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Canada’s generally amicable first city of Toronto has found itself the recipient of an unusual amount of international attention. Unfortunately, if I were to tell you why, it would ruin the family-friendly nature of this post. (Hint: it rhymes with doping smack.)
Women Transforming Cities presents Engaging Women, Transforming Cities: Designing Ideal Cities for Women and Girls as part of its national conference on May 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event features international, national, and local speakers at SFU’s Segal Graduate School of Business (500 Granville Street).
Keynote speakers at the event include Caroline Andrew, president of Women in Cities International; Prabha Khosla, an urban planner; Karen Leibovici, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities; and Sylvia Bashevkin, professor of political science at the University of Toronto.
The 16th annual European Festival takes place on May 25 and 26 at Swangard Stadium (3883 Imperial Street). This year, the family-friendly event opens from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday (May 25) and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday (May 26).
Highlights of the 2013 festival include a European talent show on Sunday at 3 p.m., live music and dance performances on the festival stage and arts plaza stage, an ABBA tribute show on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 4:30 p.m., a Beatles tribute on Saturday at 8:30 p.m., and an after-party dance with DJ Cris.
Switzerland has been chosen as this year’s featured country, but a total of 30 countries’ cultural displays, including dishes, will be available.
Most of us know Ricky Gervais as that rather amusing man who used to star in The Office, the acerbic former host of the Golden Globes, one of the world's greatest standup comedians, or even as the entertainment world's most outspoken atheist.
It turns out that he's also an animal lover. In the video above, he makes a pitch for stopping the use of animal tests in cosmetics.
You have to agree with him—it's pretty stupid to kill a creature just so people can have a slightly better aroma in their shampoo.
Adding fuel to an argument that will never, ever end, the Journal of British Medicine has published a Canadian study this week concluding that bike helmet laws do roughly fuck all to reduce head injuries.
That’s not to say that the helmet itself doesn’t reduce the risk of head injury, as noted by researchers at the University of Toronto.
“… in the Canadian context of existing safety campaigns, improvements to the cycling infrastructure, and the passive uptake of helmets, the incremental contribution of provincial helmet legislation to reduce hospital admissions for head injuries seems to have been minimal.”
Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut–turned–Internet superstar, returned to Earth Monday (May 13) after five months aboard the International Space Station.
Sadly, this brings to an end his series of entertaining and educational videos about life in space. We are, however, left with a rich archive, thanks to the Canadian Space Agency’s YouTube page.
Here’s a selection of Hadfield’s best clips.
Exercising
Without gravity and daily exercise such as walking, astronauts need to work out for about two hours every day to keep their muscles and bones healthy. While strapped in, Hadfield runs on a treadmill and works his muscles.
Angelina Jolie was already a role model for many women for her humanitarian work in the developing world.
Not long ago, the film star was visiting Syrian refugees who had crossed the border to flee a civil war.
Now, she's gaining praise around the world for her courageous decision to go public with her preventive double mastectomy.
In an article in today's New York Times, Jolie writes that her doctors estimated her breast-cancer risk at 87 percent and her risk of ovarian cancer at 50 percent.
For a man who commandeers the stage at major fashion shows and then boldly proclaims himself a diety in the vein of Vishnu, Allah, Jehovah, and Raluvhimba, Kanye West doesn't exactly seem like anyone's idea of all-seeing.
Earlier this week, he was entertaining the masses at the Met Ball in New York for the high-profile Punk: Chaos to Coutoure gala. West debuted a song that, while it didn't have a name, did contain a line that some would consider minor blasphemy. As a backing track made a sound like Skrillex caught in a Nine Inch Nails meat-grinder, West stood there bellowing "I am God".
NDP leaks memos The NDP has obtained memos showing that staff in the premier's office worked during government hours to enhance the B.C. Liberals' electoral chance in the Port Moody-Coquitlam by-election.
The Vancouver International Children’s Festival presents PEP Talks, a new speaker series aimed at giving parents solutions for raising millennial children. Vancouver-based Deborah MacNamara is the third speaker in the series, and on May 15, she will be giving a talk titled, “The Lost Art of Play” at the Vancouver Playhouse (600 Hamilton Street).
The Lost Art of Play looks at the importance of play and discusses how playtime helps develop a child’s brain. “Children who lack environments that foster play actually have brains that are 20 to 30 percent less developed in capacity,” MacNamara states in a news release.
