ALBUM REVIEWS
Yes Lawd! – NxWorries
Yes Lawd!, the debut album by the brand new hip-hop duo NxWorries, made me go “Yes lawd!” The album delivers the best of modern hip-hop as far as smooth vocals and chill beats.
Anderon .Paak and Knxwledge make up NxWorries, and Yes Lawd! marries the best of Knxwledge’s brilliant producing with .Paak’s sultry lyrics and smooth singing. Unpredictable beats and gospel vibes mesh expertly with raspy vocals that walk the line between rap and smooth melodies.
My personal favourite tunes from the album include “Scared Money” and “Suede,” which feature edgy lyrics and syncopated indie beats that will get any head bobbing.
The songs are short and sweet yet plentiful, and full of emotion from .Paak, as themes vary from adolescent struggles to love and affairs. This album is a true accomplishment within the hip-hop and R&B realms due to its cohesion and collaborative spirit. – RO
Joanne – Lady Gaga
Joanne is the best Lady Gaga we’ve had in years. It seems odd to type that, since Gaga has been a fan favourite and commercial success since her 2008 release Fame. But ever since Fame Monster, her outrageous personality began to overshadow her music, and most of the world forgot how talented she actually is.
The country-infused pop that’s featured prominently on this album is a departure from the meat dress-wearing Gaga of the early 2010s, but after eight years in the spotlight that’s not surprising. If anything is surprising, it’s the choice to include the two lead singles (“Perfect Illusion” and “A-YO”) on the album at all. Musically they don’t fit in, and lyrically they aren’t on par with the rest of the album. The Gaga-Florence Welch collaboration “Hey Girl” should have been the lead single, since it’s the perfect song to usher in the new Gaga.
Joanne succeeds where other recent Gaga albums have failed; it showcases her vocal and lyrical talent while also keeping alive her sense of innovation. – JW
American Football (LP2) – American Football
Seventeen years after the band’s first LP, American Football is back with its highly anticipated second self-titled LP. Although this time around they’re a little older, the band still hits the emotional highs of growing up, albeit in a more restrained and darker tone than in their last release.
LP2 still contains the signature unconventional polyrhythms and twinkling guitar tones which made the original a cult classic. However, the biggest change is Mike Kinsella’s vocal delivery. He traded in his youthful, high-pitched voice for a deeper, subtler delivery which developed from his solo project Owen. They now embrace sounds that lean towards soft rock, and there are moments on songs like “Home is Where the Haunt is” that feel like it would be played on the radio during the morning commute.
This release doesn’t reach the same greatness as the original, but it doesn’t need to. Although the group has aged, they still keep their technical abilities, and with this comes a subtlety that was missed in their first release. – CR
FOOD FIGHT: Say “aloha” to the Poke Guy
If you ever want to experience a Hawaiian vibe in the middle of Raincouver, ditch the plane tickets and get yourself down to the Poke Guy, located in Gastown.
Poke (pronounced po-kay) is raw fish salad served in Hawaiian cuisine. Typically tuna or octopus, poke has expanded to include different proteins like salmon and shrimp. Vancouver’s poke scene is growing steadily, with places such as Poké Time in the West End and Pokerrito in the downtown core, in addition to this conveniently located poke stop (pun intended) by SFU’s Harbour Centre campus.
To add to its Hawaiian feel, the 20-seat restaurant has a very beachy feel with clean white walls, wooden furniture, and vibrant green plants. There are colourful leis everywhere, and with every bite of the poke, you can feel the sunshine beating down on your face and the flavours coming alive.
What I love about the Poke Guy is the amount of choice you have when it comes to what you want to eat. First off, you get to choose the size: the little guy, which has of two scoops of protein and up to five sides, or the big guy, which has three scoops of protein and unlimited sides. There are daily proteins that rotate, though, like tako (octopus) and shrimp, as well as mainstays such as ahi tuna and Lomi Lomi (marinated salmon).
There is also the choice between white and brown rice or a salad base, and a number of sides such as imitation crab, avocado, corn, and fresh mango. You also get a choice of dressings as well as “crunch” toppings like nori (seaweed), crispy onions, and pork rinds.
I tried the little guy with half white rice and half salad, Lomi Lomi (fresh salmon marinated with vinegar, tomato, parsley, and onions), and added imitation crab meat and mango, topped with nori. The fish was undeniably fresh since they bring it in every day. I wanted to be super bold, so I added in mango. I worried it would be a bad mix, but it turned out to be the best decision I made that day. Sweet mango pieces mixed with the saltiness of the fish, and the warm sushi rice was like a hug of Hawaiian sunshine in my mouth. Bold, flavourful, and just downright delicious.
Aside from serving up what one worker called “seriously healthy brain food,” the restaurant’s utensils and packaging are compostable. The staff is also incredibly patient and helpful, and you can sample the different proteins to see which one you like.
With poke becoming so popular in the city, the lunch rush at the Poke Guy means that the popular proteins and sides get sold out quickly and aren’t replaced for the rest of the day. However, they are looking to add more food options and potentially be open for dinner as well. Take note of this place, and be sure to stop by for lunch if you ever find yourself at Harbour Centre!
This piece was originally published on Delicious Destinations.
American Honey is everything but sweet
American Honey, directed by Andrea Arnold, shines like the backlit summer-scape of your mind. Its visceral and concrete insight into the underbelly of the American dream submerges the viewer. The long shots of sunrises and sunsets over the rolling American landscape, and flashy scenes of grey highway somehow manage to both lull and unsettle.
Dumpster diving with her two young siblings, the protagonist, Star (Sasha Lane), stands in the rubble of discarded meats and vegetables, and watches a white van pull into the Kmart parking lot. Clearly captivated by the rat-tail wearing crust-punk Jake (Shia Labeouf) and his gang of miscreants, Star gets rid of the kids with the promise of Mountain Dew and finds herself in a checkout line courtship. “We Found Love in a Hopeless Place” blasts over the supermarket speakers and that familiar, primal feeling of the chase fills the theatre: Arnold turned fluorescent lights and welfare cheques into raw passion.
So begins American Honey.
With nothing to lose and never looking back, Star joins the crew of lovely dirtbags in their mandate of selling magazine subscriptions all over America — if you thought the travelling salesman lifestyle died out with the benzo-popping trucker faze, according to American Honey, you were very wrong.
The mastery of this film lies in its choice of acid rap and imagery, which Arnold uses to build the characters into the patchwork American landscape. The crust punks are filthy beautiful with shorn, bleached hair and deplorable manners that steal the hearts of the audience. The groping wisdom and quirky platitudes thrown around the white van voice the adolescent confusion of the 21st century.
Star’s journey through the American dream takes us through the backwaters of the United States where she sees homes that, like her own, have fraying photographs pinned to stained walls. America’s hidden welfare state is subtly conveyed through the children, who are blind to the poverty in which they live.
Though Arnold does not attempt an overlying political message, the contrast between the sunny, wealthy suburbs and grey towns shape Star’s experiences. The edgiest scenes between Jake and Star take place in the more prosperous towns.
The nostalgia I felt watching American Honey clung in my throat and made me buzz, like I was back hitch-hiking down stretching highways clinging to the top of logging trucks. Through its simple articulation of human emotion, American Honey reminds the viewer of the frenzied passion that lives in each of us if we feed the fire of freedom
Erica Fae makes her debut with To Keep the Light
To Keep the Light is at once simple and beautiful, a film that reflects the history that comes with the rocky and turbulent landscape it depicts. Both a geographical and period piece, the story pushes forward on a contemplative tone and tempo.
The film centres on Abbie Moore (Erica Fae), a woman living by a lighthouse off the coastline of Maine in 1876. She cares for her bedridden husband while fulfilling his position as the lighthouse keeper — a prestigious post not traditionally given to a woman. After a rough storm, Abbie finds herself in the company of Johan (Antti Reini), a Swede washed up on the rocks.
“[Abbie] is a very recognizable character in New England,” explained Erica Fae. “A sultry, hard-working, I-will-do-it-all, kind of women, and also doesn’t make a big show of herself.”
For a piece where much of the story moves through visual and nonverbal elements, the concise nature of the script draws attention to subtle details — from the slow replay of bodies moving, to wind brushing the grass, to string instruments weaving between the sound of waves against rocks.
Directed, written, co-produced, and performed by Fae, To Keep the Light marks her first feature film. The success of which can be seen in her strong portrayal of Abbie and the two festival award nominations the film has received thus far.
Fae expressed her fascination with the intersection between the public and personal for women who became lighthouse keepers due to their circumstances. Often times, these women found themselves fulfilling the non-traditional post when their father, brother, or husband became indisposed — by sickness, injury, or death.
The main character, Abbie, is herself a composite of several historical women.
Interwoven in the plot is the story connected to Johan and the once-mentioned town of New Sweden, where the fear of others was visible even in the 1870s, and immigration was rare.
When asked about the process, Fae pointed out the huge learning curve in making her first feature, and the realization that the process was, in a way, backwards from theatre. In theatre, rehearsal and editing go hand-in-hand and the product is fully realized during a performance. With film, however, “The performing was just the beginning.
“That was an interesting process for me, just artistically, to get into the editing room and [think], ‘Oh my God, we’re just in rehearsal now.’”
From the visuals to the score, the writing to the editing, all of the film’s elements weave seamlessly with one another to create a surprisingly layered yet beautifully composed work. To Keep the Light captures and highlights these finer details beautifully.
While the film may not be suitable for every wandering mind, it is well-worth it to follow Abbie’s journey through all the moments until the end.
SFU swimming in for improved success
SFU’s swim team saw massive achievements this past spring, and head coach Liam Donnelly has hopes for a bigger win for the upcoming season. The team consists of an equal spread of 13 swimmers on the men’s and women’s teams this year, with nine new recruits. “Everyone on the team get[s] along and care[s] for each other,” said Donnelly. He also commended the strong leadership skills among the freshmen and sophomores.
The men’s team finished 10th at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national tournament last season — the best placement that SFU has had in recent history — and it aspires for a better placing at this year’s NCAA National Championships set for March in Alabama. With only five months until then, the team must “focus on building and maintaining a high level of strength and fitness while also making technical improvements in the pool,” said Donnelly.
The swimmers spend up to a total of 18 hours training in the pool, along with other strength and core development routines. However, the coach’s concerns extend to the academic success of the team as well. “We would like to couple this with a very high academic team average over the fall and spring semester,” he said, adding that one of the most difficult obstacles is to find a balance between a rigorous academic schedule along with training and competitive demands.
This year, the swimming team consists of many competent swimmers from last season, such as Mackenzie Hamill who won the national title for the 1,650-yard freestyle in March. Another member, Adrian Vanderhelm, secured a third spot in 200- and 500-yard freestyle in the same competition. In addition, Lauren Swistak and Hamill had finished in the top 10 at the Canadian Olympic trials in April.
When sports information director Steve Frost was asked about the best achievements by the team this year, he remarked on the women’s team’s success. A season-opening dual meet saw victory for the SFU women’s team on October 23. The team won 10 of 14 short course metre races collectively, while the men’s team wasn’t able to come out as strongly.
The freshmen of the team have already started to show competent skillsets that are essential for a holistic performance. “I feel very confident about this year’s team in retrospection of last year,” said Frost. “We anticipate it is very realistic to improve our National Championship team placings this year.”
Donnelly believes that the only way of achieving these goals is by staying alert. “The varsity team will have to pay close attention to keeping their health and maintaining consistent routines. Nutrition and sleeping patterns are areas that need to be observed and implemented meticulously.”
SFU is hosting a home meet from November 18–20. The SFU Clan Cup International is taking place on the Burnaby campus, with the final sessions commencing at 5:30 p.m. on each day.
SFU Student Learning Commons: shaping success
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t first glance, SFU’s libraries might look like any other silent study space. Venture a little further, though, and you will find something truly great: students helping students to achieve academic success. This is the Student Learning Commons (SLC), which is celebrating 10 years this year. While the reach of the SLC has grown quite large in recent years, the questions on many students’ minds are still: what is the SLC, and how does it help you?
Satisfying a requirement but fulfilling a need
Any SFU student today is all too familiar with the Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth (WQB) requirements, but these pesky academic must-dos haven’t always been apart of an education at SFU. In 2004, the Senate at SFU adopted the recommendations presented to them by the Undergraduate Curriculum Task Force. These recommendations led us to the WQB system. Effective September 2006, all students required these credits, along with whatever coursework is needed for their particular program, to graduate.
The current head of the SLC, Donna McGee-Thompson, gave The Peak a sense of the SLC’s trajectory, from its beginnings in 2006 to today. “At the time, there was a lot of discussion around the importance of additional support for students [. . .] after looking at various models and seeing how they would fit in the SFU context, [the task force] arrived at the SLC model,” McGee-Thompson said.
“It brings together writing, learning, and English language support into a centralized, accessible, neutral location on campus, and the library was the perfect fit for that as students already came to the library to study.”
As the need increased, the SLC began to diversify its programs. Soon, collaborations and partnerships were introduced between various departments on campus as a way of supporting students in different ways. McGee-Thompson stressed the fact that the SLC is not a “little operation run on the side,” but a broadly reaching initiative that is run by dedicated staff members and student volunteers.
The peer-to-peer model
The peer-to-peer model is a casual, low stakes way for students to get support for their writing and learning. This is the type of atmosphere that peer educator Marton Jalkoczi hopes to bring to each of his consultations. Jalkoczi, who is an international studies major, told The Peak how the SLC helped him throughout his degree.
Before going to the SLC, Jalkoczi described himself as a “shy person,” whose biggest hurdles coming out of high school from Hungary were tutorial participation and time management.
“First year wasn’t a positive experience [. . .] I felt too young to be here,” Jalkoczi said. “I would start early on assignments, but it would take me ages to read a journal article or digest lecture material.”
Enter the SLC, which Jalkoczi stumbled upon when he wanted to apply for a job. While the SLC provides help with cover letters and resumés, they did not provide support around applying for jobs. However, Jalkoczi remembered how kind the volunteers were and how they pointed him to the right resources. As he spent more time in the library to seek the SLC’s help in essay writing, Jalkoczi quickly realized that the SLC wasn’t going to do the work for him.
“I was disappointed,” Jalkoczi laughed. “In the first 10 minutes of the consultation, I found out that my paper wasn’t going to be written for me.” But as the peer educator showed Jalkoczi different resources, disappointment became empowerment.
“After the consultation ended, I ran to the computer lab to continue working on what I had learned,” Jalkoczi said. “It helped me realize that I could do things on my own.”
Currently, Jalkoczi serves as a peer educator and shares his experience with the university community, something that fellow peer Ken Ip sees as a valuable result of the SLC structure.
Ip, who is majoring in world literature, said he enjoys the social aspect of the SLC, where students can interact with each other. One of Ip’s favourite parts about the SLC is that through the sharing of knowledge, you can learn “how to teach others to build their own academic skill set.
“Being part of a structure like the SLC means that I can see the processes of sharing taking place beyond the classroom,” Ip added. The enthusiastic peer educator also encouraged other students to get involved as a peer educator so that they can work with other like-minded students as well as help others with their academic needs.
So what’s next?
As the SLC celebrates 10 years of supporting students, McGee-Thompson has high hopes for the future. With various projects and pilot programs in the works, she says that all of this is inspired by feedback from students.
“We take the feedback that we receive very seriously, finding areas where we are meeting students’ needs and where we need to adjust,” McGee-Thompson said.
Ip echoed that sentiment, encouraging students to voice any academic concerns that they may have, to see if the SLC has any resources for them. Many times, Ip said, resources are built as a result of suggestions from students.
There is a hope that more students will know about the SLC sooner rather than later: “You shouldn’t have to hit rock bottom before you come to see the SLC,” McGee-Thompson said. “Be proactive, and know that we are here to support you throughout your degree.”
Update: SFU Residences in the heart of Vancouver
The new SFU building, Charles Chang Innovation Centre, sits on the corner of Hastings and Hamilton (308 West Hastings Street). Situated at the heart of SFU’s downtown campus, located between the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts and Harbour Centre, and within walking distance to the Segal Graduate School of Business.
“It’s a vibrant and neat place to be [. . .] with a nice urban community,” said Tracey Mason-Innes, director of Residence and Housing at SFU.
The facility was a three-year collaborative operation between SFU’s residence and housing, facility and operations, and the Beedie School of Business. “The collaboration worked very well and everyone had an input,” said Kirk Hill, assistant dean of alumni and external relations at the Beedie School of Business.
The development of the initiative was further influenced by SFU alumnus Charles Chang’s donation of $10 million earlier this year. Chang donated the money towards a new building in support of innovation and to accelerate entrepreneurship throughout the university.
The new building was developed from a Beedie perspective and with Beedie students in mind. Priority was given to providing residences for students in the graduate programs. Undergrad students were not eligible to apply for the building.
The demand for housing is consistent and there will be a constant catch-up, said Mason-Innes.
In September, Mason-Innes expressed to The Vancouver Sun her concern for available housing for students, explaining that Burnaby campus housing experienced a larger than normal wait-list this fall.
Hill also expressed his concerns for lack of student housing. “The problem that some people don’t know is that the provincial government doesn’t like to allow universities to have debt,” he explained, “[but] there is definitely a need and the university recognizes it.”
It becomes a matter of “who do we focus on first” and determining what each campus needs, expressed Mason-Innes.
In a recent feature in The Peak, Tim Rahilly, vice-provost and associate VP students at SFU, addressed the issues allowing universities to run a deficit. He provided a document from the province stating that this could only happen “under extraordinary circumstances.” Associate VP finance, Alison Blair, said that SFU has been denied to borrow money over the last four years.
There is also a need driven by students’ concern over affordable and accessible housing around the campuses. Since the closure of Louis Riel House in 2015, graduate students in particular only have one dedicated building up on Burnaby Mountain, Hamilton Hall, with a limited capacity of 103 residents and a rent of $3,252 per term.
With the Charles Chang Innovation Centre, the university has provided apartment-style accommodations for the SFU graduate students downtown. There are 68 rooms available for the students, with 36 studio suites and 16 two-bedroom units. Some studios come with an extra study attached. “Of the population, around 60 percent are Beedie graduates while the other 40 percent were students from the other 14 graduate programs,” says Hill. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to get a piece of land downtown.”
The residences are offered at per term rate of $4,800 for the single studio, $3,400 for a two-bedroom, and $3,800 for a two-bedroom with an additional study space.
The campaign to attract residents, which began in June, was very quickly sold out by September. A few students arrived during the summer, but the majority moved in September. There has been positive feedback from the residents living there. Hill mentioned, “[It’s an] immense way to bring students together.”
“It’s self-sufficient [and the] community is really tight,” said Mason-Innes.
The second floor is the base of the Innovation Centre, and moved into the building around the end of August. It is the home of Radical Ideas, Useful to Society (RADIUS), a special innovation lab and venture incubator that aims to support SFU students and social innovations at all stages of their career.
“There are a few technical details still to work through, but the centre is largely up and running and the programs are happening,” said Hill.
There is a fellowship program for social innovators that will soon be recruiting for its next Radical Doing program. Then, in January, a new certificate of science and technology commercialization is being offered as a joint project between UBC and SFU.
The first floor on the ground level will be occupied by a third-party, operating a café called Nemesis. The café was developed by Jeff Reno after two years of research. At its base, Nemesis will offer gourmet coffee and will be partnering with rising chefs from around the city. The cafe is set to open in November.
Both Hill and Mason-Innes agreed that there is a demand for space, and perhaps more could be established and expanded upon for the different campuses — Burnaby, Vancouver, and Surrey. Rahilly told The Peak in September that talks have been conducted with UniverCity to build “low end of market” units in place of Louis Riel. Currently, SFU has approximately $11 million every year in “need-based funding.”
In looking towards the future, SFU’s Residence and Housing plans to continue evaluating what needs to be focused on. It will be a slow progress, said Mason-Innes, but part of the plan is to build a new graduate building on SFU Burnaby as soon as possible.
Satellite Signals
Woodward’s
On November 2 at 7 p.m., Joe Sacco, author of Palestine and Footnotes in Gaza, will be at Woodward’s to discuss his career as a comic journalist, as well as the extraordinary experiences that shaped his success. Tickets are on sale now for $13 online or at the door.
https://www.sfu.ca/sfuwoodwards/events/events1/2016-2017-fall/AnEveningwithJoeSacco2.html
Harbour Centre
On November 2 at 4:30 p.m., Harbour Centre will be hosting a discussion on Coast Salish protocol and territorial acknowledgement. As Canada transitions into an era of indigenous reconciliation, the event will provide insight into what Canadians can contribute to the reconciliation process.
http://www.sfu.ca/humanities-institute/public-events/public-events/2016/coast-salish.html
SFU Surrey
On November 15, the Central City Student Community Engagement Competition will showcase its finalists. Attendees will experience a presentation of the partnerships between the Surrey community and SFU students. Students can attend this event by registering online through the SFU Surrey website.
