Haute Stuff: The old boys’ club: musings on prepdom
Something about the East Coast has always called to me. It’s a long distance love affair that even I find hard to pin down. I’ve been fascinated by everything from Greenwich Village hipsters, to uptown eccentrics, to perhaps most recently and notably, the concept of prep culture.
Dine & Dash: Lou’s Grill
This particular restaurant has a way of breaking expectations. From the outside, with its gravel parking lot and simple neon sign, Lou’s seems to be more of a down home grill, but stepping through the door I found quite the opposite. Less of a grill and more of a lounge, Lou’s offers hushed lighting, louder music and cozy seating for more intimate conversations.
Cascade Arcade: We often play games to be our ideal selves
In a new Psychological Science issue, an article discusses a recent study that hypothesizes that we’re drawn to games that allow us to role-play as those with our “ideal self characteristics.” The study, run by Andrew Przbylski, asked gamers about their personalities types, not just as themselves but also as their ideal-selves and as the characters they play as in games. The results backed up the claim, and Przbylski noted how the phenomenon is most common in those with a great difference between their personalities and the personality of what they perceive to be ideal.
Vapid viewing for Valentine’s Day
Most importantly, though, we celebrate Valentine’s Day with television. The following is a comprehensive round-up of Valentine’s Day specials.
Album Review: Coeur de Pirate – Blonde
It is rare that a foreign language album breaks its way into the English-speaking mainstream. However, this is exactly the feat accomplished by nineteen-year-old francophone chanteuse Beatrice Martin, who is more commonly recognized by her stage name, Coeur de Pirate.
Book Review: From Shy to Social: The Shy Man’s Guide to Personal & Dating Success by Christopher Gray
Now immediately I would ask said catalysts of this satisfaction and happiness—women—to stop reading. The whole point of the book is to persuade the estrogen-inclined into providing “satisfaction,” and it would be deeply unfair if you were wise to all our tricks before we (the testosterone-inclined) even tried them. Remember that, at least for the purpose of this work, you are like carefree, prancing gazelle on the African savannah, and we are like starving, lust-crazed cheetahs, anxiously developing our plan to stalk through the long grasses, separate you from the rest of the herd, and possibly obtain your phone-number.
SoundBites (Sharon Van Etten, Prinzhorn Dance School, The Man Whom, John K. Samson)
Reviews for the latest releases from Sharon Van Etten, Prinzhorn Dance School, The Man Whom, and John K. Samson
CIVL Shuffle: Haters Gonna Hate II edition
Brad van Haastregt hosts Haters Gonna Hate every Tuesday from 11-1 p.m. He has trouble writing about himself in the third person.
Film Review: The Grey
Neeson, a thin line of darkness against the white wasteland he’s lost in, has a lot to contend with.
Charles Dickens’ bicentenniel: Tales of urban poverty still relevant
I will be celebrating his bicentennial, if only by checking another one of his novels off my reading list and putting a “happy birthday” message into the social network universe. But not many people enjoy such enduring recognition as to have their birthday recognized centuries later. What makes Dickens so special, then?
Book Review: Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger by Nigel Slater
Toast is a tale told through vignettes, all of which revolve around some element of 1960s British cuisine (be it an idiosyncratic Sunday dinner or a much cherished chocolate bar), and he relates each food item masterfully to the milestones in his own life that have led him to become the person he is now.
Confessions of a barista
I revel in the workings of the nit-picky food and drink market. I secretly love when customers come in with an excitingly-complex new variation, and over these last few months I have grown to appreciate the deep, caramelly notes that are telling of a really good shot of espresso. I enjoy the outlet for creativity that comes with the construction of a personalized drink, as well as the sounds sights, and scents that come with any coffee shop.
Dine & Dash: The Baron Bar and Grill
The Baron Bar and Grill, which overlooks the Abbotsford International Airport runway, serves appies, steak, chicken, fish, rice bowls and, of course, burgers.
Cascade Arcade: SSX attempts to raise extreme sports genre from the dead
The amount of extreme sports games being released has dwindled to almost nothing in the last couple years. A classic extreme sports series, SSX, is hoping to buck the trend with its first sequel in five years.
Album Review: Ben Howard – Every Kingdom
Ben Howard is only 23, and spends most of his time on his acoustic guitar. He’s joined by Chris Bond, the drummer and double bass player, and the gorgeous India Bourne, who can be seen jumping between the roles of percussionist, bass guitarist and cello player. Howard is the lead singer, leaving the other two to vocally fill out the crescendos.
SoundBites (Gotye, Craig Finn, Leonard Cohen, Blunts and Roses)
Review for the latest releases from Gotye, Craig Finn, Leonard Cohen, and Blunts and Roses
CIVL Shuffle: Harmony and togetherness edition
Aaron Levy is CIVL Station Manager. He likes harmony and togetherness. These songs are not centered on those themes.
Film Review: Haywire
For 90 minutes, Haywire towers above similar stories because of Soderbergh’s carefully framed images, every shot packed with information, every punch landing with a wince.
Friendship is Magic: Wave of bronies exert consumer influence over My Little Pony
The most popular of The Hub, a new television network that features cartoons that overwhelmingly focus on consumer goods (toy company Hasbro is a partial owner), has become My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. The show owes much of its success to a cult following
Haute Stuff: A sharp dressed man
Items such as structured black shoes, double breasted blazers, trench coats and maybe even a fedora or two have had more prominence than ever.
Dine & Dash: From breakfast to dinner in Victoria, BC
In a city like Victoria, with restaurants around every corner and on every block, it can be hard to know where to go. Amy’s pick of restaurants and café are here to make it easier to see what’s worth checking out.
The Cascade’s Restaurants of the Year (2011)
The Cascade’s picks for the best places to eat in the Fraser Valley in 2011
Cascade Arcade: Games of the Year
After keeping a close eye on the industry, and doing my best to try out a variety of different games on different platforms, I’ve concocted this list in an effort to best represent my understanding of the year’s best.
Book Review: The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje
Michael Ondaatje’s new book The Cat’s Table is an intimate tale of a young boy’s journey from Colombo to England on the ocean liner, the Oronsay. The boy, oddly enough named Michael, is accompanied by his two friends Cassius, who is somewhat rambunctious, and Ramdhim who is known for his emotionality. Together the three children accompany a group of wayward adults at the back corner of the dining hall at the table known as “the cat’s table.” Each of the adults has their own stories to tell; about their pasts or their interactions with each other. All of these histories and actions are viewed through Michael’s eyes, giving the book a childish spin on the adult world around him. The children begin wandering about the ship, learning as they go and meeting other men and women from other classes of the ship. As the journey continues they begin to learn more about themselves and slowly mature as their perceptions of the world around them begin to change. Throughout the book they become open to the worlds of intrigue, villainy, self-preservation, sexuality and other people.
