The Wise & Wondrous Animals of Artist Clara Kim

 The artists of the Korean peninsula began to explore naturalistic characteristics as early as the Three Kingdoms period that dates from circa 57 BCE to 668 CE. While their work has long shared ideas, motifs, and forms with the art of neighbouring China and Japan, Korean art evolved a distinctive

How Chicago Invented the Modern World and Why You Should Experience It

 Chicago is many things. Richly cultural, soaring, beautiful, fun, friendly, Futurist, and of great global importance. All things considered, Chicago is the Athens of Modern Times. A visit to this greatest of American cities should be on everyone’s destination list. Canadians have been visiting it since 1673.  How the Chicago

Louis-Théodore Besserer and the Founding of Sandy Hill

 Occasionally, and sadly, historic buildings are overcome by the march of progress. The fine stone structure that stands at the corner of Daly and King Edward Avenues and known as Besserer House had a panoramic view of Bytown to the west and north when it was built circa 1844. Today,

The Smith Family Home Atop Piety Hill

 It’s possible to map the subtle topography of a city by locating its oldest houses because they were often built on a subtle rise in the terrain that allowed the occupants to overlook their surroundings. There are many reasons for this. Drainage, watching over a vegetable garden, or simply the

Rideau Hall’s little cousin: John Street’s Fraser School House

 The area surrounding where Sussex Drive meets the Rideau River was once a thriving industrial site developed by the man who founded New Edinburgh. Thomas McKay (1792-1855) was a Scottish-born stonemason who came to Canada to work on the Lachine Canal in Montreal. He and John Redpath (of the sugar

Cincinnati is super cool, full of fun surprises, and has a few lessons for Ottawa.

 I didn't know what to expect when I was invited to Cincinnati, but I've returned home with plenty of good things to say about it. The compact downtown is a veritable museum of turn-of-the-20th century corporate architecture that soars from grand entrances to Athenian penthouses. Its broad sidewalks are filled with arts, culture, and

Despite criticism and FinTRAC review, OLG maintains they are operating within the law

 Ottawa Life published an article on April 4th that waved red flags about whether the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission (OLG) is being less than attentive to certain operations under its authority that may be in violation of the federal Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA).

Creating stunning images by taking vector graphics to the extreme

 ABOVE: Forest by Ross Photography. ShapeVision is an Ottawa startup whose mission is to create photo-based art and applications with their unique Extreme Vector Graphics™ (EVG) software. Its founding partners, Martin Brooks and John Spence, have extensive experience in the Ottawa tech and education communities. Previously, Spence directed the Communications Research Centre’s

Comedian Ron James rambles and ruminates from the Canadian Road

 Ron James needs no introduction. We Canadians have known him and loved him, it seems, ever since he was a pup. Well, Ron’s just released a memoir with plenty of heart about our country and the everyday folks who've put a smile on his face. All Over the Map: Rambles

Lowertown be damned — we’re reducing harm!

 WARNING: This article contains language and scenes that some readers may find disturbing and offensive. (PHOTO: OLM STAFF) My cover story in the OLM summer issue was written in support of a fundraiser for the Shepherds of Good Hope that featured Kathleen Edwards. It began with an origin story set

Much ado about twenty-four

 “Awake, my country, the hour of dreams is done! Doubt not, nor dread the greatness of thy fate.”  — From An Ode to the Canadian Confederacy (1886) by Sir Charles G. D. Roberts (1860-1943) On the 28th of March 1972, a CBC television series called “Images of Canada” aired an

An EGGcellent way to support local with Metro

 ABOVE: Metro Grocery Stores has selected La Ferme Avicole Laviolette as one of its prime local producers, thanks to eggs that are produced, graded and delivered to Metro stores in just 3 to 5 days. During the second half of the 19th century, Ontario sought to increase settlement and develop agriculture

Cry, for beloved Lebanon and Syria

 ABOVE: Green Line, Beirut 1982 (PHOTO: James Case, flickr.com) My grandmother used to say the world would end in the Middle East. ISIL had that in mind when it systematically massacred villages like hers because they embraced a building with a cross on it. Her village in the southern Beqaa

Is it time to reinvent policing? Edmonton Chief of Police Dale McFee thinks so.

 The numbers tell the story. A report published in August 2020 by the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) found that while Black people comprise 8.8 per cent of Toronto’s overall population, they represent almost 32 per cent of people charged by Toronto police. The numbers are based on the Toronto

Moooove over traditional vodka. Vodkow is here!

 It sounds like a Trivial Pursuit question. Q: “What did the Mongols ferment into alcohol over a thousand years ago?” A: “Milk sugar, also known as lactose.”  While milk sugar produces a cleaner, smoother spirit, this ancient recipe is rarely used today because of its cost and production challenges. Almonte-based Dairy

‘Uncle Bob’ Cabana, Ottawa’s curator of musical cool

 Above: Photo of Uncle Bob by Sean Sisk Photography In a city where Gore-Tex is considered a fashion statement, ‘Uncle Bob’ Cabana has made it his mission to “funkify this town, one man at a time.” He’s been working hard at it for over 30 years. Wellington Street in Hintonburg

Laurier’s “Washington of the North” is a crumbling disgrace

 Above: The disgraceful state of Ottawa's ByWard Market. “The Washington of the North” was how Sir Wilfrid Laurier described his vision for Canada’s capital. The ramshackle lumber town of his time lacked just about everything needed to make for a noble seat of government for a country whose 20th century

A Guide to Goldbergian management practices in Canada’s public service

 Evidence indicates that the federal public service has been quietly moving away from the classical Bureaucratic management approach based on principles devised by Max Weber. According to Weber, the rational, reason versus passion, approach to management is preferable to whims, irrational emotions and intentions of managers. But if present-day practices

Built in Defiance: Road Tripping Eastern Ontario’s History

 All photos by Michael Bussière Crisscross eastern Ontario with a back roads map book and you might just stumble upon some of the province’s finest stone heritage. Here are three road trips around the region where you can explore buildings that are the oldest of their kind in the province.