Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Colouring the ‘essence of Saskatchewan’

Moose Jaw-based artist Andrew Meredith to release Sask. colouring book

Moose Jaw artist Andrew Meredith shows one of his designs
from his colouring book, ‘Welcome to Saskatchewan,’ in front
of some of his artwork upstairs above Common Café.
Lisa Goudy/Times-Herald

By Lisa Goudy

Moose Jaw-based artist Andrew Meredith has two homes and as of July 1, he’ll have designed and released two colouring books depicting each.

“Everything is turning out the way I wanted it to in my head,” he said. “I feel like it’s unique because I’ve got two homes. I’ve got a home here in Saskatchewan. I’ve got my other original home in Nova Scotia. So I feel I’m lucky to have two homes.” 

Meredith designed and released a colouring book at the beginning of May called 'Welcome to Great Village,' referencing the name of the place in Nova Scotia where he is from. On July 1 at the ParkArt event in Crescent Park, Meredith will officially launch his second colouring book that he designed, 'Welcome to Saskatchewan.' 

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Lisa's Corner: Vaccines are essential for everyone to get

By Lisa Goudy

Whenever cases of contagious infections pop up in our health region, we need to pay attention.


This week, the Five Hills Health Region confirmed that a “very young infant” in a rural area of the region has a case of whooping cough. While the region didn’t specify where the infant was from or how old the infant is, the most important part I think we need to take away from this is that we should be up to date on our immunizations.

However, according to information from the Five Hills Health Region last December, about 75 per cent of two-year-olds received the whooping cough vaccine and so have 75 per cent of Saskatchewanians. A 2013 study indicated that 77 per cent of Canadian two-year-olds received the whooping cough vaccine.

Unfortunately, there is still misinformation spreading about vaccinations.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Lisa's Corner: Breaking the gun violence cycle

By Lisa Goudy

Whenever I hear of mass shootings around the world, part of my heart seems to break.

The recent Orlando shooting is no different. A lone gunman and Florida resident, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, went into a popular gay bar, Pulse nightclub, around 2 a.m. on Sunday. Of the 320 people present in the club, 50 of them are dead, including the gunman, and 53 more are injured. 

This has been called the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States, ahead of the 2007 shooting that left 32 dead at Virigina tech. Vigils across the world were held this week in remembrance of the victims from the Orlando shooting, including one in Moose Jaw Thursday night. 

The most tragic part of this event remains all of the people who were killed and injured and my thoughts remain with family and friends of the victims. There are words for many things, but there are no words that can aptly describe what this is like for everyone involved.

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Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Lisa's Corner: Getting to the root of sexual assault incidents

By Lisa Goudy

Sexual assault is a serious issue all around the world. 

According to Canadian website SexAssault.ca, it’s estimated that of every 100 incidents of sexual assault, only six are reported to the police. It added that one in four North American women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime and that 60 per cent of sexual abuse/assault victims are under the age of 17.

It said that 80 per cent of assailants are friends and family of the victim and more than 80 per cent of sex crime victims are women. Statistics Canada reports that Saskatchewan’s per capita rate of intimate partner violence is more than double the national rate.

It might be easy to interpret these statistics as just numbers, but in reality, we should all be horrified at these incidents. We can’t imagine what it would be like to go through an experience like that.

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Review: 'Captain America: Civil War' is marvellous

By Lisa Goudy

 Image source:
http://screencrush.com/442/files/2016/04/captain-america-civil-war-post-credits-scene-pic.jpg?w=720&cdnnode=1

'Captain America: Civil War' is a film not to be missed. 

With stunning action sequences, character substance and backstory and a few major plot twists, the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a fantastic addition and makes for a great 'Captain America' trilogy. Much like the other two 'Captain America' films, 'Civil War' takes a more serious approach and deals with politics and consequences of choices. More than anything, though, this film is about friendship and what it really means. It's a great game-changer for the MCU. 

'Captain America: Civil War' takes into account many of the events that occurred in previous MCU movies. It focuses on the civilian casualties and destruction caused by actions of the Avengers team while they are working to save the world.

The movie starts off in a fast-paced action sequence where Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) are on mission in Nigeria to stop a mercenary from stealing and releasing a biological weapon. However, things don't go as planned and many civilians are killed in the process. 

This prompts the Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) and the government to push for the Sokovia Accords to limit heroes' actions, meaning they would answer to the government. This oversight is for making the Avengers a public entity as they have violated national borders without any thought for international law. 

Signed by more than 100 countries, this political interference causes a divide between the Avengers. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is behind the Accords, claiming that they need to be kept accountable and in check or cities will keep getting destroyed. Steve Rogers on the other hand, is against the Accords, believing they can't rely on the government to protect the world and that their judgment is best left in their own hands. 

This conflict only escalates after a series of terror attacks force Steve's best friend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) out of hiding. Steve chooses to protect his friend, who is more like his brother, only deepening the rift between him and Tony. 

Team Iron Man, including Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Vision (Paul Bettany), Black Widow, War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland) fight with Team Captain America, including Bucky, Falcon, Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) while a new villain (Daniel Brühl) emerges. As it sounds, it is a fully loaded cast, but the ensemble is managed perfectly. 

While some characters get more screen time and development than others, the arrangement works. You really feel the energy surging in this movie and the biggest action sequence at the airport really showcases the best of what all of these characters have to offer. It's truly fantastic to watch in this beautifully shot and choreographed film. 

What's more is this film really delves into personal issues and beliefs and how far characters are willing to go. This wouldn't work if the acting wasn't excellent from everyone and it is. Evans and Downey Jr. are the driving force between the conflict of the two heroes and it comes across in their performance, and Stan is another standout. All of this really builds up to an amazing and heartbreaking climax that will take your emotions to a place they have never been in an MCU movie before. 

It was also fantastic to see the introduction of Black Panther and the new Spider-Man. Boseman really stole almost every scene he was in, only adding to the excitement for his solo film due out in 2018. His character's backstory isn't explained and it doesn't have to be in this context. 

It shows you just enough for what the story needs and he has some great character development as well. 

Holland does a great job with the new iteration of Spider-Man, the third we've seen in the last decade. He adds a lot of humour to the film (much like Rudd's Ant-Man) and his quirkiness adds a lot to the character and to the substance of the film. 

Marvel Studios has crafted a detailed universe where we've gotten to really know lots of these characters. This only raises the emotional stakes in the film. It is heartbreaking to watch the team fight with one another, but you can understand both sides of the argument, only adding to the depth and impact of the film. 

'Captain America: Civil War' is a remarkable film that is another fantastic addition to the MCU, giving it a new level of grey and a new sense of character understanding. As Marvel's longest-running movie to date at 147 minutes, 'Civil War' has an engaging story and is truly a captivating film.

*** This review also appeared in the May 25, 2016 edition of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald weekly publication, UnCut.

Moose Jaw Times-Herald: Lisa's Corner: Appreciate everything you have

By Lisa Goudy

 

It’s easy to take for granted what we think will last.

When we get up in the morning, we roll out of bed in our home. We pick out what we want to wear for the day before getting dressed. We go to the kitchen, we make breakfast and we eat on a chair with a table, maybe while reading a newspaper. 

After that, we might go to the washroom and brush our teeth. Then we grab all of our things that we need for the day and many of us drive to work or wherever else we need to be. We visit with our coworkers, our fellow students, our friends and our family.

While everyone’s routine is different and it might not happen in that order, my point is that we probably don’t stop in the middle of eating our lunch and say, ‘Thank goodness I have a bed to sleep on tonight” or “I’m so grateful to own new clothing.” It’s just a given.

The reality is that not everyone has those same opportunities. Not everyone in the world can get up and say that they have a place to call home or something to eat that day. 

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