The best medicine
Studies into mental health have made great strides. With a combination of medication and psychiatric support, people who suffer from serious mental health problems can lead the life they want. For more common mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety disorders, there are also opportunities for people to help themselves. Ways to change the negative […]
Bencic reigns supreme
The city of Toronto was abuzz with all sorts of sporting activities last weekend. The Blue Jays played host to the New York Yankees. Athletes from the PanAmerican countries were finishing up the ParaPanAm games. For thousands of tennis fans, the Rogers Cup at York University was the key event. For Canadian fans pulling for […]
Boundaries
This Friday will mark 70 years since the Allies’ victory over Japan and the end of the US involvement in WWII. On that day, as parades broke out on American streets, as they had months before in Canada, a photojournalist named Alfred Eisenstaedt captured the moment that would become most symbolic of that joy: the […]
Football night in Canada
Last Friday night was a perfect night for football. The skies were clear about an hour before the game as we entered Frank Clair Stadium, at the TD Place Field at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa. I recommend two things before you go to a game there: get your tickets now, and park early. The game […]
401
“I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts. There they are a standing in a ….” We all have it happen, I’m thinkin’. Time to time, a song gets stuck in your head? Especially a song that’s out of the repertoire of songs you’re liable to sing: for my part, Bob Dylan or cowboy songs get […]
BHSIB Syndrome
I fell victim to Big, Heavy, Serious, Important Book Syndrome last month. You’ve probably experienced it too. BHSIB Syndrome is an affliction whereby you feel the need to acquire and conquer a BHSIB, deluding yourself with the false hope that this time you really will devote half an hour each morning and evening to reading […]
Time machines
August. I know, I know. I’m not original when I ask, “What the H E double ears of local corn happened to the summer?” But here we are, and the first week of August is behind us. We’re bombarded by back-to-school- days advertising in every flyer that gets dropped on our front step. I don’t […]
Oh, Robot
Over a month last year, an adorable science project became the first robot to complete the great Canadian road trip. Geared up with a pair of red Wellington boots and a computerized smile, hitchBOT hitchhiked from Halifax to Victoria. The robot was a co-creation of Frauke Zeller from Ryerson University in Toronto and David Harris […]
No dog days for these guys
The Toronto Blue Jays came north this past Spring with the intention that they would win the World Series. In fact, all Major League baseball teams have the same intent when they break camp. As the season wears on, through May and June, teams begin to realize that they either have the right stuff, or […]
Chinese reds
Sand dunes in the Gobi rival those of the Sahara in size and majesty. They are responsible for sandstorms in Beijing that have become more and more frequent. So both Mongolia and China’s autonomous region of Inner Mongolia have embarked on a reclamation program of tree, shrub and grass plantings in the region. The government […]