Archive
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Why Mats Matter
Have you ever seen a dog that looks like it’s wearing a clumpy sweater? The wind blows over them but, aside from a few scraggly bits, the hair remains undisturbed. This is because the coat has become so thoroughly tangled that the tats have become mats: thick bunches of hair resembling dreadlocks. They might be isolated to one or two spots, or cover a dog’s entire body. A lot of dog owners think this impenetrable wall of hair will keep Fido warm in the winter. They’re wrong. I’ve been a professional dog groomer for a number of years and I’ve groomed thousands of our four-legged friends. Over time, something has…
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Review: Toronto’s Sense-less Restaurants
Able-bodied people go through life without thinking about accessibility issues. There are many ways that this world is experienced differently for anyone living with a disability. The following two restaurants offer a dining experience that help the abled understand the perspective of the deaf and blind. O’Noir 620 Church St., Toronto O’Noir provides a dine-in-the-dark experience. When entering the restaurant, diners order in the lit lobby. Once diners review the menu, a sighted bartender takes their order and communicates it to a blind server. There are two options: either a three course meal (appetizer, main, dessert) or a two course meal (appetizer and main, or main and dessert). Drinks are also ordered before entering the dark room.…
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Review: Transparent (Second Season)
As the Golden Globe nominations were released, with many surprises to gossip and marvel over (Mad Max: Fury Road for best picture is pretty amazing), it is rather unsurprising and relieving to see that season two of Transparent is once again nominated for best comedy series. Although this season is a slight step down in some ways from the first, it continues to explore the anxieties and desires of the Pfefferman clan deeply but in lovingly blunt, comedic fashion, proving that this is a family comedy unlike any other currently on television. For those unaware of the show, the story follows the patriarch-turned-matriarch of the Pfefferman family, Maura. Played by…
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The Force Entertains, but Does it Awaken Anything New?
Spoilers Ahead Star Wars: The Force Awakens is pretty much exactly what you would expect it to be. It’s fun, well-produced, and has great visual effects and action scenes. Tonally, it feels reminiscent of the original trilogy but technologically compatible with today’s standards. It touts itself as a Star Wars for a new generation, and in that respect, it delivers admirably. But underneath its flashy veneer, does the movie have much in the way of substance? Its plot and themes are essentially a retread of those in the original trilogy. Like Lucas infamously said in one of his interviews about the prequels, “it’s like poetry, it rhymes.” No longer is…
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Tips for Sticking to your 2016 Fitness Goals
Let’s face it: working out consistently is hard. We all start off with good intentions, but life gets in the way. Work, school, kids, hobbies, or just unexpected social gatherings impede your daily routine and eat up that workout time. For years, I struggled with working out consistently. Having been a very active child, I always got my exercise through sports. But when that was no longer the case, it was hard to motivate myself to go to the gym because I was so conscious that I was exercising and I didn’t particularly enjoy it. My goal would always be to lose weight and when I didn’t see results right…
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The Best Lesser-Known International Cuisine in Toronto
We’ve all had sushi, pizza, burritos, shawarmas, and various other well-known international fare. But in a city with as many nationalities represented as Toronto, an entire world of cuisine is at your fingertips, just waiting to be discovered. Many of these food items are delicious, underrated, and—to the average Canadian—unfamiliar. Any one of these could end up being your new favourite food item. Okonomiyaki Okonomi House Restaurant 23 Charles St. W., Toronto, On., M4Y 2R4 Okonomiyaki is colloquially known as the “Japanese pancake”, but it’s really unlike any pancake you’ve ever had before. As opposed to the more ubiquitous sushi and other typical Japanese fare, this dish, commonly eaten as…
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5 Places You Can Go to Escape Your Cellphone
In this day and age, we live by the internet and especially through social media. We eat with it, we sleep with it, and we even walk our dogs with it. For many, it takes as much as the inability to connect—being physically unable to access social media—to make us log offline. Below is a list of places and events in Toronto that either do not allow for the use of cellphones or simply do not have WiFi or connection signals, giving you the ability to escape from your cellphone, even for just a few minutes (or hours). The Subway For just $3.00, you can travel underground on Toronto’s subway…
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How to Survive Post-Holiday Depression
All of December is spent preparing for the holidays. And let’s face it: it can be too much. Our efforts go towards planning and organizing holiday dinners and parties. We spend more than we can afford on gifts and decorations. We see family and friends day after day. But after all the hype and adrenaline has run out, what’s left? In a short few hours, all of that time, money and socialization is gone. If you’re anything like the 20% of Canadians who experience anxiety, then you’re struggling to get through the last few days before work or school resume. Here are some strategies to get you through until your…
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8 Shows to Binge Watch Over the Holidays
The winter break is coming and you finally have free time to catch up on TV shows. But what should you watch while your favourites are on their winter hiatus? The following shows are some of my top picks to dive into during this break: Shameless Each minute of every episode of Shameless contains its own bit of drama. This show focuses on Fiona and her siblings, showing how they make their lives work with questionable parents. It’s a quick series to catch up on, with only 12 episodes in each season. You’re going to want to catch up quickly since the US sixth season premieres on January 10th. The first…
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Winter Recipe: Cheeseball Snowman
Ingredients: 2 (250g) packages of cream cheese, room temperature 2 cups white cheddar cheese (or any other kind of white cheese), shredded 2 tablespoons minced shallot 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce ¼ teaspoon hot sauce (such as Tobasco) coarse salt and black pepper, to taste fresh rosemary sprigs 5 raisins pretzel sticks 1 baby carrot crackers (1 large Breton cracker for the base of the hat, and 3 regular Ritz crackers for the top of the hat) Mix the cream cheese in a bowl with 1 ½ cups of white cheddar cheese. Add the minced shallots, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Mix together and add…
