If anyone else has been following the BC election, I’m guessing you’re sitting here in a similar position as me (as well as much of the rest of BC) which is – put quite simply – shocked. The night started off surprisingly and as it continued the trends only strengthened. It became clear as the night went on that this election did not belong to the NDP as everyone had thought, but rather to the Liberals who have managed to snag a majority government against all odds.

In what is not the first upset Canadian elections have seen recently. Let us all remember our very own Albertan election back in 2012. The whole province seemed to accept the likelihood of a Wildrose victory and for the first time in quite awhile it looked as though the Conservatives long reign might finally be coming to a close. However, election night brought a flip as the Conservatives secured their spot for yet another term, and the Wildrose were left with fewer seats than expected.

For those of you who haven’t been following what’s happening in BC right now, you can pretty much just place a mirror in the center of the political spectrum and you’ll get an idea of what’s going on. Seemingly against all odds, the Liberals have pulled through and will remain in power with a majority government, defying the expectations and stealing many seats away that were thought to go to the NDP.

So now I’m sitting here asking myself the same questions I did after the Wildrose were not nearly as big as a threat as everyone anticipated – what changed? And beyond that, how come we didn’t know? While what happened in Alberta last year and what happened in BC last night are on opposite sides of the political field, there does seem to be one glaring, common element between the situations: the stark contrast between what the polls expected and what actually happened. Nearly every poll across BC (telephone polls, online polls, etc) throughout the election placed the NDP in the lead ahead of the Liberals. Yes, the most recent ones did show the Liberals closing the gap, but nonetheless there was still a gap, and the NDP had the lead.

I can’t help but draw my attention to the polls themselves, which have proved to be a relatively unreliable source of information. Are people not answering honestly? Are the polls not collecting an accurate enough sample of data?

Or maybe there’s a last minute fear that sets in once peopleactually go to vote. Adrian Dix’s campaign for the NDP was all about change – breaking away from the status quo and making a difference for the better. But are people perhaps afraid of change? It does seem to be another common element between these two situations where the polls have lied to us. In the end, people chose to stick with what they know. They returned to their old governments despite someone offering change. I don’t think there is a clear cut answer right now. But I do feel confident saying that I’m not going to be taking any pre-election polls too seriously anytime soon. (And it wouldn’t surprise me if others in western Canada are feeling the same way).

Despite the crazy turnout in Vancouver there are still unanswered questions. Right now the biggest of which comes down to the Vancouver Point-Grey riding. David Eby and Christy Clark are still battling it out in the last riding to be determined. Througout the entire course of the night the counts flipped back and forth, with the leader seeming to change every time a new poll was brought in.

If Clark can claim this seat then it will be the final note in what can only be called a booming success of an election for the liberals. If Eby does manage to squeeze through, there will be some interesting decisions to be made. It’s nearly impossible to imagine the Liberals leaving Clark at this point, meaning that someone else will likely step aside essentially giving their seat to her.

Despite the crazy turnout in Vancouver there are still unanswered questions. Right now the biggest of which comes down to the Vancouver Point-Grey riding. David Eby and Christy Clark are still battling it out in the last riding to be determined. Througout the entire course of the night the counts flipped back and forth, with the leader seeming to change every time the votes from a new poll were brought in.

Regardless of what is yet to happen, it’s clear that BC’s election is one that can be added to the ranks as one of the most surprising elections Canada’s seen in awhile.

Font Conference: College Humor

It is nearly the end of June: some high school students are collectively breathing a sigh of relief, if they are the lucky few who are already done exams. The rest pull up their socks, knowing they have to trudge few a couple more tests.

For anyone out there who is still writing exams (namely, diplomas… Although none are actually fun, per se) here is my rant to you about how silly they are.  If you’ve gotta write an exam worth 50 percent of your mark, you might as well do some complaining about it.

Alrighty… So Alberta students. You suffer from a unique dilemma. Alberta’s average marks as a province are among the lowest in the country. Why? Is it because all those fumes from the oilsands seem to clog our brains? Of course not! That makes no sense. Considerably more likely, however, is that Alberta is the only province that doesn’t suffer horribly from grade inflation. Sounds super, right? Alberta maintains a nice reliable system of marks while the rest of the country slowly loses any semblance of standardization.

Well, that would be true if universities, schools, etc (basically all those places that want the best students with the best marks) took that into consideration. Unfortunately, not all that many schools do. Who is going to care about that kid from Alberta who got a 75 when there are so many kids in other province that have an 85?

Alright, I guess I should take a breath from my bitterness and clarify something here: there are some advantages to it. Yes, once you get into a school, Alberta education does help a little. (Studies done by some universities have shown that AB students’ mark’s drop considerably less in the switch form high school to university.) And yes, I guess there are a few university’s that have started recognizing this fact. For example, UBC will add 2% to any Albertan students marks.

Regardless, it is a major concern that needs to start being addressed. Alberta is the only province that writes exams worth half of your final grade, and while in the long run a rigorous education is definitely more beneficial, it’s not necessarily fair that AB students are being misrepresented on a national scale. If people are missing out on their top choice schools because their grades aren’t as inflated as the rest of the country.

Anyhow, happy exam writing and good luck to everyone!

Well, it is.

Maybe not in the sense that it was originally meant, but let’s all be honest here. After the long months of winter, to finally have spring and sunshine is pretty much a relief!

Alberta can be a fickle, fickle place especially when it comes to weather. I know I’m definitely pleased that the sun is out shining once more and the brown slush has been replaced by green grass! However, once the summer months get going sometimes us Canadians can be overwhelmed. After being limited to nothing but snow and ice for so long, sometimes it’s easy to forget all the wonderful things that summer has to offer. Which, is why I have decided to compile a list of some potential summer adventures.

(Alright the word adventure might be a bit much for some of these. But who knows what you can turn into an adventure?)

1. SUNIA! (Duh.) – the best adventure of all! It’s my favorite part of the summer. It could be yours too!
2. Go for a picnic – Round up a group of friends, spend a day making a lunch and then head off to a park. Pull out a frisbee or soccer ball for some good, old fashioned fun.
3. Go fly a kite! I mean this of course, only in a nice way. How many people actually fly kites nowadays? It’s a lost art.
4. Have a barbecue – Burgers. Chicken. Steak. Kabobs. (AKA, delicious!)
5. Check out festivals! Whether it’s folk fest or the fringe there are tons of crazy things to be seen and done at festivals that happen in the summer.
6. Go camping – Head to the mountains or a nearby lake.
7. Photo-walks – Grab your camera and head out. See what you can find. You never know what you find that could make a good photo, whether it’s that couch in an alleyway someone’s thrown away or just a ladybug you find in your backyard.
8. Roadtrip! Procure a vehicle for a few days, hop in the car and just drive!
9. Make orange juice popsicles. (Oranjuisicles!) – Cheap way to cool off and enjoy a lovely little snack. Just put a spoon or a popsicle stick in a glass of orange juice and stick it in the freezer.
10.  Summer Job – okay, not the most exciting. But once fall rolls around all that extra $$$ can be kind of nice!
11. Bonfire! – S’mores and hotdogs. It’s tasty and fun!
12. Move Marathons – Alright, so these aren’t exactly summer-exclusive. But when isn’t a good time for a movie marathon? Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, chick flicks, eighties movies. Take your pick and hunker down with looots of junk food!
13. Be a tourist in your own town – Sometimes it’s fun to go and check out museums, zoos, aquariums and more. Even if you’ve alreadyseen them, you might find something new!

So there you have it! Obviously there are many more adventures to be had. Maybe once you tackle these you’ll be up for some skydiving or mountain climbing! Happy summer-ing, everyone.

For the past few years of my life, my friends and family have all lovingly told me that I am doomed to a future of being a crazy cat lady (sort of like the one from The Simpsons who goes around throwing cats at people!) While on some level, I probably should take some offence to the fact that these people think the only things that could ever love me are furry little felines, but really… I don’t think it would be so bad.

I love cats, and think they’re pretty swell. Have you ever been in a bad mood, and then amidst your bored and solemn youtube-ing come across a funny picture or video of a cat doing something ridiculous? Brightens my day every time! How can you not help but laugh at the ridiculous things these majestic creatures do?

In general, I’d like to dedicate this post to felines of all kinds. Beyond just the common house cat that we all know and love are a number of furry friends. And now, for your enjoyment I shall give a brief description/biography of several of my favourite types of cats.

The Lion: Classic. King of the Jungle. Ruler of the Savannah. Fierce. Majestic. Enough said.

The Jaguar: The third biggest of all cats and the only panther in the America’s! Its spots may deceive you into thinking it’s a leopard, but don’t be fooled! They’re bigger and sturdier than a leopard, and their behaviours are actually closer to that of the tiger!

The Tiger: Black, orange, and white, the tiger is the biggest of all the cats! It’s also a dwindling species, with the total number of tigers in the world estimated to be between 3000 and 4000.

The Liger: Don’t worry you read this right! It isn’t simply a made up mythical species, or perhaps the weird musings from Napoleon Dynamite. The liger is in fact the offspring of a male lion and female tiger! Unfortunately, they are born fertile so it seems the world won’t be overrun by a rampant race of these crazy creatures anytime soon. (Don’t forget about the tiglon either. That’s when the lion is female and the tiger is male!)

The Lynx: Usually solitary, various species of these medium sized cats like to roam a number of different territories, from Canada’s cold tundra’s to the forests of Siberia.

Who do you never want to play cards with? The Cheetah! Not only is he going to be able to catch you if you try and run away, but this fearsome beast can get going to up speeds of 100km/h in as little as three seconds! Yikes!

The Ocelot: These furry little fellas are amongst the smaller of the cats, and when compared to the bigger members of their families, can certainly be overshadowed a bit. Sometimes known as the dwarf leopard, and generally ranging in size from 68cm to a meter, you might be tempted to keep one as a pet, like Salvador Dali did. Watch out though, they still can bite!

These are only a few of my most favourite cats. For all you fans of cougars, wildcats, jungle cats, leopards, mountain lions, and all the wonderful species of cats out there, don’t feel neglected! Take some time and google them and appreciate them to their fullest.

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed my little exploration of a beautiful family of animals. Whether it be a documentary on the discovery channel, a motivation poster on your wall or a funny video on the internet, let the joy of cats be with you always!