Art is a primary and natural form of human communication. Cave-people used their art to tell their stories and to relay the emotion of the hunt or scenes from everyday life. Children instinctively draw figures with whatever on hand, scribbling on walls with crayons or forming mud sculptures. Most university students make art everyday in class when they doodle ceaselessly to fill the moments of boredom. Altogether, art is elemental to our humanity, something we naturally do. More recently, a scientific approach to using art for healing has arisen in the form of art therapy.

DC’s Gotham City loses people like raindrops falling on a grim autumn night in Vancouver, but when the end credits of the hit summer movie The Dark Knight roll, we’re left with the loss of Heath Ledger. In the opinions of many, the Joker was by far the greatest role of his career.

In the script of The Dark Knight, Ledger found “the essence [of the Joker], he just inhabited it” said director Christopher Nolan. Gary Oldman proclaimed Ledger’s performance a psychological terror, “oozing charisma and menace.” The Joker’s mania swept across the screen with psychotic, sociopathic chaos in such a potent portrayal that affects everyone who sees it. Is he up for the second posthumous Oscar win in movie history? I believe so. Yet, Ledger is not the only actor to play the Joker with success.

Sam Roberts and his band of grizzly men burst onto the Canadian music scene in 2003 with their exceptional debut We Were Born In A Flame, which garnered two Juno wins. In 2006 they released their sophomore album, Chemical City.

For me, the Dallas Cowboys’ dynasty of the early-mid-90s is a clouded memory, as I was nine when they won their last of three Super Bowls.

Haruki Murakami’s newest novel After Dark occurs between the late hours of midnight and dawn in the bright neon entertainment districts of Tokyo. In After Dark, Murakami divulges a realistic plot, guiding the reader through several different experiences, tying all of these stories together with the passage of time, as each chapter begins with the hour.

Relationships and countertops may…

Start out smooth and clean
Get a little sticky
Get a little crumby
Get stuck in crumbiness
Get cheesy
Get scarred
Get burned
Get permanently stained
Need refurnishing or replacing
Need to be kept clear of clutter to create open space
Need to be used or they’ll get dusty

“Gustav! Gustav! Gustav!”

The energetic, devoted crowd begs for attention from the bashful, blond-locked string bean timidly tuning his guitar at centre stage. They have been waiting for the band to arrive for hours, and the palpable tension has finally erupted into hysterical praise at the first sign of life from the stage. Gustav nods uncomfortably, and humbly shifts focus towards the towering bassist he introduces as Teos.
“Teos! Teos! Teos!”

But Teos too denies the cheers, turning as red as his tightly bound afro before redirecting the crowd’s aggressive accolades towards legendary guitarist Reine Fiske.

“Reine! Reine! Reine!”

Surfing is a regional folk art culture with its own language, clothing, movies, magazines, comic strips, dance steps, music and television shows. Regionally, some of these styles differ – like language and clothing – but as a complete lifestyle, surf-culture is one chilled-out way of life. Where there are waves, wind or shoreline, there are surfers, beach bums and all the cats in between.