Lifestyle
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Out of Sight, Out of Mind
If I can’t see it, does it exist? For me, vision isn’t just a sense–it’s the key to remembering, organizing, and feeling balanced. Written by Alicia Murray I was in the car when it happened. I’d been driving for less than ten minutes when I realized I didn’t know where I was driving from. A hazy image of my partner danced in my brain, but I couldn’t grasp it, clear it, cement his face in my mind. In a desperate attempt to remember what he looked like, I flitted from one thought to the next until I was half convinced he was a figment of my imagination. There are few…
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Finding Myself on the Streets I Never Walked
Some places change you without asking permission first. They slip into your life quietly, without warning, until one day you realize you are no longer the person you were before. They settle into the spaces you didn’t know needed filling, rearranging you from the inside out. And then, one day, you look back and see it clearly—the place where you stopped being afraid of your own life.
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Learning, Off the Danforth
The house is quiet in the mornings. Completely silent, save for the low hum of the refrigerator and the creak of my footsteps as I walk across the floor. The only light outside is from the streetlights; dawn is yet to come. As the rest of Victoria lie asleep in their beds, I make my much-needed 5 A.M. matcha before settling in front of my computer. This is the morning routine of a Centennial College student—specifically, one in the online publishing program, tuning in from Vancouver Island.Â
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Dear Danforth, Leash Your Dogs
As the owner of a grumpy Shih Tzu weighing a whopping fourteen pounds, it is terrifying when an off-leash dog begins to approach him while we’re walking. Whether it be a tiny terrier, a large Labrador, or any breed in between, my dog, Stitch, is not friendly and does not welcome these unrestrained guests very kindly. And then that other dog tends to retaliate to Stitch’s animosity by either barking or biting. In this hostile interaction between domesticated beasts, I’m tethered to my dog by a leash, but where is the other dog’s owner?
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The Luminous Veil
This article contains discussion of suicide. Reader discretion is advised. I spent a lot of time on the bridge commonly known as the Bloor Viaduct. I passed through it twice a day, 5 days a week for 4 years. It has high-wire bars 5 metres tall, preventing anybody from getting close to the edge. It prevents me from getting close to the edge. It arches high above the trees, so that birds can see its span of 494 metres of concrete and steel, 40 metres above the Don Valley. It would be a nice view going down. I think about the exhilaration that would follow the cold wind in my…
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All Signs Point to Yes
Have you ever mulled something over for so long that when you finally made a decision, it had nothing to do with the pros or cons, but was instead based off of the result of an arbitrary coin toss?
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How We Immortalize Our Cats: From Ancient Pottery to Etsy Shops
As a kid, I grew up with three cats. In the 90s, that meant we filled albums with Kodak photographs we got developed at Walmart. Photographs of us—my family—with our beloved little guys and some of just Rex or Chloe or Max, alone, because we needed to bring that love we had for them to life, to put it somewhere tangible, somewhere we could look at and hold in our hands. Obviously, this is not a unique experience. The rise of kitty fame on the Internet makes that ever clearer. But we—humans, lovers of cats—have been filling proverbial albums with Walmart-developed photos for as long as cats have been domesticated,…
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4 Women Owned Businesses That Are Making a Difference
Each of the following businesses bring their own unique offerings to the Danforth, and you need to check them out. These businesses also happen to be run by some amazing—and very passionate—female business owners with positive missions for their businesses far beyond self-interest and profit. They have big ambitions for what they want their businesses to do and be. Each business has the opportunity to positively impact the community and make a difference. Secret Planet Print Shop– 918 Danforth Ave. Jackie is a screen printer who owns Secret Planet Print Shop, a screen-printing studio and gift shop that sells items made by local and Canadian artisans, as well as in-house…
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Outfits of the Danforth
The Danforth is a neighbourhood that exudes culture, art, fashion, and an overall cultivated lifestyle, which is something I am not used to. I just finished my undergrad in a smaller Ontario city, where there seemed to be no personal style, creativity, or expression. It was very mundane and uninteresting seeing the same thing every day. But now, coming to the Danforth for school, I have been enjoying being a part of the east-end neighbourhood and experiencing what it has to offer in terms of restaurants, coffee shops, artist spots, and most importantly, clothing stores. The neighbourhood is full of so much culture, acceptance, and expression, and the local clothing…
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The Clay Room
On a brisk Saturday afternoon, with the intention of trying something new, my friend and I entered a muted green shop at 279 Danforth Ave. The air was heavy with chalky dust and paint fumes, and buzzed with all sorts of lowered, concentrated voices. Its sage walls were lined with shelves of white, blank ceramics, in various shapes and sizes. Despite its four tables being nearly full, we were immediately greeted by a staff member with a warm smile. She patiently and plainly described how the business works: you choose a ceramic from the wall—each of which have their own price and studio fee, pick out your paint colours, give…
