Author

admin

Browsing

WATCH: New video spoofs controversy over mixed race Cheerios family

A few weeks back there was a controversy over the new Cheerios ad featuring a biracial family. The controversy? Um, apparently some people think that biracial families either simply don’t exist or shouldn’t be allowed to be shown on TV.

Just a second while I check my calendar. Yep, still 2013. I was worried I’d slipped back to the 1600s there for a minute.

While to most of us it might not seem like a big deal to see a family with various skin tones of eye shapes enjoying breakfast, to some racist trolls it was enough to force Cheerios to shut off commenting on the YouTube video because of all the hateful remarks.

As someone who has a beautiful family where skin colour doesn’t matter (and nieces, nephews, sisters, brothers, parents, and brother-in-laws are all loved for who they are, not what they look like) I am proud of Cheerios for taking a stand by admitting the obvious: that mixed race families exist and they also eat.

Check out this hilarious spoof video that takes the “haters” to task and takes things up a notch with a twist ending we’re still waiting too see in a breakfast cereal commercial.

 

Follow Travis on Twitter at @TravMyers.

Women of the week: Sandra Dawes

One look at the Twitter feed of Sandra Dawes says it all. The stream of inspirational mantras reflect the bubbly, inspirational personality of this motivated and focused professional life coach just as much as the glimmer of hope and inspiration that comes through in her smile. Sandra Dawes is a woman who has a brain for business and a compassionate heart for her clients.

Sandra, born in Toronto and currently calling Mississauga home, has been at the helm of Embrace Your Destiny life coaching since November 2009 and hasn’t stopped looking onward and upward since then, even finding inspiration in the tragic passing of her father.

“After my dad died I thought that life would never be the same – and it hasn’t been, but not in the negative way I had originally thought. I’ve become more self-aware and confident about the person that I am and what I can accomplish,” she explains on the topic of how far she has come to be the woman she is today.

“I never thought I would enjoy speaking to large groups of people, yet now I enjoy doing talks where I can share my experiences and the tools that I use to overcome many of life’s obstacles,” says Sandra, showing us that she certainly has learned the secrets to self-improvement and betterment within herself and is anxious to share her story with others.

By opening herself up to the power of possibility she has taken her life’s adventure across the globe and back. “Life has definitely taken me to some interesting places,” says Sandra. “Both in my journey of self-discovery and literally, I have been able to visit places such as Europe, Central America, and the Caribbean.”

For Sandra Dawes balancing her life is important, and with family, friends, and one furry critter at her side it all seems to fall into place. “My partner is also an entrepreneur, which is great because he is the one who encouraged me to start my own business, and he understand the ups and downs that come with being self-employed,” she explains. “I also have a 7-year-old dog who is a great teacher on how to enjoy the simple things in life.”

As a woman in the business world she certainly has seen both sides of the coin. “I believe that women connect on a level that goes beyond the bottom line,” she says in regards to the unique position women hold as entrepreneurs. “We are more heart-centred about the relationships we build, even on a business level. I think this type of relationship allows for more focus on cooperation rather than competition as we look to encourage one another.”

She’s even seen a changing landscape for women like herself she entered the entrepreneurial world. “I believe that more women are stepping outside the comfort of a nine-to-five job and follow their dreams.”

“I do believe that it is possible for women to have it all when they aspire for greatness,” she says in regards to her own achievements so far and the fabric of support in her life that has helped her dreams become reality. “The key is to recognise that we can’t do it alone and it is okay to ask for help, whether it is from friends, family, or industry colleagues.”

As for her own business, Embrace Your Destiny, she’s confident that she has the perfect edge to help you unlock all of your potential. “I believe that I am able to use the experiences and what I’ve gained from my own journey to help others achieve their goals and realise their dreams,” she tells us.

“I go beyond just being an accountability partner and challenge my clients to really step out of their comfort zones and shift their mindset. We can be our own worst enemy or our own biggest cheerleader. I help my clients to question the beliefs they have that tell them what they want isn’t possible and help them reframe those beliefs so that they can that they realise that they really can live the life they’ve always wanted and that they deserve it!”

Sandra has one bit of advice to give to every woman. “Listen to your intuition and don’t overthink or over-analyse things too much,” she says. “If you’re looking for an excuse not to follow your dreams, you will find one.”

 

Follow Sandra Dawes on Twitter at @SandraDawes, and visit Embrace Your Destiny online at www.embraceurdestiny.com.

Politics in Toronto: Not broken, maybe bent, but certainly cracked

Quite a few people in the Twitterverse and beyond were shocked today by the transit video we released.

It was created by our publisher (and tireless transit advocate) Sarah Thomson who took to Facebook last night to announce that Women’s Post had “the video” and it would be appearing on Women’s Post’s website today at noon.

Supporters of transit initiatives in Toronto and those who see Sarah tick by in their Facebook and Twitter feeds regularly were familiar with the video she was talking about – a video where she sings a cover of Pink’s Just Give Me a Reason with lyrics re-written to showcase Toronto’s issues with securing reliable transit for the city and asking Torontonians to do what they can to support the Big Move.

A little bit silly? Of course. A conversation we need to be having? Definitely.

The video opens with a smoke filled room and a character holding a pipe before a segue into shots of Toronto’s congested streets and regular people holding cards asking for help in relieving transit stresses and commuter problems in our fair city. The message is clear: we need to move past the haze of drug scandals that have Toronto politics in a vice grip and get back to reality. Our city and the people in it are stuck immobile by distraction after distraction and are suffering the consequences of inaction on a daily basis.

What happened next couldn’t have driven the point home any better. Overnight Toronto’s hashtags and feeds jumped to the collective conclusion that the video going up today was of Rob Ford smoking crack.

Their shock came when the video turned out to be a song about transit.

My shock came in the immediate aftermath of the video going live. The message left in our comments, on Twitter, and on YouTube was that this was a waste of time, we need to get back to “real” issues about Rob Ford’s reckless personal life.

My shock was that a scandal plagued mayor has so thoroughly damaged the civic and political landscape of Toronto to the point where the people of Toronto can’t even clearly see that the most pressing issue to us right now, to our children, and to our future as a viable world-class city isn’t what people at City Hall have in their pipes, it is what their circus of distraction is preventing us from becoming.

This week boring machines began working on the largest transit project Toronto has seen in half a century. Unfortunately, the number of people tuned into stories about the Eglinton LRT pales in comparison to the number of people tuning in daily to see an elected official deny, dodge, and destroy politics at City Hall.

My suggestion to my fellow Torontonians is to take a cue from Sarah’s video. Wave the smoke out of your face and move on. Focus on what is important, do everything you can to make City Hall, Queen’s Park, and Parliament Hill work for you by speaking out about transit, urban development, bike lanes, the Gardiner, and everything else that is currently being ignored by the Mayor’s office. While we can waste time arguing over what kind of dust coats the Mayor’s desk it is quite clear that it isn’t being used at all for the municipal issues that need to be addressed.

Taking a stand on the problems faced by Torontonians instead of the demons faced by Toronto’s mayor is the only way we can step forward into the future.

The politics of Toronto aren’t broken, perhaps bent, but certainly cracked. What we need to do now is fill that crack with our voices. Our next big move as a city shouldn’t be into the depths of crack houses, it should be into the communities that need accessible transit, stitching together the tapestry of our city with busses, light rail, subways, proper highways, and bike lanes.

Together we can make it work.

 

You can follow Travis on Twitter at @TravMyers.

Toronto’s not broken just bent

Amid the scandal and smoke that swirls around city hall it is good to know there are some people and organizations in Toronto who push forward to tackle the real issues holding back our city. Credit should be given to organizations like the Toronto Transit Alliance for the work they are doing to educate and inform Toronto area residents of the need to come together and build a great city.

 

Be sure to follow Women’s Post on Twitter at @WomensPost.

Women of the week: Michele Romanow

A look back at our #WomanoftheWeek in May of 2013

———–

For Michele Romanow, co-founder of Buytopia.ca, there are three words that easily describe both her and her business. “Fun, hardworking, and bold,” she says in her breezy, upbeat tone.

After speaking with her it is hard to disagree that her approach to business is one grounded in hard work. At only 27 this businesswoman has achieved goals that most people twice her age can only dream of. An entrepreneur starting from her days as a student—while completing her undergrad, she started the Tea Room, a zero consumer waste coffee shop—she is now at the helm of her third successful business venture with Buytopia.ca and the key to her success is hard work.

“You always want to be adding the most value,” she advises women who aspire for greatness. “If you’re that person making sure projects always get things done and driving the relationships — if you are constantly the most valuable team member, it doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or not.”

For Romanow, being bold is a second nature. “I think that we’re bold when we go out to find the best deals for Buytopia. We try to be innovative for brands and I think that’s a huge part of what has made us successful and a huge part of what makes our business work.”

But to her, boldness stems from her personality. Her strong interpersonal skills shine through in every situation, giving her the advantage of winning over others in every walk of life. “I think I’m just a naturally social person. I enjoy meeting people and hearing their stories, and I think that has given me an advantage in business.”

“I’m a natural extrovert, which means I come up with my best ideas by talking and sharing with people. What really balances my life are the people in it.”

And an advantage it has been. With Buytopia approaching 2 million subscribers the bond that Romanow forges between her company and Buytopia’s users is built upon the strength of communication, trust and, of course, great deals. By striking out to create the same kinds of bonds with national brands Romanow has successfully created a chain of trust from retailer to consumer that is unparalleled in Canadian business.

Romanow’s fun side is also displayed up front and centre. Her infectious laugh and easy demeanour puts others at ease. While many other 27-year-old women might balk at receiving a Mother’s Day note from an employee, to her it is a symbol of something more. “I think of my team at work as family.” As for her real family, she laughs as she explains the universally humbling nature of siblings despite the fantastic level of success she has achieved: “There’s nothing like a sibling to put you in your place.”

In her downtime she switches gears ever so slightly from running a business to running half marathons. For her, running is a calming, focusing experience. “Your body just falls into a rhythm,” she explains of her favourite pastime.

Buytopia is unique in the way it approaches the daily deals business, a field that can be tricky to master. By focusing on delivering quality unique experiences to subscribers they’ve managed to keep the colourfully decorated website in the hearts and minds of members even when they are offline.

“On Buytopia you should be buying things that make your life more wonderful: be it a spa packages or great restaurants, we want you to discover that gem in the city that you’ve never expected and try it out at half price. I want the website to have great pictures and be easy to use for a seamless experience. I don’t want you to be spending time there; I want you to be spending time in your life discovering these great services.”

On the future of web-based businesses, Romanow is looking up. “I’m optimistic the internet will have a lot of wonderful surprises in the years to come.”

Right now it seems like two lovely surprises, Michele Romanow and Buytopia.ca, are already here.


Michele Romanow has come a long way since this profile we did in 2013.  Watch for our updated profile on her coming soon! https://www.linkedin.com/in/micheleromanow/

5 amazing tweets from the Toronto Public Library

While we already love the Toronto Public Library for providing us the great service of free knowledge, many people don’t know just how above and beyond TPL goes to make the citizens of this fair city happy.

They already offer a gay literary speed dating program where members of the LGBTQQ community can show up with their favourite book, CD, or DVD to chat with other people about their favourite narrative and, just maybe, discover love. The concept behind this program is absolutely amazing. It’s also hosted right by my house, so if you wind up there and see someone holding a tattered copy of Watchmen come say hi.

TPL also offers a 24/7 Dial-A-Story service where kids can dial in and have a story read to them in 15 different languages, helping kids to feel comfortable and learn even when mom and dad can’t help. Certainly better than kids getting babysat by the TV, that’s for sure.

TPL also has someone fantastic running their Twitter feed. Here are five of the best tweets to come down the pipe recently. We love TPL for…

…The Phrase “If Shakespeare were a hipster”

…Keeping things steamy at the library

…Knowing where to find an owner’s manual for the USS Enterprise

…Asking us the worst mothers we can think of on Mother’s Day

…Helping us figure out how to be a cat

Be sure to follow @TorontoLibrary on Twitter for more literary updates — and follow @WomensPost and @TravMyers while you’re at it.

Win a McSorley’s night out

McSorley’s is offering one reader the chance to win the perfect Fathers’ Day prize: A set of his & hers McSorley’s T-shirts and gift certificates for beer and food for two.  Think of the fantastic bonding night this prize will let you have. Enter today for your chance to win.

Contest Rules & Regulations:
Contestants must reside in Canada (excluding Quebec) to be eligible to win
Contestants must be 18 or older
Contestants are eligible to enter 1x daily (further entries will not be counted)
Contest closes on Thursday, June 13th, at 3 p.m.

CONTEST CLOSED

Win a free copy of Mother of Invention

Win a copy of the brand new book, Mother of Invention: How Our Mothers Influenced Us as Feminist Academics and Activists, edited by Vanessa Reimer and Sarah Sahagian. This book takes on feminist theory by inter-splicing scholarly discussion with personal stories and anecdotes and promises to be one of the most interesting reads of the year in Canadian feminist circles, and beyond. Visit Demeter Press for more information.

Enter below for your chance to win a copy of the book. Entries limited to one per day per person.

[contact-form-7 404 "Not Found"]

DENIAL: Mayor Rob Ford says he is not a crack addict

Rob Ford addressed the media Friday at 3:30 p.m. to address allegations of his crack cocaine use and the video that was viewed by Star and Gawker reporters.

In a prepared statement Ford, flanked by his brother Doug Ford, flat out denied the allegations of him using crack and also added that he is not a crack addict.

He used the press conference to express his displeasure with what he described as hardships endured by his family as a result of this scandal and thanked his supporters for “calls and e-mails” he received.

He noted that his week long silence was the result of advice from his lawyer.

The Mayor also took this time to continually thank the people of Toronto, along with Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday who he described as the best the city could ever ask for. This comes on the heels of Holyday expressing concerns over Ford’s state and expectations that he may have to fill the top slot should Ford step down.

Mayor Ford left the room promptly amidst shouts of rehab related questions from the press and his brother took to the podium, giving a stern look to the press gallery, and answered a short few questions. When reporters shouted out to correct inconsistencies and factual inaccuracies  in his answers, he stuck to the trope that the Star is after the Fords. He asked that they ask the questions and he give the answers, covering no new ground with the press before ending the press conference.

This conference comes after more than a week of silence from Mayor Ford on the matter.

It remains to be seen whether Ford can recover from this scandal. As Councillors have urged him to seek help, co-operation at City Hall may not be possible for long if Ford remains mayor.

5 craziest tweets from Amanda Bynes from the last three days

While we here in Toronto have been watching a meltdown of our own over at city hall poor Amanda Bynes has been steadily losing it south of the border for quite some time.

The star’s Twitter account has been her outlet for a lot of her rambling and rantings, along with racy, sexy photos of herself, not to mention a blow by blow of a surgery she got for something involving her eyes and/or nose that we’re pretty sure no one ever noticed but her.

The starlet, who isn’t really doing much these days after retiring from acting, was arrested Thursday, May 23, in New York City. The cops were called when people complained that she was allegedly rolling and smoking a joint in the lobby. When the cops went up to her apartment on the 36th floor they reportedly saw a bong on the counter. According to the cops she ran to it and threw it out of the window right in front of them.

She says it was just a vase.

Um. Amanda. you can’t do that either.

Here are five of the combative, odd, and confusing tweets she sent out in the days before her arrest.

 

 

 

If you’re following the timeline here it would have been a few hours after that last rant that she allegedly chucked a bong streetside from 36 floors up.
 
You can follow Travis on Twitter at @TravMyers.