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I never would have imagined experiencing such different weather conditions in a single year, and even less to be discovering them in Canada during lockdown. Last summer, as the heat increased and restrictions were relaxed and Vancouverites seemed to once again appreciate the city’s beautiful summer scenery, I had to pack my bags and leave…
The Urban Dictionary has come a long way since it was first created by Aaron Peckham in 1999. The dictionary started its journey on the communications highway as a university side project and handbook for local college slang…which turned into a stand-in of Ask Jeeves.com when Peckham was 18 years old and in his 1st…
I think it’s safe to say that most of us are ready to leave the year 2020 behind. It was the year that kept on giving. Month after month, there was always some type of new unpredictability. As a student, seeing the chaos that ensued due to the pandemic was, quite frankly, unnerving. One more…
Deep in the heart of luxury, there are millions of women around the world who spend a large part of their days (and nights) searching for and buying high-priced handbags. Part passion-project, part style search and all-splurge, many of the women have two or three bags. The more keen and well-off have collections with 20 to 30 plus. It’s an all nations, all-ages, world…
In 1964, French novelist and former spy Pierre Nord wrote in essence that “if there was one thing that we should recognize in Anglo-Saxon culture, it is the genius of pragmatism. The proof is that they won both world wars by engaging only at the end.” This shortcut does not diminish the admiration I feel…
Brad Pitt and George Clooney are The Kings of Booze. Correction; Brad Pitt and George Clooney are The Kings of Super-Premium Booze. Both of them are serious about the work and exercise of making first-rate alcohol. In the past seven years, they have put time, effort, money and imagination into mastering the craft and business of liquor. There…
As we near the nine-month mark since COVID-19 took hold of what feels like every aspect of our daily activities, it’s beginning to feel like life as we once knew it is nothing more than a distant memory. For me, 2019 was one of the most turbulent years of my life. I had spent a…
When lockdown was first announced, I think I had the same thought as many in the world, “Great, more time to myself.” My mantra was: “I finally get time to do all the things I never had the time to do!” I took up baking banana bread every week. I saved my gym membership fees…
This is a tense moment in America and American politics, and for so many reasons, the upcoming U.S. presidential elections are a (very) big deal. Every day leading up to voting day, the country has seemed to become less united and more divided. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8745739/TOM-LEONARD-new-civil-war-tearing-America-apart-making-toxic-election-ever.html Feelings about the president and the direction of the country have been…
The first time I felt Canadian was this past March. In 2015, I landed in Ontario when I was on the brink of turning 16, having left my mother tongue and favourite cities (in Egypt), along with my closest friends and most formative years (in the United Arab Emirates). I became Canadian when I was…
Emma Chamberlain is famous. Very famous. It’s a level of fame that allows her to sell branded T-shirts, hoodies and merchandise, release her own special blend of coffee and buy herself a 4075 sq ft house in West Hollywood. http://centennialbeauty.com/emma-chamberlain-buys-home/ It is the kind of 21st Century fame which is created on and made possible by the internet. If…
I remember the joy I felt when my teachers first announced the extension of spring break due to COVID-19. As a high school junior, my days were filled almost entirely with school and extracurricular activities, and I was grateful that I would get this much-needed rest period. As it turned out, that spring break was…
Two works by internationally acclaimed Black Canadian artists were installed outside the Red Chamber on September 18, 2020 – the first art display in the Senate arranged specifically to honour Canada’s Black artists. Stolen Identities, by Winnipeg painter Yisa Akinbolaji, and Who’s Who in Canada 1927 – a mixed-media piece by Vancouver-based artist Chantal Gibson – will be…
