Joy Rides

Winter is underway, and with it, those fluffy, fender-bender-causing flurries of calamity. While there’s no substitute for a level head and snow tires, this list of winter-ready autos can make life behind the wheel a little less frigid. So bring it on, Mother Nature — let it snow.

Infiniti JX

Just because it’s like the Arctic tundra outside doesn’t mean luxury curls up to hibernate. The seven-seat Infiniti JX keeps the comforts roaring all winter with, among other things, three-zone climate control, leather seating and steering wheel, heated seats and a seven-inch information display. Intelligent all-wheel drive (AWD) adjusts power and handling to combat erratic weather while Infiniti’s Safety Shield, Blind Spot Intervention and Backup Collision Intervention keep an eye on traffic. Traction control and anti-lock brakes also come standard, and with this midsize luxury crossover’s remote starter, you’ll never have to sit shivering in the driveway. Starting from $44,900.
www.infiniti.ca
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Dreaming of a Green Christmas – The Christmas Tree Debate

Perhaps the decision between a real or fake Christmas tree was once a contentious matter for consumers. But today, it seems, the decision is becoming more and more clear-cut. Faux fir is decking our halls.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2011 the fresh-cut Christmas tree industry reaped more than $51 million in sales. Not bad, especially considering over $28 million came from exports (Canada is a net exporter of Christmas trees, StatsCan notes). In 2010, however, the industry raked in $56.6 million — that’s a 9 per cent drop. In fact, there’s been a significant slide in real Christmas tree sales over the last decade: down 22 per cent since 2006 and nearly a third since 2001.

Artificial tree sales, on the other hand, continue to climb. Last year $47 million worth of fake Christmas trees were imported to Canada — more than double 2001’s figure — with the vast majority of those coming from China. Like virtually every other holiday hallmark, Canadian souvenir or bargain-priced paraphernalia that fetches our hard-earned cash, we’re importing Christmas from across the Pacific. The North Pole has moved its head office to Beijing.
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The Sky’s the Limit

After capturing Canada’s only gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games, you’d think Rosannagh (Rosie) MacLennan would be flying high. But the 24-year-old trampolinist remains as grounded as ever — and the weight of gold has nothing to do with it, either.

“It’s obviously something I’m really proud of,” says the King City native, “but at the same time there’s a lot more to celebrate than gold medals.”

Of course, such as how your victory could spark grassroots enthusiasm, encouraging a new wave of fledgling trampolinists to enrol in this relatively unsung sport, boosting local economies and laying the foundation for future Olympians?

“Yeah, but I think as a kid, even watching the athletes that don’t get a Read more

So Divine

In a world where music is often treated like bubble gum, consumed and discarded fleetingly, how does an artist keep her music fresh, distinct and relevant? Sometimes, it means turning back the clock.

After a three-year hiatus, Canadian R&B singer Divine Brown returns to the spotlight with her hip-swaying blast from the past, “Gone.” Its infectious hook — “I’m Gone!” — accented by the ba-dant-dun-da-dant of bellowing horns, set to the steady rhythm of underlying keys and choir-like harmonies, transports you back to the vinyl-spinning, radio-rocking days of 1960-something.

This first single comes on the cusp of her third album, Something Fresh, slated for release in early 2013. She describes the album — produced by Woodbridge-natives the Rezza Brothers — as a Read more

Ziya Tong: Sky Cranes and Electric Brains

Ziya Tong and I have been forced to seek refuge in the last bastion of safety at CTV’s studios: the set of Canada AM. Dan Riskin, the mad scientist sophomore that he is, is concocting some volatile experiment, and the results point to explosive. We can only pray for the well-being of the Daily Planet set and take cover where Beverly Thomson serves up the day’s headlines over coffee.

OK, so that’s a bit of a stretch. But there’s enough pyrotechnic business brewing that we’ve been instructed to steer clear. That, and they’re filming. So a dimly lit corner and two comfy armchairs beside a faux fireplace will just have to do.

While certainly not ideal, these circumstances are actually unsurprising. This “intelligent insanity,” as Tong describes it, is just business as usual on, Daily Planet, Discovery Channel Canada’s flagship series. One day they’re learning to fight forest fires with fans, the next they’re meeting an artist who created “bulletproof skin” out of spider silk and goat milk. Today, it just Read more

App-ademia: Educational Apps

Help your child brush up on the basics and excel in academia with these comprehensive apps ideal for school life.

WORDFLEX TOUCH DICTIONARY
Like a dictionary 2.0, Wordflex Touch Dictionary maps the bottomless depths of language for easy and insightful user navigation. Search a specific word to find its definition, syntax, synonyms and more, all organized in malleable word-trees of expandable nodes – a handy sidekick for those English essays or for bolstering vocabularies.

GRAMMAR UP
With over 1,800 questions, Grammar Up is an excellent tool for learning the intricacies of English grammar. From word choice to verb tense, explore 20 topics delivered through randomized tests Read more

Ford Focus Electric

Driving an electric vehicle isn’t for everyone. More accurately, it’s for a select few. Case in point: the Ford Focus Electric, Ford’s first fully electric car.

Here is, for all intents and purposes, a solid electric vehicle: it’s attractive, drives well, and of course — its raison d’être — emits zero carbon emissions. But who’s going to drive it?

Commuters? Unlikely. Regular travellers? Nope. Single-car households? You’d run into problems. I could rhyme off the figures — like its 23-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, which produces 143 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque — but that doesn’t really matter. This car is for the established eco-minded urbanite, plain and simple.
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Gasper Barone: Feel the Hype

Local boy Gasper Barone sits at a corner table in the Moose & Firkin as classic pop/rock hits fuel a sparsely populated but lively room. It’s a fitting backdrop, considering his first solo album, Hype, reverberates with era-spanning sound.

Pleasant and soft-spoken, Barone details the two-year process developing his six-song EP. “I’m not content with just enough,” he says. “I like perfection.” But for Barone, 30, perfection isn’t about a polished sound. It’s about capturing the moment, seizing the emotion at hand and translating it into something raw and visceral.

This attitude is evident throughout Hype’s palpable twanging and upbeat melodies. From the B-52’s-inspired Words Get In The Way, to the folky, rhythmic strumming of A Letter Across Continents, to the Read more

2012 Lexus CT 200h

Toyota captures lighting in a bottle with its now wildly successful flagship hybrid, the Prius. Its popularity has skyrocketed in recent years, and the Japanese auto manufacturer has made a recent push to replicate that potent electric-gas magic, releasing various Prius iterations and hybridifying other models, like the Camry and Highlander.

Lexus is following suit. Riding the wave of Prius-induced hybrid fever, Lexus has padded its roster with a hybrid for virtually every segment. If you’re on the market for a hybrid, there’s a Lexus for that.

The most recent addition to the family is the compact CT 200h. While the Prius is tailored for the eco-minded utilitarian, the CT 200h is out to add some zest to the green. With a sporty esthetic, low price point Read more

Rick Mercer

Rick Mercer is an enigma. This might not seem apparent through his playful on-air antics, but behind all the cheeky banter, commercial parodies and in-your-face ranting, there’s more to this unadulterated Canadian than meets the eye. It’s a lesson I learned early on during our midday sit-down at Allen’s in Toronto, one that shines a light on a side of this political satirist that’s rarely captured by cameras.

It’s Mercer’s choice, Allen’s, and an excellent one at that. The Irish-American pub on Danforth Avenue, known for its à la carte burger and willow tree-shaded patio, gives a nod to the Emerald Isles via a bar lined wall-to-wall with a generous selection of spirits. Where better to interview a good ole islander like Mercer?

He mentions he likes to pop by for the odd Guinness, but he’s ordered an ice water — he’s a professional, after all. And, as it turns Read more

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