Embrace Your Inner Child Through Crafting! Posted on April 6, 2022 Image Credit: Unsplash I admit it – I’m a crafter. My obsession began as a kid, when I went through an intense origami phase. Although I was totally unable to follow the intricate origami instructions and could only make a paper crane, all I asked for for Christmas and my birthday that year was beautiful origami paper. Lets just say I made a lot of paper cranes. Next, it was card making. Birthday cards, thank you cards, anniversary cards – I made them all, carefully cutting strips of paper

A Conversation With Toronto Prisoners' Rights Project Posted on April 5, 2022 Image Credit: Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project In my last blog post for SpiritLive, I wrote about a very educational conversation I had with a former inmate of Joyceville Institution in Kingston Ontario, Kevin Belanger. While incarcerated, Belanger had served as the Inmate Committee Chairman and had a lot to say about how the incarceration system was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. When I had initially reached out to Belanger, I had been referred to him by the Toronto Prisoners’ Rights Project. This is a volunteer organization that is

What to Watch Until the MLB Season Starts Posted on April 5, 2022 Image Credit: UPI.com/Yonhap The MLB lockout may finally be over, but we’re still a few weeks away from the real season starting, and if you’re anything like me, you’re probably looking to scratch that baseball itch before opening day on April 7th. Well, don’t worry, because there’s plenty of baseball to watch before then. Here are your best options. College baseball is well underway, and as per usual, it’s absolutely electric. If you’ve ever seen any NCAA sports before you’re in for more of the same, but

Book-to-Screen Adaptations: The Good, the Bad, and the Anticipated Posted on April 4, 2022 I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “the book is always better than the movie,” and in most cases, I tend to agree. I often get frustrated at movies or TV shows because they have a tendency to leave out important details or events that happened in the book. On the other hand, sometimes the visual adaptations surprise me and actually do the book justice. Here is a list of my favourite book-to-screen adaptations, ones that missed the mark, and some that I am extremely excited about.

Boiling Point: 90 Minutes Filmed in One Shot Posted on March 31, 2022 Photo of Vinette Robinson as Carly and Stephen Graham as Andy. Photo from Screen Daily. If you need a new film to obsess over, the drama-filled Boiling Point will have you on the edge of your seat for its entirety. Released this past January, it was immediately nominated for four awards at the 2022 British Academy Film Awards, including the category for Outstanding British Film and Best Casting.The intense film follows the pressure-filled and fast-paced environment of a 5-star restaurant in London on their busiest night of

Recommending Songs Based on Your Zodiac Signs (Part 2) Posted on March 29, 2022 Welcome back to part 2 of me helping you discover your new favourite song according to your zodiac sign. This time, I’ll talk about the next 6 star signs. If you haven’t read part 1, feel free to check it out!Before we continue with the list, I want to mention again I am not a professional astrologer. I learn about the different personality traits of the different signs from my personal experience and the Internet. So let’s just focus on having fun talking about the stars

Turning your Playlists Red and White: Spotlighting Canadian Musicians Posted on March 28, 2022 I seem to be very fond of lists and recommendations so here’s another one for you. If you know me, you know I love music and I love looking for music from everywhere in the world but there is a certain level of joy in finding incredible artists from your own home so without further ado- here’s a list of some of my favourite Canadian musicians and song recommendations you can (and should) add to your playlists.  Gowan Image Credit: Wikipedia Ahh Gowan, a classic Canadian

No Longer Human and Its Significance, Almost a Century Later Posted on March 27, 2022 (Please be made aware that this book and blog contains topics such as suicide, depression, depersonalization, social alienation, alcoholism, violence, and sexual assault. Discretion is strongly advised.) If you have been keeping up to date with TikTok lately, you may have noticed a particular pink-and-black book trending over on BookTok. This book is No Longer Human, written by Osamu Dazai, which is hailed as one of Japan’s best-selling books of all time, and Dazai’s masterpiece. Now, one might ask, why is a Japanese book, published in

Queer Representation in Cartoons: A Trip Through Time Posted on March 26, 2022 Recently, The Proud Family was rebooted, and given a fresh, modern makeover on Disney+. One of the characters, Michael, made headlines. In the original Proud Family, Michael had more feminine characteristics, and was occasionally made fun of in the plot of the show for them (although he was never outright identified as gay). In the reboot, the creators leaned into this, and allowed him to openly identify as gay, and gender non-conforming. To me, this is a perfect example of how queer characters have evolved over time,

The Sounds of Euphoria Posted on March 24, 2022 Photo by HBO The music in HBO’S Euphoria left me in awe after every episode. From timeless classics to modern hits, this season of the award-winning show featured a wide range of music genres that perfectly fit each scene. They were meticulous in the songs chosen, which paid off in the end. The choices were so thoughtful to the point where they would record original songs to fit the episode, and even re-record them if it didn’t turn out the way they wanted. Esquire describes the music in Euphoria as a

The Importance of Being Alone Posted on March 22, 2022 When I was younger the thought of being alone terrified me. Things like taking care of myself, running errands, paying for my own things, travelling or sitting somewhere alone were all scary to me. As I grew older and more independent, some of my happiest and most peaceful moments come from when I am by myself. I was able to look towards my future and discover who I am, my passions and grow as a person. Throughout high school and middle school, I was rarely on my own or doing things

Ways to Cure Your Chronic Boredom Posted on March 21, 2022 Let’s face it – we’ve all experienced giving ourselves a little break from doing homework, only to realize you’ve just spent an hour and a half scrolling mindlessly through TikTok, liking content that merely makes you exhale through your nose. Instead of shuffling through the same social media apps, let’s try to break that habit with a few different ways to cure your chronic boredom and pass the time. 1. Artbreeder Artbreeder is my go-to website whenever I feel an ounce of boredom and want to satisfy my creativity. It’s

The Canadian Women's Hockey Team is Canada's Team Now Posted on March 18, 2022 Image Credit: Annegret Hilse/Reuters Back in late December when the NHL announced that their players wouldn’t be participating in the Olympics there was some pretty widespread disappointment. People were disappointed that they wouldn’t get to see players like Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby play together, but for the most part, the disappointment seemed to be because the Canadian men likely wouldn’t be bringing home gold with all their best players not participating. This came to fruition, as the men’s team got eliminated from the tournament in

How to Deal With Burnout Posted on March 17, 2022 Image Credit: Pexels Almost everyone experiences burnout in one way or another – you may feel mentally or physically exhausted, unmotivated, and have a lack of care. It’s a common, shared experience that many students go through, especially during periods of excessive studying and stress. Sometimes when you are in a state of burnout it can be hard to see a silver lining or a time when things will get better. If you are feeling this way, here are some things you can do to recharge and destress. 1. Go

The Effects of COVID-19 on the Incarceration System Posted on March 11, 2022 Joyceville Institution Kingston Ontario | Image Credit: CSC Over the last couple of years, COVID-19 has forced our society to adapt to a new normal. We moved all socializing to online formats, we implemented social distancing measures, and we started wearing PPE. All in the hopes of keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe. But not everyone had the same privilege and access to resources that allowed our daily lives to continue in a new way. As this pandemic banded our society together, there was one group