issue 05 // volume 41

New Westminster authors to share
war stories at cultural event

» New WWII monument inspires local art projects and discussions

, Cheryl Minns

& Arts Editor
M arts
@theotherpress.ca

 

N°“ Westminster is full
of historical sites and it’s
about to receive another. A new

monument based on the famous :

World War II photograph “Wait including renowned author

: Annabel Lyon (The Golden

: Mean and The Sweet Girl), CBC
: Radio personality JJ Lee (The

: Measure of a Man), actor/author :
: Marilyn Norry (My Mother's

: Story), and Douglas College

: alumna Kathryn Para (Lucky).

for Me Daddy” will be unveiled
in Hyack Square on Columbia
and 8th Street (the same place
the photograph was taken)
on October 4. Featuring three
life-sized, bronze sculptures,
the monument will depict the
1940 photograph of a five-year-
old boy running away from
his mother towards his soldier
father, who is leaving for war.

To celebrate the unveiling,
the City of New Westminster
will be hosting a series of
cultural events, including the
upcoming War Stories Literary
Gala that will be taking place
at the Anvil Centre Theatre on
October 3.

“We created a few cultural
events leading up to the
unveiling to bring attention to

: it, and also to open and create

: dialogue around the themes

: behind the photograph,”

: said Biliana Velkova, arts

: coordinator for the City of New
: Westminster. “The themes are

: family, separation, war, love,

: loss.”

War Stories Literary Gala
will feature four local authors,

Local author Diane Haynes

: came up with the idea for

: the literary gala, which she

: describes as a “Vancouver

: International Writers-style

: event.” Since War Stories

: celebrates the monument in

: New Westminster and the city
: is full of talented artists, Haynes :
: decided to invite authors who
: had a connection to the city,

: either by living or working

: there, such as resident Lyon,

: who wrote most of her first

: novel at the New Westminster
: Public Library.

“With the theme of it being

: war stories, each one of the
: presenters has a story, an artistic :
: and personal connection to

: war stories, and they all have a

: different take on it,” said Calvin
: Wharton, chair of the creative

: writing department at Douglas
: College and moderator for War
: Stories.

“These are not your typical

: war stories,’ Haynes said.

“That was something that was

: really important to me to bring
: forward with this event. A lot

: of what we're going to hear is

: stories that don’t normally get

: told”

At the event, there will be

: readings and presentations by

: the four authors as well asa

: panel discussion that explores

: the different aspects of war, the
: impact it has on people, and

how it relates to today’s world.
“There's going to be

something in it for everyone,”
: Haynes said. “Everyone in the
: audience is going to have an

: opportunity to ask questions,

: challenge what’s been said,

: really get involved in the topics,
: and maybe tell their own stories :
: as well.”

Black Bond Books will also

: be at the event so attendees

: can purchase the gala authors’
: books and get their copies

: signed at the event. There will
: also bea reception afterwards
: with a jazz trio from Douglas

: College.

War Stories marks a

: historical moment for New

: Westminster because it is the

: first cultural event to be held in
: the new Anvil Centre Theatre.

“We just opened the

: building on September 14, so
: we're really excited to feature
: the beautiful theatre in the

: building with this event,”

: Velkova said.

War Stories Literary Gala

will be held from 7 to 9:30

: p.m. on October 3. Tickets are
: $12.50 for adults and $10.40 for:
: students and seniors, and can be :
: purchased online at ticketsnw.
: ca.

As part of the “Wait for

Me Daddy” cultural events,

Steven's Man-Cave: Dig up some buried treasure

» ‘Okami HD’ PS3 review

Steven Cayer
Senior Columnist

 

I needed to play this
Japanese action-adventure

00000

hen my friend told me

platformer called Okami HD,

I thought I might as well try it

because it was only $7 on the
PlayStation Store.

Okami begins with a
story. Set in Nippon, a white
wolf named Shiranui and a
swordsman named Nagi fight
together to protect Kamiki

Village from Orochi, an eight- :

headed demon. Failing this,
they seal Orochi in the Moon
Cave.

After 100 years, Susano, a
descendant of Nagi, decides
to try and prove that the
legend was false. He releases
Orochi and the lands are
cursed again with monsters.
A wood sprite named Sakuya
summons the sun goddess
Amaterasu, a reincarnation

: of the not-so-mythical white
: wolf, which you play as.

: She is later joined by Issun,
: a wandering artist, and

: together they try and stop

: Orochi once and for all. The
: story turns out to be much

: more than that.

: The crazy part is that

: you learn all of that in the

: first hour of gameplay. It’s a
: huge story spanning dozens
: of humorous hours, great

: puzzles, and combat. To

: say this game is inspired

  

: by the Zelda series is an
: understatement.
Almost everything in this :

: game reminds me of Zelda—
: except the Celestial Brush

: mechanic, which is where

: you hold down a button that
: pauses the game and a brush
: reveals itself to you, letting

: you manipulate the world

: around you in many various

: ways. As you go about your

: journey, you learn these

: different techniques from

: the Celestial Gods (based on

; the Chinese zodiac), such as
: Divine Wind or Bloom. These :
_, : inturn let you traverse the
: world even farther, collecting
: various Japanese treasures.

) : inthis game is based on

: Japanese folklore—even the
: title isa reference: “Okami”

: means “wolf” in Japanese.

: The game’s art style is unlike

: one flaw, however, and Okami
: is no different. There were

: a few cutscenes that really

: dragged on. On top of that,

: the speech throughout this

: game is literally just random

: noises created by scrambling
: samples of the voice actors’

: speech. I just found that

: strange. I would’ve even

: preferred them to speak ;
: Japanese, at least then I could :
: probably learn something

: more. Of course, those

: problems are almost nothing
: compared to how much you're :

Everything and everyone

: anything I’ve seen. Everything :
: looks like it was colourfully

: hand-drawn. It emanated

: Japanese culture itself and

: I've actually learned a lot just
: by playing the game.

Every game has at least

arts // 7

: there is also a visual art exhibit
: called Love, Loss, and Loyalty:
Community Reflections at the
: Anvil Centre Community Art
: Space, which features New
: Westminster artists’ works that
: reflect the themes of the “Wait
: for Me Daddy” photograph.
: The exhibit will be open until
: November 14.
: Another cultural project is
: the Poetry Walk in Downtown
: New Westminster where local
: poets’ work featuring themes
: of the “Wait for Me Daddy”
: photograph has been displayed
: in businesses until October 19.
: A map for the walk is available
: online at newwestpcr.ca.

“Grab a coffee, take a walk,

: and discover some local poetry,

: Velkova suggested.

: Author Kathryn Para, who
: studied creative writing at

: Douglas College, will be doing
: a reading at the college before
: she speaks at War Stories. She
will be reading at 10:30 a.m. on
: October 3 in room 1614 at the

: New Westminster campus. All
: students are welcome to attend
: the event.

: getting from the game.

I was extremely surprised

when my friend told me that
: this game originally came

: out in 2006 for the PSz2.

: Apparently a whole bunch

: of people, myself included,

: were playing games under a

: rock because at first the game
: didn’t sell very well. As the

; year went on, it somehow

gained widespread popularity,

: becoming the second best

: PS2 game that year. After

: they made this game, Clover
: Studio became Platinum

: Games, which has made

: games like Bayonetta. I didn’t
: realize how many references
: there were from Okami in

: that game. I’m also surprised
: at how many games have

: been influenced by Okami’s

: art style, like Street Fighter,

: Shadow of the Colossus, and
: ICO to name a few.

It doesn’t matter if you

didn’t play Okami on your PS2
: in 2006, your Wii in 2009, or

in beautiful HD on the PS3 in

: 2012. You might be a bit late
: to the party, but it’ll be the
: best party you've been to ina

long time.

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