Optimism - Table of Contents

Read "innocent optimism," an original poem by Shawn Roske. innocent optimism Initial grace upon the road to love, there is the bright future ahead, behind seems looming darkness of past small mi...

Exploring South Korea's massive communal art project. South Korea is possibly the most optimistic country on earth. They have reason to be, given the amazing rate of development and economic grow...

Nos vieilles chaussures de sport nous invitent au Musée des beaux-arts du Canada, à Ottawa, pour évoquer le voyage  et le nomadisme :  une occasion pour nous de nous pencher sur l'omniprésen...

Never a fan of Jane Austen, Chrissy Sudjana decides to give Pride and Prejudice and Zombies a try, in hopes that the undead might pump some life into the Victorian classic.   I have amassed a ...

While at Fanexpo 2009, (Cult)ure chats with Sara Finder, director of After Dark Films' Horrorfest - the annual indie horror festival now in its forth year. "It's a machete," says the costumed...

(Cult)ure talks with April Mullen at Toronto's Fan Expo 2009, where she was promoting the Canadian indie comedy hit, Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Way of the Tosser. At Toronto's Fan Expo 2009, it's...

Who will break out this September as a Serious Actor?   September occupies a curious spot in the Hollywood release schedule. It's outside of the dog days of August, but just shy of the seri...

(Cult)ure heads to Montreal for the Fantasia Film Festival -- North America's largest genre film fest -- and attends screenings of Grace, Kaifeck Murder, and Sweet Karma. Every year, as the summe...

While at the Fantasia Film Festival, Joe Lipsett attended a screening of Paul Solet's film Grace and chatted with the director about his impressive directorial debut. As I discussed in my festiva...

Kevin Johns suggests a quirky mockumentary about professional rock paper scissors players evokes the same quintessentially Canadian elements as Donald Shebib's cinematic classic, Goin' Down the Road. ...

(Cult)ure chats with Montreal's Pinup Saints about sex, politics, dance, and their upcoming debut album, Golden. With their erotically charged live shows and undeniably catchy-but-naught...

This month, Kris delivers his most optimistic article yet -- using crackpot theories to explain his alienation toward the music of a decade he's been living in for over nine years, but still does not ...

(Cult)ure sat down with singer-songwriter Amanda Rheaume on the eve of her cross-Canada "Babes for Breasts" benefit tour. With radio no longer relevant, and music labels preoccupied with sheddi...

On September 3, the Gladstone Theatre opened its 2009/2010 season with the much anticipated Noises Off.  (Cult)ure's Wayne Current was there for opening night. Last Thursday, September 3, the Gl...

The GCTC kicked off their 2009/10 season with Pamela Gien's The Syringa Tree, and (Cult)ure was there for opening night. Last week, the Great Canadian Theatre Company kicked off its 2009/1...

(Cult)ure reviews Vision Theatre's production of Martin McDonagh's black comedy, The Pillowman. I first became acquainted with Irish playwright-turned-filmmaker Martin McDonagh's black com...

Art: Nina Charest Dear Miss Smartypants, I hate cleaning my apartment. I never want to do it and I doubt I do it that well when I do. I know I should, so I do the bare minimum to avoid s...

Art: Nina Charest Dear Miss Smartypants, I cleaned out my closet last weekend and found a really cute skirt tucked away at the back. It still fits me and everything! Now that I've taken it...

Art: Nina Charest Dear Miss Smartypants, This fall I'll be the maid of honour at my best friend's wedding. It's the usual frustrations: expensive dress, professional hair and make up, driv...

Art: Nina Charest Dear Miss Smartypants, I've been working abroad for the last few months. A few weeks before my return date, I started getting back in touch with people I would want to ...

Killer seagulls, tourist faux pas, and Katherine Hepburn... Ottawa novelist D.W. Richards shares some helpful insights and tips regarding life in Venice; tips you aren't likely to find in any tourist ...

Despite being a non-smoker all her life, Elitza Palazov has always had a difficult time resisting the attractive lure of cigarettes... especially after she married a smoker! All my life I've been...

She is telling you a story with her body, and you can feel the emotion of her being as her hands paint the air with her veil. She is a belly dancer. The fiery beat of a tabla drum fill the air as...

Human nature is a tricky thing.  Dave Cobden reviews Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs and recommends an optimistic approach to life! "Inner nature, as much as we know of it so far, seems ...

Alexandra Trottier shares some tips on how to turn mourning the loss of a loved one into more optimistic affair.   There is no question that the loss of a loved one is one of the most difficul...

Strange things happen when people are upset in the kitchen. Will Parker takes a look at some ways to prevent emotional cooks from making bad emotional food. It's been one of those days again. It...

Roxy Munro delivers the goods on having good sex.   Hallelujiah, Photo: Hana’s Attic I believe I have found my perfect lover. My primary partner (in sex and in life) is, without doub...

When Ottawa's Rose Carty organized the first Music for Life Fundraising Concert, she'd never before put together a live music event.  A year later, concerts were being held in Montreal, Ottawa, Brock...

What effect do high-profile elected officials getting their hands caught in the proverbial cookie jar have on other politicians considering similar actions? Inspired by Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien's...