Being critical 101: academics, aliens and media.

What does being critical mean and what does it entail? The not-so-secret secret I learned from a few of my university professors is that the academic institution makes one weighty promise to the Canadian government. That promise is to teach students critical thinking. Just like that, like it is so easy to learn in the four years of their undergraduate studies. Unfortunately, academic essays and...

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Chinese herbal medicines ruled out by Europe

Nature, the international weekly journal of science, reports that there is a growing dependence on herbal medicines within the Western populations. These are medicines which are considered tradtional within Eastern populations and have existed for hundreds of years. For example, we use echinacea for colds, St John's wort for depression and anxiety, and feverfew for migraines.In US, herbal products...

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The better and underrated perfumes on the market

While I was wandering around the shop with drugs (Drug Mart, what did you think I was talking about?), I was seduced by powders, lipsticks and pretty bottles of perfume and cologne. Perhaps, this is why it goes by the name of Drug Mart. For people who are outside of Canada, this is your pharmacy/snack/beauty superstore. I came in with no intention to buy anything. I came out with no purchases (surprisingly)...

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Traveler's Note: Amsterdam

Welcome to Traveler's Note, a quick impression & feedback editorial on different cities around the world in a nutshell. Note: All the writing material in Traveler's Note is that of my personal experience and opinion, thus it does not necessarily reflect nor portray how this location may appear to you on your own travel time. Amsterdam. The city of freedom and relaxing your otherwise tense, restrictive...

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The English language is in question

The English language and I do not get along. In fact, we are enemies. As a blogger, editor and book writer, I face the challenges of English daily. Not because it is my second language, although I do get asked “how is your English so good if you are an immigrant?” to the point that the question no longer has the lengthy answer attached to it. To me, the English language is a multi-purpose, universal tool without the advanced features. I keep this tool in my pocket and use this tool for survival...

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Hunger-fighting late night snacks that won't break your diet

We have all experienced it once too many times. The hunger monster knocks on the walls of our stomachs late in the evening/night and then we ravage the fridge like deprived honey badgers. Or go to bed feeling horrible. At times like these, I feel like I could totally eat a cow. Eating 'a cow' late at night would not be good as 'the cow' would take about eight hours to digest (inproperly during sleep) and would not convert into any good energy. Below, are some foods which I found to work in...

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How to get the job you want

7 billion people in the world and you. Those people in your undergraduate class are all going into the same field. There is always someone way smarter and better than you at something or at everything. There is now global competition from students all around the world, trained in better facilities or with more experience than you will ever have. So how do you find your place and how do you stand...

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Young Entrepreneurs Challenge 2012

Charles Atkinson, VP of Strategy and Development at HP Canada, stands infront of a room full of potential young entrepreneurs. Charles holds an artifact: a chest box full of notes with his childhood goals. These are the goals that helped him stay focused on his road to a VP position. "Integrity, perseverance, commitment, and a dedication to excellence," he coaches the university students at Young...

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Success - WTF?

What is success? What does it mean to be successful? I watched and listened to many good speakers at the Young Entrepreneur Challenge today but none of them really defined success. Let's put that in the theory pile. The word success is both overrated and overpriced. It is used in so many various contexts that I really don't even know what it means anymore. Success is overrated. Originally, someone...

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What every woman needs to have in her diet

Technically, I am pro-vitamin. So, I will start off by saying that you should really be taking more than what is listed below in one form or another (like Vitamin D and B complex). Contact your doctor for that because I don't want to be responsible for overdoses. BUT, below are a few foods that are beneficial for us the unfortunate. Seaweed : It's main ingredient is Wakame which has tons of iron...

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What men and women want

I don't want to break your heart but there is no recipe for a good relationship, just like there isn't a recipe for the perfect pie. Everybody probably has their own idea for that one. My grandma especially likes organic apple pie. But don't lose all faith. Despite all the women running around blabbing about their boyfriend's money situation and all the men running around complaining about their...

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Editorial: The demise of RIM

I bet that looks familiar to you. I bet you've owned / used a BlackBerry at least once in your life. Remember the glorious days when having a BlackBerry drew instant respect towards you? Yes, RIM was a dominant force in the mobile world once upon a time, believe it or not. Heck it was the king, alongside Nokia of course (though the latter was ruling European market), and it seemed that there was no...

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Do you have a case of a bad relationship?

According to Psychology Journal 2011 (affiliation: University of Southern Maine), hypercompetitiveness affects more than romantic relationships. As you may have guessed, "hyper" refers to something of the extreme. The psychology term for the lovely big word is the need to compete and succeed at "all costs." Symptoms of H-C typically include aggressive tendency to want to dominate through manipulation...

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(Almost) everything you need to know about white wine

Whether you like aromatic whites or rich whites, I am sure you often find yourself strolling around the liquor store wondering how good your wine knowledge really is. At least I do, and I spent two years pouring and serving wine at a bar. I didn't learn much. Anyway, since wine is no longer just for old folks (younglings like it just as much), I have compiled a simple list to help you get around all sorts of major white wines. Lingo: Dry vs. Sweet: self explanatory Low Acidity vs High Acidity:...

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People care about the weirdest things

Apparently someone named Beyonce and Jay-Z gave birth to some baby today. OMGICANTBELIEVEITSOAMAZINGICANTWAITTOSEEPICTURES! Settle down honey badgers. Beyonce is (likely) completely unrelated to you, so you are not having a brother or a sister. Why didn't the world care when I was born? Time to write an emo note. *cries for an hour* Here is the trending topic of the day on twitter. Warning: you...

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A must-have on your 'classics' shelf

You want to see something good? You want to see something really, really damn good? Even after years have gone by, some movies deserve to be in your collection forever, whether on your shelf or in your iPad, PC, cloud storage, e-reader, or wherever it is you keep your hidden stash in. If that sounded wrong, don't worry, you've just won extra points for having a wide imagination. To the point, if...

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Apparently vino is super cool

According to this Ecosalon article, wine isn't just a classy way to get tipsy drunk. Well, yes, whites and reds remind me of some of the most amazing nights of my life (cause i'm classy like that), but someone over at Ecosalon invented use for some of those crappier bottles in my house. Are you ready for this? Vino can also be used as a fabric dye, skin softener, kitchen disinfectant, glass cleaner,...

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