The Command Sisters on front line in war against bullying
Who better than teenagers to make an anti-bullying video? Sarah Command of the local folk duo the Command Sisters is 15 years old and has just started high school – on the front lines in what has become a hot button issue. “I definitely have had my fair share of bullying,” she says, referring to […]
BUK STOPS HERE: Birds, bees put heat on Diotte
The liberal vote will get split between Don Iveson and Karen Leibovici, which means Kerry Diotte will be the next Mayor of Edmonton – but not if the fair food community has anything to say about it. Those who raise chickens and bees illegally within city limits maintain that the city government has no business […]
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 […]
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 […]
IS GOD DEAD? Metal dudes grapple the Almighty
There doesn’t seem to be much middle ground when it comes to heavy metal and religion. It’s either Trent Reznor in Nine Inch Nails snarling “Your God is dead and no one cares!” Or Megadeth’s openly Christian frontman Dave Mustaine refusing to share the stage with a band called Rotting Christ, or claiming that President […]
Comedy poker tournament honours Andy Ferguson
Most people spend Family Day with their families. Comedians spend it sleeping off a night spent with their extended family – other comedians. And what do they do? They play poker, of course. A who’s who of 24 Edmonton comedians gathered on Feb. 17 for the First Annual Andy Ferguson Memorial Comedians Poker Tournament, and […]
ART: Nothing Earth shattering at Biennial exhibition
As amusing and sometimes inspiring as it is, don’t expect breakthroughs in “new” art at the 2013 Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art. It tries to be contemporary. As soon as you enter the foyer of the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA), you’re served the message: “This isn’t going to be your parents’ art exhibition.” The […]
FAITH: Online, every living room is a congregation
You won’t find many guys out there as optimistic as Rev. Brian Kiely. Despite flat-lined membership numbers, the Edmonton-based president of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists figures his congregation isn’t leaving, just changing. “I spent my sabbatical studying life in the digital age and one of the things it convinced me of is […]
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 […]
GAME ON, GIG OFF: How hockey can hurt (other) live entertainment
Musicians and other performers are deeply conflicted over the end of the NHL lockout – judging from the gust of passionate comments on social media after Sunday’s good news. Amongst the expected grumbles of “who cares?!” and cheers of “yay! drop the puck!” was a nagging worry that the return of Edmonton Oilers games will […]
