some millipedes, especially beneath fallen or partially decayed logs.

Specimens of each of these arthropods, as well as wonderful collections of much more of our local plant and animal life, can be found at VIU’s Museum of Natural History, which is run by students and members of the Resource Management Officer Technology and Biology Departments. Drop by to take a tour, enter contests, or just look around. The Museum of Natural History in bldg. 370 on VIU’s Nanaimo campus is open to students and the public on Mondays from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, Tuesdays from 1:30 to 2:30 pm, and Thursdays from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. More information is available on their Facebook page and at <viu.ca/museum>.

Paddle-tailed Darner

William Hull

No 09

Point of VIU DREW MCLACHLAN / CONTRIBUTOR

Was VIU your first choice university?

Bjorn Samson, 21, Education

Deborah Sears, 60, Visual Arts

Dylan MacGregor, 18, RMOT

Euan Bolding, 21, Philosophy

Jesse Wilson, 18, Theatre

“Yes, my parents lived in Nanaimo so it was cheaper for me to go to VIU. I haven’t had to take out a student loan yet.”

“No, but it’s local for me and has a good arts program, especially with the new BA in Visual Arts major. It’s very new and exciting.

I’m going to be one of the first grads of the program in June.”

“Yes, VIU is the only school in BC that offers Resource Management Officer Technology, so it was an obvious choice for me.”

“Yeah, it’s ridiculously cheap compared to other post-secondaries. $4000 a year is cheap, especially when you can get credits to transfer to a real university.”

“Yeah, it’s close to where I live so I figured it would be convenient. I had already done a couple tours of the campus and seen a couple shows here, and I thought it was a good campus.”

The long commute:

Getting stamped

STEPHANIE BROWN When studying abroad, I recommend exploring the country and traveling around early for a few reasons. First, because you will still have money. Second, to give the jet lag time to wear off before orientation and registration week starts.

Third, traveling is just plain awesome. Helpful hint: When traveling into England, get your passport stamped. An obvious statement, I know. Who has ever gone through an airport where they did not need to deal with border security? Me, that’s who.

I wanted to travel around before school, but after just a few days I learned there was a downside to that plan: connecting flights into tiny airports. I backpacked through Ireland for a week before coming into England for school, and so I presented myself as a tourist there.

I figured I would be asked the same question on arrival in England, where I would tell them that I was studying there. I was wrong.

I landed in a small airport with very relaxed security, meaning no

CONTRIBUTOR security. At the information desk I explained the situation and asked where I’d find border security. The woman there said, “Oh, you’ll be fine.” Wrong. It is not okay to be in a country that doesn’t know you are there or why. Apparently I am not the first to be faced with this dilemma. Now, at some point in the next three months I will have to leave the country and then re-enter, hopefully through a border with actual control, where I will present my acceptance letter and passport. I may need to demonstrate that I can afford to live there, so I’ll take a printout of my bank accounts or proof of student loans, but this isn’t common.

Don’t let this scare you away from studying abroad. I have had no issues registering in classes and everyone who knows my situation just finds it comedic. The moral of the story? Pay attention at the border, and make sure your information is accurate. It could save you a train through the channel tunnel later.

THE 10TH ANNUAL

VANCOUVER ISLAND SHORT FILM FESTIVAL FEBRUARY 6 & 7

AT VIU’S MALASPINA THEATRE

TICKETS $15 DETAILS AT VISFF.COM

Café review: Frankie’s Modern Diner SHALEETA HARPER

CONTRIBUTOR

A stereotypical student lives on Mr. Noodles, Kraft Dinner, coffee, and, occasionally, McDonald’s as a treat. The notoriously healthy student lives life shopping on the edges of the grocery store, and goes to a restaurant featuring fresh, local, and scratch-made food when they’re up for a night out. If that’s what you’re looking for in the north end, you’ll find it at Frankie’s Modern Diner, across the highway from Woodgrove Mall. Classic diner fare blends with a bit of an upscale attitude in a classic environment. The pub style chairs are upholstered in a deep red vinyl, and the bubble-like chandeliers are reminiscent of modern art—mid-century modern style with a real modern twist. I’ve visited Frankie’s a few times.

On one visit, I was excited to see there was a special on appetizers. Unfortunately, only three of the 13 on the menu

No 09

were reduced in price: wings, flatbread, and fancy fries, made fancy with truffle oil. Before ordering fries featuring truffle oil, it is helpful to know whether you actually like truffle oil. Apparently, I do not. The delicate flavour appealed to others at the table though. They were also dusted with a fine white cheese.

The fish taco entrée included three crispy fried tacos heaped with lettuce. They weren’t quite saucy enough for my taste so I doused them in fresh lemon. They were hot though, the flour tortillas were soft, and the fresh cilantro added an extra dimension.

On another visit I shared some of the curried penne from my partner-in-food. The sweet dish had hardly any spicy heat to it, abounded with coconut and mango flavour. We paired that with a mango milkshake, which we enjoyed so much

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that we nearly ordered another. The tangyness of mango achieved perfect balance with the sweetness of the ice cream.

The wines were inexpensive—half price on Thursdays—but the milkshake won the day for us.

Another dessert favourite is the key lime pie. It’s sweet with just a hint of tart, and a magically firm and dry graham crust. Fans of extra-tartness, we squeezed the lime wedge on. One of our tablemates, a connosieur of authentic Key Lime pie, gave it her stamp of approval, so, good job Frankie’s.

The servers were always cheerful, polite, and attentive for the most part. At Frankie’s Modern Diner, the food tries hard, and mostly succeeds, but the desserts are the real stars. I would love to come by on a special occasion just to try all the desserts Frankie’s has to offer.

09 FEATURES

Big trees This Sitka Spruce in the Port Renfrew area represents one of the top 10 largest of its kind. Measuring 62.5 metres high and 11.6 metres in diametre, this specimen was originally documented in 1984 by Registry founder Randy Stoltmann.

CHANTELLE SPICER

CONTRIBUTOR

Every day I ascend the stairs to class, I always take a moment to enjoy the trees that are part of our campus. As small as this group of trees may be, it’s a habitat for many bird species, a source of beauty, and, of course, the fresh crisp air of the season. Humanity is so lucky to share the planet with these incredible beings, the trees, and I always try to keep this in the forefront of my mind.

Some of my most vivid memories take place in the presence of ancient Cedar giants, like those in Cathedral Grove, or alongside the warped Sitka Spruce along the Juan de Fuca Trail beaches, or under the spreading arms of the willow tree we had in the yard when I was a child. It’s amazing to stand in the presence of these trees and imagine how Vancouver Island would have looked a century ago when they were everywhere. Though some still persevere in the wild, most of these monumental trees now stand under the protection of provincial parks, or on private land safe from the encroachment of the forestry industry, .

I’m not alone in my love of these relics of times past.

Beginning in the ‘80s, an outdoorsman by the name of Randy Stoltmann began to keep a record of the ancient trees he came across in his wanderings. This eventually became the BC BigTree Registry. He and a few fellow adventurers maintained the registry until his death in 1994, when it became defunct, sitting in a stack of bankers’ boxes in a private residence. With the increased interest in protecting the remaining giant trees from ever-expanding forestry licenses, the UBC Forestry department unearthed these records in 2010 and developed them into an online resource.

The BC BigTree Registry identifies the oldest and largest trees by species all across the province. The records include a

Sitka Spruce in Youbou that measures 13.3 metres in diametre; an impressive Arbutus specimen, which is distinct to our coast, that towers 35.5 metres above the ocean; and a Cedar in the Great Bear Rainforest which has been dated at 1800 years of age. UBC Professor of Conservation Science, Sally Aitken says, “In just the past six months, the second-largest Douglas fir has been identified [near Port Renfrew], and the third-largest Sitka spruce was just found and measured on Haida Gwaii. So there are big trees out there.”

Transforming the registry into a website means that it is available to the public, and also allows wider participation. The public is invited to nominate big trees that they find in their own wanderings and send them to the registry committee. Volunteers verify the submissions and then place them on the interactive map and record. This public involvement encourages people to connect with the fact that we are surrounded by these biological legacies of centuries ago. They are the largest living beings in our natural world that we can walk up to, explore, and touch. Fostering the relationship we have with them creates the foundation for ongoing conservation.

The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA), based out of Victoria, has been trying to do just that since their inception in 2010.

Working to protect ancient forests all over British Columbia, they’ve identified many at-risk old growth forests, which include many of the province’s biggest trees, like the second largest Douglas fir in Canada, standing 70 metres high and named “Big Lonely Doug.” Ken Wu, one of the founders of the organization, says that 99 percent of the province’s old-growth Douglas fir trees, and 75 percent of the original old-growth forests, have already been logged. The situation is urgent. To protect those that remain, AFA is calling on the BC government to take action and encouraging the harvest

Members of the community of old growth Cedar in nearby Cathedral Grove.

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TJ Watts and the BC BigTree Registry

of second-growth forests in logging, as well as informing residents in the areas around the forests about how to take part in their protection. One of the most important jobs for this organization is identifying and exploring the ancient forests tucked into all corners of the lower mainland and Vancouver Island. Through the BC BigTree Registry, and its professional and public users, the AFA can more successfully locate the trees that need to be saved.

There are many cyclic relationships in a natural ecosystem, which is echoed by this partnership between the public, the AVA, and the BC BigTree Registry. At the basis of this relationship is us—the public—and how we relate to our ancient trees and the rest of the natural environment. Ken Wu underlines the importance of this relationship: “The BC BigTree Registry is a vital way not only to record the most iconic components of our ancient forest ecosystems—the breathtaking, unbelievably giant trees—but is a precursor for their protection. More importantly, it helps to highlight and engage the public about our endangered old-growth forests.

That is, a focus on the largest trees eventually becomes a springboard for greater awareness on the need for protecting old-growth ecosystems on a larger scale.”

With our ongoing support of organizations like the AFA, the BC BigTree Registry, and others like the Raincoast Society, we provide the foundation from which all generations of ecosystems and humans will work. It can be as simple as donating time or money, nominating a large tree you stumble across, discussing the issue with your friends, or just stopping and allowing yourself to be awestruck by the magnificence of nature, starting right here at VIU. More information about the AFA is on Facebook or at <ancientforestalliance.or>, and the BC BigTree Registry is online at <bigtrees.forestry.ubc.ca>.

Chantelle Spicer

No 09

ALEXANDRIA STUART

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The House of Many Clocks

Grandfather

“What time is it, please?”

Grandfather, the German patriarch, has ruled the family for four generations. Standing proudly in the front hall, rich wood polished to a shine, he chimes on the quarter and strikes at the top of the hour with thundering tones echoing through the house. He relies on our hands, someone to pull the heavy chain, to wind him daily, or he will fall silent.

Across the hall hangs Stepmother. Dressed in cheap fabricated burgundy “wood”, her pendulum and chains are only for show—she runs on a single C-battery. Her chimes are mechanical—tinny—and easily overpowered by Grandfather. She is often relieved of the battery.

Quietly, over the fireplace, sits Father, his classic lines seamlessly flowing into the rich brick mantle.

During the daytime he enjoys an unobstructed view of the trees, valley, and mountains beyond the windows. He runs without tending; the time he tells is accurate somewhere.

The Unmatched are sprinkled throughout the house and sit with Father on the mantle. Pewter and glass, silver and gold, they sport classic designs and housings made of carved animals.

They, too, inhabit different times.

Downstairs, in the territory of youthful rabble, Clock Clock has her own mantle above the wood stove where she whimsically rules the recreation room. Next to Grandfather, she is the favourite. That’s not to say that she lives in the same time as any of her family.

This is a house in flux, in transition, owned and unowned, still occasionally inhabited.

Time is meaningless. Day becomes night when the temperature drops and the sun sets. Rush hour is marked by hummingbirds at the feeder who divebomb anyone that happens to get in the way. It’s either time to put the coffee on or time to light the fire—bookends to days that follow their own rhythms.

In The House of Many Clocks, no one knows what time it is.

Clock Clock

Father with Unmatched

Grandfather

No 09

Unmatched

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Stepmother

11 FEATURES

The Bearded Lady, the Alpaca Fiend, and the perfect sweater JESS REALE

CONTRIBUTOR

It would be a bit rough perhaps, especially in the nape of my neck or the small of my back, but deliciously rough. Rough the way I like it. Sensual ecstasy. The whole thing was real in my mind. Enveloping me, embracing me, caressing my skin, sultry, and titillating.

Perhaps a simple raglan yoke, but no cables or lace or colour work; just humble stockinette and classic lines, nothing to detract from the glory of the yarn itself. The sweater would be like a pie made with freshly picked apples, or a kaolin clay mug made by a pottery artisan. It would be simple, classic, but the right quality ingredients would elevate it to something fantastic.

The fibre, of course, would come from happy, prancing sheep and alpaca that thrived on a nearby farm where they were loved like family members—the kind of place where the farmers clad the newborns in tiny sweaters so they wouldn’t get cold at night. The fibre would be such a stunning, natural shade that it would be a vile corruption to dye it. It would be processed by a local mill, carefully blended into an angelic cloud, and then spun into a squishy, lofty skein of the purest, godliest yarn. It would have mostly uniform gauge, but with just enough quirks and imperfections to evoke its handmade honesty.

I would wear this sweater through the decades. It would travel with me, comfort me when I’m sick. I would laugh in it, cry in it, and dance in it. One day, my angsty teenage son or daughter would steal it from me and wear it to beach parties because they liked the way the sleeves hung over their hands and kept the sea breeze at bay. They would leave for college and I would steal it back for walks in the woods with my old dogs. The elbows wouldn’t wear through until I was a grandmother, and then I would sew humble patches on and wear it until the end of my days. My aged children would feel too guilty to throw it away because, by then, it would be a part of me. They would keep it in the basement in a box marked “Mom,” and every so often, when they missed me

the most, they would go downstairs and smell it. No matter how many times they would wash it, it would always smell like me. I would haunt that sweater.

That’s all I want—a sweater like that. Finding the wool would be the easy part. I was sure most Islanders have an appreciation for these things, and would aid me in my quest.

Sure, there were a few bad eggs around my downtown neighbourhood, but country people were different: humble, jovial, hobbit-like, growing tasty vegetables, caring about bees and non-native invasive species, making homemade mead and preserves, and raising livestock humanely.

My quest was clear: the fibre I would seek, the yarn I would create, the sweater I would knit. Phase one was acquiring the fibre from those amicable country folk. I wanted sheep wool for its sturdiness, but I’ve always loved the snuggly squish of alpaca too. The problem with alpaca (I learned when a posh cowl I knit gradually became a derelict hula-hoop) is that it stretches. Alpaca needs the memory of wool and my sweater needed the balance of both worlds. Like Martin and Lewis: Dean Martin’s classy alpaca softness needed the grounding influence of Jerry Lewis’ wooly primitive comfort. Without one another for cosmic balance, the alpaca would just be a drunken crooner, and the wool would be an obnoxious gag reel, or something like that.

I began with the alpaca. Oh sweet, silly, long-necked alpacas. When I look upon their amiable visages in knitting blogs my soul bursts with ardour. They’re so awkward and goofy-looking and charming. I couldn’t wait to meet one up close and snuggle it. I looked up the farm that was closest to me and dragged my husband and his wallet along, prepared to find a sweater-sized chunk of fibre-y rapture.

We tottered down the windy, mossy driveway. A tabby cat skittered by ahead and escorted us around the corner.

Already, I was enchanted. As we turned the bend, the splendour of the farm itself took my breath away. The house was long and built into a hillside. The alpacas were far off in a large pen near some chickens, and tall trees framed the property. This was my dream, and these farmers were living it. I was jealous—I hoped they knew how lucky they were.

A short, stout brunette woman with a round face greeted us. Slightly grubby and disheveled, I was envious that she worked outside all day long in the fresh air, but noticed that she was wearing pajama pants. We had spoken on the phone, so she was expecting us, but now that we were face-to-face she seemed suspicious and resentful that I had actually shown up. We talked fibre while my husband pet the cat. Her tone was curt. “Why do you want raw alpaca in particular?” she asked. “I have some roving but it’s more money.”

“Oh no, I’d prefer it raw,” I grinned stupidly. “For a sweater.

I’m going to take it to a mill and blend it with some wool. It’s going to be lovely.” I immediately wished that I’d contained my enthusiasm.

She raised her eyebrows as though I had just told her that I wanted to eat it. “Okay, follow me then.” Begrudgingly, she escorted me into an outbuilding full of damp, musty hay.

“We feed them hay. Too much protein in their diet makes the fibre courser.”

“Is that good for them? To eat only hay?” She shrugged and tossed a couple of garbage bags of alpaca fibre aside. I worried their diet didn’t seem very balanced—they didn’t seem to have any grass to graze on in their pen—but dismissed my worries as ignorance. What did I know about raising alpacas?

Alpaca Lady selected a bag and opened it up. It was full of fluff, and my heart pranced against my ribcage.

“How much do you want?” she asked brusquely, contemplating my request for a pound without meeting my eyes, and said, “$60.” The most I’d ever paid for washed fleece was $22 a pound. I asked whether this was slightly pricey for raw fleece that, I’d noticed, came with mud and poo attached. She countered immediately, “I’ll knock $20 off.” At this point I had a vague sense that something was wrong, an inkling of foreboding, but I dismissed it. I said I’d think about it and asked if I could see the alpacas. With an exasperated sigh she motioned for me to follow her.

At that point, under my less enthusiastic eye, the farm took on a very different look. The cat looked scruffy and skinny, perhaps even a bit sick, not charmingly tousled by country life. There were four rats in various states of decomposition that he seemed to have caught, but didn’t dispose of. Fat, clumsy maggots flopped around on one of them.

“Where are they?” I asked eagerly, determined to maintain at least some enthusiasm.

“They’ll come.” She brandished a dirty red bucket. “This is their food bucket,” she said.

“It’s empty.”

“I’ll just shake it and they’ll think there’s some food.” I thought this was cruel, to tease them in this way. She shook the bucket over the fence, and, almost instantly, four bedraggled, sad creatures desperately galloped to us. The one to my far right had mangled, protruding teeth that were dreadfully crooked and startling.

“Guh!” I exclaimed involuntarily. The one on my far left looked like his brother. The two in the middle just looked gloomy and haggard. Their hooves were so long that their legs crimped oddly, and they plodded around, pathetically, with an awkward and painful-looking gait. My husband frowned.

Sensing my concern, Alpaca Lady said, “Yeah, they need their hooves and their teeth clipped, but I just can’t afford it right now.”

The newer model Acura in the driveway made me doubt this, but I only said, “I see.”

Pointing to her right she said, “We’re going to eat that one over the winter. His name is Fred.”

I died a little inside. “Re-really?” I asked her, doing a poor job of disguising my horror.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said disdainfully. “Alpacas are livestock, and this is a farm. They’re good eatin’.”

Even though I’m a vegetarian, I’m not against eating animals if it’s done humanely and they lived a generally good life before they were snuffed. But, looking at Fred’s snaggletooth and unset jaw, and his brother’s limp, the situation was clear.

At that moment, I gave up my feeble defense of her behaviour.

I admitted that I despised this horrible lazy gremlin of a woman who mistreated these poor soft, sweet, majestic creatures.

I made my excuses, and we left, my little knitter soul crushed.

On the way home, I begged my husband to let me buy them, take them to our tiny backyard in Nanaimo where I could hug them, trim their hooves, and feed them fresh vegetables. For a brief moment, he seemed to actually consider it.

This was an unexpected setback on my quest. My serene, and apparently naïve, view of scenic farm life was dashed against cold sharp rocks of reality. I was traumatized, but optimistic that a visit to the wool mill would work out better and provide a much-needed morale boost. When I called ahead the Mill Lady seemed kind, mentioning that she had some local wool and alpaca available to buy. My disappointment turned into resolution—I would have my sweater, by gum.

My husband decided to sit this one out, perhaps still unsettled by the Alpaca Lady. As I approached Mill Lady’s homestead, I crept uneasily down another long, winding driveway.

It was thick with trees and bracken, and I couldn’t see more than six feet ahead of me. The daylight barely reached the ground, and the trees had grown impenetrable and foreboding. I wondered whether there was really a wooly haven beyond this thick copse, or if it was some sort of clever trap for fibre enthusiasts—maybe her house was made of wool and I’d find dismembered knitter remains in the fireplace.

Rounding the corner, it was a beautiful sight.

Now, this woman was living my dream life. Sheep roamed free, eating windfall apples, while free-range chickens pecked and clucked merrily in front of a storybook cottage with a rickety porch and mossy roof. A duck stretched his wings in the garden. Delighted, I skipped up to an outbuilding that had shelf after shelf bursting with bags. The fleeces were round and overstuffed, and looked as though they might burst through the clear bags at any moment. They reminded me of jumbo marshmallows. I resisted the urge to squeal aloud in pure mirth.

Mill Lady greeted me amicably enough, although she also seemed slightly annoyed that I had disturbed her. I reasoned that if I were living in a giant pile of wooly marshmallows armed with the machines to card them into otherworldly yarn, I shouldn’t like to be disturbed either, so I forgave her.

There was something unusual about this lady though. When she turned to face me I realized that it was her magnificent, grey beard.

At first this struck me as odd. But then I berated myself: “Why shouldn’t she have facial hair?” the feminist side of me demanded. The more I thought about it, the more I liked Mill Lady. Why should women be ashamed to have

a few whiskers? Or rather a lot of whiskers, a hefty beard’s worth? I admired her resolution and stoic unconventionality. It seemed fitting that this woman should be surrounded by fibre and wooly goodness, and also grow some wooly goodness on her face. I wondered briefly whether she was a product of her environs, and whether I would grow a beard if I kept knitting and spinning so voraciously. I felt very close to her just then. It appeared that the feeling was not mutual though. She seemed to take me for some sort of wayfaring knitter, but I assured her that I was looking for raw wool and raw alpaca, and that I wanted her to card them together into something glorious.

“Have you ever used raw wool before?” she asked, haughtily.

“Yes,” I answered, still trying to win her over with my fibre-y prowess. For some reason, I felt a desperate need to win her respect. “I’ve scoured and flicked and hand-carded and everything.” I looked into her eyes, trying to convey my earnestness and enthusiasm. If I could get her on my side, then she might let me use her marvelous machines. I could hear them whirring and whizzing away behind her.

“Well, I’m afraid you’ll be waiting a while.”

“Why?” “Because there is a three-month long waiting list. And even then, I’m very picky about what fibre goes into my machines.”

Suddenly, the beard that I had admired became sinister. She seemed smug behind it. She offered no amendment to this statement, no offer of help or reassurance. She didn’t even attempt to sell me this mystical, fancy wool that would be superior enough to grace her machines. I was denied, pure and simple.

“Oh. That’s okay,” I said, annihilated. “I’ll just card it myself.” This was a dirty lie. There was no way I could card a sweater’s worth of the perfect fibre blend with my sad little hand carders at home. It would take me eons. By the time I finished processing and blending two whole pounds of fibre, my children would be grown, and it would be too late for them to steal my sweater for their beach parties.

I puddled away from the outbuilding, weighted by despair and defeat. Inwardly, I vented as I made my way back down the long, windy pathway. That bearded elitist. She sensed my desperation and was using it to torture me. Her beard was not one of nobility—it was one of scorn, of malice. Here she was, holed up in this wool palace, denying me the use of her superb machines, and she reveled in it.

At the end of the Mill Lady’s driveway, I reached the end of my own road. I went home. And I knit a sock.

Arts

T h e 10 t h V I S F F P r e v i e w SPENCER WILSON

CONTRIBUTOR

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Vancouver Island Short Film Festival (VISFF). The festival was created in 2005

by Johnny Blakeborough and John Gardiner with the goal of creating an event where local filmmakers would have a venue to showcase their films. This goal quickly spread to including films from all over the world, such as Ireland, Switzerland, Iran, the Netherlands, and France, but the focus has remained mostly local. This year, all 14 films being screened are from Canada, with one from London, Ontario; three from Winnipeg; four from the mainland; and six from the Island. The VISFF is proud to welcome five returning filmmakers and nine new names this year.

Cameraman Mathieu Charest from London, Ontario has quite an impressive resume leading up to his second short film, with camera operating credits for major films such as Riddick (2013) and Warm Bodies (2013).

In Crazy Love, Charest teams up with actress Helena Marie (producer, writer, and lead female) to tell the chilling story of a woman who has to make the choice to stand up to her abusive partner.

Marie’s aim was to create a film that asks the audience to question their stance on what is right and wrong.

The Winnipeg Film Group has been a consistent contributor of unique short films to the festival, and this year is no exception. Adam Bentley, previously known for his documentary on Luke’s Kitchen in Kingston, Ontario, gives us a coming-of-age story with the drama Teenage Dress. First Nations activist Sam Vint gives Poster for each year of us an eye-opening documentary on disabled people on the reserves with Alice and Kevin. Vint has been a prolific filmmaker in regards to tackling Canada’s aboriginal issues and even has a docudrama, We Were Children, that was created with the National Film Board. Filmmaker Berny Hi is someone who celebrates the glitches and flaws brought on by hands-on work, leading to his continued use of analogue technologies for filmmaking. Hi will be exploring obsession and the desire to trick time in the documentary George Bassler’s Perpetual Motion Machine, where he shows us a man’s perpetual motion machine that echoes Johann Bessler’s 1712 invention, the Perpetuum Mobile.

Just across the water are four filmmakers based out of the Vancouver area coming to join us. Quebec-born animator Laurence Fortin Gagnon will be showing her newest feature, The Dreamer, about a man’s desire to reach the moon. Gagnon has already won an award for this film, taking home the

Jury Prize at the Festival du Film Étudiant de Quebec, and has had her animated features shown widely at Quebec film festivals. Carol Phiniotis has had a long career as a screening coordinator for popular films such as The Heartbreakers (2001), but is now hoping to build a career as a director.

Smart Home marks her first short film in 10 years and will tell the story of a man’s smart appliances and technology conspiring against him after his heating goes out. Barehouse Productions’ Devon Kuziw teams up with his returning leading man, Maarten Bayliss, for a mysterious drama about a man’s journey through fear and cowardice. Lastly, from the mainland, we have Evan Britz with his first film, Fingers Cutting Glass, about two sisters caught in a storm.

the Vancouver Island Short Film Festival.

Ed Carswell is a prolific filmmaker from Courtenay with films covering the environment of the Rocky Mountains, issues in African countries, and the history and culture of the K’omoks First Nations people. Carswell has won several national and international awards for his films, and his latest one, Project Heart – Honouring Residential School Survivors, is currently traveling across Canada with the Traveling World Community Film Festival. Project Heart features the stories of five First Nations’ people who survived the brutal and abusive residential schools created in Canada to eradicate First Nations culture in their youth.

Legendary Victoria-based comedy director Graham Stark returns again this year with his comedy, The Pair. Starring wife Kathleen de Vere of his comedy troupe LoadingReadyRun, as well as LoadingReadyRun newcomer Missie Peters, Stark’s newest film is sure to rouse laughter

with its embarrassing story about doing laundry. Stark has garnered eight awards from VISFF over the years and has had at least one film in every festival since it started in 2006.

VIU’s own Steff Gundling will be delving into addictions with her documentary Habit. Inspired by her own addiction to coffee (which she discusses in the film), Gundling follows a pot-smoker, a marathon runner, and a diet coke addict.

Gundling is currently finishing her major in Digital Media at VIU and has previously won Best Student Film and Best Technical Award at the 2013 VISFF for her mesmerizing short film Years of the Living Dyingly.

Nanaimo filmmaker Linley Subryan has been making short films for 15 years now and has won several awards while working in front of and behind the camera. Many of these films are comedic, including his popular The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 60 Seconds. Subryan is set to make us laugh again with his comedy, Just Shoot Me, about how a desperate man’s suicide attempt is interrupted by an unexpected phone call. Also from Nanaimo is Shaw TV’s Todd Jones. Jones will be presenting another twisted comedy, not unlike Subryan’s, about a dead man trying to get back to Earth so he can go on his hot date. Jones is an appreciator of the low budget methodology behind classic horror films as well as the local acting talent here in Nanaimo.

Lastly, we have returning Nanaimo filmmaker Michael Chen. Chen previously won Best Writing at the 2012 VISFF for his animated short Tartar Sauce Johnny Blakeborough and has also won awards for his animation The ABCs of Adam and Eve. Chen premiered his first dramatic, live-action short film, Greyscale, at last year’s VISFF. Greyscale is being followed up with another mystery this year, entitled Good Beastly, Bad. The film is about a novelist being tormented by a killer in the motel room next door, and is sure to keep the audience guessing just like Greyscale.

The festival premiers on February 6 at 7 pm with the performance by Nanaimo’s techno-dance group Top Men. February 7 at 2 pm will have a filmmakers Q&A at the end of the show, followed by another screening at 7 pm, where the seven Goldie awards will be handed out. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for everyone else. This will be Johnny Blakeborough’s final year hosting the VISFF, so come on out and support local filmmaking!

Visit <visff.com> to read event updates and interviews with selected local filmmakers.

Satyr Players return for annual festival MOLLY BARRIEAU This month, theatre and creative writing students gather on campus together to share their craft at the Malaspina Theatre from January 27 to 30. The VIU One Act Festival, held each spring semester, is a four-night event showcasing a collection of short plays written by students.

The Satyr Players, a club formed

by VIU students, has held the event annually, and hopes this year will

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THE NAVIGATOR draw more students. This year, the festival features four plays: The Dance, by Jennifer Cox; This Is Acting, by Brigette MacDougall; What’s All the Kissing about Anyway? by Jessie Smith; and The Party Monologues, by Paige Mader Doors open at 7 pm beginning on January 27, and tickets are $5 each evening. Jennifer Cox, a creative writing student at VIU, sub-

mitted her play The Dance in the fall semester. It is the first play she has written.

The Satyr Players work with playwrights to audition actors for each role. They provide sound, lighting, and a stage manager.

“At first I was intimidated by the idea of directing a play for the stage,” Cox said when she was asked to direct her play.

The Dance is inspired by Cox’s

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grandparents, from “post-WWII to present day.” Cox said it “pays tribute to their love for one another and the family they built together.”

The playwrights are included in most of the production, including casting. Cox was excited to see actors interested in her characters.

“I knew that if the actors connected with the characters, the audience would too.”

The One Act Festival is a perfect

opportunity for students to showcase their work, and because each one-act play takes up so little time, there will be four plays shown each night of the festival. Liz Kraft, the festival coordinator, is excited to continue this year, hoping to see the festival grow in popularity in the coming years.

Doors open at 7 pm beginning on January 27, and tickets are $5 each evening.

No 09

Festival one-on-one with Johnny Blakeborough DENISA KRAUS

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The 10th Annual, VISFF happening in February, will be the last one under the leadership of Johnny Blakeborough. The festival co-founder and director is stepping down to pursue new projects, but will retain a “mentorship” role in training and advising the new management team next year. The Navigator sat down with Blakeborough, and reviewed the decade of careful planning and accidental successes.

“It seems like the arts scene has exploded in the last few years.”

How would you sum up the 10 years of running the VISFF? When John Gardiner and I started talking about doing this 10 years ago, we didn’t have any idea what it was going to become.

I was still in my 20’s and had just recently landed my first decent job and I had this belief I could do anything without worrying about failure. I don’t recall ever thinking that if we don’t get a certain number of submissions or sell this many tickets, it won’t be a success. We just did each step as it came up. And we had a sold out show the first year.

Why do you think people took to it so fast?

A decade ago in Nanaimo there was not as much happening as there is now, especially downtown and in the arts scene.

I mean, there was some great stuff happening, but it seems like the arts scene has exploded in the last few years. And I think we were just at the beginning of that uptake—we filled the vacuum with something that was unlike anything else before. But it would be interesting to know what got those 400 people to show up in the first year, because they couldn’t have known if it was going to be a good show or not. Maybe we were just lucky.

“Maybe we were just lucky.”

You’re suggesting that you were at the right place at the right time.

What do you think the conditions are like for someone who would want to found a festival today?

I think there’s more room for these kinds of cultural events now. There’s a huge growth in the art community downtown, and over the time I’ve had a lot of requests from people to do specific themes such as horror or GLBT films. I tell them: “That’s a great idea! You should do that.” The VISFF tries to be a diverse show open to people who want to do and see a lot of different things. But there is room for specialized events. Look at the Banff festival. It’s a hugely successful festival about outdoor stuff. And it travels all over and even comes to Nanaimo.

What do you consider to be the festival’s biggest accomplishment?

Getting people together to discuss film and socialize, even though that was not the initial idea. It happened kind of organically as people hang out in the foyer before, during the break, and after the show, and we’ve evangelized that. It has now become the central and most important element of VISFF and whenever there were suggestions to improve the festival which would pull away from the social aspect, I resisted it. I think everyone on the team sees how important it is for the festival to be successful.

What other steps did you take for the festival to succeed?

Another thing that I think was essential to the success is the presentation. We also try to put on a show that’s entertaining, but also professional. We hire professional graphic designers and we’re very conscious about the quality of everything around the festival. The VISFF is a brand that people within and outside the community know and want to go to.

How does the festival benefit you personally?

I don’t know if I would have searched out all these films on my own if it weren’t for the festival. I definitely had selfish reasons to have a festival. I wanted to see short films. I wanted other people to see and make short films in our community.

And so I got a chance to see great stuff that I wouldn’t know of if it weren’t for the festival. I also got to meet and talk to so many cool people, film lovers and filmmakers. One of them told me once: “I force myself to make a film every year so that I can submit it to your festival.” That’s one of the nicest things a filmmaker can say to me.

The 10th Annual VISFF will also be the last one for you as the director. What role do you plan to take on in the future?

I want to be able to support the people I’m handing the reins to next year, but I also want to give them the opportunity to lead as well. I’ll step back as much as possible and be available to

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them in case they need help or advice, but let them make the decisions. I think that in order for the festival to continue and grow, it needs people who will be invested in it and not just following my lead. I also want to move on to my other projects.

Once you leave, it will be taken over by different personalities with maybe different interests or styles. How do you think the VISFF may evolve?

That’s hard to say. This year we’ve brought on more organizers than before, so the future team gets the opportunity to see how different parts of the jobs are done. I don’t want to see the festival flaunder, but I’m not worried about the new team in the future; they are already doing a great job. They have a very strong interest in continuing to make a great show and supporting local filmmakers, which I think are the two essential aspects of the festival. Specifically, there is a strong interest in pushing the event to become a big draw to the audiences outside Nanaimo and making it a destination cultural event.

I’ve never had the ability to do that, but I’m excited about it.

Johnny Blakeborough at the VISFF Fundraiser held at The Firehouse Grill in November 2014.

Edward Lee What is on your horizon?

There are a couple of charities I work for that I want to devote more time to, specifically the Desert Bus For Hope. I have also been planning a 10-part documentary radio program about television, but it would make sense to make it a video documentary. I have a radio show about technology that I did for over a year that has been on a hiatus, and I’d like to get back to it.

You also used to make short films. Can we expect a submission of yours in the future?

I have not made more than one or two things, that you might even vaguely call a short film, in the last decade—and it used to be one of my biggest passions. I’ve always thought short films are an amazing medium because of how much simpler and cost effective it is. John and I started the festival with the idea of somewhere we’d be proud to show our films, but we agreed we couldn’t possibly submit our films to our festival.

Then John stepped back (from the management) and started making and submitting films. I took over, hoping he would come back and I’d have a chance to make films. Now I’d like to work on a film and collaborate with people. I have a few ideas but no scripts or solid plans. My main idea right now is to go to VISFF in 2016, sit down in the audience without having seen any of the films before, and be completely surprised with what I see on the screen.

15 ARTS

An emotional ride with

Todd Jones

DENISA KRAUS One of the perks of local film festivals is the opportunity to see the familliar faces of returning artists.

This year, The VISFF welcomes the return of award-winning filmmaker-multitasker Todd Jones showcasing his fifth short film, a twisted dark comedy At Death’s Door.

When asked about the beginning of his love of filmmaking, Todd Jones travels back 20 years in memory to his student days in a TV production school.

“One of our big assignments was to make a 30-minute drama movie.

I was in charge of cinematography and lighting, and as I watched my friend direct and saw how much effort went into producing 30 minutes of film, I said to myself I would never ever direct a movie. How could anybody do that to themselves? It’s kind of funny, because now I love directing movies.”

Jones’ filmmaking journey is firmly intertwined with his work as video journalist and his 19-year experience of TV production at Shaw TV in Nanaimo. His videography portfolio includes news clips, commercials, and sports shows among many other forms that also influence his style as a filmmaker.

The first discouraging brush with film quickly diminished when the channel allowed Jones creative freedom and room for innovative approach to producing both one or three minute news stories and 30 minute shows.

“I did small things and was successful,” he says. “And I didn’t want to do what everybody else was doing.”

The desire to expand and try different things led Jones to turning one of his main projects, a popular sports show Locker Room into a one hour television film The Final Locker Room (2000), his first longer

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THE NAVIGATOR work which generated an unexpected number of viewer responses.

“I really enjoyed getting that feedback,” Jones recalls. “When you know you’ve touched somebody, that you somehow affected their life and made them laugh, and created emotion, it gives you the courage to create more.”

The positive experience inspired Jones to make and produce a series of action comedies with explosions and body parts flying around.

At Death’s Door is Jones’ fifth short film. Based on a short story written by Jones’ studio colleague and long term collaborator Derek Johnstone, who wrote four of five Jones’ films. (More on the story in the VISFF teaser on page 15.)

Jones was inspired to shoot At Death’s Door when he discovered a new technology. The heaven’s gate scenes were shot using a set with a white curve wall, which prompted Jones to learn how to think and visualize in a new way.

“But it’s always the same and always different,” he summarizes working in TV and film production. “My job is to always make the scene look as good as possible. Whether I’m shooting a news story or a film scene, the same rules apply. Great composition, great lighting; everything has to help tell a good story.”

But along with the desire for creative self-expression and to tell stories, every filmmaker is firstly an artist striving to speak to audiences, and Jones admits he finds the biggest fulfilment in watching other people watch his work.

“I sit down in an audience and wait for that moment when you bring up emotion in people.

When they hear the joke and laugh at it, (snaps his fingers and

whistles), you got it, it works! And you get this emotional high.”

Filmmaking also helps Jones to direct the constant, and sometimes even overwhelming, stream of ideas in his head into a coherent piece of work.

“I call it exorcising a demon.

I have to get rid of all the ideas, express them in an artistic way.

And I don’t like to play it safe.

I like to push the buttons and cross boundaries.”

That’s why the newest film incorporates a considerable amount of visual effects and CGI post-production, the highlight of which is a decapitated head rolling right in the front of the screen.

Jones’ ability to turn such moments into a joke stems, again, from years of working on humorous sketches and entertaining stories for Shaw.

“Somehow, I do stuff that makes people laugh and give me feedback on, so I keep doing that,” he says. “I find comedy is easier to do because every scene ends with a punch line.”

Jones’ films, including comedies Death Point (2008), Toy-tal Recall (2009), Detective Fawkes & The Victim’s Vixen (2010), and a sci-fi psycho thriller Close Your Eyes (2012), as well as the newest At Death’s Door, study various aspects of death as a mood-setting element.

“Someone always dies or is trying to kill someone else,” he says.

“I don’t know why I find it funny.

Even my wife, when she watched me edit my first film, said it’s not funny. But then she saw the audience laugh.”

Black comedies with physical violence can be, nevertheless, entertaining.

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“When you do it right, it is funny,” he says, naming director Robert Rodriguez as his role model in finding a humorous tone in dark comedies with physical violence.

He tries to emulate the “Desperado feel” in his work. Similarly to to Rodriguez’s production style of working with the smallest crew possible, Jones also prefers to work with a very small number of dedicated people and multitasks as a writer, director, and editor, because he says a small crew has a better chance to produce and finish work on deadline and more efficiently.

“I do short films because I don’t have time to do features,” Jones says, although he is apparently toying with an idea for a longer film. “Short films are fun, and independent. I don’t have to get approval or make a company happy, I decide what to do and how I want to do it.”

As a viewer, Jones likes to see what other filmmakers can do with a small amount of screen time.

“In two hours, you can watch 14 different styles and stories, technologies and experiences and executions,” he says about the advantages of film festivals. That and the positive audience response makes Jones a regular visitor, contestant, and a multiple award winner at the VISFF. He admits the last four titles were done specifically for the VISFF. “But even if I don’t have film in the festival I go there every year and see what’s out there to get inspired.”

At Death’s Door will screen at the VISFF on February 6 and 7.

For more information visit <visff. com>. To view Todd Jones’ full filmography and relating video work, visit his youtube channel <www. youtube.com/users/TJRamone>.

When you know you’ve touched somebody, that you somehow affected their life and made them laugh, and created emotion, it gives you the courage to create more.

No 09

Kismet Winter Showcase

3

Kismet Winter Showcase, a selection of scenes from contemprary plays presented by the adult advanced class, took place in December 2014, but the show still goes on with a new round of classes and rehearsals at the Kismet Academy on Victoria Road in Downtown Nanaimo.

Denisa Kraus 1

2

4

AS NUMBERED 1. Each season, Kismet Academy founder and instructor Bonnie Catterson personally chooses several well-known contemporary plays and assigns segments of them to students to rehearse.

2. Under Catterson’s direction, actors learn to research their characters, get out of their comfort zone, and try living in the character even outside the class. “The more vulnerable you feel in the situation, the better,” Catterson says about the learning process. (Jeff James Monson in Hosanna)

5

3. The next season of classes for both beginner and advanced levels begins this March. For more information and to apply, contact Bonnie Catterson at 250-6168850. (Blaine Nosworthy and Shaunna Sedola in One Night Stand) 4. All season, actors practice one or more scenes from the plays for the final showcase. (Leslie Lee, Tarah Sullivan, and Larissa Coser in August: Ossage County) 5. The majority of the showcased plays range from dramas to thrillers. Actors often take advantage of the script and improvise comic moments. (Tarah Sullivan and Carly Neigum in August: Ossage County)

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17 ARTS

AC tAXI DOllARS GIFt CERtIFICAtES

Essential viewing:

The Third Man (1949)

SERVING NANAIMO

24hrs a day SPENCER WILSON Those who are familiar with British director Carol Reed will likely remember him for his multi Oscar-winning adaptation of the musical, Oliver! (1968). Reed is one of the best British directors to have worked in the industry, and his ground-breaking, film-noir The Third Man is a testament to that.

Teaming up with Nobel Prize-winning author Graham Greene, Reed portrays the twisted structure of Vienna, Austria following WWII. American novelist Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton) is visiting Vienna to see an old friend, Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only to discover that his friend was recently hit by a car. Holly is immediately suspicious, especially when the police are easy to call it an accident, so he begins to search for clues on his own. Holly is told by a friend of Harry’s that two of Harry’s friends carried him off the road before Harry died, but Holly is soon also told that there was a third man. Holly begins his search for the third man, all while avoiding the increasingly suspicious police officers who think Harry was a smuggler.

• 6 passengers for the price of one!

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• ON DEMAND SERVICE by largest computerized fleet in CENtRAl VANCOuVER ISlAND

CONTRIBUTOR As a pioneering film-noir of its time, The Third Man is sure to keep you guessing thanks to the wonderful screenplay

by Graham Greene. Vienna is introduced as a town in shambles, torn between the multiple nations that try to govern their own sectors within the city.

Crumbling buildings are still present, and various items are often scalped and smuggled so that people can make a living.

The chaotic city echoes the anxieties of the foreigners depicted in the film, which is made even more disorienting with Reed’s liberal use of Dutch angles and Anton Karas’ score entirely composed by him on the zither.

This is the film-noir film the rest of the ‘50s wishes it could have made. The Third Man shows you how to build tension without resorting to over-cutting. Everything is meticulously shot to evoke the alienating world of post-WWII Vienna, and you will want to visit it again after the first watch. Students wishing to see this film can find a copy at VIU’s library.

250-753-1231 Toll FREE in BC

1-800-753-1231

Wheelchair Accessible

Arts & Humanities Colloquium talk on eating disorders and feminism DR. GORDON HAK “By challenging contemporary understandings of eating disorders. I invite you to think more critically about our pervading cultural current of ‘healthism,’” Janis Ledwell-Hunt says.

Although most of us would never question the value of “health,” one of the most important things that a university does is create a space to question the things we generally don’t even think of questioning.

Ledwell-Hunt’s presentation entitled “Disordered Eating: How Can Feminism Help?” promises to do exactly that. The talk will be held in the Malaspina Theatre on Friday, February 13, beginning at 10 am.

As Ledwell-Hunt’s recent doctoral dissertation has shown, the idea, and the ideal, of “health” has a cultural and political history: “‘Health’ continues to act as a potent political metaphor ensuring normality and morality. When employed as a political construct, health reinforces racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, ableism, and ageism. So perhaps we need to find ways to think about life that don’t make recourse to health. But this is incredibly difficult, especially when

ARTS 18

CONTRIBUTOR we’re trying to deal with (treat and cure) illness.”

Ledwell-Hunt suggests that “another way of approaching the problem of healthism is to ask how we can begin to understand ‘eating disorders’ without ever insisting on, relying on, or even implying the possibility of an ‘eating order.’

Her analysis draws on the important feminist literature of the past decades: “feminist scholarship on eating disorders has moved us away from a focus on the lone sufferers of medical and psychiatric readings, and helped us to understand the role of our cultural obsessions with weight, fitness, beauty, and restraint,” says Ledwell-Hunt. “As a result, we tend to understand that anorexia and bulimia are caused and prolonged by patriarchy: women starve so they can fit into narrow and punitive beauty ideals; women waste away because they have been taught to occupy less space; women strive to control hunger as a misguided attempt to assert autonomy over that part of themselves that never feels free from competing socio-cultural demands—the body.”

However, “these interpretations of anorexia (and less often, bulimia) still depend upon assumptions about health and normalcy: assumptions that are often radically discordant with the ways self-starvers express themselves.” Ledwell-Hunt’s feminist approach looks at those assumptions and the omissions in earlier feminist scholarship on eating disorders, calling for “different sorts of feminist inquiry into disordered eating.” How can feminism help? “By what it has always done: performing thought experiments that invite us to think more critically and carefully about what we think we already know, and continuing to see its own complicities in reproducing stagnant logic.”

The Colloquium Committee is very pleased to sponsor Dr. Ledwell-Hunt’s talk. Dr. Dawn Thompson, chair of the committee, notes “we are thrilled to present emerging scholars like Janis, who are willing to share their thoughtful and original perspectives with the community.” Ledwell-Hunt completed a PhD in English at the University of Alberta in 2013 and is in the process

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Dr. Janis Ledwell-Hunt of turning her dissertation into a book, tentatively entitled Anorexic Affect: Trans-Ordered Eating and Posthumanism. Drawing on her research, she has recently contributed a chapter to a book on the relationship between Gilles Deleuze’s philosophy and Samuel Beckett’s literature and has presented her work internationally.

In the classroom, she says, her

teaching “usually involves impassioned jumping, hand exclaiming, questioning, and listening.”

The Colloquium presentation on February 13 promises to be both illuminating, insightful, and lively. The illustrated talk is open to faculty, employees, and the general public. Students are especially welcome and there will be refreshments.

No 09

Sports

Men’s basketball defends home court

Jon Bethell lays in two points over Quest Kermodes’ defense.

BEN CHESSOR

Drew McLachlan

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It was an up-and-down few weeks for the Mariners’ men’s basketball team as they suffered their first loss of the season on the road, then returned home to pick up their biggest win of the season.

On January 16, the Mariners traveled to Vancouver to take on the Langara Falcons in a rematch of last year’s PacWest Championship game. The Mariners got off to a strong start, taking a 17-13 lead after the first quarter. But in the second quarter the Falcons came out strong, taking a 36-29 lead going into halftime. The Mariners responded well in the third quarter, trimming the Falcon lead to four, as Langara led 58-54 heading into the fourth quarter. The Mariners tried to complete the comeback and save their perfect record in the fourth quarter, but Langara kept the pressure on and didn’t let the Mariners tie the game. The Falcons handed the Mariners their first loss of the season with a 76-69 final.

The Mariners had no time to reflect on the loss, jumping back in action the next night against the Douglas Royals. The game was tightly contested, but in the Mariners picked up the 79-74 overtime victory.

The Mariners returned home January 23 and 24 for their first two home games of 2015. Friday, January 23 the team took on the visiting Capilano Blues. The Mariners put on a show for the home fans in the first quarter, jumping to a 33-11 lead. The Blues managed to keep pace with the Mariners in the second, but VIU’s hot offense wouldn’t let Capilano cut in. The Mariners led 60-38 at halftime. The Mariners’ offense kept up their torrid shooting pace in the second half, scoring at least 100 points for the second time this season and winning their first home game of 2015, 105-63.

The next day, the Mariners faced off against the Quest Kermodes in a battle between the top two teams in

the PacWest standings. Both teams came in with 10-1 records heading into the game. VIU picked up the victory in the first game between the two teams 84-77.

This match didn’t deliver the same back-and-forth drama as the first game. In this contest, the Mariners jumped out to an early lead and never really looked back. By the time the game was eight minutes

old, the Mariners led 24-14. Quest battled back late in the quarter, cutting the Mariners’ lead to 27-21.

The Mariners took a 49-42 lead into halftime, but expanded their lead in the third quarter. As the game entered its final quarter, the Mariners were up 77-61. The Mariners withstood Quest’s comeback attempt in the fourth quarter and picked up sole possession of first

place in the PacWest standings.

The Mariners are on the road January 30 and 31 as the team takes on the Kwantlen Eagles and Columbia Bible College Bearcats.

They’re back home the following weekend to take on the Douglas Royals on Friday, February 6 at 8 pm, and return to the court at 3 pm the following day to take on the Langara Falcons.

Men’s basketball

PL

W

L

Pts

Vancouver Island University Mariners

12

11

1

22

Quest University Kermodes

12

10

2

20

Langara College Falcons

12

10

2

20

Douglas College Royals

11

6

5

12

Camosun College Chargers

11

3

8

6

Capilano College Blues

11

3

8

6

Kwantlen University Eagles

11

2

9

4

Columbia Bible College Bearcats

11

1

10

2

Buccaneers sailing towards playoffs BEN CHESSOR

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With only eight games left before the VIJHL playoffs, the Nanaimo Buccaneers are fighting for home ice advantage, sitting two points behind the Comox Valley Glacier Kings for second place in the North division standings.

Nanaimo has struggled recently, winning just two of their last 10 games. But the team has shown an ability to beat the league’s best teams, including a convincing 7-4 victory over the visiting Campbell River Storm on January 17 at the Nanaimo Ice Centre. The team’s last two victories have come against the Campbell River Storm who exacted revenge on home ice with a 9-3 victory over the Buccaneers on Friday, January 23.

The Buccaneers have a tough schedule in the season’s final eight games of the season, with one game against both Victoria and Campbell River, and two games left against Comox Valley. How the Buccaneers perform against those top teams

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will determine whether the team can clinch home ice advantage for their series against the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.

Nanaimo has had some success against the Glacier Kings this season with a record of 3-0-3 in six games. The two teams play twice more this season, February 7 in Comox Valley, and

February 12 in Nanaimo.

The Buccaneers’ next home games are Thursday, January 29 against the Oceanside Generals, and Thursday, February 5 against the Kerry Park Islanders. Puck drop for both games is at 7:15 pm. Tickets are $8 for students.

VIJHL North Division Standings

GP

W

L

T

OTL

Pts

Campbell River

41

33

4

1

3

70

Comox Valley

41

21

14

1

5

48

Nanaimo

40

20

14

2

4

46

Oceanside

41

6

32

2

1

15

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SPORTS 19

Women’s volleyball team stronger as season progresses BEN CHESSOR

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As the provincial championships get closer, the Mariners’ play keeps getting better. The team split their two games this past weekend, but had won six in a row coming into the weekend.

The Mariners traveled to Abbotsford for games against the Fraser Valley University Cascades on January 23 and 24.

The Cascades took an early lead in the first match between the two teams, winning the first two sets to take a commanding lead. But they battled back, winning the third set before evening the match by winning the fourth set in a tie breaker 27-25. The Mariners looked to complete the comeback in the fifth set and extend their four-game winning streak. But it was the Cascades who picked up the 15-11 fifth set victory in front of the home crowd.

The two teams took the court for the rematch the following day. This time the Mariners won the first set 25-20. The Mariners dominated the next set, winning by a score of 25-9. The Mariners tried to end the match in the third set, but the Cascades managed to stay alive with the 25-23 victory. In the fourth set, the Cascades attempted to extend the match, but the Mariners

picked up the 25-21 victory, winning the match 3-1.

The Mariners also picked up back-to-back 3-0 victories in their first two home games of the season on January 16 and 17 against the Columbia Bible College Bearcats.

The Mariners’ 9-8 record gives the team 18 points on the

season, good for fourth place in the PacWest standings. VIU is only two points behind the Cascades for third place.

VIU is back in action at home January 30 and 31 as the Mariners take on the visiting Capilano Blues. Action begins at 6 pm, January 30, and 1 pm on January 31.

Women’s volleyball

MP

MW

ML

Pts

Capilano University Blues

15

13

2

26

Camosun College Chargers

15

13

2

26

Fraser Valley University Cascades

19

7

5

22

Vancouver Island University Mariners

17

9

8

18

College of the Rockies Avalanche

15

7

8

14

Douglas College Royals

16

4

12

8

Columbia Bible College Bearcats

17

0

17

0

Clippers in first as season approaches final month BEN CHESSOR The Nanaimo Clippers have shown that they are one of the best JR hockey teams in Canada. The team has been around the national rankings all season, ranking as high as 11 in the country at one point.

Now, as the BCHL season enters its final month, the Clippers have

THE NAVIGATOR a commanding hold on first place in the Island division.

The Clippers’ last game was at home against the visiting Cowichan Valley Capitals on January 23 in the eighth and final meeting between the two teams. The Clippers dominated the opening period, outshoot-

ing the Capitals 20-9 and taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by Cole Maier.

Nanaimo built on their lead in the second period with goals from Brendan Taylor, Jake Jackson, and Yanni Kaldis, taking a 4-0 lead into the third period. The final period of the season between the two teams was

BCHL Island Division Standings

GP

W

L

T

OTL

Pts

Nanaimo

44

30

12

0

2

62

Powell River

46

22

16

0

8

52

Victoria

46

20

16

1

9

50

Alberni Valley

43

22

16

2

3

49

Cowichan Valley

46

17

26

2

1

37

Mariners having another strong athletic year The VIU Mariners are once again proving to be the class of the PacWest, no matter the sport.

Consistent success in the standings across every sport makes the Mariners a perennial threat to win the league’s yearly aggregate trophy, which is awarded to the institution which accumulates the most points in league-play across all sports.

The Mariners’ quest for another aggregate trophy, an award they have seemingly become the annual winner of, got off to a strong start with both the men’s and women’s soccer teams finishing first place in the standings.

The Mariners’ men’s and women’s volleyball and basketball programs are also all in the top four in their respective conferences, giving the Mariners a great chance to wrap up yet another aggregate trophy.

So, students, if you haven’t gotten a chance to make it down to the down the gym to take in a game this year, make sure you set some time aside. The VIU gymnasium is a great place to watch a game to take in some of best intercollegiate sports in Canada.

20 SPORTS

chippy to say the least. The teams combined for nine misconducts, including Kade Kehoe, who received a game misconduct and a five minute major for spearing. When the dust settled, the Clippers picked up the 6-1 victory, ending the season with six wins over eight games between the two teams.

The team suffered a setback on an interior road trip as they traveled to the Okanagan for games against the Trail Smoke Eaters, Salmon Arm Silverbacks, and Merritt Centennials. The Clippers managed to win the opening game of the trip 5-4 over Trail but fell 6-5 to Salmon Arm in overtime and 6-3 to Merritt, finish-

ing the trip with three of a possible six points.

The loss to Salmon Arm snapped the Clippers’ six-game winning streak, their second six-game winning streak of the season.

The Clippers currently have a 10 point lead on second place Powell River for top spot in the Island division. Powell River has also played two more games than Nanaimo.

The Clippers’ next home games are Friday, January 30 against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, and Wednesday, February 4 against the Victoria Grizzlies. Tickets for VIU students are $10 and admission includes a free beer.

Men’s volleyball eyeing first round bye BEN CHESSOR As the PacWest volleyball season enters its final four weeks, the battle for position in the standings will be more crucial than ever. The VIU Mariners’ men’s volleyball team has had a strong season so far and have found themselves in the midst of a battle for second place in the standings.

After the first 16 games of the season, the Mariners and their Island rival the Camosun Chargers both have identical 11-5 records, tying them for second place in the standings. Whichever team can capture second place will receive a big boost in the provincial championships, as the first and second place teams receive a bye to the second round of the provincials.

THE NAVIGATOR The Mariners traveled to the mainland on January 23 and 24 for games against the Fraser Valley University Cascades. The Mariners got off to a slow start in the first game of the weekend between the two teams, losing the first two sets of the match.

But the Mariners managed to battle back, winning the third set before managing to take a dramatic fourth set 25-23. In the fifth set, the Mariners completed the comeback and took the dramatic victory 3-2.

The two teams were back in action the next night, and once again the Cascades won the first set, this time winning by a score of 25-18. But the Mariners didn’t fall behind 2-0 again, winning the second and third

sets to take the lead in the match.

The Cascades tried to extend the match to fifth set in front of their home fans, but the Mariners took the fourth set 25-13 to complete the weekend sweep.

The wins were back for the Mariners as the team was coming off back-to-back five-set losses to the Columbia Bible College Bearcats the week before.

The Mariners are back in action at home January 30 and 31 as the team takes on the visiting Capilano Blues. The game starts at 8 pm on January 30 and 1 pm on the 31. For more information on the Mariners and their schedule, visit <mariners.viu.ca>.

Men’s volleyball

GP

MW

ML

Pts

Douglas College Royals

16

14

2

28

Camosun College Chargers

16

11

5

22

Vancouver Island University Mariners

16

11

5

22

Columbia Bible College Bearcats

17

8

9

16

7 Fraser Valley University Cascades

17

6

12

12

Capilano Blues

15

3

12

6

College of the Rockies Avalanche

15

3

12

6

THE NAVIGATOR

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Drew McLachlan

Mariner women pick up comefrom-behind victory BEN CHESSOR

Women’s basketball

PL

W

L

Pts

Quest University Kermodes

12

12

0

24

Vancouver Island University

12

9

3

18

Douglas College Royals

11

7

4

14

Camosun College Chargers

11

6

5

12

Capilano University Blues

11

5

6

10

Kwantlen University Eagles

11

3

8

6

Langara College Falcons

11

2

9

4

Columbia Bible College Bearcats

11

1

10

2

THE NAVIGATOR

The Mariners’ women’s basketball team played their first home game of the year on January 23 against the Capilano Blues. The Mariners sent their fans home happy with a thrilling 48-46 comeback victory.

The game was one of the closest of the year for both teams, as neither team managed to take control of the game. The Mariners trailed the Blues 24-22 as the game entered halftime. The Mariners tried to mount a comeback, but the Blues expanded their lead in the third quarter, jumping out to a 40-33 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Mariners played one of their strongest quarters of the season in the fourth, playing solid defense against the Blues while chipping away at the lead. The Mariners managed to take the lead late and picked up the dramatic 48-46 victory.

The Mariners were back on their home court again the next day, taking on the undefeated Quest Kermodes. The Kermodes came out hard and took an early 7-0 lead over VIU. But the Mariners battled back before the quarter was over, cutting into that early lead and only trailed by one, 12-11 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Quest expanded their lead, taking a 25-17 lead into halftime. The Mariners once again chipped away at the Kermode’s lead in the third quarter, trailing 38-35 as the game entered the fourth quarter. But the Kermodes didn’t let the Mariners complete the comeback in the fourth, picking up the victory by a final score of 50-42.

The loss was the Mariners’ first of 2015, and snapped the team’s seven-game winning streak since before the holiday break. The Mariners’ 9-3 record gives the team 18 points on the season, two points more than second place Douglas Royals (8-4). The Mariners are also six points back of the first place Quest Kermodes.

The Mariners are on the road January 30 and 31 as the team takes on the Kwantlen Eagles and Columbia Bible College Bearcats respectively. The team is back home the following weekend to take on the Douglas Royals Friday, February 6 at 6 pm. They return to the court at 1 pm the next day to face the visiting Langara Falcons.

No 09

THE NAVIGATOR

SPORTS 21

Odds & Ends

Student showcase This Worn Down House Sarah Torgerson

Do not let the appearance Of this worn down house Deceive you, For there are footsteps in the attic That refuse to cease.

Like heavy boots on weathered plywood, The footsteps stomp, pace, Thump incessantly, Mimicking the rhythm of the Determined heart.

And although it is difficult To see through these windows, Clouded, weak glass, Rest assured they see the looks From those who choose to pass.

Weathered by time, This house may be tired, A mere shell of its former self, But there are footsteps in the attic That refuse to cease.

Sarah is a third-year Creative Writing major at VIU. Her education is focused on journalism, but she has also explored short fiction and poetry over the past few years. Originally from Kelowna, her free time is spent taking advantage of all the great things the island has to offer: ocean, trails, and amazing food.

"This Worn Down House" is inspired by the common, relatable feeling of being "worn down" by what life throws at us and becoming stronger in the process. In a round-about way, it relates to the old sayings, "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger," and, "Don't judge a book by its cover."

Red Leaves Binisha Giri

Comics by Arielle Bonsor

It’s been long since I last saw you.

I was just a child.

I didn’t understand you.

Nor did I appreciate you.

Now you are back.

It has been six years.

My memory of you was fading away.

And now I can’t stop seeing you.

I feel your presence everywhere I go.

The red trail you leave behind.

Killing all that stands in your way Yet I feel love for you.

Binisha is a first-year student at VIU, enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts program. Her hobbies include collecting old or special coins from different countries, painting, wood work, and learning new languages (she’s currently learning her sixth language).

Originally from Bhutan, she has moved around a lot. Her poem is inspired by Nanaimo in autumn, which is a season she hadn’t experienced for the past six years.

ODDS & ENDS 22

THE NAVIGATOR

No 09

January/February

SUN

MON

TUE

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

28

29

30

31

Science and Technology Lecture Series: The Research Gardens At Shq’ap’thut: Assessing The Benefits Of Garden Roofs In Urban Environments

Kytami, With DJ All Good & Wax Organix

Daragh Fitzgerald at Fibber Magees

The Queens Hotel, 34 Victoria Cr.

Fibber Magees, 131 Selby St.

Theatre One presents: Just Kidding for Kids: The Little Prince

Nanaimo campus, Bldg. 356, rm. 109

$15 ($10 students and CHLY members)

$5 suggested donation

Free

9 PM

7 – 9 PM

Malaspina Theatre, Nanaimo campus $10 (or $18 for two) 1 PM

7 – 8 PM

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

Fringe Flicks: Force Majeure

Fringe Flicks: Force Majeure

Weight Room Workshop Series

Avalon Cinema, 6631 North Island Hwy.

Avalon Cinemas, 6631 North Island Hwy.

Nanaimo campus, Bldg. 200, rm. 203

Visiting Artist and Designer Series: Tom Chudleigh: Free Spirit Spheres

D.O.A. with special guests Unlabeled, The Stackers, and Line Traps

10th Annual Vancouver Island Short Film Festival ft. Top Men

10th Annual Vancouver Island Short Film Festival

$12

$12

FREE

Nanaimo campus, Bldg.

200, rm. 203

The Cambie, 63 Victoria Cr.

Malaspina Theatre, Nanaimo campus

Malaspina Theatre, Nanaimo campus

1, 4, & 7 PM

7 PM

1:30 – 3:30 PM

FREE

$20 advance $25 door

$15

$15

7 PM

2 & 7 PM

4:30 – 6 PM

9 PM

08

09

10

Nanaimo’s Bridal Exhibition

BC Provincial Family Day Skate Event

Weight Room Workshop Series

Beban Park Social Centre, 2300 Bowan Rd.

Oceanside Place, 826 W. Island Hwy. (Wembley Mall), Parksville

Nanaimo campus, Bldg. 200, rm. 203

FREE

1:30 – 3:30 PM

$15 door $13 advance 11 AM – 4 PM

FREE

1 – 5 PM

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