BY: CONNOR BRIAN The first thing I noticed was the heavy taste of sulphur on my tongue. As the twin-engine plane jerked up and down, my eyes ranged across the black vastness of the Athabasca Oil Sands, and I thought…
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The General of Kenya’s Mau Mau uprising: Beyond western portrayals of a broken Africa
BY: MARY BETH KOETH Among the most fertile land in Kenya lives a 92-year old man named Japhlet Thambu, whose tea farmhouse doors face towards the sacred Mount Kenya. Among these hills he is known as “The General” and from…
Why you should travel before you commit to school
BY ROB HOFFMAN The phrase “I just wanna get my degree under my belt, but I’m going to do a ton of traveling after university” gets passed around amongst university students more often than a joint at a Tommy Chong barbecue.…
I got legally ordained as a priest in 5 minutes
BY: KESTREL After spending five minutes on the website of the Universal Life Church of Modesto, California, I now apparently know enough to officiate weddings and funerals. While waiting for my toast to pop on a Thursday afternoon, I killed…
There is something beautiful about bare skin and the wilderness (PHOTOS)
BY: MARYANNE GOBBLE The photography of Maryanne Gobble reveals humankind’s deepest and overwhelming connection to the earth. Her subjects seem to be shaped by the rugged palms of the South Oregon landscape. Stripped down to bare skin, we return to a…
Meditation is the art of floating- meditating in water
BY: JOHNATHAN MOSS The real secret to life is in the art of swimming. We are all drifting in a deep ocean current. The waves roar and split above us. Those that are too conscious of their arms will find that…
Not all charities are created equal
BY SARAH HOWELL There is an unspoken assumption that charities will give away most of their profit. Between fundraisers, worker salaries, fees, and advertising, the true question stands: How much profit is left to support the suffering people who need…
Sitka Clothing Company protects the planet before profits
BY: VANESSA NIGRO Founded on Canada’s beautiful West Coast in 2002, Sitka Clothing Company promotes a life lived through sustainability and finding balance between industrialization and nature. “We decided to name the company Sitka after the Sitka spruce tree that…
Why travelling turns you into a decent human being; the benefits of travel
BY: LAURA ROJAS I remember looking up into the Amazonian night – lungs filled with pure air, feet digging into cold earth, seeing the hazy violet dust of the Milky Way. I remember meeting people who knew the curves and…
Your laptop could be killing you: Electromagnetic poisoning in the digital age
By: KATY WILLIS In the Digital Age, electromagnetic radiation is everywhere. Even though you can’t see it or “feel” it, electromagnetic radiation is found in natural phenomena such as sunlight and in the form of visible and invisible light waves.…
This 18-year-old hopped trains for 5 years and caught it all on camera (Photos)
BY: ROB HOFFMAN In 2003, Mike Brodie, aged 18, left home to hop freight trains across the USA. Freight train hopping – a form of travel that is equal parts illegal and romantic – is thought of by most to be…
The performers of Dundas Square: The life of a contact-juggler
BY: JACKIE HONG PHOTOS BY: LISA MACINTOSH Jordan Kells performs in Dundas Square most days during the summer, but his act is quicker to drop jaws than, say, Toronto Batman or Spiderman. The 24-year-old’s act is a form of contact…
These dangerous playgrounds turn kids into fearless adventure seekers (Video)
BY: LUC RINALDI At the end of your street, imagine there’s an old, vacant lot, wrapped by a rickety wooden fence. A pile of tires sits on the shore of the murky stream that cuts through the space, littered with…
Arkells’ High Noon gets me just as hot as classic photos of Grace Kelly
“High Noon” is a moment of decision defining a situation’s outcome. Serving as the midday meeting time for epic showdowns in Western films of generations past, High Noon is also the title of a ’50s Western film starring Gary…
Alex Martel started Amnesia Rockfest when he was only 17. This year, 200,000 punk fans flooded his hometown
By JACKIE HONG Alex Martel is living the dream. The 28-year-old native of Montebello, Quebec (population 978), founded Amnesia Rockfest, a two-day punk, metal, and alternative festival that goes down in his hometown every summer, when he was just 17…
I spent the afternoon naked in public and there was nothing weird about it (NSFW)
BY: Alex Brown/ Photos: Connor Brian “Hi, I have an interview at 3.” “All right.” “I suppose I should get naked?” “That would be appreciated.” The young woman I was talking to was named Nikki, the manager of Bare Oaks Family…
Is “selfie” just a short form for self-conscious?
She hates walking past reflective shop windows. Her nose hangs crooked as if sculpted by an artist with a sense of humor. Her eyes are too close together and her straw hair matches the ashen tint of her hollowed face.…
Why did it take so long for the American mainstream to embrace tattoos?
BY: TYLER FYFE Tattooing has been practiced by various cultures for at least 8000 years. From New Zealand’s Maori, to Siberia’s Pazyryk nomads, little has changed in the very natural desire to modify the human body. So why did it…
Burlesque: Expression through sex
I’ve never been a fan of strip clubs. Sometimes, the sleaziness is what makes it fun, but mostly, they’re dingy and expensive, and they make me feel desperate. However, I try not to hold fast to this perspective, as…
How three fired guys started a craft beer revolution (Steam Whistle Brewing)
BY: TYLER FYFE In 1988, Greg Taylor was a bike courier pedalling nervously towards the house owned by his girlfriend’s boss, clad in a cheap-checkered-necktie. He had been invited as her “plus one” to The Upper Canada Brewing Company’s employee…