Arts Have a story idea? E-mail us at arts@theotherpress.ca & Susan McCaslin and poems for a cause By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor ast Thursday, Canadian poet, author, editor, and former Douglas professor Susan McCaslin stopped by Douglas’ New West campus for a lunchtime talk, where she discussed her writings, her career, and some immensely important current issues she’s been involved with. McCaslin has published over 10 books of poetry, each of them connected to the previous book. Her latest collection of poems, the 2012 Alberta Publishers Award- winning Demeter Goes Skydiving (a line taken from a past poem), was inspired by the Greek myth of Demeter, the harvest goddess whose daughter Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, raped, and whom Demeter desperately tries to save from a life in the underworld. McCaslin places the tale in modern times, with the concept being that Demeter is skydiving from a helicopter to try and get an aerial view of where her daughter could be, all while each of the three characters go through emotional arcs. While Demeter Goes Skydiving isn’t entirely bleak, McCaslin’s next collection of poems is going to be somewhat darker. Her next book, The Disarmed Heart, will focus on the continued wars going on in the world, and vie for a time of peace. A self-described “peace-nik,” McCaslin and her husband have also taken it upon themselves recently to help in the fight against selling the land of the McLellan Forest, located Is the Wii U for you? By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor he Wii U has officially been out for just over a week now, and with 23 launch titles, it appears the Wii U opened strong. It’s too soon to comment on Canadian sales, especially since I’m writing this on Black Friday of all days, but what I can comment on is, as a bystander, how it appears the Wii U is dong in the public eye. I don’t want to instantly go after the Wii U like some people have—I don’t know if it kept all its high- quality promises or if the controller really is difficult to handle—so 8 I’m not going to attack it based on ideas. I’m writing this because, like I’m sure a lot of you reading this, I want to know if this thing is actually worth getting now that it’s out and Christmas and a whole 66 While the amount of bad games is outweighing the amount of good, |m not going to pretend every other console isnt exactly the same; after all, its always the good games they outside Langley and within Glen Valley. Several sites including the McLellan Park Blog (http:/ / mclellanpark.blogspot. ca/), run by the Watchers of Langley Forest (WOLF), have been producing up-to-date news on the forest’s state, along with a number of artistic pieces being made in order to promote the issue and raise the $3 million that will prevent the land from being placed on the open market. What makes the issue even more crucial is that the deadline to have the $3 million by is December 17, less than three weeks from now. McCaslin has used what she can of her time to raise awareness of the McLellan Forest, and has written several poems that can be read on the Park Blog. the positive reviews that matter most, because a lot of the higher reviewed games are really the ones we were excited about to begin with. The better-reviewed games include Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition, New get remembered for. new year of birthdays are on their way. While 23 launch titles sounded great initially, once the reviews started pouring in, things began looking very 50/50 in terms of good and bad games. But really, it’s Super Mario Bros. U, and surprisingly two Wii U specific titles, Nintendo Land and Zombil. While the amount of bad games is outweighing the amount of good, I’m not going to pretend every other console isn’t exactly McCaslin has done just about all that she can in order to aid the cause, but she remains hopeful, because even in the worst situations, that’s all one can be. Two videos, one entitled “Save McLellan Park” and another entitled “Save Langley’s the same; after all, it’s always the good games they get remembered for. I’m glad that the idea to add a dual screen to what I need to stress is just one of the controllers didn’t end up disappointing. The Wii U is basically a much, much larger DS system, but that said, it also offers way more opportunities for what can be accomplished with games and graphics. It may not always work out for a game designed Susan McCaslin McLellan Forest,” have been uploaded to YouTube in order to raise further awareness. If you'd like to get involved, you can sign up over at http:// mclellanpark.blogspot. ca/p/join.html, and of course, pledge whatever amount you can. to be multi-platform, but for those designed specifically for the Wii U, we are looking at a one-of-a-kind gaming experience that no other console can yet compete with. I’m also going to take this opportunity to rub the Kinect’s face in it for having such a lousy collection of games. I’m ending this piece on a positive note, because from what I’ve seen so far, the Wii U looks like it may not be such a silly console after all. Then again, it has been just a week; let’s see what other games are coming our way... although I would still very likely want one.