Dominant Symbols in Pop Culture

 People are generally visual creatures. The human brain processes images faster than text or audio. They remember 80% of what they see, 20% of what they read, and 10% of what they hear. Although people generally remember images and facts, memory has a tricky way of making them remember things.

A Heartfelt Campaign

 A little more than a year ago, Ottawa’s Montfort Hospital Foundation launched a campaign to raise $2.5 million for a machine that would change the lives of people in need. The goal of the campaign – appropriately called For You, Sweet Heart – is to purchase a CT scanner featuring a

From the Church Choir to Ottawa’s Jezebel, Terry Steeves Lives for the Music

 Photos supplied by Terry Steeves. She is ten years old. Terry Steeves looks down at the little yellow and white record player her parents have just given her. Some gifts provide momentary elation, some collect dust in the attics and garages of the world, others change your life. Looking back,

Mock and Roll at Ottawa’s Air Guitar Championships

 All photos by Andre Gagne I’d never seen a giant banana have a seizure before. To tell you the truth, it’s a soothing kind of hypnotic I can liken only to the times where I may have drunk more NyQuil than the cold required. As one in the bewildered crowd

The NAC’s Needles and Opium Mesmerizes

 Photo credit: National Arts Centre Spectacular is the only way to describe Robert Lepage’s reproduction of his 20-year-old play Needles and Opium, currently playing at the NAC. Photo Credit: NAC The play centres around three characters. Jean Cocteau shares his thoughts and impressions on his first visit to the U.S.

The Two Travellers

 There were two travellers Who walked along a path one day The first was a dreamer The other a capitalist they say The dreamer watched the rainbow Where melodious songbirds fly Their symphony a command performance A ballet in the sky The capitalist saw no beauty Or value along his

Daffodils

 If there was ever a flower That herald’s a new Spring Daffodils stand out For the joy that they bring These beacons of light So celestially glow They help raise our spirits After a long winter’s snow With crowns of yellow In woodland and knoll They cheer the heart Of

Daisies

 There is a special woodland flower That’s sunnier than the summer’s sun Round in shape and tall and straight It cheers the soul of everyone For when Daisies come into view They are a welcome sight Dancing and shimmering In the morning light So when you foray into the woods

Dreams That Come in the Night

 Dreams that come in the night That force their way Into your slumbering mind Are gifts from another time For at the dawn of day Dreams never reveal Which gifts are real Or the ones they conceal For when you awaken You are never mistaken About the love that’s lost

Spring

 Spring with your blossoms So pink and white Please stay awhile don't leave me During this early morning light Your fragrant beauty so fragile Is a captivating call Of leafy boughs and melodious birds For I can see them all This moment is a transient time Beyond the world’s hourly

Outstanding Obaaberima

 Photo credit: Jeremy Mimnagh Looking for something incredible to do this week? Head to the National Arts Centre to see its latest production Obaaberima. Playwright and actor Tawiah M'Carthy won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Outstanding Production in 2013 for his masterpiece. The play actually won three Doras in total:

How Canada Fails People with Mental Illnesses

 Canada Needs Improved Access to Mental Healthcare Services In any developed country, politicians and clinicians are struggling to improve quality of care while reducing costs of healthcare systems. To remedy this, groups of doctors across North America--including here in Canada--have banded together to create lists of medical procedures or tests

Ottawa Strong

 Yesterday marked a confusing time in Canada’s history. Today we are thinking of everyone in Ottawa as the news continues to come in. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and loved ones of Corporal Cirillo and everyone else in Canada’s Capital. Thank you to the officers

The Art of Russell Noganosh

 “Finding himself through art and using it to heal” Russell Noganosh set off for Plains Indian Cultural Survival School in his early twenties—but the skills he learned didn’t come from his studies. Noganosh’s life lessons came from friendship and art. Noganosh enrolled in school after fleeing from a foster home

Better Living Through Chemistry

 Flashback to the last time you actually took a chemistry class…and enjoyed it? I would say many of us are not too passionate about the kind of chemistry that exists in equations between protons, neutrons and electrons. But let me tell you the band: Better Living Through Chemistry is a