Looking for something sweet to eat? Some adventure perhaps? Something unusual, different, and exciting? Well, Tasty Tours is the answer!

With a great variety of sweet treats to eat and a tour of beautiful Kensington Market, Tasty Tours demonstrates another great example of what makes our city so awesome and quirky. Tasty Tours is truly one of a kind. Using Kensington Market as the focal point of the tour is brilliant. It has a multi-ethnic selection of foods and is such a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

(more…)

Bullying is a big issue and has become more and more of an issue in recent times. As such, the campaign to stop it has been ever increasing. My heart aches to all those victims of bullying that have taken their own precious lives away. Bullying must stop and I thank (though some won’t, I know) Casey Heynes for being a poster boy, though under unfortunate circumstances, on this issue.

Above is a video capturing Casey Heynes, a kid from Australia and victim of bullying, being punched in the face and stomach by a scrawny kid. Casey decides he’s had enough and picks up the kid, body slamming him to the ground.

Am I advocating violence? No. Am I advocating self-defense? Yes. (more…)

Before going to university, I really had no clue what I wanted to study or major in so my brother recommended that I take the intro course to East Asian Studies: EAS102. He had taken the course about 10 years before I did and loved it. At the time, the course was taught by Professor R. Guisso and luckily for me it was still taught by him by the time I took it. Even after 10 years (plus all the other years he’s been teaching) Professor Guisso is still very much adored by his students and peers.

Professor Guisso delivered his lectures through his amazing gift of story-telling.  He spoke with no microphone to groups of at least 100 students or more and without hesitation, fear, or lack of memory – gave us all an amazing account of history and anecdotes on East Asia. More than that, you could tell that he was passionate and interested in the topics he lectured about. He was also approachable and kind to his students.

In all my years at university, I’ve never really had a professor that was so engaging and enthusiastic about his subject. Professor Guisso is one of those exceptions. It is no surprise then that he’s been made Professor Emeritus, a professor that has retired in good standing and with distinction. However, he is still teaching. In fact, he’ll be teaching EAS 395Y0 – Leadership and Governance in China’s Modern Urban Transformation at the University of Hong Kong this summer.

So to end, it is because of you, Professor Guisso, that I decided to pursue a minor in East Asian Studies. Thank you.

Loved it! Set on the French Riviera, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is about two charming con-artists who woo their way into the hearts of rich, beautiful women. The enthusiastic cast was truly spectacular, charming and they were all absolutely perfect in their roles. Let’s not forget to mention the amazing musical ensemble and chorus who both did a splendid job of filling the room with excitement and delight. Having never heard of this musical until just prior to seeing it, I was kind of skeptical of how good it would be, but boy was I blown away. Right from the beginning the chorus had me hooked with their lovely dance number and wonderful voices. The choreography was in sync, intricate, and exciting.

Though it was a great ensemble effort, I must mention and praise the individual performances of the main cast. Firstly, I must give kudos and much of my adoration to Neil Silcox who played the Suave playboy, Laurence. He sort of reminded me of a younger, but more handsome, of course, version of John Cleese. He was truly amazing, so full of charm and wit. He made the crowd laugh with his over-the-top, pompous character who could do any accent if asked (English, Austrian, and Spanish were the only ones I heard but I’m sure he could do more). Next of course, I must mention his partner in crime Freddy played by the endearing and also very charismatic Evan Dowling. His character was the quintessential streets-smart, savvy young American. (more…)

image from onlinemovieshut.com

Natalie, this is beneath you. It baffles me. You’re an actress that is in contention and probably the most likely to receive the Best Actress Academy Award this year for your spectacular performance in Black Swan yet you choose to star in a romantic comedy (why?!?!?!)! I honestly expected this film to be somewhat decent just because Natalie Portman was in it. Mind you I am completely aware of the formulaic, cheesiness and predictable narrative of all romantic comedies but No Strings Attached is by far one of the worst I have ever seen.

In attempt to bolster the star power and popularity of the film, several guest appearances were made by celebrities such as Ludacris, Kevin Kline, and even the director of the film himself, Ivan Reitman. Despite their appearances and the starring roles of Portman and Kutcher, the film just failed to deliver. Portman and Kutcher had no chemistry because it lacked that sort of ease and authenticity that let’s say Barrymore and Long had in their film Going the Distance (albeit they were actually a couple at the time).

The film was raunchy – expected, predictable and uber cheesy – also expected, but it was also incredibly uncomfortable to watch at times. For instance, the very first sex scene took way too long and just the timing of it felt so awkward – not to say the audience should have been forewarned but it was definitely bizarre. In fact the whole film was a bit bizarre at times where in certain scenes, the banter would be too forced or unnecessarily dragged on for too long.

I’d say the only redeeming part of the film was the character Lucy, a small role played by Lake Bell. She was hilarious! Her character was so awkward and eager to please Kutcher’s character Adam that it was impossible not to instantly fall in love with her.

Overall I’d give the film a 2.5/5 stars.

image from angryrobot.ca

Ever feel like eating something really unhealthy to the point where you don’t even want to know what goes into the food you’re eating? Well I do, all the time.  So one night I decided I’d be be down for an artery-clogging splurge and that  place was Smoke’s Poutinerie! It’s so bad, it’s good (that was cheesy I know. Ha! No pun intended! That was also really cheesy).  Located right at 218 Adelaide Street West in Toronto, it is just the right place for starving university students!  I went with a bunch of friends and we had a blast sharing each other’s crazy Poutines.  It was ridiculous. They even had a Philly Cheese Steak Poutine! You’d have to have 3 stomachs to eat that!  I guess my friend did because he practically inhaled it -  it was that ridiculously delicious! Items are at relatively low prices depending on what you order and how much.  For instance, a Small Traditional Poutine would be $5.49 plus tax.  It also helps immensely that they’re open during times when students are actually awake. On Fridays and Saturdays they’re open from 11:30AM to 4AM! Staff are friendly and I like the open concept kitchen where you can actually see the cooks making the Poutine; though of course it doesn’t take much to figure out how they make it. Anyhow, so forget those hundred or so calories you burned today at the gym and check out Smoke’s Poutinerie! For more information go to their website.

For those of you struggling to stay awake during a 2- or even 3-hour lecture (perhaps more if that’s even possible!), here are some tips:

1. Get a a good night’s sleep. Nothing sucks more than to having to attend a lecture after barely getting enough sleep. Sleeping in class is not cool especially when the professor sees you.

2. Lots of coffee or tea . Just don’t put too much sugar

3. Doodle. I find this helps a lot because not only does it help you from getting bored but studies have shown that doodling actually helps with concentration, understanding and retaining information.

4.  Take a course (or a course with a professor you like) that you’re actually interested in. I loved my Classics course and so I actually looked forward to going and taking notes. I especially love lectures where the professor presents in way like he/she is telling story, where everything is intricately woven together and it all makes sense! I hate it when I don’t understand a thing the professor is saying or when he/she mumbles through the notes and isn’t very coherent.

5. Chew gum – I’m not sure this actually works but it does for me sometimes! I think it’s more psychological than anything.

6. Text or play games on your laptop (i.e. Solitaire, my favourite!). I admit, this is not the best advice.  Obviously it’s not good if texting or playing games is ALL you’re doing during a lecture. Make sure to turn off the sound on your cellphone  when you do text so that you don’t disturb others.

7. The headache pose. If all else fails, pretend you have a headache  and put your hand over your forehead and look down. At least have the common courtesy to not be so obvious with sleeping in class. Though I guess there’s really no way of hiding the fact that you’re sleeping… sorry.