I had a bit of a buzz going as I was sitting on a bus stop bench at Orchard Park Shopping Centre in Kelowna; a small city in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. It was mid-afternoon and I was on my way home from school. The bus stop buzz was a regular state of mind during my undergrad years. The campus pub opened at 10 a.m. and all of my friends were enablers. We would meet up frequently after (in lieu of) class to have deep philosophical discussions (get day-drunk and piss away our youth).

I was on my home from…

As someone who really enjoyed the stories in Greek mythology as a kid, I’m impressed with what Supergiant Games has done with the setting. The writers of Hades deserve credit for their thoughtful handling of the source material. They’ve managed to re-work these old stories for our current culture; on many occasions, they’ve challenged traditional versions of these myths without the whole thing feeling forced. The setting isn’t just superficial window-dressing. It’s not just painted Greek as an excuse to fight ax-wielding Minotaurs (although that is a thing). The larger-than-life figures from antiquity are used to explore the intricacies and…

“Of course American fascism would have a merchandising tie-in,” I found myself typing into the live stream comments as the camera panned over endless rows of MAGA merch tables at last week’s fascist insurrection. The stream went to a shot of a sea of kitted-out Trump supporters, and I thought about all of the things people must be making some sweet bank on: “Don’t Tread on Me” flags, guns, bullets, plus-size tactical vests, bear mace, and, of course, the ubiquitous American flags. …

It’s 2005 and I’m staying with my grandparents in their Warsaw apartment for the summer. I’m in my second year of university and this is all a bit of an experience for me. I had not been back to Poland since the third grade. Growing up, we never had enough money to make regular trips here from our home in Winnipeg, Canada. For much of my life, my grandparents had just been voices inside a phone.

It’s sometime in the vicinity of noon. I get out of bed and head to the kitchen, where my grampa is sitting at the…

I woke up last week to news of massive protests in Poland. The unrest comes after the right-wing government under the Law and Justice Party (PiS) used the constitutional court to institute a ban on abortions in the case of fetal defects. These types of procedures have, up until now, made up 98% of all abortions performed in Poland annually. The ruling then, functions as a de facto ban on abortions as they are now only permitted in cases of rape, incest, or danger to the mother.

This round of unrest brings to mind the umbrella-wielding protesters who took to…