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6 Biggest Toronto Sports Moments of the 21st Century
With the NBA All-Star Weekend happening for the first time outside of the United States, Ethan describes our favourite moments in Toronto Sports History.
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Finding the One: Review of The Ten Spot Beauty Bar
Local Danforth resident, Wendy Hynes, has been looking for a new beauty salon to meet all her needs. Does The Ten Spot live up to her high standards?
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Black History Month in Toronto
Black History Month is a celebration of blackness, and an acknowledgement of the histories that have informed, fed, and nourished Canada. With each February comes a crop of new events throughout Toronto. They are all focused on black artist and thinkers whose work, individually, contains a profound vibrancy, and a multifaceted-ness that continues to provide depth to the legacy of Black Canadians. While Black History Month is an exciting time, with an abundance of exciting events and carefully curated, distinctly Canadian, and wonderfully unfurling launches of fantastic books and palpating festivals, the wealth of opportunities can make for some difficult decisions and unfortunate omissions. So, while your Facebook feeds begin…
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Review: Modern Gladiators Dominate the World’s Oldest Horse Race in Palio
Winner of the Best Documentary Feature at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, Cosima Spender’s documentary Palio profiles the Palio di Siena. The Palio is the world’s oldest horse race that takes place in July and August every year in Siena, Italy. For over 800 years, spectators have packed the Piazza del Compo to witness the parades of medieval revelry and the infamous 90 seconds where horses furiously race around the square for both pride and glory. The film also offers a never before seen look at the legendary, modern jockeys (fantini) that have redefined the race. But in Siena, the Palio is so much more than just a horse race. To…
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Bell Let’s Talk
Bell Let’s Talk is admittedly the most well-known campaign to assist with mental health awareness. In the spirit of encouraging conversation, I sat down with Ashley Posluns and Ethan Lipson to discuss the details you may not already know about. What do you know about Bell Let’s Talk? Ashley: This campaign is now in its sixth year of supporting mental health initiatives in Canada. On a specified day in January, any text message sent and local or long distance phone call made by Bell cellular service customers’ results in 5 cents being donated to many large and small mental health organizations. Non-Bell customers can still participate by tweeting with the hashtag #BellLetsTalk or…
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8 Ways to Set Goals and Stay Motivated
Every new year, we use our resolutions to admit to the world ways in which we want to better ourselves. For a lot of us, it’s about being healthier, wealthier, and wiser. But, by the time we’ve gotten all of the turkey and wine out of our system, our resolutions have begun to waver and fade. Here are some tips to bolster your determination without burning yourself out: 1. Think of it as a Challenge A “goal” is an ideal image that floats above our heads, nice and neat like a finished painting. For all its positive connotations, thinking of a resolution as a goal can disconnect it from the…
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9 Ways to Make a Stranger’s Day in the City
Downtown Toronto is consistently a busy, bustling place. If you take a walk through the city, day after day you will see innumerable places and faces. It may be easy to simply walk straight by the chaos, and mind your own business. Many times, I find myself with my earphones in, and tunnel vision on to get to where I’m going. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that each passing person and place, no matter what city you’re in, has a story. Wouldn’t it be nice to feel more connected in some way? Of course, it’s not the easiest task to stop, ask, and get to know these stories…
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Saying Goodbye to a Pet
How do you know when it’s time to say goodbye to a pet? How do you know if your family pet is ready to die? Can you ever really know? And, most importantly, how do you bring yourself to make the decision that the time has come to let them go? This last question, more than any other, will cause any owner to hold back from putting their pet down. When our pet is suffering from an illness, our first impulse is to do whatever we can to help. Thankfully, advances in modern medicine mean that there are many treatments available that can assist or completely rid pets of their…
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Warmth on a Winter’s Weekend
I know you; you’re sitting in front of your computer, wrapping misery in a blanket, and you’ve opened this article to scoff at my list of ideas to keep your heart warm through another Canadian winter. You don’t like that snow has seized our streets, patios have shut their doors, and Mr. Frost has personally ensured that you will not be at a restful temperature while outdoors for the next three months. So you might as well read this and enlighten your winter more than your wistful waiting ever could. I’m sitting at a coffee shop—outside the window to my left, the snow falls modestly—in the foreground is my computer,…
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5 Books about Mental Illness
Mental illness is something that affects many people, either directly or through someone they know. The Canadian Mental Health Association states that 20% of Canadians will experience mental illness personally. With schizophrenia and bipolar disorder each affecting 1% of the population, anxiety disorders affecting 5%, and depression affecting 8% of the adult population and 17% of the youth population (aged 12 to 19), mental illnesses are getting more attention. This fact is shown in the amount of novels published about various mental illnesses. Though there are many books you can read that will give you some perspective on what it may be like to live with a mental illness, these…