September 2009 saw Girls break onto the American indie scene with their remarkable debut, simply called Album. What was equally remarkable and fascinating was the morbid story of band co-founder and frontman Christopher Owens.

Find yourself a date, a bottle of wine and a place to dance. And Now We Sing, the latest release from the Ontario-based group Olenka and the Autumn Lovers is the perfect soundtrack for a night in.

Guitar driven waltzes ("Berlin"), gypsy romps ("Sparrow") and just a touch of western twang ("East End") make for an album that moves deftly through sub-genres, lingering in each just long enough to get a dance in.

The 1996 release of Weezer's Pinkerton was a surprising flop for the band. The album's sales were low and it was hammered by Rolling Stone as one of the worst albums of the year. Despite the auspicious start, word of mouth spread and the album became a cult hit. Since then, the album is acclaimed as a monument of '90s alternative rock.

The re-release is obviously as good as ever but the lo-fi nature of it's original recording means that it wasn't really due for a remastering.

People were shocked to see Olli Jokinen back in the Flames lineup after his disappointing 2009/2010 season with the team. Well, when you look at general manager Darryl Sutter, who has faced his share of criticism, it was almost expected of him to bring back a guy that was a failed "project" the first time around.

It was a fulfilling weekend for the University of Calgary Dinos men's volleyball squad. The team improved to 6-0 in the regular season.

The Dinos captured a pair of victories on the road against the University of Brandon Bobcats. In the first game the Dinos swept the Bobcats 3-0.

Fourth-year right-side Allen Meek followed up with an impressive 32 points in the two game series. Graham Vigrass is third in the Canada West Conference with 103 points. The Dinos won 3-2 (25-22, 28-26, 22-25, 24-26, 15-13).

If the people want exciting, exciting is what they got last weekend at the Dinos basketball games. At the last home games before the holidays, both the men's and women's teams put on a great show against the Brandon Bobcats.

The women's game started at 6 p.m. on Friday and the Dinos took the lead in a hurry. Up 20 points by halftime, the girls would go on to win the game 89-50.

The defeats suffered by the Democrats in the recent American midterm elections have undeniably shifted the balance of power in the country. This, coupled with the new Republican house majority leader Eric Cantor's commitment to the "special relationship" between Israel and America, has many concerned for the future of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Despite appearances to the contrary, this shift in American politics changes nothing -- the peace process is just as dead as it was when the Democrats held the majority.

George Galloway's entrance into MacEwan Hall, packed with an audience of 800, drew a standing ovation from the enthusiastic crowd.

The recent debates over retirement age in Canada and France may be of little concern to the majority of Gauntlet readers, who are likely more concerned with finishing the next of five research essays or preparing for their upcoming exams, yet the question is centred on the issue of lifestyle: do you work to live or live to work?

Dear Editor,