#Mackenzie Devries

[tic-toc-clock77]

SpiderWeb had a very hard time making friends growing up, the friends Mac did make would eventually abandon her either out of nowhere or very gradually. She would cling to friends and get too comfortable whenever she could, which also landed her friendless.

She was very cautious upon becoming a proxy and tended to steer away from others and always got lonely until eventually, on a walk through the forest, she met Kate. Kate was at first, her animalistic and paranoid self, attacking Mac until she defended herself against Kate.

The two were silent when spending time with one another after that, usually Mac would follow Kate around on patrol and eventually, Kate started walking her back to the main cabin and they became, somewhat of friends.

[johnnyocherry]

UK was so fun ♡

[irisfieldhouse]

It was standing room only last night at the final NEW WORKS show featuring Iris Film Collective member Alex MacKenzie with Stephen Wood, along with Julia Ulehla and Justin Devries & friends.  Huge thanks to Sawdust Collector for putting this series together over the past several months. Be sure to check out their other upcoming shows here!

[irisfilmcollective]

It was standing room only last night at the final NEW WORKS show featuring Iris Film Collective member Alex MacKenzie with Stephen Wood, along with Julia Ulehla and Justin Devries & friends.  Huge thanks to Sawdust Collector for putting this series together over the past several months. Be sure to check out their other upcoming shows here!

[kwebtv]

Cardiac Arrest -  BBC One - April 21, 1994 - June 25, 1996

Medical Drama (27 episodes)

Running Time:  60 minutes

Stars:

Helen Baxendale as Dr. Claire Maitland

Ahsen Bhatti as Dr. Rajesh Rajah

Jo Dow as Dr James Mortimer

Andrew Lancel as Dr Andrew Collin

Peter O'Brien as Cyril 'Scissors' Smedley

Tom Watson as Ernest Docherty

Michael McKenzie as Dr. Graham Turner

Jayne MacKenzie as Staff Nurse Caroline Richards

Jack Fortune as Adrian DeVries                  

Nicholas Palliser as Paul Tennant

Ellen Thomas as Sister Jackie Landers

Selina Cadell as Dr. Sarah Hudson

Fred Pearson as Dr. Barry Yates

Pooky Quesnel as Dr. Monica Broome

Melanie Hill as Sister Pamela Lockley

Danny Webb as Simon Bettencourt 

[ovc-bulletin]

Newly Published Research at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph

Each week the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph will be sharing newly published work from faculty and graduate students. If you have a new publication that has not been included in this listing, please email links to the communication team at  ovcinfo@uoguelph.ca. 

Department of Biomedical Sciences

Abdelmegid, S., Murugaiyan, J., Abo-Ismail, M., Caswell, J., Kelton, D., & Kirby, G. (2017). Identification of Host Defense-Related Proteins Using Label-Free Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Milk Whey from Cows with Staphylococcus aureus Subclinical Mastitis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(1), 78. doi:10.3390/ijms19010078

Betteridge, K. J., Raeside, J. I., Waelchli, R. O., Christie, H. L., & Hayes, M. A. (2018). Patterns of conceptus development and of progesterone concentrations in maternal blood preceding spontaneous early pregnancy failure in mares. Reproduction, Fertility and Development. doi:10.1071/rd17336

Department of Clinical Studies

Moran Tal, Jacqueline M. Parr, Shawn MacKenzie, Adronie Verbrugghe Dietary imbalances in a large breed puppy, leading to compression fractures, vitamin D deficiency, and suspected nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism Can Vet J. 2018 Jan; 59(1): 36–42.

Barboza, T., Beaufrere, H., & Chalmers, H. (2018). Epipterygoid Bone Salmonella Abscess in a Savannah Monitor (Varanus exanthematicus). Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery. doi:10.5818/17-04-106.1

Department of Pathobiology

Abdelmegid, S., Murugaiyan, J., Abo-Ismail, M., Caswell, J., Kelton, D., & Kirby, G. (2017). Identification of Host Defense-Related Proteins Using Label-Free Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Milk Whey from Cows with Staphylococcus aureus Subclinical Mastitis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(1), 78. doi:10.3390/ijms19010078

Schott, C. R., Tatiersky, L. J., Foster, R. A., & Wood, G. A. (2017). Histologic Grade Does Not Predict Outcome in Dogs with Appendicular Osteosarcoma Receiving the Standard of Care. Veterinary Pathology, 030098581774732. doi:10.1177/0300985817747329

Liu, J., Abdelmagid, S. A., Pinelli, C. J., Monk, J. M., Liddle, D. M., Hillyer, L. M., . . . Ma, D. W. (2017). Marine fish oil is more potent than plant based n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the prevention of mammary tumours. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. doi:10.1016/j.jnutbio.2017.12.011

Clow, K. M., Leighton, P. A., Ogden, N. H., Lindsay, L. R., Michel, P., Pearl, D. L., & Jardine, C. M. (2017). Northward range expansion of Ixodes scapularis evident over a short timescale in Ontario, Canada. Plos One, 12(12). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189393

Tessier, L., Côté, O., & Bienzle, D. (2017). Variant analysis of RNA sequences in severe equine asthma. doi:10.7287/peerj.preprints.3491

Nemeth, N. M., Oesterle, P. T., Campbell, G. D., Ojkic, D., & Jardine, C. M. (2017). Comparison of reverse-transcription real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry for the detection of canine distemper virus infection in raccoons in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation, 104063871775182. doi:10.1177/1040638717751825

Amélie Mathieu, Adriana R. Pastor, Charlene N. Berkvens, Carolyn Gara-Boivin, Michel Hébert, Alexandre N. Léveillé, John R. Barta, Dale A. Smith Babesia odocoilei as a cause of mortality in captive cervids in Canada Can Vet J. 2018 Jan; 59(1): 52–58.

Betteridge, K. J., Raeside, J. I., Waelchli, R. O., Christie, H. L., & Hayes, M. A. (2018). Patterns of conceptus development and of progesterone concentrations in maternal blood preceding spontaneous early pregnancy failure in mares. Reproduction, Fertility and Development. doi:10.1071/rd17336

Ahmed, W., Hafeez, M. A., & Mahmood, S. (2018). Identification and functional characterization of bacterial small non-coding RNAs and their target: A review. Gene Reports, 10, 167-176. doi:10.1016/j.genrep.2018.01.001

Bujold, A. R., Shure, A. E., Liu, R., Kropinski, A. M., & Macinnes, J. I. (2018). Investigation of putative invasion determinants of Actinobacillus species using comparative genomics. Genomics. doi:10.1016/j.ygeno.2018.01.001

Himsworth, C. G., Miller, R. R., Montoya, V., Hoang, L., Romney, M. G., Al-Rawahi, G. N., . . . Weese, J. S. (2014). Carriage of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus by Wild Urban Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus). PLoS ONE, 9(2). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0087983

Department of Population Medicine

Totton, S. C., Cullen, J. N., Sargeant, J. M., & O’Connor, A. M. (2018). The reporting characteristics of bovine respiratory disease clinical intervention trials published prior to and following publication of the REFLECT statement. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 150, 117-125. doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2017.12.015

Renaud, D., Duffield, T., Leblanc, S., Ferguson, S., Haley, D., & Kelton, D. (2017). Risk factors associated with mortality at a milk-fed veal calf facility: A prospective cohort study. Journal of Dairy Science. doi:10.3168/jds.2017-13581

Abdelmegid, S., Murugaiyan, J., Abo-Ismail, M., Caswell, J., Kelton, D., & Kirby, G. (2017). Identification of Host Defense-Related Proteins Using Label-Free Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Milk Whey from Cows with Staphylococcus aureus Subclinical Mastitis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(1), 78. doi:10.3390/ijms19010078

Medrano-Galarza, C., Leblanc, S. J., Jones-Bitton, A., Devries, T. J., Rushen, J., Passillé, A. M., . . . Haley, D. B. (2017). Associations between management practices and within-pen prevalence of calf diarrhea and respiratory disease on dairy farms using automated milk feeders. Journal of Dairy Science. doi:10.3168/jds.2017-13733

Robichaud, M. V., Rushen, J., Passillé, A. D., Vasseur, E., Haley, D., & Pellerin, D. (2017). Is the profitability of Canadian tiestall farms associated with their performance on an animal welfare assessment? Journal of Dairy Science. doi:10.3168/jds.2017-13316

Clow, K. M., Leighton, P. A., Ogden, N. H., Lindsay, L. R., Michel, P., Pearl, D. L., & Jardine, C. M. (2017). Northward range expansion of Ixodes scapularis evident over a short timescale in Ontario, Canada. Plos One, 12(12). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189393

Dubois, C., Devries, T., Haley, D. B., Lawlis, P., & Merkies, K. (2018). Putting an on-farm welfare assessment tool into practice in the Canadian equine industry - a pilot study. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. doi:10.1016/j.jevs.2017.12.004

Saranya Nair, Abdolvahab Farzan, Terri L. O’Sullivan, Robert M. Friendship A clinical trial investigating the impact of in-feed flavophospholipol on Salmonella shedding and antimicrobial resistance in pigs Can Vet J. 2018 Jan; 59(1): 59–65.

Betteridge, K. J., Raeside, J. I., Waelchli, R. O., Christie, H. L., & Hayes, M. A. (2018). Patterns of conceptus development and of progesterone concentrations in maternal blood preceding spontaneous early pregnancy failure in mares. Reproduction, Fertility and Development. doi:10.1071/rd17336

Bauman, C., Barkema, H., Dubuc, J., Keefe, G., & Kelton, D. (2018). Canadian National Dairy Study: Herd-level milk quality. Journal of Dairy Science. doi:10.3168/jds.2017-13336

Phillips, D., Choleris, E., Ervin, K. S., Fureix, C., Harper, L., Reynolds, K., . . . Mason, G. J. (2016). Cage-induced stereotypic behaviour in laboratory mice covaries with nucleus accumbens FosB/ΔFosB expression. Behavioural Brain Research, 301, 238-242. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2015.12.035

Wood, H., O’Connor, A., Sargeant, J., & Glanville, J. (2018). Information retrieval for systematic reviews in food and feed topics: a narrative review. Research Synthesis Methods. doi:10.1002/jrsm.1289

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Students

Louise Lam Acute sternal subluxation in an indoor cat Can Vet J. 2018 Jan; 59(1): 82–84.

[fanzonesports]

Essex Students Predicted Spitfires Victory

Essex Students Predicted Spitfires Victory #MCMemorialCup @MCMemorialCup

(L to R) Mackenzie Gaudet, Laura Walker, Ruth Marryfield, Ken Cooney, and Rose Verzosa were the Keepers of the Memorial Cup when it visited Essex on 26 May 2017.Photo by Johannah DeVries. (ESSEX, ON) – May 26 was a very exciting day for the town of Essex as the Memorial Cup came to visit. On Day 8 of a 10-day tour around Windsor and Essex County, to promote the cup and the Windsor Spitfires. The…

[bunkershotgolf]

Gaining Ground: Reputation on Rise for Golf Architect Mike DeVries World-ranked designs and high-profile restoration projects being recognized

Mike DeVries, principal partner in DeVries Designs, Inc., a golf course design firm based in Traverse City, Mich., has project-by-project built a reputation as one of the leading minimalist architects of this generation. In the recent Golf Digest highlighting the best new courses, Architecture Editor Ron Whitten wrote about new courses focusing on “fun and playability” and that “they represent the trend that many architects are embracing: build for the masses, not the elite players.” DeVries’ recent work on Cape Wickham Links on King Island, Tasmania, Australia, is evidence of Whitten’s declaration. The project made its debut in 2016 at No. 24 on Golf Digest’s World’s 100 Greatest Courses. “Golf should be fun, isn’t that why we play?” DeVries asks. “If someone says they had fun playing a course I designed that is the highest compliment I can receive. At Cape Wickham, the weather is quite variable and the wind can really blow at times, so it was paramount that we employed very wide fairways to accommodate golfers of all skill levels.”   The greens at Cape Wickham provide significant amounts of short turf surrounding them and providing multiple shot and club options (putt, pitch, chip and run, flop, hybrid bump and run, etc.) for recovery play when golfers miss the target.   “The fun greens and fairway width enable playability in all conditions for everyone, yet strategy dictates certain angles to certain pins for optimal scoring – this challenges the best players to think their way around the golf course while permitting the average player to have fun playing all kinds of different shots,” DeVries said. He worked with consultant and co-designer Darius Oliver to create a classic minimalist design that flows through spectacular dune areas and along the coastline of the Bass Strait. All 18 holes provide views of the ocean with eight holes running along the coast and offering some of the most spectacular golf views in the world. The view of the Cape Wickham Lighthouse next to the course draws comparisons to the view at Ireland’s Old Head. The spectacular coastline at Cape Wickham is in fact so dramatic that it could have easily overshadowed the golf. It made the routing of the golf course the most important aspect of the design, and DeVries and Co. did not disappoint. “Good routings have a rhythm to them that creates an ebb and flow to the round, with stretches of strong holes interspersed with some easier ones, lending balance to a course and psychologically challenging golfers to stay on task,” DeVries said. “It could be argued that the best golfing ground is away from the coast but we utilized that to full effect starting on the coast, going inland, back to the coast, inland, and finishing on the coast with a climactic hole along the beach.” Whitten clearly agreed and eloquently penned in the 100 Greatest article that the routing at Cape Wickham is “heart-pounding, starting along rocks and crashing surf, moving inland but not out of the wind, returning to ocean edge at the downhill 10th, pitch-shot 11th and drivable par-4 12th, then wandering into dunes before a crescendo closing hole curving along Victoria Cove beach, which is in play at low tides.” As for DeVries’ work on restoration projects, he leans on his expert knowledge of MacKenzie, Ross, Tillinghast, Raynor and other classic designers. It has helped him recently with wonderful restoration projects in the New York region at Sunningdale and Siwanoy. “Siwanoy and Sunningdale have good ground, great original architects, and engaging memberships,” DeVries said.  “Like many older clubs, they had lost some of their original design intentions through typical changes like tree planting, shrinking greens, irrigation, and well-intentioned but possibly ill-advised renovations, usually in the form of “modernizing” the course.” DeVries was able to bring back the original intent of these classic courses by removing trees, re-establishing green perimeters, remodeling tees, bunkers and fairway lines and upgrading irrigation to provide the strategy and fun shot-making that are the hallmarks of these courses from the early 20th century. DeVries feels those qualities are truly never out of style and, as a result, both are wonderful, fun courses to play every day.   With more than 35 years in the golf business, including growing up near and working on the renowned MacKenzie classic Crystal Downs in northern Michigan, DeVries has developed an impressive hands-on approach to creating minimalist designs, including shaping his own greens and bunkers, working with owners and construction teams to develop environmentally sensitive golf courses, and paying attention to the details with a “less is more” attitude of designing courses that fully integrate with the landscape.   His award-winning projects include the previously mentioned Cape Wickham, as well as Kingsley Club (#21), and Greywalls (#77) on Golfweek’s Top 100 Modern Courses in the USA. His classic course restoration projects include Meadow Club (Alister MacKenzie), Siwanoy County Club (Donald Ross), Sunningdale County Club (Raynor, Travis, Tillinghast), St. Charles CC in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Ross/MacKenzie), Pelham Country Club (Devereux Emmet), and Jockey Club in Buenos Aires, Argentina (MacKenzie). For more information, visit the company website at: www.devriesdesigns.com.

[tic-toc-clock77]

do you have any ocs in your au? if so, who?

I DO ACTUALLY. I made an oc a while ago named Mackenzie DeVries/The Seeker. She's heavily based on Toby and Clockwork cuz why wouldn't she be? She's not a huge part of the AU because I'm waiting for the opportunity to fight tooth and nail to make her canon by anxiously submitting her story to the creepypasta site which I can't do until I'm 18. I tried b4 when the email they said to contact never responded so she's not canon YET.

One day, I'll try again to make her canon but yeah, she exists so far just as an OC but technically every creepypasta is just an OC.

For now, you can go on the tag Mackenzie DeVries on this account to find more about her!

[tic-toc-clock77]

I made my own creepypasta:0 it's sorta trying to bring back the tragic killers type of stories like Toby, Jeff and all that. It's very edgy

Here it is!

The Seeker "I Found You." Origins

The tick of the clock was driving the young girl mad. Tick tick tick....it kept going until she could hear a buzz in her ears. From downstairs, the screams of her mother and father could be heard, "That child never should've been born, she ruined us, Nathan!" Her mother yelled. Once she was mentioned, she knew she'd have to hide.

She ran to her bedroom door, nearly slipping on the knotted up carpet and held her back to it. She shut her eyes tight, hoping and praying her mother wouldn't come in, that she wouldn't hit her again, that she wouldn't have to hide any more bruises. Her ears started ringing again until a loud bang came from the kitchen.

The young girl, named Mackenzie, turned and opened her door to the bright light of the hallway, she passed her parents room, then the bathroom then came racing down the stairs.

She tripped, falling flat on her face. When she mustered the strength to look up, the sight before her was traumatizing; her mother held her father's hunting gun in her right hand and on the floor laid Mackenzie's father, a gun shot wound deep within his head. The young girl's eyes widened in shock and horror. She let out a blood curdling scream, loud enough to wake the neighbors and make them call the cops.

Years later, the now 16 year old Mackenzie did not dare to leave her bedroom. She laid on her side, listening to her clock and letting her ears ring out. She stood groggily, making her way to the bathroom then heading down the stairs of her childhood home. Each time she reached the stairs, she couldn't help but remember her father's face, his eyes that stared into her soul as a child when he laid dead.

She swallowed her fear and walked down anyway. In the kitchen, sitting at the small table, were her mother, her step father, the former prisoner guard and her step brother, Christopher. Their happy domestic act made her sick.

"Good morning, Mac." Dale, her stepfather says while smiling good naturedly. Mackenzie stares at him before her face becomes a scowl. "Stop fucking calling me that, only my dad calls me that." She mumbles, shoving her hands into the pockets of her black sweater. "Mackenzie!" Her mother smacks the table with both hands. Mackenzie turns only slightly, her mother's eyes stare in a patronizing manner from behind the panes of her glasses.

The young girl scoffs, and turns away from her mother. She grabs cereal then returns to her room, waiting for Dale to offer to drive her to school as he did usually whenever he bothered to try becoming her 'friend'. "Mackenzie, I'll drive you." He says, right on cue. She gets up, leaving another bowl in her room, and heads downstairs. It's a beautiful sunny September day outside and the black car nearly burns her hand when she opens it to get in the passenger seat. Chris is already sitting in the back, his blond hair matches the sun. It looks nothing like Dales', which is brown and turning grey. Chris got his hair colour from his now, long dead, mother.

They drive in silence, Mackenzie's brown hair goes every which way, her black leather jacket and black jeans are hit aggressively by the sun's rays, heating her body. A strange but common rage is built up in her stomach, she glances up at the rearview mirror and catches a glimpse of Chris chatting with his father. It wasn't about anything too important, only school and something about his fixations. Mackenzie thought to herself, "You don't know how lucky you are." She sighs.

The car ride is short, save for a pitstop that Dale had to make. Mackenzie exits the car and looks past the schools gate, her shoulders sluggishly sagging while she walks inside. Inside the brightly lit corridor is Lucy, bright blue eyes, long silky blonde hair and light makeup. She waits patiently, holding her hands behind her back, for Mackenzie to walk to her. Mackenzie turns her head, anxious not to make eye contact with the girl she's deemed "Crazy Church Go-er" the same as her mother when she got home from prison, having 'found God'. "Fuck." Mackenzie mumbles as she unintentionally walks past. "Mackenzie!" Lucy says, grinning from ear to ear. She waves, trying to move on but Lucy's short legs catch up in no time at all. "I prayed for you last night!" She tells her after catching up. Mackenzie accepts her fate and realizes she's eternally doomed to hear another sermon from the small, chubby girl beside her.

Mackenzie never had anything against her since they'd first met in second grade. They'd even been friends for a short while, before it happened, before Mackenzie's father was killed, before she changed. However, now, the only thing she could possibly have against Lucy James, is her constant talk of a demon having taken over and that she prays nightly for the demon to be removed from Mackenzie's soul.

Mackenzie never thought much of a 'demon' controlling her. She'd always known she was strange, that other people didn't want to talk her out of fear she was actually a murderer due to a nasty rumor spread by some girl who's father was a cop investigating the crime of Mackenzie's father's death. The rumor that she had killed her father. She didn't do anything to deny those rumors or stop the alienation that followed not just from school peers but also the foster parents and foster siblings who were supposed to take care of her while her mother was in prison, she simply took it all, every bit of abuse and pain.

The rumors weren't true so why should anything else of her predicament be true?

Over time, she simply stopped believing any of it had happened and tried to live normally, when people asked her questions about it, she'd reply like it never happened but still, she wasn't happy. That was the work of the 'Demon' Lucy was always talking about, Mackenzie believed, that if something like that could really do anything to her, it would be keeping her unhappy.

"Gonna perform another exorcism on me?" She asked, eluding to the time in 6th grade when Lucy had tried so hard to get to her to come to church, she asked the priest to perform an exorcism on her and he did it. Of course, it didn't work. There was nothing to work on. "No!" Lucy says stubbornly, straightening her black hair band. They walked for a while in silence, until Mackenzie spoke up, "What makes you think a demon is controlling me? Cause I have trouble focusing on the good...or something?" Lucy stops in her tracks, "It's because you..." She fumbles over her words, trying to speak in a kind way, "You've always had this weird thing where you talk about...death and killing." She admits awkwardly, playing with her fingers and not making eye contact.

Mackenzie stares at Lucy for a moment, death and killing? "That's it?" She asks. Mackenzie nervously ticks, grabbing one arm with the other and looking away, suddenly taking into consideration how much she's always talked about it, blood and gore, murder and all that nasty stuff. To her, it was exciting and entertaining. There was probably some sickening reason for it, like her father's death. Maybe a way to have controlled and dominated the fear of death but she couldn't be certain.

Lucy's face looked guilt filled, "O-others think so too. That you're sort of...weird." She admits sadly, as if Mackenzie didn't know. She figured people would know since that day one of Lucy's friends was pushing her around and knocked her journal out of her loose bag, revealing all the pages filled with her dark thoughts and drawings of decapitated figures, cut off limbs, knives and other weapons. "I knew that." Mackenzie laughs, seemingly unbothered and even laughing a bit. Lucy turns her face back to Mackenzie and looks at her, "You did?" She asks. Mackenzie feels a little bubble of rage in her stomach that Lucy thought she wasn't aware but she smiled anyway. Mackenzie shrugs, her smile turning to a relaxed smirk as they kept walking.

Soon enough classes began. Mackenzie walks through the hallways until she finds a resting spot, the small, claustrophobic and dark space, perfect for her writing and drawing. Her safe place behind the lockers, a place not even janitors know. It's filled with spider webs, the floor is slightly wet but it works. She sits on the ground and takes her journal out, she puts her flashlight in her mouth and turns it on, uses her hands to draw and write; people in pain with their fingers chopped off, their limbs being torn from their bodies, blood and guts scattering on the ground and finally, herself in the middle covered in blood.

The sight makes her skin crawl in an sickeningly exciting manner. She grins and continues to draw. Unable to hold in her urges, she grabs a small pocket knife from her bag and moves her sweater arm down. She reveals the cut skin in various lines, some fresh and some old. She prepares to make new lines until, "I found you, Mackenzie De Vries." Mrs. Madson, the old cranky teacher who never quit talking about her failing marriage, the teacher who's class she should be in.

She figured nobody knew her spot but then again, the school had always been around, even before Mackenzie was born. Mrs. Madson looked disgusted at the sight on Mackenzie's wrist. She gasps, pulling her up by the hand. "Disgusting, child!" She yells, pulling her forcefully. Mackenzie pulls away but to no avail. With her other arm, she puts her hand in a fist and punches the lady, desperate to grab her journal and run away so nobody sees how truly disgusting she is. It was already bad, nobody had to see it worse. Mrs. Madson's nose bleeds. "Shit." Mackenzie thinks to herself, the maddening look appearing on her teacher's face. Grabbing Mackenzie's wrist more forcefully than before, she pulls her down the stairs and into the office. She explains loudly how sick and vile Mackenzie is.

The principal eyes Mackenzie's arms and sighs. "Ms. Des Vries, we had this discussion before, I believe." Mr. Johnston stands from his red leather seat and looks out the window at the courtyard of the private school, the one Mackenzie got into through her father having gone to the same school.

Mackenzie stays silent throughout the long lecture and the yelling from her teacher. Her ears begin to ring, she doesn't care to listen any longer. She couldn't pay attention to anything but the window, her eyes trained on the large figure she seen outside; tall with no face, pale like paper in a black suit and red tie. That wasn't the first time she had seen the creature...

She thinks back to the night her father was killed, staring out the window in the police station, static in her ears as she stared at the creature, same as now, her eyes trained the same as before, her ears ringing the same static, her heart still pounding and deep within her chest lay a rage, a deep rage. It began to control her when her hearing phased in and out.

Her chest falling and rising again and again, panicking more as time went past. Her teacher hadn't stopped yelling, her principal raising his voice to counter her now. Mackenzie, feeling almost as if her actions weren't her own, smashes her fists down on the desk.

The principal and teacher both turn, shocked. "Shut up!" She screams before running from the room. Pacing down the hallway of the school, she crashes into Lucy. Falling on both their asses, Lucy begins apologizing profusely. Rubbing her head, Mackenzie feels the strange emotion fade as she faces her. She'd always been like this, her emotions would sometimes act out more than her head and in those moments, she'd imagine killing the noise or rather, whoever was making it.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asks, crawling toward her and putting a hand on her forehead. Mackenzie swipes Lucy's hand away. "I'm fine." She mutters. They both stand, Lucy already knows what happened, looking down at her friends bloody wrists. Lucy smiles sadly as Mackenzie awkwardly rolls her sleeves back down.

"Come on." Without warning, Mackenzie's hand is grabbed by Lucy, who drags her outside then to the courtyard and past the gate. Initially, Mackenzie was going to ask why the shorter girl would ever skip classes but soon enough, she realized why.

Once at the church of their hometown, Mackenzie felt...strange, like she shouldn't be there, she had no business in a church and she hated the scent. Lucy walked her toward the pastor and sat in the pews. For hours, Lucy and Mackenzie, listened to the sermon.

They'd spent the day in the church, a peaceful day for the last bit. Once night had hit, Mackenzie felt refreshed and calm, more than peaceful. The two friends sat on the bench in the dark at the nearby park, the orange street lamp warming them enough not to shiver.

The last bit of happiness was drained from that moment when Mackenzie's ears began to fill with sounds of static. A sharp pain in her chest with that same rage built again, eyes widened and clutched at her sweater where the pain began. Her eyesight started to fade while her breathing increased.

She couldn't help but smile, sickeningly as she stared at the pale creature in the bushes once more. "Mac, what are you-" Lucy goes to say but Mackenzie was too quick for her to get any words out when she wrapped her hands around Lucy's throat. Gripping it with so much intensity it could kill her.

Lucy gasps for air after pushing Mackenzie off of her but her feeling isn't gone. Lucy begins to run as her 'friend' is momentarily knocked down. Before long, Mackenzie is standing again but Lucy is nowhere to be seen.

Angrily, not like herself, as it happened time and time again through her life despite trying her damnedest to be normal...but this was an extension of that, something much worse.

Mackenzie slashed after taking out her pocket knife, she trudged through the woods nearby the park, a sadistic grin reaching across her face. Giggling softly, she began to hum until she broke out into a quiet song

"Run Run, Hide Away

But I won't wait another day

I'll find you

Kill you

And then you'll rot away!"

She sang as she chased until Lucy came into view. Teary eyed, Lucy ran with all her might, she didn't dare to look behind her. Mackenzie's sneakers crushed the fallen leaves below her as she dashed toward the blonde girl, giggling maniacally. "Where are you going?" She taunts, reaching and catching Lucy's leg.

"Get away from me, Demon! Get out of Mackenzie!" Lucy yells, making Mackenzie's eye twitch and for a split second she regains herself and is no longer subconsciously witnessing her own movements but she isn't normal again, she hasn't gone back down. "There's no demon here, you stupid bitch! This is all me!" Mackenzie's grin and laughter only got louder by the second, paralyzing Lucy with fear. Lucy screams as the knife plunges downward....

Mackenzie shoots up from her sleep, looking around she notices that this place was not her room once again. The white walls and flooring cause an intense nausea in her stomach that nearly comes up in her mouth, she pulls her knees up to her chest and drapes her arms around them, keeping her head down. Every waking moment, she's reminded of what she had done a month ago, how she nearly killed Lucy but for some odd reason, it doesn't make her sad or scare her anymore.

Since November had begun, she hadn't moved from her room in the mental ward. She had her arms bandaged and she'd been heavily medicated ever since she'd shown up, diagnosed with paranoid psychosis and clinical psychopathy. The medication wasn't helping but it seemed they'd given up on her almost, deciding just to keep her body until she would die on the outside as she had on the inside.

"You have a visitor, Ms. Devries." The young brunette nurse says as she peaks into the room. Mackenzie says nothing as her mother enters the room, carrying a small tray of food, on it was ham, cheese and some pickles. The knife and fork still sat on the tray along with the food. Her mother sits herself down beside her. "I brought you some food." She says, placing it between the two of them.

"Mackenzie?" Her mother calls to her but she just stares aimlessly out the window at the creature, he'd been there whenever she looked out the window, stalking and watching. Finally, it mumbled just loud enough for her to hear, "Kill her." It said, sounding as if it were right by her ear. "Mackenzie, are you okay?" Her mother leans over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Mackenzie Devries grabbed at the knife on the tray and stabs her mother through the neck. When the woman had tried to scream, all that came of it was gurgles of blood. Pulling the knife from her, Mackenzie grinned. "You came right to me...Thanks for making it easier to seek you out." Mackenzie laughs as the body of the woman falls backward, her blood spilling on the sheets.

Deciding she wasn't through with it yet, the deranged young girl climbed on top of her, stabbing her repeatedly until her blood splatters from the floors, to the walls and to Mackenzie's body.

Now blood-stained in shades of red, she breaks through the window, knife in hand and tumbles out onto the grass. Having that she'd slept all day, it was night as she dashed out to the park, where she slipped on a liquid she didn't recognize. During her escape, a nurse had called the police.

Having tripped and short of breath, she came to a stop in the place she'd almost killed Lucy so very long ago. She looked up at the tall trees then turned her body to view behind her at the cop cars and bright lights. She had one opt out, peering at the matchbox beside her in the grass and the liquid that she realized quickly was gasoline.

"Put your hands up!" A cop screamed but in the dark, she had slid a match on the box to light it up and grinned widely when it hit the puddle below her body. Flames shot up and she closed her eyes, prepared to go out her own way...until the creature appeared behind her and began to lead her away from the flames.

Two days later, Lucy James sat in her home with her mother tending to her cuts and the stab wound from Mackenzie. The news was on in the t.v. in her room.

"Currently, the suspect of the attempted murder of Lucy James and the murder of Meredith Devries is still loose. The suspect, Mackenzie Devries is suspected to be declared dead but no body has been found to date." The news anchor states. A pit of sadness is left in Lucy's heart for Mackenzie and her mother. She sighs as her own mother leaves the room to let her rest for the night.

Once all the lights in the house are turned off, Lucy hears a tap on the window and then it opens. She instantly recognizes her old friend with a knife in hand. The floor boards creak as she approaches...

"I found you."

Lucy James let out her final breath in a horrific scream...

[irisfilmcollective]

Massive thanks to Sawdust Collector for assembling a truly great New Works #16 show Tuesday night, some incredible performances from Justin Devries (with Millie Hong and Balot), Julie Ulehla, and Iris’ own Alex Mackenzie (with Clare Kenny). A packed house on a chilly night—see you all again on April 2nd for the next edition: New Works #17!

[irisfilmcollective]

Thanks once again to Sawdust Collector for hosting a brilliant evening of works on Tuesday at the lovely Gold Saucer Studio, including Justin Devries’ quadrophonic Gamelan, Julia Ulehla’s live vocal soundtrack to her great grandfather’s stunning ethnographic/fiction film and Iris’ own Alex MacKenzie literally melting down the mating rituals of western culture. Some truly unforgettable moments all around. See you all for the final round on May 7th!

[irisfieldhouse]

Thanks once again to Sawdust Collector for hosting a brilliant evening of works on Tuesday at the lovely Gold Saucer Studio, including Justin Devries’ quadrophonic Gamelan, Julia Ulehla’s live vocal soundtrack to her great grandfather’s stunning ethnographic/fiction film and Iris’ own Alex MacKenzie literally melting down the mating rituals of western culture. Some truly unforgettable moments all around. See you all for the final round on May 7th!

[irisfieldhouse]

Alex MacKenzie: EXPERIMENTS FOR A SINGLE PROJECTOR #2

Tuesday April 2, 2019 | Door 9pm, Show 9:30pm

A part of Sawdust Collector’s NEW WORKS #17 Gold Saucer, #211-207 West Hastings (Dominion Building) $5-$10 or PWYC at the door, cash only. Join us for a projector performance on 16mm film by Iris Film Collective member Alex MacKenzie. Experiments for a Single Projector #2 will rework “Are We Still Going to the Movies?”, originally commissioned for a performance in San Francisco in 2013 and presented again in 2014 at Iris’ inaugural group show. A vintage ‘70s educational film on relationships is slowed and strobed, exploding the confrontational nature of embedded social customs. Speed interference and introduced sound transform a somber date into a sinister affair.

Also on the bill this evening: JULIA ULEHLA (vocalist, actress, ethnomusicologist) and JUSTIN DEVRIES (percussionist/composer exploring improvisation, new music, and gamelan). NEW WORKS: Twice a year, Sawdust Collector invites three artists to present short works-in-progress over the course of three shows as part of their weekly series at the Gold Saucer Studio. Featured are iterations of a single piece or new material from different projects. New Works is a set of deadlines and free rein to chase an idea, to experiment, expand, and refine; an open invitation, an attentive room, and a shared stage in good company. Join us! More info HERE.

ALEX MACKENZIE Alex MacKenzie is a Vancouver-based media artist working with 16mm film and hand processed imagery to create expanded cinema performance and light projection installation. His work has screened at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, EXiS (Seoul), Lightcone (Paris), Kino Arsenal (Berlin) and many other festivals and art spaces worldwide. Alex also teaches specialized workshops on alternative film techniques including processing, photograms, handmade emulsion, pre-cinema, and projector performance. His work has most recently screened at Cinema-Nova in Brussels, Queen Mary University in London, Antimatter in Victoria, and The Independent Film Labs Encounter in Mexico City. His work will appear as a part of the LOOPDALOOP group show with the Iris Film Collective at this year’s Capture Fest in April at Burrard View Fieldhouse, where the collective are currently Artists-in-Residence for 2019-2022.

[irisfilmcollective]

Alex MacKenzie: EXPERIMENTS FOR A SINGLE PROJECTOR #2

Tuesday April 2, 2019 | Door 9pm, Show 9:30pm

A part of Sawdust Collector’s NEW WORKS #17 Gold Saucer, #211-207 West Hastings (Dominion Building) $5-$10 or PWYC at the door, cash only. Join us for a projector performance on 16mm film by Iris Film Collective member Alex MacKenzie. Experiments for a Single Projector #2 will rework “Are We Still Going to the Movies?”, originally commissioned for a performance in San Francisco in 2013 and presented again in 2014 at Iris’ inaugural group show. A vintage ‘70s educational film on relationships is slowed and strobed, exploding the confrontational nature of embedded social customs. Speed interference and introduced sound transform a somber date into a sinister affair.

Also on the bill this evening: JULIA ULEHLA (vocalist, actress, ethnomusicologist) and JUSTIN DEVRIES (percussionist/composer exploring improvisation, new music, and gamelan). NEW WORKS: Twice a year, Sawdust Collector invites three artists to present short works-in-progress over the course of three shows as part of their weekly series at the Gold Saucer Studio. Featured are iterations of a single piece or new material from different projects. New Works is a set of deadlines and free rein to chase an idea, to experiment, expand, and refine; an open invitation, an attentive room, and a shared stage in good company. Join us! More info HERE.

ALEX MACKENZIE Alex MacKenzie is a Vancouver-based media artist working with 16mm film and hand processed imagery to create expanded cinema performance and light projection installation. His work has screened at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, EXiS (Seoul), Lightcone (Paris), Kino Arsenal (Berlin) and many other festivals and art spaces worldwide. Alex also teaches specialized workshops on alternative film techniques including processing, photograms, handmade emulsion, pre-cinema, and projector performance. His work has most recently screened at Cinema-Nova in Brussels, Queen Mary University in London, Antimatter in Victoria, and The Independent Film Labs Encounter in Mexico City. His work will appear as a part of the LOOPDALOOP group show with the Iris Film Collective at this year’s Capture Fest in April at Burrard View Fieldhouse, where the collective are currently Artists-in-Residence for 2019-2022.

[irisfieldhouse]

Massive thanks to Sawdust Collector for assembling a truly great New Works #16 show Tuesday night, some incredible performances from Justin Devries (with Millie Hong and Balot), Julie Ulehla, and Iris’ own Alex Mackenzie (with Clare Kenny). A packed house on a chilly night—see you all again on April 2nd for the next edition: New Works #17!