DIY Christmas

DIY Christmas

By: Cedric Bell

Christmas can be an expensive time of year, especially for University students. One of the easiest ways to circumvent this problem is by getting homemade or cost effective gifts for others. Not only are they generally cheaper, but they can also be much more personally meaningful to the recipient if they can see the time, effort, and personal thought that has gone into making them. There are a variety of different kinds of DIY projects that can turn into great Christmas gifts, such as art, decoration, trade skills, or items that would be personal to the other person.

Art

There are many different mediums of art that could turn into a great DIY gift for someone, no matter what your artistic inclination is. Whether it's knitting, painting, drawing, or even writing to some extent, like poetry. For example, one of the Christmas gifts I gave someone one year was wood burning art of their favourite animal.

(Photo Credit: artofmanliness.com A Beginners Guide Pyrography, aka Wood burning)

Decoration

This one works especially well for anyone you live with, such as family, roommates, or significant others. Redecorating a room or wall to make it more functional or visually appealing would make for a great surprise as a Christmas gift, provided of course that the person is alright with their things being changed. This could include painting a mural, putting up a shelf for someone's collection, or other things like that to make their living spaces more suited to them.

Trades

If you’re not as artistically inclined, there are still plenty of options to turn to for DIY gifts. For example, if you have any skills in the trades like construction, wood or metalwork, there are lots of gifts you could make someone. Maybe you could make them that shelf they need, or a fire pit for when it gets nicer out. There are also lots of decorative things you can make out of wood and metal, if you want a less complicated but more visual gift to give, like a wooden mug or metal art.

Personal items

While these aren’t as easy to make yourself, they can be cheaper than most gifts, and can carry a lot of personal weight. Meaningful gifts outweigh expensive ones, and as long as you know the person well enough, there should be some good options. For instance, you could get them something with emotional meaning, like a photo album, or something to do with an inside joke. 

Christmas can be expensive and pricey, but it doesn't have to be. One of the best alternatives to make it a better experience is to give out homemade gifts rather than store bought ones. It cuts down on costs, and often means a lot more to the person receiving the gift. These examples should help to get an idea of what you can make for others, but shouldn’t be constraining in any way. There are plenty of creative and thoughtful ways to show people that you care about them over the holidays, and these are just a few.

STUDY TIPS DURING READING WEEK

STUDY TIPS DURING READING WEEK

Hello everyone,

Since we have reading week coming up, sharing some tips and ideas that have worked for me and some of my friends would not be a bad idea. Personally, I know that our gadgets, and some activities that go on in our lives, may serve as major distractions during this week off from school, so I am going to try to address as much as I can.

CURBING SOME COMMON DISTRACTIONS

• Try writing down some of the distractions you tend to face while trying to study. For example, if you begin to think about a movie when you are studying, just write it out somewhere, that way you can just come back to it at the end of the day.

• Create a study group. Most times, all we need is motivation. Find those friends that share common goals with you and have your best interest at heart. They will not let you waste your time when exams are around the corner.

• Make use of apps that help you focus. Fortunately for everyone, technology is making things very easy for us. There are special apps that are built to help you focus, just in case you find it hard to stay off social media.

• Try to motivate yourself and not procrastinate. These tips I have given cannot work if you personally do not have any plans to help yourself. You need to develop the mindset that whatever you study or do is for your own benefit. Netflix and YouTube and other streaming platforms or social media are there to stay and when you pass your tests, you can go back to them.

I hope you find these useful and apply them during the reading week.

Goodluck.

By: Kosy Ijeoma

Lowering Stress During Midterms

 Lowering Stress During Midterms

By: Mary Okorie, Reporter

Exam periods can be extremely stressful, and students tend to face anxiety during this time of the term. This is due to many factors, such as not preparing well before exams, or not sleeping and eating healthy. To reduce stress during exam periods students should make sure to prepare well and study, eat healthy, and have adequate sleep. They can talk to someone if it’s needed.

Good preparation

Preparing before an exam would really help to reduce the stress during midterms. Students would likely feel more confident about the exam and that can help them relax a bit. Due to heavy course load or various other reasons, students might find it hard to study before the day of the exam. This is where time management comes in. students should set apart time to study and reading goals to reach for a particular day. Reading should never be left to the day before the exam. When students study each day and prepare well in advance, they can know their weak points and find ways to clarify what they do not understand. So, when the exam is close, students do not need to start rushing and putting stress on themselves since they will have prepared enough ahead of time.

Healthy Food and Adequate Sleep 

Good food and sufficient sleep also helps reduce stress during exams. The brain needs enough rest and energy to function so students need to eat and sleep well. This goes in hand with preparing because if students prepare well, they will not have to give up their sleep to study the night before an exam or disrupt their eating patterns. Stress levels can go up when there is not sufficient sleep or consumption of unhealthy foods, which can make students fall sick. If students still can not deal with the stress, another effective method is to talk to someone who can give them better advice on how to manage their stress levels during exam periods.

Stress can really lead to a lot of other things and it is much better to try and keep it low when possible.

Trick-or-Treating May Still Happen with new Ideas for Safe Ways to Get Candy

Trick-or-Treating May Still Happen with  

New Ideas for Safe Ways to Get Candy

By Zach Roozendaal, Contributer

Concerned that your friends and family might come down with COVID-19 from trick-or-treating this year? Well no worries, because there are some incredibly ingenious ideas to help you not get Coronavirus yet still allow kids to get the candy they want to get.

        First of all, it’s no secret that with the rising case numbers in the province that many people are planning on boycotting giving out candy due to the risk of infection that it presents, which is understandable, but where there’s a will, you can be almost 100% certain that there is in fact a way, and these ideas may just be the way to getting somewhat of a happy Halloween.

        First and foremost, getting the kids to get the candy without the health risk is a big issue. You’d almost inevitably be coming into contact with kids by handing out candy. Or could you? Some houses in past years that weren’t able to get to the door to greet kids would instead leave a bowl of candy on the doorstep, allowing for the kids to get a candy. Of course, there’s the issue of kids getting germs on the bowl, and greedy kids trying to empty the bowl into their own bags and baskets. The way around these issues is to be by the door to see each group or individual child, and then after they go, spray the bowl with disinfectant and the candies in it. Don’t worry about kids ingesting the disinfectant, as it’ll dry and be harmless by the time they get back home, and the candy is also covered by wrappers that will prevent any of the disinfectant from getting on the candies themselves, as long as you’re not giving out things that come in cardboard or paper packages like say Smarties. 

        By sitting at the door, you can also observe and make sure kids don’t take more than they should, and be there to confront them if they do, as I will be, but while dressed as Michael Myers, because it is Halloween after all. 

        If you have a window by your front door then you can open it and give out candy by taking a cardboard tube and opening the window each time kids come. Simply place a candy in the tube and slide it down to the kids, and therefore you’re putting distance between both you and the kids. If you wan to make sure you can sanitize the tube, then either cover the end with plastic wrap that can easily be sprayed with disinfectant or use rainspout attachments, or a piece of PVC pipe, just whatever you can to keep that distance between you. Make sure that you sanitize after each kid comes, and leave a sign requesting only one child come up to the front of your home at any given time, and that one parent can join as well, but that way you prevent multiple groups from coming into contact with each other.

You can also try something similar to my first idea, and for kids that do come in groups, simply toss a bag on the doorstep with a few candy bars for them to share amongst themselves. Or the other thing you can do is go to the store and instead take small bags of candies and mail them to friends or family who have small children, so it’s like trick-or-treating but without the risk of infection. 

There are lots more ways, but those are just a few, and I hope that maybe it’s given some of you ideas to both combat COVID-19 and still let kids in your neighbourhood have a fun and safe Halloween. I’ll leave you all with my final thought now, as always.

Where there’s a will, there’s almost certainly a way. Creativity is the key to solving almost any problem.

With that being said, hopefully Halloween is saved, or at least somewhat. Anyways, remember to wash and sanitize your hands often, social distance and wear a mask when necessary, and stay at home if you don’t feel well.

Until next time, I’m Zach Roozendaal, signing off. Happy Halloween, stay safe out there, and goodbye for now.

Fun Ideas for Halloween Activities

Fun Ideas for Halloween Activities

By Zach Roozendaal

As the world is still battling the threat of COVID-19, many families are going to unfortunately be looking at having to cancel trick-or-treating this year. But don’t worry, because if you’re one of those families who hasn’t got candy to hand out or is going out to take a child to get a big supply of candy, then here are some great alternative ideas to help you beat your fear of being bored to death this October 31st.

First of all, look at getting a pumpkin. Nothing says fall like pumpkins, and you can make jack-o-lanterns with them. You can carve all kinds of cool designs into them, or go for a classic toothy smiling face with the triangular eyes and nose.

Still wishing to dress up? Invite a few close friends over, maybe like 5 or 6 and get a few drinks and some snack sized candies and have a costume party at your place, just make sure everyone is safe and uses hand sanitizer on the way in and hasn’t been feeling sick lately.

Another great idea you can try is watch a scary movie, as it is Halloween after all. You don’t have to watch a horror movie necessarily, I mean you could binge all the Treehouse of Horror episodes of The Simpsons, or watch the Charlie Brown Halloween special. If you want to watch a scary movie on Halloween, then my personal recommendation is maybe something sci-fi.

If you’re really looking to get into the spirit of all things scary and creepy, then check out the immortal and timeless classic from 1978, Halloween directed by John Carpenter and Deborah Hill, besides despite Michael Myers reputation of being a cold blooded killer he only manages 5 kills in the film, and only 4 take place on screen and they’re not very gory, since it was the 70’s after all and that’s not something audiences were used to at the time.

Go buy yourself a kiddy pool at your local store, and fill it with apples and go bobbing for apples, and buy some caramels and nuts and seeds and candies and you can make candy apples after you’re done. Caramel and candy apples taste great, and if you’re looking for something a little more interesting than caramel, you can always melt down candies like starbursts or Jolly Ranchers to use as a different sweet coating. 

In addition to carving pumpkins, you can use the seeds for some baking. Make some spooky pumpkin seed muffins or cupcakes with pumpkin spiced cream cheese frosting that’ll bring out the fall festiveness in everyone. Get some pumpkin spiced coffee from your local coffee shop, like Starbucks, Tim Hortons or Forbidden Flavours. 

        Make sugar cookies and get pumpkin, ghost, witch, skeleton, bat and vampire shaped cookie cutters. You can also get cat shaped ones or maybe even tombstone or spider shaped ones too. Get lots of multicoloured frosting or sprinkles in Halloween colours like orange, green, purple, white, yellow and black.

        Maybe this year you won’t be going out for treats, but you can still stay at home and do plenty of tricks. For example, you can get a cheap mask from your local costume shop like I did, (I got Michael Myers, what can I say? It’s a great film!) and scare your friends or family.

Looking for costumes ideas this year? Well with my vast pop culture knowledge, that’s no problem my friend! You could always dress up as Joe Biden or Donald Trump, since it’s an election year and those costumes will be trending. Don’t have enough money? No problem. Go to your local thrift store and buy some old clothes or an outfit to do a simple costume. Get a Hawaiian shirt and pop on some shorts and grab a coconut or two and some rum and soda with a pair of shades because who said you can’t go as a beachgoer for Halloween? Put on a black suit and black tie with a white shirt and grab some shades and go as one of the agents from Men in Black. You can also just put on a collared shirt and tie with some dress pants or khakis and carry a mug and go as an office employee. Get some scrubs and go as a doctor, or wear a suit with a white pillowcase and dress as Slenderman. Or you can be like me and print off a Kazakh flag and get a grey suit and beige tie with a fake moustache and go as everyone’s favourite Kazakh journalist, Borat Sagdiyev, which is sure to be a smash hit and a great success, high five wawaweewa!

Go visit a spooky location and record an EVP session. Get palm readings and visit a psychic or do whatever, or take a walk in the woods in the dark, but just in case bring a flashlight or lantern. Play a scary game, like Slender or Amnesia, although my personal recommendation is Dead by Daylight, a game I’ve been hooked on for months on mobile, and they’ll have released their Silent Hill Chapter on mobile by Halloween, meaning you can play as Pyramid Head or Cheryl Mason, or a whole list of other characters, like Ash Williams from Evil Dead, (as voiced by Bruce Campbell), Ghost Face, Freddy Krueger, Bill Overbeck, Laurie Strode, Leatherface, the Demogorgon, and Michael Myers. Check it out as it’s free on the app store.

And there you have it, some fun and safe activities this Halloween. Remember to wash or sanitize your hands often and wear a mask, social distance when possible, stay home if you feel sick and have fun and be safe this Halloween season. And now as always, here’s my final thought for this article:

Fear is something that can both strengthen and cripple us, but in the right scenarios, it prepares us.

Until next time, this is Zach Roozendaal, signing off. Goodbye for now, and Happy Halloween.

My Coming Out Story

My Coming Out Story  

By: Mallory Johnson 

In honour of National Coming Out Day, which was on October 11th, I wanted to share my coming out story. I first came out to my friend Miles over text, this was when I was still questioning my sexuality (at this time, I thought I was bisexual), but it felt good telling someone. A little while after that, I told my friend Ashley that I was bisexual, also over text, and it felt great having another person know about it. A little while after that, I told my friend Brittany (also over text), this one felt really good because Brittany is one of my favourite people and I felt a relief that I didn’t have to hide it from her anymore. Eventually, I had to kind of come out to these three friends again because I realized I was not bisexual, but a lesbian. I am super grateful that my friends all supported me throughout this journey. Then, on September 15th in Brittany’s Brandon University dorm room, I sent my sister a Tik Tok video that had a gay joke in it. She asked me “Does this mean you’re gay?” and I said yes, and she said that she loved me and that she already knew. A little later that same night, I sent my parents Ally Hills’ Coming Out Song video, formally coming out to them. I am so lucky and grateful that I was met with so much love after I did that. The next morning, I texted my other friends, the rest of my family, and formally came out on Instagram and Facebook. I was met with so much love from everybody. After this, I went to the mall and bought a bunch of pride things and ordered a giant rainbow flag off Amazon. I now have a lesbian flag in my room. I am so lucky that I was accepted by everyone I came out to, because I know that not everyone is this lucky. Please remember that outing someone is never okay. If you are wanting to come out, please do it safely, and on your own terms.

2020 Halloween Costume Ideas

2020 Halloween Costume Ideas  

By: Mallory Johnson 

Halloween 2020 is quickly approaching, so I thought that I would share some costume ideas with you! I got most of these ideas from Pinterest, others from pop culture this year, and some just from experience. 

I decided to organize these in age groups, so my first ideas are for young kids. These ideas are simple, with costumes you can probably find at Walmart or Value Village. These include animals in general, superheroes, firefighters, princesses, emojis, witches, ghosts, aliens, and Wizard of Oz characters. These are all classics and are always a fun time! 

The next age group is teenagers, so they are a bit more mature. These ideas should also be easy to find but are a little more homemade then the ones listed above. These include a cheerleader, a skeleton, the Pink Ladies from Grease, Crocs, Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice…), Rosie the Riveter, Thing 1 and Thing 2, a deck of cards, a boxer, a ghostbuster, the Joker, Pennywise, athletes, a tourist, and an angel or a devil.

My next age group is young adults like myself. These are simple yet mature and fun. These ideas can be homemade or found at Halloween stores. These costume ideas include different alcoholic beverages, like White Claw or Pink Whitney, red solo cups, Cards Against Humanity cards, The Purge characters, Britney Spears, characters from the musical Hamilton, and Harley Quinn from Birds of Prey.

My final age group is adults, and these costumes are also simple and easy to find. These include Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic, Morticia Addams, The Price is Right host and contestants, The Office characters, a One Night Stand, a clown, and Minnie and Mickey Mouse. 

Regardless of how Halloween looks this year, if you are going out trick or treating or celebrating some other way, please do not forget to wear a mask! Help slow the spread of COVID-19! Happy early Halloween 2020!

On the Future of Lecturing

On the Future of Lecturing

By N. Monk, Futurist and Philosopher          

 In the future, lecturing will look quite different from what the world is used to now because of the further advancements that will be made in education. Continuously, new ways of teaching students are turning up. Before the recent pandemic, it was believed that classes would never be able to take place online after the pandemic the complete opposite was shown to be true. However, lectures being taught online are a mixed blessing.

           There are plenty of technical advantages with online lecturing that do not currently exist with in-class lecturing. For example, in online classes, students have the option of captions in which for people who are hard of hearing or deaf this helps eliminate the difficulty of figuring out what the professor is saying. Another example is that in online lecture form because students and professors can use headphones to listen to the audio, the volume can be adjusted for people regardless of the hearing of the person. This too helps eliminate a problem with in-person lectures. More specifically, the students in the front rows right in front of the professors have the advantage of being able to hear more clearly what the speaker is saying, the further away one sits the more this decreases. Online lectures do not have this problem. Similarly, the people in the front rows have the advantages of being able to perfectly see everything that is written, like the sound this will decrease the further away one is. Once again online lectures eliminate this problem as well.

           Online lectures are not what I believe will be the future of lecturing in general. One major problem with online lecturing is that the sound and audio quality depends on way too many factors. One has to consider webcam quality, microphone quality, internet download speeds, upload speeds, et cetera. For everyone in a class of 30+ or more to have all of these things to a reasonable standard is not a likely possibility at all, and even in the future, this may not be solved either. Physical lectures do not have these problems. From these examples, it becomes more apparent that a balance of virtual lecturing and in person lecturing is needed. This link may very well be with the use of holograms or three-dimensional holographic imagery.

           The first thing one can note that will probably be different about the future lecture room is the seating and shape of the room. Ideally only one row in front or surrounding the speaker, so that the problems of decreasing sound and vision disappear. A circular arrangement of a desk or even a spherical arrangement of desks could be a strong possibility. Furthermore, to eliminate sound problems speakers could be imbedded in each desk and a good microphone placed on the speaker. Even so, if a student does not want to listen through the speaker on their desk, a headphone connection port could be placed in the desk as well and be used. This can be taken even further, a small lengthwise screen could be hidden in the desk and if the student chooses to have captions during the physical lecture the student can view the captions on the screen that pops up from in their desk. This is not all that can be done, for the lecturer, in the future interactive holograms could be a versatile tool. Let us say one is teaching about the solar system, with the use of holograms the lecturer could speak into the air and call upon a solar system hologram to aid instruction, as a bonus each of the solar system holograms can be manipulated by size, colour et cetera. A virtual assistant can also be present in each classroom to ask for all sorts of questions to the ever-growing database of knowledge to once again aid in the instruction of the lecturer. Because this lecture room is in person, the problems of online lecturing I outlined earlier also disappear. The only real problem with these lecture ideas is that they do not exist, but who is to say in fifty years or so it will not?

How Accessible Will the Library and its Services be This Fall Term?

How Accessible Will the Library and its Services be This Fall Term?

By: Maria Garcia Manzano

With Brandon University still operating under their most restrictive phase under their COVID-19 plan (Phase Blue), students are wondering how library accessibility has been affected. Before classes began BU’s library sent out a detailed plan as to how it would operate during the fall term. Attached to the email sent to students were also instructions as to how to book seating in the library for studying and how to make an appointment in case you needed to do any of the following:

• Add Money to your printing queue through Interac

• Pick up Held books and Other items

• Print from the student queue

• Return borrowed books and items

• Use the photocopier

In order to make an appointment for the items listed above and for the booking of seating’s students must follow the instructions provided on the BU library website and book online through the portals that are given. Appointments can be booked from 8:45am – 4:45pm for week days and 1:00pm – 5:30pm on weekends throughout the month of September. In October they are hoping to extend hours their operating hours. 

BU Library Link: https://www.brandonu.ca/library/

Students are reminded that while it may be tempting to access the library you must keep in mind that it is a place to work with very limited space. Individual study places in the Convergy’s computer lab and the individual desktops found around the library must need to be booked in advance in order to use them. While in-person library accessibility may seem limited student are reminded that they still have access to all the physical copies of resources found in the library such as books, journals and all other entries you may need. Student will also have access to the inter-library services to obtain e-resources from other libraries. The library also has a limited number of laptops to lend out in case a student requires one students can complete the BU Laptop Loan Program form and send it to Letain@brandonu.ca

BU link to Form: https://www.brandonu.ca/student-services/files/2020/08/Laptop-Loan-Application.pdf

It is unprecedented times and many of us may feel as though we are unproductive at home and may have the urge to pop by the library and study there, however we must remember there is a pandemic going on and that while online learning from home may seem unfeasible we must work hard and stay at home as this too shall pass. 

Photo Credits: Google Images-Brandonu.ca

Prestigious award recipients at Assiniboine recognized

Media Release

www.assiniboine.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Prestigious award recipients at Assiniboine recognized

BRANDON, Man. (September 11, 2020)— The recipients of the Governor General’s Academic Medal and the Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medals have been presented with their awards in advance of graduation this fall.

James Epp, Network Administration Technology graduate, is the recipient of the first ever Governor General’s award presented by Assiniboine.

"I am honoured to receive this award. I have a great appreciation for my instructors who encouraged and developed my spirit of discovery," said Epp. "Being able to challenge myself by asking the right questions and then having the confidence to find the answers to those questions has given me the skills necessary to develop my career and I am grateful to have this award recognize my abilities."

The Governor General’s Academic Medal recognizes academic excellence. The medal is awarded to the student who has achieved the highest overall average from a diploma program at the college.

“I congratulate James on receiving this prestigious academic award,” said Dr. Deanne Rexe, VP Academic at Assiniboine. “Receiving the highest grade point average at Assiniboine undoubtedly took great determination.”

The Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal recognizes two students who have achieved outstanding academic performance and contributed in significant ways to the college and their community.

This year’s recipients are Darise Peters-Fontaine, a graduate of the Office Management program in Long Plain First Nation, and Mariah McCue, a graduate of Practical Nursing at the Victoria Avenue East campus in Brandon.

"Studying with Assiniboine Community College has been such a rewarding experience. It's uncommon for educational institutions to offer programs on reserves, so I knew I had to take advantage of this opportunity,” said Peters-Fontaine. “Receiving the Lieutenant Governor's award is an honour. I am grateful for the recognition this award brings and for the opportunities it opens up for my future."

“I was extremely nervous moving to a new province and starting out at a new school. Assiniboine quickly became like a second home, providing me with both an education and a hockey program,” said McCue. “I was able to receive a diploma in nursing and be part of a National championship team 2019 along with an undefeated season in 2020. To say I’m grateful and lucky is an understatement. Thank you, Assiniboine, for three amazing years.”

Students eligible for the Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal are nominated by any combination of three staff and students and selected based on academic and technical ability, participation in college community activities, and good character and personality.

“These award recipients embody what we want Assiniboine grads to represent,” said Mark Frison, President at Assiniboine. “When you see a grad that has been engaged and performed well academically, who has also been involved in the college outside of academics or has been a community contributor and volunteer, that speaks to an extraordinary character.”

Then and Now: Pandemics

Then and Now: Pandemics

By Ronnie Neiman

More than one hundred years ago, the influenza pandemic happened. Brandon University continued its schooling back then as well, but in an entirely different format to the one the university decided on this time around. In 1918, there was no option for a digital format, so those who attended classes, had to attend in person and be extraordinarily careful with distance and cleanliness. 

Another factor that set the 1918 pandemic apart from the current COVID-19 crisis is that a hundred years ago was that the world was at war. It was the end of the war, but fighting was still ongoing, and soldiers were still encamped all over the world. 

At that time all students were affected either by the war, the pandemic or both. Some chose to volunteer their time to help the war effort or to help those ailing from the influenza. This took them away from their classes and the university, and sometimes the outcome was the worst possible, their deaths. In that sense, they are all truly heroes. 

Photo’s from the Brandon University Library archives show what was reported on the pandemic at that time. It wasn’t a lot because much of the news was focused on the war but it still shows the student populace’s state of mind.  

On the Philosophy of Time

More than enough times people will be listening to motivational speakers, and they will say stuff like “every passing moment you will never experience again” or “its not the clock that is ticking away here, it is your life.” While listening to those kinds of things can motivate people to not waste time, it will also cause people to not experience time as well. The famous idea of time always seems to be one of the main pillars of every problem everything has. 

The modern understanding of what ‘time’ is, has led us to believe that all the time we ‘lose’ is time we had to begin with. If one, we to survey a large portion of people about whether or not we could change the future, most would say that the future is not set in stone. The problem with this is that in a way contradicts the current understanding of how time works. The time you will gain or lose does not even exist yet. In other words, how could the future not be set in stone if you had a finite amount of time to begin with? If you did have a finite amount of time, then you would have to de-exist at a specific moment in the future, and there would be nothing you could do to change that. In that sense, the future is set in stone. Thus, we cannot lose time exactly, in order to lose time, you would need to know your own final destination. 

One could argue that death is a final destination. However, do you know the exact moment it will happen? No. It could be in the next two minutes or the next thirty years. In this idea, people lose time in a relative manner. Relative to an unpredictable event. Loss implies and end to something, or so that is how it is perceived. 

Imagine existence without time. Everything would be constant unchanging; nothing could ever do anything. Events rely directly on time. Without the idea of time everything things come to enjoy and seek pleasure would cease to be. All things beautiful, and all things horrifying, must begin to end in order to exist. Trying to hold onto moments, by any means is to try to stop the passage of time. Let’s say a god told you if you took a picture of your girlfriend planting a flower, everything in that picture from that point on would be permanently wiped from existence except the photo of the event itself. Would you still be able to bring yourself to take the picture? No, well why not? People take pictures of beautiful moments to try and capture the moment so that they can return to it again. In that thought experiment you get exactly that. We do not do it because we know there will be more majestic moments like that as well, but the only way that hey will happen if is we do not take the picture. In other words, the moment has to end, we have to experience the moment. This is why the idea of taking photos of beautiful moments is ridiculous. When you take a photo, you are no longer experiencing that moment. So, try not to stop time, live the moment. The purpose of time is to remind us to experience the here and now. 

By N. Monk, The Unofficial Philosopher

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PC: ASKIDEAS.Com

Weekly Brain Teasers

What can be seen at the middle of March and April, that can’t be seen at the beginning or ending of the month.

Ans: The Letter 'R’

Brandon University 50th Home Coming

October 11th - 14th Celebrating 50 years since the first class graduated from Brandon University.

 Thursday October 11th Events

 Homecoming Information Booth

Healthy Living Centre

1:00 pm – 8:00 pm

 Arts Speaker: “Rival Knowledges in Ancient Greece and Present-Day Canada”

Clark Hall, Room 212

4:45 pm - 6:00 pm

 Future Students’ Info Night

Harvest Hall

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Under the Stars

Louis Riel Room, McMaster Hall

6:30 pm – 11:00 pm

 Celebration of Authors

Education Building Room 107

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

 Powerhouse on the Prairies

Evans Theatre, McKenzie Building

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

 ‘In the (K)Now’ student art exhibition – Opening Reception 

Sutherland Art Gallery

7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

 pro series Homecoming Concert

Lorne Watson Recital Hall, QEII Music Building, Room 1-60

7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

 Food Trucks

Brandon University

12:00 pm – 7:00 pm

 Friday October 12th Events

 Homecoming Information Booth

Healthy Living Centre

1:00 pm – 8:00 pm

‘Where STEM education can lead,’ with Col. Chris Hadfield, presented by the BU Faculty of Science

Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

 ‘In the (K)Now’ student art exhibition

Sutherland Gallery of Art

2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

 Champagne Celebration

Harvest Hall

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

 Powerhouse on the Prairies

Evans Theatre, McKenzie Building

3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

 Homecoming Kick-Off, presented by Sunrise Credit Union

Healthy Living Centre – Walking/Jogging Track

5:00 pm – 10:00 pm

 Basketball Reunion and Wall of Fame kick-off celebration

Brandon University

5:00 pm – 10:00 pm

 Bobcats Basketball

Healthy Living Centre

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

 Under the Stars

Louis Riel Room, McMaster Hall

6:30 pm - 11:00 pm

 ‘An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth,’ with Col. Chris Hadfield

Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

 Bobcats Volleyball

Healthy Living Centre

7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

 Saturday, October 13th Events

 New Beginnings Research Conference

Clark Hall, Room 212

8:30 pm - 1:30 pm

 Sports Wall of Fame induction ceremony and brunch

Victoria Inn

8:30 pm - 12:00 pm

 Homecoming Information Booth

Healthy Living Centre

9:00 pm – 8:00 pm

 ‘The Lego Movie’ with cereal bar

Evans Theatre, McKenzie Building

10:00 am - 12:00 pm

 PrairieCon GamesDay

Education Building Room 107

10:00 am – 10:00 pm

 Psychology Department Reunion

Elephant Room, Knowles-Douglas Building

11:00 am – 1:00 pm

 Campus Bookstore and Forbidden Flavours open for Homecoming

Mingling Area, Knowles-Douglas Building

12:00 pm – 5:00 pm

 BU Family Fun afternoon

Brandon University

12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

 ‘Campus Chrome’ car show

Brandon University

12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

 Food Trucks

Brandon University

12:00 pm – 11:00 pm

 Bobcats Soccer – Prowler Cup

Optimist Park

1:00 pm – 5:15 pm

 Open Campus & Tours

Clark Hall, Room 104

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

 Parallel Prairies Book Launch

Gathering Space, John E. Robbins Library

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

 Alumni Authors & Faculty Book Fair

Mingling Area, Knowles-Douglas Building

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

 Philosophy Reunion & Celebration of Dr. May Yoh

He Oyate Tawapi (Ceremony Room), Health Studies Complex, Room 141

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

 Bobcat Alumni Games

Healthy Living Centre – North Gym

2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

 ‘In the (K)Now’ student art exhibition

Sutherland Gallery of Art

2:00 pm – 6:00 pm

 Dinner & Awards

Harvest Hall

5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

 Bobcats Volleyball

Healthy Living Centre

5:00 pm

 ‘Fifty Fest” free music concert, presented

Brandon University

5:00 pm – 11:55 pm

 Under the Stars

Louis Riel Room, McMaster Hall

6:30 pm – 11:00 pm

 Bobcats Basketball

Healthy Living Centre

7:00 pm

 Sunday October 14th Events

Harvest Hall

10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Friendship

It's hard to describe the feeling we share
It's a feeling of understanding, honesty and trust
Friendship means everything to us
The bonding we have is so strong that it will never end
Like the Sun, the Moon and the stars

Sweet Mother

Sweet mother,
       I will never forget you, you have suffered and struggled to see me become the child i am today, a respectable person in the society.

       I remember when i didn't eat, you also didn't eat, when i was crying, you carried me and wiped the tears from my eyes with your sweet and tender voice consoling me, when i was sick you were there at my bed side taking care of me as a Guardian Angel, If Angels are real then I know you are one of them.

        We had some good days and some not so very good days. The constant lectures, advice, training and scolding you gave to me, i thought those were signs of your hatred towards me, boy was i wrong. Even though i didn't say "i love you too" the countless times you told me you loved me, in my heart i was glad. You've sacrificed alot for me.  Remember that time Dad never showed up for my game, you called in sick just to come see me play and got suspended for lying. i didn't show my gratitude because i was mad at dad but when i saw you, there was this flame that lit in me and i smiled, we lost the match but i won something else, You.

        I was always a jerk and didn't show my feelings to you because i didn't want to look stupid or weak, but that was a child's thinking. I wished i told you a lot of things and how much i loved you. Dad was never there but you were, i took all my hatred for him on you, but you always smiled back and apologized. I knew i was wrong but didn't stop. I saw you the other night crying, I never realised you suffered more, you were always hiding that sadness behind a smile and I felt bad for you,.

        I saved money so i could get  you something for christmas, i was so excited i wanted to tell you not to worry because i got your back, i wanted to say i was sorry for everything i did to you, i wanted to say i love you, i wanted to see that smile on your face, i wanted you to be happy, i wanted you to rest and let me take care of you. I remember that night before christmas when i came back from the store after getting you your present. There were lots of cops outside the house, i saw you, still smiling and looking cute, you just layed there didn't move as the guy covered you up in a black sack and lifted you into the van.

        You were suffering from cancer all this time and you never told me. You were always cheerful and happy and smiling, it breaks my heart right now. I never should have waited for christmas, i should have told you everyday, every minute, how much i loved you, how sorry i was, I'm sorry Ma, I'm sorry Ma, I'm sorry Ma, I'm sorry Ma, I love you a lot and will never forget you.

         It's been twenty five years now since you joined the angels, i havn't forgotten your training, which i use on Tanya all the time, i think she hates me. I just became the president of the company where i work, can you believe that. You still have that perfectly beautiful smile as i look at your grave. Oh yes Tanya just turned 5 today and she has your smile, my there Sweet Mother.

Riddle For The Week

I am the black child of a white father, a wingless bird, flying even to the clouds of heaven. I give birth to tears of mourning in pupils that meet me, even though there is no cause for grief, and at once on my birth I am dissolved into air. What am I?

Answer: Smoke

The Quill Holiday Writing Contest: Winter, My Favourite Enemy

Winter, My Favourite Enemy
By Jordan Janzen

It’s four PM, the sun is about to set,

My cheeks are burning and my boots are wet.

The wind assaults the little bit of skin that is exposed,

It seeps through my jacket, even though it’s closed.

My nose is runny and my lashes are frosted.

My legs are like logs, and I am utterly exhausted.

Snowflakes slap me in the face,

But I manage to keep up the pace!

As I trudge through the deep snow,

I just thought you should know,

Although the winter can be tough,

I can never get enough!

Of soaring down a hill on your sled,

Or finishing a snowman with a top hat on his head.

Of racing down the ice, with a hockey stick in your hand,

Or dancing around in the winter wonderland!

Nothing compares to the thrill of the chase,

During a snow ball fight, a smug grin on your face.

Winter comes with its con’s and pro’s,

But the joy often trumps the woes.

Summer is fun, the beach is nice,

But nothing competes with snow and ice.