By Kyle Lees at Ski Ninjas
Where are they now?
Ever wonder what happened to those celebrities who were everywhere back then, but have since fallen off the face of the earth? Well, stop asking yourself stupid questions and find out where they are — now!
Matthew Beard
World’s Oldest Man circa 1983
Skyrocketing to fame after appearing in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest man, Beard tragically died after only two years in the spotlight from complications of a stiff breeze. Those complications were probably due in part to having the body of 114-year-old man.
The 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers
Sports Team
Following that season, the 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers would go on to become the 2011 Pittsburgh Steelers, a very similar team with the same logo, home city, uniforms and most of the same players.
Your Childhood Dog
The one mom said was going to live on a farm in the country
Despite mysteriously disappearing to go live upstate when you were five, “Buddy” or “Doggy,” or whatever dumb name you gave him, is still alive and doing great despite being 23 at this point. He now spends his days running around great big open fields, chasing birds and doing all the things that dogs love, like not being accidentally run over by your dad.
Petter Watch: June 25th
Crowds aghast as Petter and UBC president Stephen Toope up to charity gala in same outfit.
SFU Convocation in 1 minute
If you didn’t get the chance to go to SFU’s Convocation this year, here’s 4 hours condensed into 1 minute for you.
Created: Julian Giordano
Contact: [email protected]
Score: Beltaine – Bring to the Boil
Breaking out of the back room
A book blogger’s guide to author readings and literary events
After one of Ami McKay’s book readings last year, I approached her for a signing of my advanced reading copy of her latest novel, The Virgin Cure. She exclaimed, “I haven’t seen these!” and asked me where I had gotten it. I told her I’m a book blogger, and that her publisher had sent it to me. As she signed my name in the book, she asked if I was on Twitter, and it turned out that her husband had shown her my tweets about the event from earlier that day.
I felt like a giddy fangirl, but this anecdote illustrates the best part of author readings: accessibility.
If your vision of author readings and literary events is a small back room with folding chairs and a quiet crowd, you’re missing out. Book readings can offer deep, meaningful insight into an author’s craft. Festivals and literary events can be even livelier; they range from quiet readings and reflective conversation, to interactive and entertaining shows.
I have attended many readings and literary events over the past few years, and the success of any event sits with the authors and moderator. You’ll be hard pressed to find any author who wants to read longer than 10 minutes, because the audience’s attention begins to wander. So usually events set time aside for themed discussion, Q&As along with a short reading. Sometimes a moderator may conduct a full panel.
Say Wha!? Readings of Ridiculously Rotten Writing is a recurring literary night that is highly accessible, often NSFW, and features rotating performers who read from the worst books they can find.
The brainchild of comedian, actor, and writer Sara Bynoe, March’s Say Wha!? night was spent railing on New York Times bestseller, Fifty Shades of Grey — who’s ever heard of a college student in this day and age who doesn’t have email? The performers choose their own books, ranging from outdated parenting guides and cheesy sci-fi to bad celebrity bestsellers and awkward erotica.
Traditional reading festivals and literary events are thriving around the city, as well as many non-traditional events. Word on the Street is a free literary festival, and a great place to sample everything from fiction to zines to performance art.
There’s a lot more to the local literary scene than a stereotypical, dull book signing — there are poetry slams, open mics, comic book conventions, and even a reading series for terrible books.
Although governmental arts funding may be lacking, supporters and ambassadors of the local arts scene have been hard at work. We have a lot of publishers and literary groups producing exceptional work and putting on fun events with authors from near and far. Vancouver’s literary merit is on the rise, and I can’t wait to attend the next author event.
More condos planned for Burnaby Mountain
By Graham Cook
The space currently parking lot G on the east end of campus will be turned into 714 housing units
Phase four, the final phase of the East Neighbourhood at UniverCity, is nearing completion. It will include up to 714 housing units and replace what is currently Parking Lot G. The lot is located to the East of the university, past the Cornerstone buildings.
Dale Mikkelsen, the Director of development at SFU Community Trust, spoke with The Peak about the continuation. He stressed that “it’s not a change, it’s the official community plan that was adopted in the 1980s. . . . This is just the final neighbourhood of what was called the East Neighbourhood.” Mikkelsen continued to clarify how the regions are broken down. “The East Neighbourhood generally represents . . . what is already built. . . . What we call the phase three neighbourhood is what wraps around where the water tower is, and then [there is] the phase four community which is the G lots.”
By the end of the development of phase four, Mikkelsen stated that the East Neighbourhood will accommodate roughly 7,000 residents in approximately 3,000 units. He stated that he felt this region would be mostly populated by “a lot of families and a lot of people involved directly with the university.”
As far as whether or not the parking space will be replaced, Mikkelsen pointed out that SFU Community Trust is not obligated to build or replace parking spaces. However, the working agreement they have with SFU, he said, is that “any of our revenue from development goes back to the university and the endowment.” Those funds can apparently be used for teaching, research, and/or building replacement parking as required. Mikkelsen pointed out that there are approximately 1,300 spaces in the G-lot that are currently underutilized.
Another factor described in the parking supply problem is that with the U-Pass program, almost 70 per cent of students use transit to get to campus. According to Mikkelsen, these parking lots were created in the ‘70s and ‘80s, when the university was more of a car-based commuter campus. This means that SFU may not need to replace the spaces, a possibility that he considered “a pretty positive carbon story for the university.”
Also discussed was the addition of amenities in the area. The official community plan, adopted in September 1996 and amended in April 2002, dictates that there will be two additional buildings located on University High Street that will account for 50,000 more square feet of commercial and retail space. This same document also notes a South Neighbourhood near Discovery Park, though Dale Mikkelson noted that work is “several years away if there is to be any expansion at all.”
The community plan outlines what is to happen with the land atop Burnaby Mountain. It is self-described as providing “considerable development flexibility . . . to accommodate the University’s desire to have the option of developing either market housing or University uses in the areas defined as potential Residential Neighbourhoods, without a need for Plan amendments, rezonings, or Public Hearings.” The plan goes on to explain that the property that is used for non-university purposes will become subject to property taxes and other charges, and that “taxable occupiers of property not used for university purposes will be subject to these charges in the same manner as other Burnaby taxpayers.”
Burnaby Mountain is not the only SFU campus area with development plans, however. The Civic Centre Development Project for Central City in Surrey will include a new city hall and office building, a central library that opened recently, an outdoor civic plaza, a performing arts centre, as well as additional space for SFU’s Surrey Campus. Also planned “as part of a creating a great, walkable, enjoyable city centre,” is a “major beautification of King George Highway and significant upgrades to the current Skytrain Station and Bus Transit Exchange.”
The plans for Phase 4 were to be discussed at a June 11 city council meeting, but had to be pushed back to June 18 due to time constraints.
SFU victim support group runs in memory of Batalia
B.C. Victims of Homicide joins with the SFU Hummingbirds to raise money and awareness
On June 24th, the SFU Hummingbirds will walk or run in support of B.C. Victims of Homicide (BCVOH), in order to increase awareness and raise funds at the Scotiabank Group Charity Challenge. This year the cause will be especially relevant, as the team will run in memory of homicide victim Maple Batalia. Batalia was an SFU student who was shot and killed at the SFU Surrey campus last September.
Hummingbirds team captain and SFU assistant professor Brenda Morrison explained the importance of an organization like BCVOH. “The two eight-week homicide-bereavement support workshops, monthly drop-in groups, and the helpline have benefitted survivors of homicide victims in the last year tremendously.”
When asked why the team is called “The Hummingbirds”, Morrison explained the parable of the hummingbird related to restorative justice. “The story goes that there was a fire in the forest and all the animals ran away, except the hummingbird who flew back and forth between the stream and the fire bringing tiny beads of water. When the other animals looked at the hummingbird like he was a fool and asked what he was doing, he said ‘I’m doing what I can.’ ” Morrison added that it takes tremendous courage to deal with the homicide of a loved one. She credited Christopher Ducharme, a victim of homicide and a fierce advocate with countless hours spent to establish the organization.
In 2011, Ducharme with the support of fundraisers, the B.C. Justice Institute, and Mason Raymond of the Vancouver Canucks, launched BCVOH as an initiative by the B.C. Bereavement Helpline, in order to help families and loved ones of homicide victims. He stated that the services offered by BCVOH are essential for supporting and healing victims. “Support groups are vital in creating a sense of community especially after such a traumatic event. By being with people who truly understand the homicide victimization experience, there is a common sense of compassion and understanding that is so hard for victims to find in society. These relationships are paramount in helping victims to re-learn faith in humanity and trust in themselves and in others. Support groups are non-counseling, non-therapy peer support groups that are cost free for victim participants,” stated Ducharme. In 2007, the only support group to exist in Western Canada was in Edmonton. With roughly 120 murders a year in B.C., Decharme realized that this type of service was necessary. B.C. Bereavement Helpline has been succeessful at filling the gap. In the past year the service has helped some 300 people deal with the aftermath of homicide, including SFU Criminology student, Cristina Pastia.
In 2009, Pastia lost both parents to homicide. “They left to attend business in Romania but they did not return,” Pastia told The Peak. She recalled the pain and anger she went through trying to make sense of what had happened to her parents. Even with family and friends around to support her, Pastia felt that she needed to connect with others who had been through similar experiences. When asked how she benefitted from BCVOH she explained, “The benefits were twofold for me. First, being around other people who had gone through something similar and whom I did not know outside of the group made me feel more able to share what I was going through. Second, being in a support group for homicide victims gave me a chance to really think about what had happened and how it was affecting me.” Today, Pastia is a dedicated volunteer with BCVOH, helping other victims deal with their anger and grief. Last week she graduated with honours, and will return to SFU in the fall to begin graduate studies in criminology.
To join The Hummingbirds in supporting BCVOH through the Scotia Bank Group Charity Challenge, please contact Mami at [email protected]
