By Tina McCarthy via EcoSalon

My New Year’s resolution? When the clock struck midnight, I vowed to cut my sugar intake by eliminating sweet treats like cookies, chocolate and soda from my diet.

On the first day of 2010, I ate strawberry yogurt for breakfast, snacked on a granola bar before lunch, sipped on vitamin water and enjoyed a savory serving of pasta for dinner. At the end of the day, I was feeling pretty good about my fresh start. That is, until I read the labels. As it turns out, I had consumed almost 100 grams of sugar (more than twice the recommended daily amount) in this so-called attempt at eating healthier.

This whole debacle prompted me to do some research on sugar-packed snacks that masquerade as health foods. Here are the most deceiving culprits:

By Mikhail Saavedra

I had a chance to speak to director Bernard Emond during TIFF this past year and while talking about this movie two things became clear and apparent. La Donation is about the damage the current economic situation can bring to towns anywhere in Canada and also how that inevitable human spirit has a way or the potential to rebuild that damage. In fact the director appears to be saying that the solution is within our own ability to put forth our humanity.

Be forewarned this movie does not have the frantic pace of most Hollywood offerings, but even that “weight” is in essence a gift because this movie has a way to make you ponder the light to be found even in a town full of misery. La Donation is actually the final part of a trilogy which focuses on the very christian values of hope, faith and charity. There are also quiet, understated but top notch performances all around, one standout being the obviously shell shocked Elise Guilbault playing a doctor from the city who has a hard time getting accustomed to the feel of a small town, and the fact that she not only sees her patients at the clinic.  If you have the patience to stay with this film you will be rewarded with a thoughtful study of the responsibilities that come with commitment to others. Let us also hope that the rest of Canada gets to see a lot more of the great cinema being made in Quebec.

The Interior Design Show/IDS10
Presented by RADO Switzerland

by Alison Brown

This is Canada’s largest contemporary design event featuring the newest and most innovative International and Canadian products. Exhibits feature both emerging and established designers and highlight International interior design, architecture and Industrial design trends.

I had several mandates to accomplish at this show …One was to check out what sort of art is being made available to the design trade here in Toronto. I can state happily that commercial properties like hotels and corporate offices etc. have finally realized that original art pieces by mostly local artists are the way of the future.

My other objective was to find products that were locally designed and manufactured  with the most innovative uses of sustainable materials and design, with the focus being on renewable energy sources.

"A Step Up" Artist:Alison Hodson

"Early Check Out" Artist:Andrew King

"Her Madgesty" Artist:Justine Fernie

The Village Gallery/Art Beyond Walls
171 Lakeshore Rd. E.
Mississauga, Ont.
905-891-9171
416-254-8512
www.thevgallery.com
www.artbeyondwalls.com

Meandering through the myriad of booths and displays at this show my first stop was
The Village Gallery.  I was interested to find out about their pop up art program “Art Beyond Walls,” that I had heard about happening across the city. When I found their booth I was immediately attracted to the art of   “Justine Fernie” whose vibrant work stands out among the more traditional art pieces in this show.

By Allison Hall

Its winter time and I don’t know about where you live, but here in Toronto, it has been C-O-L-D! I have one of those down filled super warm winter coats and its nice and all, but it’s not the most fashionable piece of clothing that I own. I have some cute wool pea coats in my wardrobe that are much more flattering, so being the way that I am and in spite of the below freezing temperatures outside, I usually opt for one of the pea coats. I know, I know, if I don’t dress properly I’m going to catch a cold, but really…fashion is always going to win out.

By Mikhail Saavedra

What follows are two amazing bits of traditional Haitian cuisine which bring forth some of the many beautiful sides of a very rich culture enjoy!

Bannann Peze (Fried Plantains)
Ingredients

* ½ cup vegetable oil
* 2 medium-sized green plantains, peeled and sliced

Procedure

1. In a heavy 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over moderate heat.
2. Add as many plantain slices as you can without crowding the pan and brown for about 2 minutes on each side.
3. As they brown, transfer them to paper towels to drain.
4. On a board, using a spatula, press each slice flat and round, about ¼-inch thick and 2 inches in diameter.
5. Heat the oil and fry the rounds again for about 1 minute on each side.
6. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.
Serves 4

By Mikhail Saavedra

Because all of us here at Alternavox have been incredibly moved, saddened and heart broken by the sad images filling our computer and TV screens. Because we can’t find it in ourselves to remain detached nor cynical in front of the genuine human pain and suffering in front of us. Because solidarity should never be an empty word and we should see the people in Haiti as who they genuinely are, our brothers and sisters. Because of many reasons like this I would humbly ask anyone reading this to continue finding ways to support, to send aid and to help rebuild a country devastated by nature but also by poverty that should be outlawed.

By James Ratlif

The Haitian revolution is the only successful slave revolt in the history of the world. It is an incredible story, which has been told well by many great authors. This is one of them. Carpentier’s novel traces the history of the conflict through the eyes of TiNoel, a slave on the estate of the French planter Lenormand de Mezy in the Plaine du Nord on the fertile north of the French colony of Ste Domingue. The first historical character we meet is Francois Mackandal or Macandal, who attempted to kill the planters with poison and create a free black nation. Next we meet Dutty Boukman or Bouckman, who launched the revolution at a Vodou ceremony at Bois Caiman in August 1791. We learn about the terror, the struggle, and the flight of the French as TiNoel accompanies his master to Cuba.

By James Ratlif

Sometimes actions speak a lot louder than words. Mortenson’s wonderful personal journey from personal grief (and a terrible mountaineering experience coming down from the fearsome K2) to a career of school building is a real modern day story of heroics. Mortenson’s working style is freewheeling, chaotic and amazingly effective, and I can appreciate that David Relin had one hell of a time trying to fit the moving jigsaw together into one inspiring picture. But I’m not alone in feeling that Relin’s writing looks a bit like spin doctoring in many places throughout the book. He’s not objective enough, and that means that he’s robbed us of the chance to make our own judgement. The admiration we’ll undoubtedly feel for Mortenson has been pre-packaged for us. Relin’s applause sign goes up before we can break into our own spontaneous ovation. Damn!

Mixing: Derek Moxam, Music Supervision: Cliff McGoldrick

This month, we have two very special guests contributing to the mix tape. Friends to many of us in the Alternavox family, Derek and Cliff bring you ‘Trance Showdown,’ a compilation of classic and cutting-edge trance tracks that celebrate a special and unique time in electronic-music history. A time when everything was exciting and the possibilities were endless. Everything seemed new, particularly the music and after-hours was simply a way of life. If you lived in Toronto in the late 90s and at the start of the last decade, and you were “in the scene,” you will remember the clubs, the warehouses, the impromptu parties, the promoters, the djs, but most of all you will remember the music; dancing with your friends, meeting new ones and watching the sun come up. We thank them for reminding us what it is all about and hope we’ll be hearing more mix tapes from them in the future.

Turn this shit up and take it to the next level!

1. Universal Nation - Push
2. Cream (ATB Remix) - Blank & Jones
3. Stop the Rock (Gigolo’s Stop the Jocks Remix) - Apollo 440
4. Mr. Brightside (Blank & Jones Remix) - The Killers
5. Trance Indicator (Plastic Boy Remix) - Push
6. Everytime (Nalin & Kane Remix) - Lustral (XO)
7. Ligaya ( Ferry Corsten Remix) - Gouryella
8. Kathy’s Song ( Ferry Corsten Remix) - Apoptygma Berzerk
9. Barber’s Adagio for Strings (Ferry Corsten Remix) - William Orbit
10. Feel Free - Yves Deruyter
11. 1998 (ATB Remix) - Binary Finary
12. Cafe Del Mar (Paul Oakenfold Mix) - Energy 52
13. Beautiful Day - Hypertrophy

To listen to this mix click below:

http://www.jhodgsonmusic.com/music-45.html

By Matthew Walsh

Carefully, they walk. The salt water had eaten away at the cement stairs. The staircase, chalky, brittle like an old woman’s arthritic bones, lead down to the water where few scattered people trace the water’s edge. The stairs are like decaying teeth, opening up to the mouth of the shoreline. What’s left of the stairs is covered by shreds of dried seaweed and discarded sea shells. Embedded in the sand are clam and mussel shells, urgently robbed of their meat by seabirds, capable thieves. Insectile bodies of urchins, dried out and hollow. Oysters, ridged with green algae disguised in stone-coloured suits. In the shallow water, a blue heron on her stilt legs. Feathers coloured like the spiralling smoke from a lit cigarette. She uses what remains of the light to spear the bellies of the white fish that swim around her patient legs. They swim, cutting through the water like silver knives. From the shore he sees the glittering. The air grows colder. The water changes from clear blue to greyish green, like a chameleon. Clouds collect in the sky like fabric snagged in the foot of a sewing machine. White-clawed crabs scuttle away from the seabirds. Some fall as victims, and the meat is pulled from their bodies by the bird beaks, like canned food. Across the way, blackbirds start to gather in the park. Shrill cries seem to be waiting for the moon. He walks along the shore, brown shoes sinking quietly into the soft sand. Horse flies collect on the freshly abandoned crab shells. starfish, their purple bodies the color of fresh bruises, the color of the evening sunset. Black-purple, almost menacing. The star-shapes creep silently across the shallow water. Under his sneakers, clam beds clack and bubble. Jellyfish, the slow-movers, or the dead ones are purged from the sea, torn up on the shore rock. Their bulbous forms resemble cancerous tumors removed from a throat, or lung, reduced to a purplish gelatine, shapeless. Horse flies hoard around the carcasses.

A withered man, crumpled in a blue truckers hat. The color of the hat sings against the dull, changing smoke-coloured sky. He sits along the wall that separates the shore from the park on the other side of the boardwalk. His plaid shirt is missing a few buttons; milk-brown pants have a red stain on the leg. He and his wife are selling paintings in the park, in the shade of the sitka trees. A jar of dirty paint water and brushes sit by his side, dark pink liquid circling around inside it. He’s smoking wine-dipped cigarettes. While he does this, he feeds a small group of metallic coloured pigeons breadcrumbs and corn. Greens, blues, and purples mirroring the colour of the horseflies. Old hands holding the paper bag of food for the birds, covered in liver spots. He doesn’t notice the moisture collecting in the air. It might rain.

There is a woman, further along the shore. A manual camera hangs from her neck. She wears a simple blue sweater. The same colour as the truckers hat. Over her legs is a skirt with tiny yellow butter cup flowers. The flowers have red-brick middles, green vines tracing tangled out of them, snaring themselves around purple diamond shapes. Her eyes look out over the water, and takes interest there. They seem to pause on something he can’t see in the horizon. Rain slowly begins to fall, tiny pellets of water. Now he is sitting barefoot, his toes dug into the cool sand despite the anticipation of rain. The woman is turning over rocks, watching the creatures retreat to another hidden location. She records the findings with her Nikon camera. It hangs on a paisley strap like a crucifix. Maybe lighter. She slides the rock back into place, making a sluggish sound. Her notebook rests on a nearby rock, the pages and being turned by an invisible hand. They flutter. She wipes her hands clean of wetness and small rocks on the back of her skirt. She sees a jellyfish, ripped and torn like rotten, moth eaten cloth. She snaps a picture of it. All the creatures are of great interest to her, the dead and live ones. She strides along the shore past him. Patchouli, ocean, wildflower. Her nail polish is chipped and red. Long hair dark and treacherous like the water, wavy. She stops by the stairs where the old man sits, smoking still. His second cigarette. His wife is calling him about collapsing the table, the rain is coming. She’s dressed in simple khaki’s and a white golf shirt. As the woman with the camera walks up the decayed stairs, she’s securing flowers in her notebook for drying, her heavy boots leaving deep impressions on the wet sand. The sky darkens as night falls around the figures like liquid.