Survival

Whether it’s pumping it up loud or taking refuge in a slow calming soundtrack, everyone has ‘that album’ they reach for when their day has been long and hard. A few of our contributors told us their choice and why it never fails them.

The passengers of Air Canada flight 797 displayed a brand of unbridled enthusiasm I had not yet seen at seven in the morning. This was no ordinary flight from Montréal to Los Angeles. This flight was carrying an overwhelming cohort of employees from both Ubisoft and EA Montréal. Also waiting for the flight were the games journalists, who like myself, were boarding with stars in their eyes and business cards in their pockets.

There are currently 2700 Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. The death toll at printing sits at 124. For both Canadians and Afghanis, Operation Enduring Freedom has been costly and continues to affect the world at large. Julia Pyper spoke with Hilary Frank, an operating room nurse, mother of three, and captain in the Canadian army, and asked her to describe her experience from two trips for a total of six months in Afghanistan.

Alex Nitsou visits the Mile End Legal Clinic, aiding through hard work and good will

Camille turns away from the house and takes a haul from his one-hit pipe disguised as a cigarette. He inhales deeply, squints his eyes. Offers it to me and I accept. One hit won’t get me too messed up, although my tolerance since I moved to Montréal from Vancouver has weakened considerably. Camille is back to work before I’m finished. He’s built similar to me, a little shorter, more wiry. He walks slowly alongside the wall; holds his shoulders back, left one floating slightly higher than the right. He looks at the wall from different angles; tilts his head slightly, plotting his next move.

Moving to a new city means changes, but hopefully not too many charges. After you have paid your rent, holding onto the tiny leftover crumb that is your savings account need not be so pinching and painful. We compiled this list of awesome cheap spots across the city to help you make every dollar stretch further.

It seems over the past few seasons that fashion has taken a darker turn. It could be a reaction to the global economic crisis or maybe that we are just tired of looking so refined. Shredded, torn, and deconstructed are all the latest ways we define chic. It seems hardly a day goes by that one style site or streetwear blog isn’t highlighting a girl whose clothes have seen better days. Femininity has been balanced with hard accents creating an edgy appeal that would make even The Road Warrior proud.

She stares at me with such sadness and pain in her eyes. A small infant dangling from her back, held lightly with a dusty cotton cloth. With a click of her hips she swings her body backwards so that the child’s eyes pierce me. I stand still. She extends her son’s hand to me. His scarred forearm and sundried fingers immediately bring me back to her harsh African reality, a continent which evades me on each return. Without moving, I look at her intensely.

A story of one young amily's struggle against the Canadian government.