Recently, my friend and I were chatting about what our kids will need for back to school, as her daughter is going away to first year at the University of Guelph. She was bemoaning the idea of hitting a mall, so I asked her what items are on her most-wanted list. The top-of-the-list items that […]
Every Tuesday evening for nearly four years now, people have been gathering at Community Centre 55 because they, or a loved one, face a mental wellness challenge. There is the depressive who has worn out his family support because he is constantly morose and continually seeks ways to become happy—ways his family doesn’t know how […]
While I’ve written stories about Monarch butterflies before, and I’m sure you’ve read or watched something about their amazing migration to Mexico, this story will touch on a much darker aspect of their lives: their uncontrollable aggression. As I lounged on my friend Dianne’s front yard watching the beautiful Monarch butterflies flying around, their orange […]
Through my experience of working with community groups and being part of urban food groups such as the Scarborough Food Network and Toronto Urban Growers, I have seen a growing (pardon the pun) interest in food production in the city. The most obvious indication of this interest is of course the number of community gardens […]
Celebrating 25 years in business on Queen Street East as the advertising and creative agency Top Drawer Creative, CEO and Beach resident Howard Chang decided to launch a new agency business model along with three new partners, and it’s called The Turn Lab. In its previous incarnation, Top Drawer was ahead of the curve. As […]
Earlier this year, a report in the journal Science found that the likelihood of disease increases from four per cent to 89 per cent when corals are in contact with plastic. The authors estimate that 11.1 billion plastic items are already entangled on coral reefs across the Asia-Pacific and project this number to increase 40 […]
Is it fair for me to say that I have a favourite bird? I feel that every second article I write says some variation of “this is my favourite bird because of X,Y,Z.” Well, not this time. This week I’ll tell you about one of the most frustrating birds to take pictures of: the swallow. […]
For a while there have been rumblings of the Beach’s slow demise. Despite the recent media reports, we continue to see new businesses open and others expanding. The Beach business community is resilient, and with the many community-based projects filling the calendars of the spring, summer and fall, the Beach is offering more for its […]
Energy drinks are very popular today. There are literally hundreds of them available at your grocery store shelves. However, the majority are artificial or manufactured and contain lots of added sugar, caffeine and other ingredients. Most folks would consider coffee the ultimate, natural energy drink, and it can be to some extent. There is an […]
Peer through the looking glass and you’ll see the similarities between the real Alice in Wonderland and the adorable 10-month-old Husky mix pictured here. They share much the same “muchness”! They’re both brimming with curiosity, adventure and wild imagination. Such qualities are highly valued by any self-respecting storybook character determined to win your affections and […]
