Tiger, Rory and the Past and Future of Golf

 The third of the PGA Tour’s four major tournaments, the British Open, will begin on Thursday, July 14th, at the Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, England. It will be the 140th playing of the Open, as well as the 14th time that the tournament will be held

Julian Armour’s Music & Beyond Festival: A Jewel Among All that Sparkles in Ottawa.

 Think of the classical music scene in the Capital and there is one name that seems to embody it: Julian Armour. He is gracious, generous and inspiring and one incredible festival organizer. Armour, like a festival’s superhero, uses his powers for good and has been at the helm of the

Fogerty and Fuchs Bring the Hits

 “This was one of the first songs I ever played with my band back in 1968,” said an excitedly high-pitched John Fogerty to a diverse crowd cheering back at him in awe. Only a minute of silence and gathering of their instruments was needed before Johnny slid into the plucking

Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind

 by Brian Fagan • Bloomsbury Press, 2011, 384 pp. This spring’s flooding of the Assiniboine River in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the Richelieu River in Quebec has thrust surrounding communities into crisis. The inundation of farmlands has destroyed crops and livelihoods. Homes have been lost. Meanwhile drought along the Yangtze

OLM Photo Gallery: Kirk Franklin Brings Gospel Sound to Bluesfest

 The Ottawa Bluesfest has been a hit for years, drawing crowds from all over the world. One of the key factors for this is the organizer's ability to cater to the musical tastes of its varied patrons by offering performances from a wide selection of musicians and artists from around

The Path to Self-Governance: A Rationale Behind Eradicating the Indian Act

 An archaic and racist-based legislative barrier to First Nations Peoples achieving self-governance is the Indian Act. It is considered one of their biggest obstacles. The Act is outdated and an inaccurate reflection of the current relationship between the original inhabitants of our country and the federal government. This affects the

First Nations Come Last

 On May 27, her last day after a decade as Canada's official watchdog, Auditor General Sheila Fraser gave this dire warning.: “If the First Nations and the Federal Government don't find ways of working together, the living conditions in reserves will remain worse off than everywhere else in Canada, and

Thai Coconut

 Tucked away behind a high-rise condo building on Prince of Wales Drive near Meadowlands is the restaurant Thai Coconut. The space was previously occupied by another restaurant called Oriental Palace. It can be a very daunting task to open a restaurant in a space previously occupied by another especially if

Laura Langford Has the Bag for You

 Clean, elegant, functional. That is how 24-year-old Ottawa native Laura Langford would describe her hand-crafted line of handbags. But the road to designing handbags was not a straight one. In fact, upon graduating with a diploma in Costume Studies from Dalhousie University in 2006, Langford enrolled in the Nova Scotia

Ottawa Concert Venues and Presenters of Yester-year

 In the midst of a vibrant and heady festival season, here is a look back at what made Ottawa a festive place in its earlier days. Short of intentional diving into the audience, or Glastonbury-like group rain shower experiences, the city was graced with rewarding concert presentations. Ottawa’s Tremblay Concerts

First Week Ends With Old Time Rock ‘N Roll

 After drying off from a night with The Black Keys and cooling off from shaking it with Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip, last night it was time to try and understand our parents’ preaching about the music in the good old days. Last night, the good old days were handed to

Crimes Against Children

 When you look deep into a child’s eyes, you can see their complete trust in the world and their vulnerability. You can hear it in their voices and laughs. They are little people that simply wear their hearts on their sleeves showing their bravery, trust, love, and fears. Their lives

The Black Keys Heat Up Cold and Wet Crowd

 Well, that was interesting. Mixed feelings are really the most prominent ones when it comes to the whole experience of the fourth night at Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest. On a night that began with the humble, orchestral beauty of the Newfoundland collective Hey Rosetta! on The Hard Rock stage, then turned into an hour wait

Third Night at Bluesfest: Something for Everyone

 Who says that the young and the old can’t mix? On the third night of Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest, it certainly wasn’t surprising to see any over-50 concert-goers out of their lawn chair and shaking a leg with someone half their age – whether it was to the steady flow of

A Tale of Two Cities…Part 1: Berlin

 A city formerly divided, both figuratively and literally, by a giant concrete wall now adorned with art and graffiti from all over the globe...A city formerly divided by clashing political ideologies and philosophies...but no longer. Today Berlin is a city united both by its past and its present. The wall

Striving for a Better Future

 The recent increase of daily deal sites infiltrating the online consumer market combined with the success of warehouse-style stores like Wal-mart and Costco present a challenge for many local businesses. As both a small business owner and a consumer, I can appreciate both sides of the fence.  The problem lies

Bluesfest Opening Night Rocks Hard

 A popular sentiment echoed by Ottawa personalities introducing musicians and one of the most tweeted phrases in the national capital yesterday rang true on the opening night of Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest – it truly is “the most wonderful time of the year.” As Tuesday evening set in, overflowing line-ups of

Get the Look: Kate Middleton’s Royal Style

 Kate Middleton may not have been born a royal, but she certainly looks the part of the Duchess of Cambridge, favoring sophisticated silhouettes and tailored pieces for an elegant look that suits her new position. Dramatic hats, blazers and wrap dresses are among her favourites, with her perfectly coiffed hair

The Arc of a Tennis Champion

 This year’s Wimbledon men’s final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic had the potential to be a classic. Both players are supremely gifted and both have raised their games to heights other players on tour can only dream of reaching. The tightly played first set suggested the match was going

CrossFit: At the Forefront of a Fitness Revolution

 As far as beginnings go, the origins of the CrossFit strength and conditioning program were largely inauspicious. Created in the 1970s by a former high school gymnast by the name of Greg Glassman, the first CrossFit-affiliated gym wouldn’t open until 1995, and it wasn’t until 2001, when Glassman launched the

Get Up Close to Ottawa City Hall Public Art

 Canada’s urban centres are home to many works of public art. Stand-alone, commemorative or decorative they are a part of what makes a city; an integral part of how we remember or define a cityscape. Many pieces are positioned in places of great prominence while others, uniquely placed, have become

Defining Canadian Style

 The French are chic. Italians are sexy yet sophisticated. Canadians are… what exactly? A cultural melting pot, Canada is a dynamic and complex mix of influences that prevent a distinctly Canadian style from emerging into an obvious definition. Yes, there is the stereotypical garb of the Canadian outdoorsman, clad in

What’s With all this New Oz Wine, Part 1?

 Fans of Aussie hooch rejoice, the focus has once again returned to the Land Down Under ("Where women glow and men plunder ").  If you have been looking for a new selection from the Merry Old Land of Oz then your prayers have been answered.  At a recent launch party

Dressing for Yourself: The Man Repeller Style

 I first stumbled across the term “man repeller” when introduced to the fashion blog of the same name, created and run by the hilarious Leandra Medine. A definition followed, with Medine describing the term as “outfitting oneself in a sartorially offensive way that will result in repelling members of the

Gelato, by any other name

 When the hot weather descends on Ottawa, and the sub-zero winter is all but forgotten, one cannot help but thank Italians for their welcome addition to the world's cuisine.  Yes, when it comes to what the Italians have brought to the world's plates, they would've easily received a passing grade