An ode to the sea.....

Today it is windy in the city.

The large trees outside my window dance in the night, the rhythm of the gusts inhale and exhale like the ocean. And just like that, with the even imitation of the profound body of water that has always spoken to me, my writing voice emerges.

I know it is my writing voice because it echos in my mind, strong, clear and free from the distraction of superfluous thought. I've missed its presence in my life. I've spent nights worried sick that the disconnect from vast bodies of water has caused my recent writing drought.

Like the writer in me went on strike over her heartache for the sea.

The ocean has always grounded me.

I feel like I can believe at the edge of a shore. Like I am part of something, like I understand, know and feel for the first time. Like I could believe in God (hell, I'd probably drink the kool-aid if I thought the waves told me to.)

As a young girl when my heart ached, my mom would take me somewhere beautiful. To me, the rhythmic breath of the ocean, with pebbles, gulls, crustaceans and sea-weed was the most beautiful of all.

I've had first kisses on the beach, I've swam until I wanted to sink, I've dove to 120 feet, caught salmon, cried, yelled and marvelled, I've made and fallen love. But never have I loved more deeply than I love the sea.

She taught me how to love the earth. I once dove deep into her waters, swam with the Wolfe-eels, jellyfish and anemones and surfaced to admire the curves of nearby mountains, smell pine trees and watch twilight paint the sky gold, peach and blue. Stars emerged like fireworks illuminating the sky with sparks of my new found passion for the earth.

By her side I am fearless, safe, happy, whole.

Her squalls never scare me; I've sat by her through hundred kilometre winds as she shook with rage: waves carving caves.

I've floated, slept, swam and boated.

It is only her depths that intimidate me. I wonder what she hides, doesn't confide, of her secret pains and pleasures, her innermost scars, the friends and the foes of which I'll never know.

And I miss her... every day I fight the drought, the dehydration of not being by her side. A lover love-sick I watch the clock tick-tock until I can sit, swim, sigh and scream on her shores.... silently sending affirmations that I will return to her side again.

Style in the City

Name: Sandy Kybartis

Occupation: Set Designer

Describe your style: " I don't think about it a lot. Classic, funky."

Favorite item in wardrobe: "A little Prada shrug with a fox collar"

What inspires your look in the morning: "How hard I have to work, how much I need to move around. If I will be on a construction site."






Name : Matt Davis

Occupation : Server

Describe your style: "Fierce and fabulous with classy edge."

Favorite item in wardrobe: "A watch-necklace that reminds me of my best friend in Australia, its my go-to accessory."

What inspires your look in the morning: "My agenda, whether it is work, and outing with friends

Fly

I turned 24.

When I was little I used to climb up on the counter in the bathroom and half kneel by the sink in the mirror, estimating how tall I would be in my twenties. That little girl had so much expectation about who she would be.

The career- path dreams changed (first National Geographic employee, then dancer, then yoga-teacher, then journalist) but my desires remained the same, I wanted to create change.

The number of 24 suddenly struck me. Not because of its significance, but because of the significance of 25. Because I am approaching the height of expectation of the little girl I once was.

I know what you're thinking. I know I have time, years and years, I know I am young (blah, blah, blah).

But I want to reach that quarter-century and be building something that resembles a life.

I am tired of believing that my age makes my time, energy and emotions disposable. That because I am young I need to lead a life that is frivolous and have relationships to match.

In the past two years since moving to Toronto, I have been more of a "typical young-person" than ever in my life.

Gone was the girl who trained, sweat, bled, cried and lost sleep for her ambitions.

Instead, I tried on rebellion. I hung out with people who weren't good for me, I stayed home, ate bad food, didn't hand in my homework. I kissed girls, kissed boys who smoked cigarettes and pretended I didn't care. I went to Sneak-Dees (five whole times). And now, I stand at the other end, knee deep in self-resentment, realizing that angst isn't what its cracked up to be.

I was always a girl with a dream. And I still am.

But I am also now a woman who doesn't want to live in a dream world anymore. A woman who wants to make dreams into reality. Many of my dreams have come true, but I am ready to cash in on some of the big ones. The ones that felt so big that they were impossible, the dreams about the things that meant something to me. The ones about making change, about living in a way that makes me feel proud to wake up in the morning, about allowing myself to feel whole.

So, I've wiped my slate clean, cleaned skeletons from the closet.

I've been talking honestly for the first time ever. I've told people when they hurt me, when they angered me, when I felt negatively. And something magic happened: they didn't run, they didn't retaliate, they didn't leave or tell me to.

I've purged the old relationships and what-if's my heart was hanging on to and hoping for. I've sifted through old and new dreams and ambitions. I've studied old wounds and realized I don't want to use them as excuses to hold back anymore. I've reached out to old friends and new ones. I've taken a good long look in the mirror, at the mistakes and the messes I've created and realized I know how to clean them up and best get to it.

I stand now, and realize that I am ready to live. Really, really live.

I have a city of possibility.

A home.

Friends who are family.

In the past, I've had inspiration and vision, but for the first time I feel like I can clearly see my own potential. I see that I haven't risen to it. As I stood on the edge of achieving my dreams I was missing the faith in myself to take that final leap. Toward success, toward rewarding relationships and friendships, toward stability, intimacy and achievement, all the things that have for so long scared me.

But now, I am ready. Scared, but ready.

I'm going to jump.

If I don't land on the other side... well, then I might just discover I can fly.

Toronto's Coffee Conspiracy

In the last year, 22 independent coffee shops opened across the GTA. From Leslieville to the Junction and beyond has emerged a world where baristas are local celebrities, coffee is treated like fine wine, and buzz words like profile, crema and umami mark the average customer an expert.

Still for many, the world of independent coffee shops remains an intimidating world of overpriced beverages, haughty customers and judgmental staffers.

But a small group of shops led by Matt Taylor and Douglas Tiller of Queen Street's Mercury Coffee Bar, informally known as Toronto Coffee Conspiracy are seeking to change that. United by a mandate of education, cross promotion and community, they hope to breakdown the barriers between shops and bridge the gap between expert connoisseur and average customer.

“The idea is a collective of coffee shops that work together to promote and involve customers in certain events,” said Taylor. These events will include coffee tastings, or cuppings, signature drink events, and latte art competitions judged by customers.

“This is about explaining the difference between a latte and a cappuccino or experiencing the difference between a Guatemala Antigua and an Ethiopia YirgaCheffe,” said Taylor. “People can then start developing their palate and understand where we are coming from helping to eliminate exclusive sort of 'coffee snobbery'.”

The first initiative the collective will undertake is creating a Toronto based 'Disloyalty Card'. The premise, thought up by Gwyllin Davies, a London-based barista, creates incentive for customers to leave the comfort of their regular coffee haunt and visit others around the city.

A customer would redeem the card at one of the seven participating shops: Mercury Espresso Bar, Manic Coffee, Sam James Coffee Bar, Crema, Dark Horse Espresso Bar, Blondie's or Cherry Bomb. The customer would then travel to all other participating shops to redeem a stamp with the purchase of a drink. After visiting all seven locations, they would take the fully stamped card back to the shop they started at and receive a free beverage.

“We're promoting quality coffee around the city but also, in a way, promoting different neighborhoods that you might not normally visit,” said Taylor. The collective hopes to kick off the Disloyalty Card April 20th.

Tiller hopes that the collective will not only stimulate community among customers but also among shop owners. “Within most industries there is a sense of competition, rivalry, infighting and backstabbing,” he said. “ This [initiative] kind of stops that at the root.”

“It is about a camaraderie, about promoting good, fresh coffee and about promoting other people's shops because we aren't the only ones. It's showing that we don't hate them and they don't hate us,” said Tiller. He hopes as time moves on the collective will expand beyond the seven shops currently involved, “it's not about being an exclusive club, this can grow out from here.”

Allan Gardens

Located mere steps from the Ryerson Campus the Allan Gardens Conservatory is a rare gem in the downtown core of Toronto. Built in 1958, the historic site features six greenhouses that connect and intertwine to provide onlookers with 16,000 square feet of botanical displays.

“It’s impressive, Allan Gardens is a pretty sketchy park and [the conservatory] is surprising.” Luka Misolovic a second-year Biomedical Engineering student from Ryerson University who uses the conservatory for study breaks.

Open to the public free of charge, the six greenhouses each display different botanical themes. The main Palm House, constructed in 1910, contains tall banana palms, hibiscus and ginger plants. Other greenhouses include cacti displays, orchids, waterfalls and ponds that attract visitors of all ages and walks of life to unwind and find inspiration.

Maryanne Whiteman, a former journalist from Ottawa makes a point of always seeing the gardens on her visits to Toronto. For her, the seasonal shows remain a large attraction. “As a gardener it gives me ideas about what to buy and what I can do in my own garden,” she said. What she finds particularly unique about the space is its proximity to the downtown core and its accessibility to the public.

Misolovic agrees, “It’s an asset to the city.”

View Larger Map

*photos courtesy of gothereguide.com

Style in the Streets of Toronto

"Even in the winter, I like to have a pop of colour," says Christine Colombo outside of Anthropoligie in Yorkville.
"This is me, this is my personality," said Carol Nardi, who chose this beautiful combination of fur for its stunning texture.

Style in the Streets of Toronto

Braving the cold streets of Yorkville, Cristina Ion pairs soft grays and peaches. We love the contrast between the strong boots, heavy wool and soft peach blouse.

Shirky and Herminda weigh in on the death of the newspaper

As print publications lie bleeding profits on their death bed the internet thrives as it redefines the way we consume media. Clay Shirky, a technology analyst at New York University, says the main issue with the way publications are adapting to the internet is their misguided idea that the organizational format of newspapers is transferable to the web.

Alfred Herminda, founding member of BBCnews.com and professor at the UBC Graduate School of Journalism says that the newspaper once provided convenience. It bundled information, from news to horoscopes and recipes and conveniently delivered it to your door.

"The impact of the internet is that it has unbundled the newspaper," said Herminda."Now you can customize and personalize content to your liking." This, paired with the quick pace of the internet means that the web has both diminished the value and newsworthiness of newspapers.

Herminda says that as journalism moves forward, it must push and reconsider the very role of the modern journalist. “The job should be less about simply gathering information it should be about contextualizing information, letting readers know why it matters and what it means,” he said.

Herminda and Shirky both agree that while journalism has not been devalued by the internet, the newspaper has. “We must think beyond the delivery mechanism and begin to view the newspaper as a concept,” said Herminda. “We must continually ask ourselves, 'does this concept continue to fulfill a need?”

A couple enjoys view of the Tuscan countryside outside Cortona, Barbora Simek, photo

Photos II

Photo Time

Online evolution

As the internet's presence continues to evolve and become more and more present in our lives, it also pushes the evolution of journalism. In a lecture at Ryerson University today Jim Rankin, journalist for the Toronto Star, explained the way that he has used the web to bring to life his story 'Crime and Punishment'.

Rather than writing a customary feature with the lengthy findings of a freedom of information request, Rankin turned his findings into a multimedia rich web feature.

Crime and Punishment features

• flash maps
• games
• interactive time-lines
  
• articles
• video
• graphs
  

In combination, these features come together to create an engaging experience for the eyes and ears. Rankin says using all that the web offers in form of video, photo, audio and visuals is important to online success. That, and good promotion.

"If you build it they won't come. Unless, they can find it"- Jim Rankin

Want them to find it? Turn to social media, he advises. For example, in order to promote their content the Toronto Star deploys:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• YouTube

Here is a peek at one of the award winning videos The Toronto Star and Rankin's team created for the project.





*photo of Jim Rankin courtesy of King's University

Naked ambition

Get ready to drop your trousers in the name of inner beauty, Canada. How To Look Good Naked, the popular British reality TV series, is coming to the great-white North. Aiming to reverse self-image and esteem issues in one inside-out make-over How to Look Good Naked Canada, will hit the airwaves weekly on the W Network. While long term results are not guaranteed, and highly questionable, the show is a step in a positive direction in a world that idealizes single-digit dress-sizes.

Following the tradition of the British series, each week host Zain Meghji and a team of "fashion experts" will lead one woman through a surgery-free makeover and a series of self-esteem building exercises. According to the W Network, by the end of each show one woman will have brought her "inner beauty outside," and drop all attachment to the "unobtainable bodies you see in the media". To show off their new lease on life the women will then participate in a nude photo shoot and walk down the runway in her intimates.

While its a tall order for a one hour episode to turn around years of bad self-esteem, it is refreshing to see reality TV attempt substance, and dare we say, social service.

How to Look Good Naked airs 10pm ET on the W Network

Economist hits hard at Harper

Rather than buying into the press releases of his "spin doctors," who claim Stephen Harper's recent prorogue is made on the behalf of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, The Economist has provided their own beliefs about Harper's motivations in 'Harper goes prorogue'.
The article outlines the extensive benefits that Stephen Harper will gain from this recent political move. Among them, tabling 36 bills before the House of Commons, the dismantling of committees whose mandate is to scrutinize the recent blunders in Afghanistan and on climate change as well as giving Harper the opportunity to control the committees of the senate when Parliament re-forms in March.