A British comedian famous for his off-colour and awkward humour has, for the last two years, been reinvigorating a dusty and damaged franchise.

Awards shows have been on a decline even since the infamous writer's strike. And yet, under Gervais' stewardship, the trend is starting to reverse -- the number of viewers tuning increased for the first time in years.

I was pleased to see Jocelyn Hunt take on unions ["Unions have lost their purpose," Jan. 13]. While she makes good points, Hunt fails to present a clear alternative to many of the problems unions still solve in society.

The near-collapse of the major automotive companies in North America is a good example. The autoworker unions increased their demands year after year and when it came time for restructuring their actions nearly left them with no jobs, rather than the pension cuts they would have faced.

As I read with fascination and amusement Jocelyn Hunt's, "Unions have lost their purpose," [Jan. 13] a few thoughts crossed my mind.

Jocelyn Hunt, columnist for the Gauntlet at the University of Calgary, argues in her Jan.13 column that unions in Canada have lost their purpose. I disagree.

For supporters of change in Africa, January has been a good month. Last week we wrote about the Sudan referendum, a vote to decide whether or not South Sudan will succeed from the north. It had been planned since 2005 and occurred with only sporadic violence. The result speaks for itself-- estimates put the number who voted for separation at 95 per cent. The long run up to Sudan's election demonstrates that even countries like Sudan can put past violence behind them and follow through with the democratic process.

From the depths of a Winnipeg basement come the Liptonians and their new album Let's All March Back Into The Sea. Tagged as 'pop-rock' back in 2008, their live show paved the way for several cross-country tours.

Now with a new album out, they remain true to their roots while improving their songwriting, arrangement and production ability. Very reminiscent of U2, The Liptonians incorporate many instruments from guitars and pianos to multiple organs and trombones.

Jay Crocker is not just a multi-instrumentalist. On his latest release, Co-Stars, he has expanded his credits to include production. The 10-track album is avant-garde, to say the least. From the opening track "Super Disease," we get to hear his invigorating experimentation at its best. Reminiscent of the Turtles with distortion, the song boldy declares that what follows will not be Top 40 hits.

Though Contra didn't quite live up to the standard set by Vampire Weekend's breakout self-titled debut, it was remarkably successful in its own right. Riding this wave of success, the band has now released a series of live recordings under an iTunes Sessions label.

There has been a lot to talk about this year when it comes to men's volleyball, as defending CIS Champions, the Dinos, have gone undefeated thus far in regular season play. This past weekend the Dinos played a two game home stand versus the 4-8 UBC Thunderbirds, defeating them in both games and extending the undefeated streak to 10 games.

So far this season the Dinos have dominated CW in almost every statistic. The men's volleyballsaurs are currently leading CW in hitting percentage, assists and kills.

It was a tough weekend in the world of Dinos basketball as both the men's and women's teams fell to the UBC Thunderbirds.

The women suffered a disappointing 68-57 loss on Friday night due in large part to foul trouble and turnovers. Guard Tamara Jarrett and forward Alex Cole led the team in scoring with 12 points a piece.