Hope for Canada’s highly-skilled energy workers

 Photo credit: Shutterstock Alberta, traditionally one of the richest provinces in Canada, now has among the highest unemployment rates and one of the weakest economies in the country. In his victory speech, newly elected Alberta UPC Leader Jason Kenney vowed to get the province back to work and get stalled

Honey & Rust

 Photo by Toni van Eeden. Before she learned to talk Johanne Beattie was sharing songs. She’d sit in her bike-seat humming gibberish melodies as her mother rode through town. At seven she was reluctantly enrolled in piano lessons. As it was with her singing, her mother saw a natural gift in

Lemon Bucket Orkestra is Ready to Bring the Party to Chamberfest!

 All photos by Andre Gagne. It’s like they descended out of the Carpathian Mountains, wild eyes, frantic, bodies full of lightening. You can picture them roaming the roads shortly after the midnight hour, from village to village, these roving Romany with only one need: to pump into an audience as

Astana Emerges: Expo 2017

 The most important green energy Expo of the decade takes place in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2017. Nursultan Nazarbayev President of the Republic of Kazakhstan is inviting the world to attend Expo 2017 in Astana, one of the world’s most modern and green cities. The Expo 2017 global gathering will showcase developments

Ottawa Roots for Life

 Municipal initiatives and Ecology Ottawa are working together to plant their way to a greener city within three years. The local ‘community champion program’ plans to add a minimum of 150,000 trees to Ottawa’s green spaces annually, with a goal of planting 1 million new trees by 2017. There are

CityFolk Impressions

 ABOVE: Ewan Currie from The Sheepdogs plays at CityFolk. (Photo by Michael Wing)  This year’s CityFolk festival swept into the new venue at Lansdowne Park on the perfect weekend. It was warm and sunny most days, with as little rain as anyone could have hoped for. The festival line up

Are You Needlessly Boosting Your Utility Bills?

 Sometimes it may seem like energy rates and utility bills are completely out of your control. Reports from the National Energy Board show that some provinces have seen very little change in prices since 2000, while others like Alberta have seen a significant increase in electricity costs. A lot of outside

Meet Country Super Star Myria Webber

 All photos by Paul Couvrette. Myria Webber, a 20-year-old crooning Canadian country singer-songwriter, is all about the Nashville sound while keeping her French- Canadian influence. Born and raised in Quebec, Webber has been singing and performing live since the age of seven. With a history in the music business— both

Let’s Go on an Adventure

 Canada is a big place. If you’ve ever travelled to Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto or Montreal, you know there is a vast amount of culture that makes each city unique. The same can be said for all of the smaller towns across the country. The only difference is you probably haven’t

Bluesfest Beats

 Photo by Steve G The countdown to RBC Ottawa Bluesfest is on. As the weeks leading up to the festival go by, OLM will continue to highlight must-see performances by some of the acts that you may have not yet discovered—so Ottawa music lovers listen up! An exciting variety of

Head to Hudson for a Great Blind Date

 It takes an incredible combination of wit and talent to create what Rebecca Northan has ingeniously done in her play Blind Date. It is an innovative piece of theatre that brilliantly mixes improvisation with traditional theatre. It has had successful runs in London, New York, Toronto and across Canada for

Using Mental Rehearsal to Bring Your Sports Game to the Next Level

 Every athlete, from the beginner to the professional, can benefit from using mental rehearsal to improve their game. This holds true for athletes and competitors in every sport arena including the weekend warriors or duffers, to the skilled martial artist, dancer, bowler, dart player, hockey and / or soccer player.

Do We Really Need to Stretch?

 We are all guilty of skipping our stretches now and then. But how important are they anyway? Stretching not only improves flexibility, it can be a tool to help keep your muscles healthy. When we stretch, we move our joints in full ranges of motion, which helps loosen up the

Protecting Bodies of Water — A Top Priority For The Pipeline Industry

 Over 100 biologists, engineers, government officials and other experts are currently working with the pipeline industry as it updates its comprehensive guidelines for constructing pipelines that cross bodies of water. And for good reason – Canada has an extensive pipeline network; in fact, the members of the Canadian Energy Pipeline

My New Years Resolution – Sleep!

 With the dawn of a new year, most of us have thoughts of making positive changes in our lives. But few think of getting more sleep. Sleep is one of the four pillars of optimal health, and more and more research is highlighting its importance as part of a healthy

Health for the Holidays

 The holidays wear me down. Between the parties, rich food and cold weather, it is hard to stay on top of my to-do list. Now, I don’t want you to think I’m complaining. Just the opposite! I love the smell of freshly baked Christmas cookies and really look forward to

Living Your Potential at EPIC Fitness

 For Stephanie Karlovits, owner of Ottawa’s EPIC Fitness, working out isn’t only about getting stronger or losing weight. She has a philosophy that takes into account what an individual needs not only in the gym, but in order to become better in all aspects of their life. EPIC’s objective is

Why Your Kid Shouldn’t Be Guzzling ‘Energy’ Drinks

 Anxiety, hypertension, elevated heart rates, interrupted sleep patterns and headaches are just some of the side effects commonly associated with energy drinks, and those problems are more pronounced in children, according to a recent University of Miami study. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. These drinks have also

Pipeline Construction – The Federal Stance

 Energy exports, particularly oil and gas, are a key pillar of the Canadian economy, support hundreds of thousands of jobs in Canada and provide great wealth to the nation. With the 2015 Federal election just around the corner, Canadians are focused now more than ever on the three major federal

You Belong Here: Carlingwood YMCA

 Now that fall is officially here, the days of frisbee in a wide-open field or stepping up to the plate for a game of baseball are gone. With the brisk air setting in, families can look to the newest YMCA at Carlingwood Mall for indoor family fun. The YMCA offers

Pipeline Construction and Spill Prevention

 Pipeline construction is frequently in the news these days, partly because proponents of some large-scale pipeline projects ignored the concerns of communities they would pass through—resulting in a grassroots uprising against the industry in general, and partly because of a number of recent pipeline spills—many of which were on older

Putting the “Science” in “Science Fiction”–A New Light Shines on Lasers

 It has been a long time since I last wrote about lasers--one of the most common gadgets in science fiction--but that does not mean scientific interest in these devices has lessened. The opposite is true in fact, with new advances being made in this field on a constant basis. As

Making Music Magic: James Leclaire

 Today marks the opening day of RBC Royal Bank Bluesfest! OLM is ready to groove—and so is James Leclaire! Leclaire and The Cable 22’s hit the Barney Danson Theatre tonight at 6 p.m. to bring you some of Ottawa’s best musical talent. Compared to the likes of Steve Earle, Leclaire

Putting the “Science” in “Science Fiction” – Hydrogen Power, Part 3

 I have discussed the potential benefits and limitations of hydrogen power in my two previous blogs, showing how the transition to hydrogen power shows great potential for the creation of a greener future and the issues that will need to be overcome in order to allow a hydrogen economy to

Putting the “Science” in “Science Fiction”: Hydrogen Power, Part 2

 In last week's blog, I talked about the many possibilities offered by using combustible hydrogen as a power source for cars and other vehicles. Hydrogen holds a great deal of promise for use in this manner, but there is another entirely different way of drawing energy from hydrogen. This method