The Chopping Block Chronicles: The dark side of the restaurant industry (part two)

I finished last issue’s column talking about when I had found my calling: to be a rock-star chef. This self-obsessed, ego-driven lifestyle was further encouraged by copious amounts of drugs and alcohol, readily available because everyone wanted to be friends with the guy who cooks their meals.  I attained my first chef position at age […]

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Communication Error: Grammaticalization of the writer

Sitting on the edge of your seat, posited at the end of the beginning of the starting line. Gears shifting without synchronicity. Flailing rubber particulates from rotating tires that move without the appearance of going anywhere. Characterless smoke clouds pervade left and right. The sky opens up just as the snowfall reverses its direction and […]

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First Things First: Are summer classes worth it?

Classes? In summer? Should I? By instinct I would say “absolutely not,” because I like not doing things. However, I also hate not doing anything productive and then feeling like an absolute fool for not doing anything. Instead, I’ll make the decision easier for all of us. What you need to consider is what you […]

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Health with Tess: Stretch it out

You know that hunchy, achy feeling right between your shoulder blades and up into your neck? Some people call it “texting neck” but I think it can be equally named “Instagram neck” or “Candy Crush neck.” Too much time slouching over our phones is bad for our posture, impacting our organs, body language, and causing […]

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Let’s Talk: Reflecting on a year of rants, raves, and fuckboys

A year ago I pitched the idea of Let’s Talk?, a column about women’s issues, to our managing editor, Greg Pratt. For some reason (which I’m sure he frequently regrets), he graciously allowed me the space to fight for equality.  What I had originally intended to be a hard-hitting column about the injustices women face […]

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Communication Error: Monotony-induced paralysis

Slipping without squeezing—and dying without living. Hearts beat without your consent, planets continue to spin without your knowledge, and the McPeople populating this giant value meal will never remember your name. So why, then, am I still watering this plant? If it all ends, and you’re not invited to the reopening, should the day matter? […]

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The Chopping Block Chronicles: Whole-animal butchery reconsidered

In last issue, I talked about the horrendous amount of food we as Canadians are producing and wasting every year. However, I’m not the type that likes to rant about an issue without providing some sort of solution. But this time I don’t have to provide a solution; it’s out there, it just means getting […]

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First Things First: Help! I have no social life!

At first, I thought it would be funny to just end this column with one line right here, maybe say, “This is a legitimate cry for help” or something, but that would be “unprofessional” and “worrisome.” We all love that self-deprecating humor, right?  The unfortunate thing is that humans are social creatures, and our brains […]

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Let’s Talk: Smile

I recently discovered a book that gives suggestions for 365 days of social media prompts. I opened the book and flipped to an arbitrary day: February 13.  On this page, the suggested post was something acknowledging that women smile 62 times a day while men only smile eight. It then went on to remind men […]

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