Ask An Author, Writing

Ask An Author: Summer Silliness

Happy Canada Day and happy Fourth of July! North America is kicking off summer with two national holidays; after a long and arduous winter in many of these parts, everyone is quite eager to get outside and soak up the rays. And so, although many of our contributing authors are from the southern hemisphere and… Read More Ask An Author: Summer Silliness

Music Review, Soul

Music Review: Pacanomad – ‘Restless’

The energy of rock and the emotions of soul come together in Pacanomad’s debut five track EP Restless. The four member Canadian indie rock and R&B band, comprised of Chantel Rivard (vocals), Nick Cifaldi (guitar), Dave Ball (bass), and Zack Stewart (drums), build on the strength of Rivard’s smoky vocals and Cifaldi’s guitar skills to… Read More Music Review: Pacanomad – ‘Restless’

Community Building

Reaching Over the Anger: Building on a Common Desire

As a blogger, I have gone through many phases. A recent one was defined by anger at the various and unfortunately numerous forms of injustice that exist. Long-time readers have commented on it before, and it has led to many an interesting, if not heated, discussion. While anger might light a fire in someone’s heart… Read More Reaching Over the Anger: Building on a Common Desire

TV Review

Normalizing “The Other”: The Case of Little Mosque on the Prairie

I don’t have any through research nor lots of data to back the following statement up, but it seems to me that one of the reasons for the recent upsurge in prejudices, as expressed in various anti-insert-a-culture-or-religion-here sentiment is intimately linked with fear of the unknown, which, mixed with a liberal dose of misinformation, can… Read More Normalizing “The Other”: The Case of Little Mosque on the Prairie

Medical

Channeling Hope into Raising Awareness and Funds for Hunter Syndrome

Many, many people know Nadine, be it on Twitter, Tumblr, or Facebook (and, for a few very lucky people, in real life).  Her spunkiness, wit, and love for sci-fi shows (combined with some interesting insights) make of her a caring, fun, and deep person to talk to. It came as no surprise to find out… Read More Channeling Hope into Raising Awareness and Funds for Hunter Syndrome

Baha'i, Social Justice

Noticing the Glimmering of the Lesser Peace

I recently read an article, which talks about the relationship between poor housing conditions and the 25% of children in Montreal who suffer from lung disease, and suggests that the province of Quebec should invest not only in hospitals, but in home construction as well. Before, such articles would just make me so angry at… Read More Noticing the Glimmering of the Lesser Peace

General

More thoughts on Meritocracies

Yesterday’s post on The Merits of a Meritorious Meritocratic Society was inspired by a piece written by MacLean’s Robyn Urback, titled “Merit pay is a good idea–in theory”. Starting off with “When all teachers are paid the same, hard work isn’t worth it”, the following section in particular that got me thinking: “British Columbia Liberal… Read More More thoughts on Meritocracies

General

Canadian TV stepping up to the plate

For the longest time, Canadian actors had to travel Due South (pun totally intended) to be able to ‘make it’ – but more and more it seems that this isn’t the case. They can stay up here, freezing in the wonderful country of their birth and make it pretty big, too. The great part is… Read More Canadian TV stepping up to the plate

General

Good News Campaign: Dissipating the Doldrums

There are some terrible things happening out there, and they are well chronicled – sometimes overly so. There has been an increase in ‘Good News’ reporting (the Montreal Gazette has a whole page dedicated to good news only in each issue) and so I have decided to join the bandwagon. Youth art project brings citation… Read More Good News Campaign: Dissipating the Doldrums

General

Interesting little tidbit

Canada celebrated its first coast-to-coast white Christmas since 1971 after storms battered much of the country over the last week. Source: here.