Stories

Saving Rivers

“I died three times,” said a resident of Sungai Asap. “Once when we were forced off our land, once when our land was flooded, and once when we weren’t even…

Half empty, half full

The trials and triumphs of Victoria’s independent coffee shops

Mind Games

For many Canadians, the Stanley Cup is the silver chalice closest to their hearts. However, this particular resident of the Great White North possesses another grail that—in his eyes—rivals Lord…

Peopleopolis

CORRECTION: The Downtown Core Area Plan projects 20 000 residents moving into the Downtown Core Area over the next 30 years and 10 000 new jobs. The previously published figure referring to 10 000 new…

Blackfish, wild: 100 days with sacred whales

I could hear breathing in the charcoal dark as silent bodies passed the shoreline; huge lungs, in huge animals, blow salty ocean spray into the night. It was my first…

South of the border: fear and loathing in the Sonoran Desert

“O how they cling and wrangle, some who claim For preacher and monk the honoured name! For, quarreling, each to his view they cling. Such folk see only one side…

Leaving Town

In my mid-20s, I found myself stuck in my hometown putting my university degree to excellent use as a cashier. So I took a job in Thailand as an English…

Loss of choice

I am a returning University of Victoria student, currently studying Psychology. I am in my late 40s, reasonably intelligent and well read. I have many interests: I love to learn, I…

The costs of an active Canadian child

On a frigid winter night, Sam Anderson trekked across the University of Victoria campus, headed for the blazing lights igniting the black sky. Approaching the labyrinth of interlocking athletic fields—a Rubik’s…