Calgary bar steals ‘Sidetrack’ mojo – Edmontonians irked
Some Edmonton music scene-sters are crying foul over the sudden appearance of the “Sidetrack Stage and Grill” in Calgary – but managers insist that this is not a crass attempt to cash in on Edmonton’s famous sadly defunct music venue. “No disrespect is intended,” says Darcy Clendenning, promotions manager for the Sidetrack Stage and Grill […]
Edmonton indie game developers find success par for the corpse
Pity poor Sir Reginald the Obtuse. He is brave, adroit, fleet of foot. But if you want to get across that spike pit, you’re going to have to bounce off poor Sir Reginald’s spike-riddled carcass to do it. The video game platformer Life Goes On is the most twisted little piece of black comedic […]
DOC AS A GAME: Fort McMoney oiling up for Round 2
The future of the Sim City version of Fort McMurray depicted in Fort McMoney – half documentary, half interactive video game – did not turn out very well. Changes suggested by 309,000 viewer-gamers between Nov. 25 and Dec. 22, 2013 may have reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the Northern Alberta boomtown by 58%, but the […]
What science can we learn from Harry Potter magic?
The Telus World of Science has been asked to make it crystal clear that Harry Potter, The Exhibition is “not educational.” It’s purely entertainment. And you know what that means. Probably no field trips. Sorry, kids. Anyway, what is an exhibit featuring props, sets and other bric-a-brac from movies dealing with MAGIC doing in a […]
Wat’s up! Friendship bonds through food at Abyssinia
From the outside, Abyssinia looks like a charming family home. Of course, it is a family restaurant. Owners Zafu Gessessew and Wond Assefa came from Ethiopia to Canada separately 22 years ago, married in Edmonton and eventually decided to take the risk to start their own place, with their families in mind. The couple offers […]
Does public art improve life for Edmonton’s homeless?
Answering a simple question – what do homeless people think of public art? – was fraught with difficult and humbling emotions. I recently interviewed a number of Edmonton street people who turned out to be so sharp that the question should’ve been: Why in God’s name are you homeless?! The stories vary: Poverty, alcoholism, mental […]
Cartoon Machine thrives in Torontonian urbanity
Stand-up comedians and cartoonists are the only people in the world who can be counted on to tell us the brutal truth – no matter what. We’re lied to on a daily basis by the government, the media, corporations, even our neighbours and loved ones. Someone’s got to do the dirty job of being honest. […]
426-5050, whatever happened to the Lydo?
Four-two-six, five-oh, five-oh, if you’re hungry, call the Lydo! Never had such crappy Chinese food gained such a huge local reputation – thanks to the little jingle written to go with their phone number that remains an Edmontonian brainworm 10 years after the place went bankrupt. A lot of people who ordered Lydo vowed never […]
Who killed the friendly neighbourhood mall?
Capilano area blades remain dull because no one at the local mall sharpens knives anymore. The coffee shop is long gone, so is the hobby store, plus the shoe store. The funky little curio shoppe run by the guy with the messed up face is a distant memory. Capilano Mall is the saddest mall in […]
COMICS: Art mart’s smart start
If the average Chapters bookstore had been built for the demographic that worships The Big Bang Theory, it probably would have looked something like the inside of Happy Harbor Comics, a strangely tasteful esthetic of functional display, enough pop culture to make you think you’re in Tokyo and a real-life, real-time comic artist in one […]
TRADITION: Ashes to ashes, bucks to bucks
The days of the family crypt and side-by-side plots may soon be a thing of the past: cremation now dominates burial statistically in Canada, say funeral experts, a complete reversal from two decades ago, when the practice was still frowned upon by many faiths. “Edmonton’s rate is about 70% cremation now and Vancouver Island’s is […]
ONE FINAL YEARENDER: Eight Edmonton news items of 2012
And here you were hoping the Mayans were right and you could FINALLY get out of having to read one more “top stories of the year” list. Sorry. Given Pre-Columbian prophetic abilities, surely the Mayans wouldn’t have been able to accurately predict any of these events either: Former Edmontonian Heads Bank of England It was […]
