Gaming Across The Board

FRANÇAIS, SVP!

MASKING MATTERS

You cannot claim you care about equity, accessibility, or disabled people if you aren’t helping to create safe spaces for everyone — this includes the basic practice of masking.

DON’T WATCH DAHMER

Frequent dialogue about ethics is essential. Netflix, as a $100 billion dollar corporation, needed to respect and uphold that, but they didn’t.

We shouldn’t prioritize completing trails at the expense of our companions’ well-being. We also shouldn’t rush into dangerous situations that may be beyond our experience levels.

BACKCOUNTRY BLUNDERS

HARAMBE ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT

2149 Commercial Dr., Vancouver $8–$30 per plate (small and large portions)

Harambe is a great place to experience Ethiopian culture and food at once. The restaurant has a beautiful, inviting interior with cultural art on display. Once you have some food on your table, you’re in for an unforgettable experience. They have vegetarian, beef, chicken, lamb, and fish options; an advanced selection of tasty experiences to choose from. For appetizers, I recommend miser wot, which is red split lentils cooked with onions, and berbere and harambe organic spices. I find that lamb plates are not common in many cuisines; this would be a great place to try it out. Yebeg wot, which is a lamb stew served with injera (Ethiopian flatbread), comes with three vegetable dishes. This dish is the epitome of Ethiopian cuisine, from the flavour and the plating to the way you eat it. Unlike western cultures, where most foods are eaten with cutlery, Ethiopian food, among other African-originated cuisines, tastes better with your hands. Take out is available.

Black-owned restaurants

DI REGGAE CAFE

13593 King George Blvd, Surrey $13–$22 per plate (small and large portions)

From the outside, this spot might seem like an average restaurant, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. This place has plenty of top-tier, comforting meals to choose from. You should start with a tummy-filling appetizer, such as their Jamaican patty, which is a savory pastry with three choices: spicy beef, chicken, or veggie. Or you could go for a sweet appetizer, like slices of ripe fried plantain. For their main meals, they have meat, chicken, vegetarian, seafood, and roti options. There’s something for everyone. My personal favorite is the oxtail stew, which is more tender than you could imagine, simmered with potatoes, carrots, and sweet peppers. It’s mildly spicy and served with rice and kidney beans. For their chicken plates, you might want to jump right into the jerk chicken, which is by far the most satisfactory plate. You’ll definitely want a take-away portion for later.

KILIMANJARO SNACK HOUSE

789 Kingsway, Vancouver snacks $3–$15, meals $15–$27

This restaurant is named after the highest mountain in Africa, which is located in Tanzania. They offer a large variety of snacks that are enjoyed as part of Swahili culture, such as mogo, vegetable pakora, kachori, as well as sweets snacks such as gulab jamun. They also serve meals, including vegetable curry with rice or roti, kheema curry, coconut daal and rice, muthiya, biryani, and mishkaki. One of the best ways to experience this East African cuisine is by bringing friends or ordering takeout with them. With their exciting menu, it would be hard to choose where to start, but with friends, it would be easier to try more dishes by sharing. It’s a great way to share a memory with your friends, without emptying your pockets.

PHOTO: Harambe_Restaurant on Instagram

PHOTO: cafedireggae on Instagram

PHOTO: kilisnackhouse on Instagram

“Anything”

By Adrianne Lenker

“Anything” opens with poetic imagery of a sunny day hanging laundry and eating mangoes. The words meld together so euphoniously, like “Mango in your mouth, juice dripping / Shoulder of your shirtsleeve slipping.” Lenker’s soft voice is sepia-tinted by a muffled guitar backdrop, making this song feel like a hazy, joyous memory of summer. The lyrics, “I wanna sleep in your car while you’re driving / Lay in your lap while I’m crying” sum up the pure romanticism of this song.

“Visions”

By José González

The Swedish singer/songwriter works wonders with an acoustic guitar and his soothing voice. His latest album, Local Valley, is a pastoral landscape full of deeply introspective lyrics, resounding guitar strumming and picking, and songs in three languages (English, Spanish, and Swedish). “Visions” is my favourite song from the album, with chirping birds in the background that are perfect for clearing my mind. It’s easy to get caught up in my day-to-day worries and forget to appreciate the nature and ecosystem that surrounds us. Gonzáles told Far Out, “We are changing our surroundings in an exceedingly rapid pace, so much that we’re becoming stewards of our planet whether we like it or not.” This song helps rekindle my connection to nature.

“Strawberry Blonde”

By Mitski

“Strawberry Blonde” by Mitski is as cottage core as they come, with fast, folky guitar and harmonica, and lyrics like “fields rolling on,” “the grass where you lay,” and “can you hear the bumblebees swarm?” But don’t misinterpret the lyrics as lighthearted (if you know Mitski, you know her music is anything but). “Strawberry Blonde,” similar to her track “Your Best American Girl,” is an important statement about “Asian-American desirability in conjunction with white romantic desirability.” What makes Mitski so beloved is her ability to capture the raw emotions so many can relate to, and turn it into a beautiful song in the process.

Good Harbor

Records

That’s what the writer in me loves the most: the storylines, the arcs, and the heroics.

LIGHTS, CAMERA,

CHARACTER WIN

JAIME CLAYTON FORMER SFU LINEBACKER

We all wear our SFU red with pride.

FOES

REGINALD THE III

First of all, I’m honoured to have a space on your human periodical, fellow SFU dwellers. But I have to say, I think this is a rather droll question to direct to me and my fellow raccoon. There is obviously one correct answer, right, Stinks?

STINKS THE RACCOON

Certainly, but your grace, don’t forget our work is much more enticing compared to SFU students’ work. They might find our dialogue redundant, but they’ll tune in. Regardless, the garbage cans as a topic is subjective, Reginald the III would know. Sounds like someone needs to do some research.

REGINALD THE III

That’s right, a better question more well suited for serious news in the raccoon community is how we feel about garbage infighting! Now, that’s a hotly debated topic. Just imagine our youngest raccoons, munching on old Tim Horton’s wrappers instead of the juiciest pears rolling behind the Nester’s Market! I just can’t imagine it, Stinks. It is so important to have sustainable scavenging practices for our young’ins. You know my humble opinion of the Burnaby campus’ greatest, obviously, I have a soft spot for the Surrey campus. What do you think of the garbage options at SFU, if I could have a penny (or a half-eaten orange) for your thoughts?

STINKS THE RACCOON

Now that’s a question! Well, let me tell you something. Garbage riots make for good content. Do I condemn it? Certainly, but whenever it happens, you know where I will be with my camera. And of course as the younger generation, we have a level of entitlement especially with the dining expansion! Some raccoons will be losing their paws I tell you. So far, I think I am still learning which garbage bins benefit me best. I am not a picky eater but if we need to be honest, the Burnaby Residence garbage sucks! There are just low quality items there. So I have to agree with you on this one Reginald. I guess my question would have to be what is the weirdest human encounter you’ve had when dumpster diving?

REGINALD THE III

What a wonderful question! I must agree with you, Stinks, even for a budget or comfortable option for your regular raccoon, the Burnaby Residence garbage is simply sub-par. There is so much soggy spinach from the humans’ intent to eat healthy produce, and it is boring! I wish they would try . . . some apples, or some dragonfruit. Some diversity would really brighten up that dump. As you know, yours truly prefers to dine alone. So I would say the most interesting encounter was when I made eye contact with what the humans call Mc . . . Dog? Anyways, there I was, and this furry imposter was staring straight at me as I tried to settle for my dinner! It was so upsetting. Have you encountered anything like that, Stinks?

STINKS THE RACCOON McDog, what a name . . . I’m sorry for your encounter and I do hear you on the lone dining. As for me, what I am about to tell you dies here in this article. As usual, I brought my camera with me for a small vlogging trip down at the Burnaby residence, behind the graduate resident building. I approached the bins, mind you, this was just after sunset. I heard some grunting and rustles inside the bins. So I thought maybe it was just some raccoons playing around. No! There was a human inside. Rummaging through the trash. What a sight! I was recording the whole thing live. I must say, that was my highest rated video.

REGINALD THE III

Well! I surmise we have inspired the humans, and that is cause for celebration. I remember watching that video myself, and it gave me a good old chortle. Now, I think we’re overdue for a meal together, old friend. What do you say we ditch this intrepid underground office together?

STINKS THE RACCOON

Well, of course! A dinner with you is the highlight of my day. I know your followers will surely be jealous of me.

REGINALD THE III

And mine yours, dear friend! Let’s ditch this interview.

SUDOKU