Volume 63, Number 18

Published January 29, 2009

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  • NFL Picks

    Welcome back! Our final installments of the NFL Picks will highlight the culmination of the NFL season as the post-season winds down. This week, we look over the AFC and NFC conference championships. The regular season doesn’t matter anymore. Every game could be the last. Check your insight against ours, including last year’s NFL Picks champ: Scott!

  • How to improve your sleeping habits

    As the start of a new year, January is a busy month for many of us. Occupied with work and classes we neglect to strive for an adequate amount of sleep each night. Staying up late to cram and read textbooks combined with waking up early for work interferes with our sleep schedule. This causes our whole body to suffer.

  • Cougars feed on Wesmen remains

    With first place in the Great Plains Division on the line, last weekend’s games against the Regina Cougars (14-4) were almost must-wins for the Winnipeg Wesmen (10-8); unfortunately, two more losses put Winnipeg on a four-game losing streak.

  • Have fun and leave it at that

    We’ve all had birthdays – we know what they’re like. People make you drink much more than you’re comfortable with. Your friends buy you a shot when you have already had too many and you’re thinking, “This one is gonna make me throw up.”

  • Weird team names

    Naming your sports team used to be easy – just pick some dangerous animal and you’re set. Unfortunately, there are way more sports teams in the world then there are dangerous animals, so there’s a lot of team names that range from hilarious to “what in the world were they thinking.”

  • No beer, no barbecue, no point?

    There I was at nine in the morning enjoying a nice cold beer before a Kansas City Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium. I wasn’t in my hotel room, a bar or on the way to the game. Instead, I was actually in the middle of a good old-fashioned NFL tailgate party with tens of thousands of other football die-hards in the parking lot. Suddenly the question popped up: can I do this before a Blue Bomber game?

  • Arts Briefs

    Death Row to live again; Silver Jews throw in the towel; Slumdog Millionaire premieres in India

  • Radio Scars 2008

    Taking a cue from an annual feature in Spin magazine, six young music fans—Bucky Driedger, Jonathan Dyck, Aaron Epp, Thomas Epp, Les Friesen and Theo Wiebe—gathered to listen to and discuss some of 2008’s biggest pop music hits. This is what they had to say.

  • One thing leads to another

    Adam Charbonneau may not be a professional actor by definition, but he displays all of the qualities of one: commitment, attentiveness, preparation and passion.

  • Shane Philip - Live at Baker Studios

    Consider him Canada’s answer to Xavier Rudd, or just a hippie from B.C., Shane Philip is a one-man-band, playing guitars, percussion and didgeridoo all while whooping and singing about peace, the environment (“Plastic Bags”) and social issues (“Stranded”).

  • Ole - Lost It All On Sleipnir in the Third

    Lost It All On Sleipnir in the Third by Canadian four-piece Ole is anything but an enthralling musical endeavor in hardcore thrash metal. The overly distorted guitars are annoying and fuzzy sounding, even for metal, and I could not tell if there was a bass in the mix until the last track.

  • Hannah Georgas - The Beat Stuff

    Singer-songwriters who play this brand of indie folk pop are so plentiful right now that Hannah Georgas is at an instant disadvantage. The odds of even getting heard, let alone escaping obscurity, are slim.

  • Jarhead - Image of Insanity

    With its amazing drumming, rockin’ guitars and politically-charged lyrics, this CD by indie thrash metal band Jarhead is hard to ignore. Although some of the lyrics may ring hollow as typical anti-corporate platitudes, some of the lyrics resonate more deeply

  • Darcia Senft with James Hickerson - Storms in the Cellar

    Darcia Senft has a sweet warmth to her voice you can just sink into. Sounding like a mixture of Alison Krauss’ innocence blended with the rich wisdom of Bonnie Raitt, Senft flows with ease over these 13 tracks, often accompanied by nothing more than James Hickerson’s crisp acoustic guitar.

  • Fashion Streeter

    I’ll put on anything that draws attention.
  • Waiting For Elvis

    Sometimes we forget that life is most often really lived in the quietest of moments. Caught up in the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, we forget how life-affirming silence can be. This stillness is not always peaceful, but it’s rarely false. The quiet moments of our lives are the ones that define who we are. And yet, far too frequently, we shy away from them. We’re afraid of what the silence might reveal.

  • Manitoba Chamber Orchestra satisfies audience with sounds from the east

    One standing ovation after another standing ovation after another – that was the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra’s Jan. 21 recital in a nutshell.

  • The passion of The Ripperz

    Go to The Ripperz’s MySpace page and you’ll be greeted by five words: “There’s just too much passion.”

  • Christopher Lake is the new Walden Pond

    Less than a week from today, local musician Ingrid Gatin will be secluded in a cabin in the forests of northern Saskatchewan, alone with an accordion and a looping pedal, penning songs for her upcoming solo album.

  • Right at the beginning and right at the end

    When reading the title It’s a Good Life, one might think it references the American dream—wealth and beauty.

  • Re: “Anarchism is never the answer”

    Mr. Dumont seems to have a rather limited understanding of the complexities of anarchist theory (“Anarchism is never the answer,” Jan. 15 edition). Even a cursory view over the Wikipedia article on “anarchism” would have shown that the majority of his assumptions are incorrect.

  • We can’t handle the truth

    People are motivated by authenticity. Deep down, they want to see truth prevail. Unfortunately, it’s often their own version of the truth they want to see come out on top, and that version of the truth is often hazy.

  • A Canada you can believe in

    Last week I had the opportunity to make my way down to Washington, D.C. for the inauguration of the new president. In the whirlwind of long lines and security checkpoints, surrounded by ecstatic crowds and vendors hawking everything from Obama track suits to condoms (“The real stimulus package!”), I could not help but have thoughts about the lackluster state of politics in my own country.

  • Pretirement: the future is now (and much cleaner)

    Hey Gang, J. Williamez here, with yet another installment of Good and Evil. In sticking with my theme, I’d like to talk to you all today about something which is both good and evil: employment.

  • Hydro ignores our history and heritage

    It is amazing what a difference one day can make. In fact, in the case of Manitoba Hydro – that most sacred cow of all Manitoba’s crown corporations – the period of time that it took to go from announcing an almost impressively naïve expansion plan to public repentance for that very plan took less than 24 hours.

  • Do we need God?

    For the next three issues of The Uniter, Rev. Jack Duckworth will argue the case for Christianity, coinciding with a number of dialogues he is holding here at the university. In response, a variety of guest and regular Uniter writers will try to show the wide ranging and passionate opinions that arise when questions of faith are brought to the table.

  • Genetic testing: the good, the bad and the ugly

    With a sample of your blood, hair or skin, scientists can determine many characteristics of your physiology – including health problems that you may have now, could acquire in the future, or even what your children could be susceptible to.

  • Campus News Briefs

    Passing on the U-Pass ; Keeping cool in a recession ; U of W videos earn professional recognition ; Fair justice ; Questioning youth

  • Job fair for aboriginal youth comes to Winnipeg

    A job fair directed at Western Canada’s aboriginal community drew 1,100 students from across western Canada for workshops and a trade show on Jan. 14.

  • U of W gets $8 million budget boost

    The provincial government is giving the University of Winnipeg $7.9 million for maintenance and improvements, part of a $40 million contribution to Manitoba’s four major universities.

  • The homeless in public spaces

    What do you think about homeless people using public spaces to keep warm?

  • International News Briefs

    Calgary Zoo loses goat to hanging ; Yacht company designs island-on-a-boat ; 11-year-old matador kills 6 bulls ; Georgian saints make the Top 10 ; Castaways discovered

  • Green light for biodiesel

    Green light for biodiesel ; Cross Lake turning blue ; Air travelers’ rights on the agenda ; Enhanced identification card initiated ; “Smart development” ushers in Ikea

  • Public consulted on women’s health

    The Women’s Health Clinic is partnering with the province to facilitate public consultations on women’s health issues, though some are skeptical that more consultations are the answer.

  • Manitoba bucks national car sales trend

    Unthreatened by current economic predictions, Bree-Ann Carruthers and her husband took the plunge and decided to buy a car. They spent a lot of time researching and thinking about what to get, eventually deciding upon a 2003 Volkswagen Golf.

  • When age doesn’t matter

    In the heart of Uganda, one 21-year-old Winnipegger and her foundation are making a difference in the lives of many.

  • Have vision, will govern

    Say what you like about Mayor Sam Katz, but the man has a vision for the city. “I see Winnipeg as a city where people of all ages want to live, work and invest in. Winnipeg is open for business and we need to get that message out.”

  • The mass Alberta exodus

    Armed with a Red Seal in welding, Dustin Plett moved out to Alberta four years ago intent on making a lot of money. But the current Red River Creative Communications student came back two years later.

  • Homeless warming up in Winnipeg’s skywalks

    With winter weather taking its toll, Winnipeg’s skywalks can be a place for people on the streets to warm up. But concerns over panhandling have security patrols cracking down on skywalk living.