BY: ZOE MELNYK It’s no surprise that Washington and Colorado have experienced a surge in tourism since legalizing marijuana, but the cannabis industry is about to encounter a whole new way to enjoy that blissful high with America’s first ever…
Expression & Culture
Meet the model, actor and photographer who was homeless for six years
BY: JESSICA BEUKER The word “homeless” conjures up a very particular image. A homeless man’s clothing is tattered, torn, and covered in whatever grime resides in the cracks and corners of the sidewalk. The smell of alcohol and body odour…
The Aralkum desert is a graveyard full of old, abandoned ships and it’s creepy as hell
BY: JESSICA BEUKER The Aralkum desert was not always a desert—dry and rugged, not a single soul roving its surface, with violent dust storms when the wind picks up the salty sand that covers the ground. In fact, it was…
Here are five stunning pieces of art created using discarded ocean plastic
BY: JESSICA BEUKER The North Atlantic Gyre is one of five major oceanic gyres. A circular system of ocean currents, the gyre was recently explored by artists Alexander Groves and Azusa Murakami. As they made their way from the remote…
This millionaire CEO lives in a 240 square foot trailer
BY: THE PLAID ZEBRA He lives in a trailer park and only owns four pairs of shoes, but Tony Hsieh wouldn’t have it any other way. The CEO of Zappos is a successful millionaire but rather than living a lavish…
This mesmerizing film will resuscitate the uninspired and turn workaholics into surf bums
BY: THE PLAID ZEBRA How do you resuscitate an apathetic, routine-shackled, uninspired workaholic devoid of all signs of life? Well shit, I’m no doctor, but I expect this video is exactly what any self-respecting qualified practitioner might prescribe. Riley Blakeway…
Selfless Turkish couple feeds 4,000 Syrian refugees for their own wedding dinner
BY: MATTHEW CHIN A selfless bride and groom decided to celebrate their wedding dinner by feeding 4,000 hungry Syrian refugees. In the Kilis Province on the outskirts of Syria, thousands of struggling refugees displaced from the Syrian civil war lined…
This man was homeless for 35 years until a Facebook page turned him into a published poet
BY: MELISSA GONZALEZ “Dammed is the man who abandons himself.” – Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho After 35 years of being homeless, life for the 77-year-old Raimundo Sobrinho began again. He sat at the same street corner in São Paulo for years,…
Arizona’s last storm chaser time-lapsed Mother Nature’s hissy fit and it looks like the apocalypse
BY: KAROUN CHAHINIAN While most people’s first reaction to a storm would be to find shelter, Mike Olbinski has fallen in love with the thrill of chasing them with a video camera, and the product is breathtaking. Olbinski, a storm-chasing…
Man takes to the Swiss Alps to live like a goat
BY: MATTHEW CHIN When trying to find an authentic experience while traveling, have you ever had the insatiable urge to ditch human life and take to the Swiss Alps to graze with goats in their peaceful, simplistic natural habitat? Me…
Planting trees in the forest will help you embrace your inner hippie
BY: KASSANDRA DZIKEWICZ Tired of working in an office? Craving the outdoors? Tree planting could be your calling. Planting trees is becoming a popular way to earn some extra cash and spend your summer outdoors. Tree planting is becoming a…
If your life feels grey, this Bukowski poem read by Tom Waits will breathe life back into you
BY: THE PLAID ZEBRA In 1999, Ron Rosenbaum observed that no books were more frequently shoplifted from Barnes & Noble stores than Charles Bukowski’s. His writing was a ballad to the underdog, a light at the other end of the…
Photographer captures the beauty and strength of the female body with incredible nude bodyscapes
BY: THE PLAID ZEBRA When it comes to aesthetics there’s something innately beautiful about the female body in particular. Not to undermine the rough hairy landscape of the male body—perhaps it just doesn’t translate as well behind the camera. Anton…
These Toronto brothers have designed a tattoo that only lasts two weeks
BY: JESSICA BEUKER If you are an indecisive person like myself, then you likely have a problem picking out pizza toppings, never mind committing to something that will last a lifetime like a tattoo. I think about tattoos often—I remember…
Here are 7 of the most colourful natural wonders of the world
BY: THE PLAID ZEBRA From the depths of the Grand Canyon, across the Caribbean Sea to Colombia’s transformative rivers, to the other side of the world in the valleys of China—the Earth is a colourful place. These places are…
So there’s a bear and a wolf who have become best friends in the wild and it’s unbelievably majestic
BY: ROB HOFFMAN Never before has the wild produced a more unlikely or majestic friendship. Take the most powerful creatures in the woodland and turn them into hunting buddies and what do you get? A photographer’s wet-dream and international sensation…
While documenting the homeless, this photographer found her own father
BY: SHAY ANSARI Photographer, Diana Kim, was working on a project documenting the homeless when she discovered her own estranged father. In 2003, Kim began her project photographing homeless communities in Hawaii where she grew up. As a child, her…
These moving portraits capture people before and directly following death
BY: THE PLAID ZEBRA Photographer Walter Schels refused to see his mother after she died. Like most, he was petrified of death. So he sought to conquer his fear in a way he knew how. Confront death with his lens. Walter Schels…
Kiran Gandhi ran in the London Marathon while on her period without a tampon to fight period-shaming
BY: KAROUN CHAHINIAN After realizing she was going to be on her period the day of her first marathon, Kiran Gandhi had to make a choice: to be “a crazy chick who needs to just calm down and reach for…
This extraordinary Mexican festival is a mecca of witches, shamans, warlocks and psychics
BY: MATTHEW CHIN The small city of Catemaco located in Veracruz, is a mecca for magic in Mexico. The idyllic, scenic town sits by Lake Catemaco, next to the remnants of a rainforest and harbours a community of brujos—sorcerers who…