The Charm of a Unique Engagement Ring: A Comprehensive guide

 Choosing an engagement ring is a significant milestone in anyone's life. With a plethora of options available, the process can be both thrilling and overwhelming. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore various elements that contribute to the uniqueness of engagement rings, including gemstones, cuts, metals, settings, styles, and more. A

A look at the endlessly interesting and desirable magic of love

 By Elie Mikhael Nasrallah Most people are illiterate in the languages of love. I know, I am one of them! We all know that love is the most illusive subject of all time. How to define it, how to gain it, and how to lose it, are all matters of

Getting great deals on products to enhance your love life

 Getting Great Deals on Products to Enhance Your Love Life While most couples are eager to ensure they enjoy a healthy and fun love life, there are some that find themselves in need of a helping hand to achieve this goal. There are also those who are looking to try

Dating tips for PWD and that anyone can use

 In a previous column, I talked about some of the challenges that many PWD face regarding dating and relationships. Shortly after I wrote that, I began thinking that I should also add some positivity to the subject, or at the very least, offer some tips on how to meet that

A Letter To The Broken Hearted

 Days and nights passed by, restless; every time I held up my hand all I saw was an unrecognizable heartline. Heavy eyes, tremors and headaches became a part of my routine. I feared every second I was left alone with myself but I loathed every exchange I had with those

The power of poetry / Q&A with Spoken word poet Brandon Wint

 Though he now calls Edmonton home, poet Brandon Wint says much of what shaped his art can be owed to what he calls being "a child of Ottawa's creative commuity." Here, he says, is where he truly began to know himself and see more clearly what he could offer the world

DIY Valentine’s Day Indulgences

 Valentine’s Day is all about expressing love, so why not indulge a bit? While a fancy takeout dinner or an expensive gift is nice, there’s something extra special about a surprise you’ve made yourself. Whether you’ll be spending Valentine’s Day with a lover or by yourself, these DIYs will have you feeling

Valentine’s Day looks for the Practical Feminist

 Valentine’s Day –a day we celebrate love, relationships, and happiness. It is also a day many of us experience crushing expectations to look as sexy as possible for a date. Here we have outlined some practical tips on looks for that infamous night of love as we redefine sexiness into

Top Valentine’s Day Date Spots in Ottawa

 Valentine’s Day is here and if you’re looking for a special spot in the city to bring your sweetheart, look no further! Here is a list of some fun and romantic hot spots in the National Capital where you can celebrate this special day with your loved one. Corktown Footbridge Major

Memories of Sussex Drive

 Years ago I was inside my store late at night. The lights were dim except for the bright lights focusing on the dresses in the window. I caught sight of an emotional moment between two teenagers. They were dirty, disheveled, and had squeegees in hand as they kissed each other

Faith and Free Thought

 I have a new book out next month (although you can pre-order it now) published by Signal Books, part of Random House. It’s called Epiphany: A Christian’s Change of Heart and Mind over Same-Sex Marriage, and while I’ve written 16 books and am proud of some (but not all) of

Power in Her Blood: The Buffy Sainte-Marie Interview Part 1

 Photos supplied by TD Ottawa Jazz Festival and artist. Buffy Sainte-Marie doesn’t believe in burning out. It’s been 50 years blazing down the road and there’s still a fiery power rushing in her blood. It courses through her veins as a drive to create, to change and to challenge. “I'm paying attention,

Fly Katie Fly

 Photo courtesy of K. Temple. At their best, journalists are supposed to speak truth unto power. Sadly, too many utter power unto truth. This was made startlingly clear for me when my sister who lives in Britain gave birth to her second child. Katie was born several weeks premature and

Five of the Most Innovative Engagement Shoot Ideas

 Getting engaged is a very important step in a couple’s relationship. Usually, the engagement period gives a couple time to plan their future together, iron out any major disagreements and discuss dreams and hopes. It offers them a chance to get to know one another even more and marks an

The Politics of Love Thy Neighbour

 When did Christianity in Canada become so linked to political and social conservatism? When did so many Christians, especially the loudest and most organized, embrace censorship, resistance to gay equality, denial of climate change, opposition to vaccinations and an angry obsession with abortion? There are, of course, myriad believers in Christ who do not think and act thus but ask

Religion, Theology, and Tomorrow’s Society

 Religions in Crisis October 22, 2015, will mark the first anniversary of a tragic event that took place here in Ottawa: the shootings at the National War Memorial and on Parliament Hill. The attacker claimed he was acting on account of his religious beliefs. Since then, the media have reported that many young people from Canada have travelled

A Slice of Equality for All

 Photo Credit: Ashley Buttle Written by Michael Coren Let them eat cake but don’t, whatever you do, actually bake it for them. In May, a Belfast court ruled that a young couple who owned a bakery and refused to make a cake decorated with a pro-gay marriage slogan had broken

Feel the Love with Odyssey Theatre

 All photos by Maria Vartanova. Odyssey Theatre, the open-air theatre in Strathcona Park that specializes in telling stories with the use of masks, opened its 30th season on Sunday night, and this year’s theme is love. With a nod to three Spanish literary giants, (Cervantes and Tirso de Molina from

Taylor Swift Sparkles at the Canadian Tire Centre

 Photo by George Pimentel/Getty Images for TS “After five long years of not coming to see you, it is so good to be back in Ottawa," Taylor Swift told the screaming fans at the Canadian Tire Centre on July 6. The pop powerhouse and singer-songwriter stopped by the Capital along

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.

Halloween

 On this night of all nights Of goblins and bats Wicked witches abound With ominous eyes And the blackest of cats On this spookiest of nights Evil specters alight In graveyards and towns And haunt weary souls With ghoulish delight Nearby on a hill Is a foreboding old place That

A Summer’s Fair

 On summer days the summer’s rays Embark on slips of clover And the cottage receives the shadowy leaves From fruit blossoming trees all over The white clouds above in a rhapsody of love Rise up like a new found romance As robins sing the orchards swing And bluebells launch into

Fast Forward to the Weekend with Boogat’s Newest Album

 Photo credit: Guillaume Simoneau It’s everything you need on a Friday night after a long week: catchy, danceable and totally infectious music! Montreal MC Boogat’s newest album release, Neo-Reconquista, is enough reason to celebrate on its own. He’s been recognized for constantly evolving his music. Boogat’s unique mixed Latin-urban-electro-pop sound will instantly

Reflections

 I have often paddled my imaginary canoe Along turbulent streams of life And during solitary travels My peace was shattered by a vexed view Of man's greed, jealousy and strife Struggling against adversity I was transported back in time To an ancient voyage Taken by a forgotten traveller Whose birth

Native Man Celebrates Sobriety with Art

 Donnell Taylor of the Constance Lake First Nation paints to seek wisdom of his ancestors to deal with his addiction. On April 1, 2014, Donnell Taylor set his foot on Ottawa soil. A native man from the Constance Lake First Nation was continuing his "good journey," which started back in