BY: JESSICA BEUKER It’s that time of year again. Where kids and adults alike scrounge together old curtains and bedsheets to try and fashion their last-minute costumes. Where houses deck their doors in cobwebs and adorn their steps with glimmering,…
Expression & Culture
The Dove ad is just the latest example of how covert racism lives in advertising
BY: NADIA ZAIDI Recently, Dove decided to release an ad that showed a black woman taking off her t-shirt to reveal a white woman underneath. There was a bottle of soap in the corner. I guess my only question now…
The quickest route to true happiness is learning not to give a crap
BY: NADIA ZAIDI It’s fairly difficult to stop caring what other people think, but it’s kind of mandatory if you want to live a life that makes you happy. Bare with me as I delve into a stream of consciousness. I…
Five intense horror VR experiences guaranteed to get your heart pumping
We live in interesting times. Times where technology is growing and expanding exponentially in almost every area, and yet, somehow, truly terrifying horror movies are almost impossible to find. Stories are told of the previous generation peeing themselves in the…
This Brazilian tattoo artist is making a career out of her bad art (photos)
BY BROOKLYN PINHEIRO While Helena Fernandes was growing up drawing her ‘funny/cute/not realistic/not-following-the-rules” pictures, she never imagined they would become the source of her career. The style that she would print on everything from t-shirts to nails has made her famous…
London – The Inside Track
A world famous city, and quite rightly so, London is our capital, and, arguably a little country of its own. With over 10 million people currently living in London, it has a bigger population than the likes of Portugal, Sweden…
Despite the “It gets better” mantra, bullying doesn’t end after high school
BY: NADIA ZAIDI Bullying is a global school-wide epidemic and should be treated as one. Despite the zero-tolerance policies implemented in classrooms across the country, suicide remains the leading cause of death amongst youth – in large part due to…
Dear Juliet: Meet the real secretaries who answer thousands of love letters on her behalf
Paris may be the city of love, known for being the ideal romantic getaway whether you have it already or are looking for it. Globally Verona is also known as a town of love, but also as the epicenter of…
Best places to see graffiti in Toronto
BY: NADIA ZAIDI Growing up in Toronto, I’ve never thought much about graffiti. It was always something within the backdrop of my visual experience. Bold, intricate — sometimes simplistic — artwork amid the city’s contemporary and historical landscape is a…
I don’t need to go makeup free to discover my “true” beauty
BY: NADIA ZAIDI I can almost hear the snarky remarks, and chuckles when we talk about women and makeup. Whether we want to admit it or not, makeup is one of those things that elicits amusement from the opposite sex.…
Hippie culture isn’t dead – Goa remains a vibrant paradise governed by peace and love
BY: NADIA ZAIDI When we think of hippie culture we are reminiscent of 1960s and ’70s America, where peace signs and protest movements were a major driving force for political and social change — both domestically and globally. Today, hippie…
The sexuality rainbow: a colourful and educational glossary
BY: NADIA ZAIDI Recently, a close friend of mine told me that she was trisexual. I paused for a minute, and hoping not to offend her by my silence (which was actually a thought-pause), I blurted: what’s trisexual? The rational…
A haunting future: The crisis of the First World
BY: ANTHONY I. In the late 2010s, the First World began to face a crisis. Its inhabitants were becoming increasingly restless. Gone were the days when people were content with simply being content. The attractive female, no longer happy with…
This abandoned building literally became the soundtrack to a horror movie (Video)
When discussing musical scores from films many are familiar with the work of John Williams (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jaws) or Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight, Inception, True Romance). Headline composers like these have created some of the most memorable…
A lack of real world connections is turning us all into entitled douchebags
BY: NADIA ZAIDI We know that chivalry is more or less dead. But now it seems like chivalry’s well-known cousin, manners, has followed close behind. I am really surprised by the amount of people who walk around with their heads…
Generosity is the key to happiness
BY BROOKLYN PINHEIRO You don’t have to quit your job and volunteer indefinitely to benefit from the power of being generous. A new study concluded that, in accordance to the popular notion, being a giving person does in fact make…
Celebrity endorsements: stop buying the shit that famous people are selling you
Recently Kylie and Kendall Jenner were in the news for superimposing their Instagram pictures over iconic photos of Tupac and Biggie on t-shirts. Although the idea was very stupid it definitely got me thinking about why they felt they could get…
7 ways writing can make you a more tolerant and mindful person
BY: GLORIA KOPP There are so many reasons why a person may want to broaden their mind. In fact, it’s harder to think of a reason why not to try and open your mind to explore new things and constantly…
Lewis Carroll’s mysterious (and creepy) infatuation with the real Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland is perhaps one of the most iconic children’s stories of all time. Whether you are most familiar with the classic 1865 novel with its detailed black and white sketches, the dark, twisted, live-action movie version with its…
African-Albino models are redefining beauty in the west
BY: NADIA ZAIDI Featured image of Thando Hopa courtesy of Instagram Albinism is one of the most unrecognized and yet scorned conditions in the world. It is inherited, and occurs in all ethnic communities. Today, models like Diandra Forrest, a black-American supermodel…