Win free Mary Poppins tickets in Toronto with Mirvish’s Jolly Holiday Summer Photo contest.

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Looking for the cutest back-to-school backpacks? Check out the wonderful designs at DanteBeatrix.com

dante beatrix backpack

Britney Spears’ boys have one. So does Halle Berry’s daughter Nahla and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s little Ramona. In short, the adorable backpacks and lunch boxes made by DanteBeatrix are the “it” bag for the kindergarten set. Made from eco-friendly materials, sized
for kids and toddlers, and fashioned in trendy colours with whimsical motifs, these bags are sought after by the hippest mommies and their progeny. Best news yet: they’re now available
in Canada at select children’s boutiques and online at Dantebeatrix.com

Why settle for watching a ballet when you can take a free class with the National Ballet of Canada? Why paint on paper when the seniors in Sudbury will show you how to paint Ukrainian Easter eggs? The second annual, nation-wide Culture Days festival – nation wide from September 19 to October 2 -  is all about doing.

culture days

And it explodes in communities across Canada from September 29-October 2 featuring free, interactive creative activities with a focus on hands-on participation and behind-the-scenes insight. Visit CultureDays.ca for information.

• Winnipeg – Visit CKUW 95.9 FM and see how community radio is made, Sept. 30.
• Saskatoon – Dance, write, act and paint at the Dance Saskatchewan building, Sept. 30.
• Toronto – Take a ballet class with the National Ballet of Canada, October 2.
• Vancouver – Go backstage at the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company on a tour with the Managing Director, October 2.

Kids get so excited, they don’t even realize they’re learning when they read teacher-turned author Bart King’s books. King’s newest title – Bart’s King Sized Book of Fun – is  a great addition to his series of wildly popular kids guide books to all the worthwhile things in life.

barts king sized book of fun

(Past books include The Big Book of Gross Stuff, The Pocket Guide to Magic and The Pocket Guide to Mischief.) Bart’s King Sized Book of Fun is stuffed to bursting with awesome activities, silly jokes, trivia and puzzles – a modern kids companion they won’t leave home without. (Gibbs Smith and Raincoast Books)

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a condition where sufferers, usually adolescents, spend hours a day worrying that perhaps their skin is scarred, their nose too big, their body too large or their hair is thinning. It’s often dismissed as simple youth and vanity. But researchers at Brown University’s Body Dysmorphic Disorder Centre in Providence Rhode Island, say BDD is anything but trivial.

People with BDD will shun social contact, miss school, avoid dating and even visit plastic surgeons as a result of their condition.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder Warning Signs

There are several symptoms of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, including:

* Excessive grooming
* Compulsive mirror checking
* Excessive dieting
* Measuring or frequently touching the perceived defect

Marshall Robinson, a research assistant at the BDD Centre says the condition is often misdiagnosed – mistaken for other disorders like social phobia or agoraphobia.

“A lot of people do tend to treat it like subset of OCD,” says Robinson. “In fact, it has more in common with depression.”

The treatments that appear most effective are cognitive-behavioral therapy and promising medications include serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SRIs) like Prozac and Zoloft.

Ever wondered if that pile of junk you’re hoarding is indicative of a bigger problem?

Having an ever-growing in-box, an eclectic collection of decades old shoes or drawers full of pens that don’t work is one thing. But if you’ve got whole rooms literally stuffed full of possessions, you may have a problem with cluttering or hoarding.

Declutter Your Life

DSM-IV associates hoarding with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder and defines it as an inability to discard worthless or worn-out things, though they have no sentimental value. But in the textbook Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, Practical Management (Third Edition 1998 – Harvard University Press), Dr. Randy Frost suggests that hoarders do develop a strong attachment to their possessions and also actively acquire them.

“For example,” writes Dr. Frost, “one of our study participants bought and kept more than 30 bottles of shampoo; if her hoard fell below that number, she felt compelled to buy more. Another participant had rooms full of ‘gifts’ that she had purchased over several decades. She did not know to whom she would give them, but they were ‘good buys’ that she couldn’t pass up.”

Dr. Frost’s research suggests hoarding is more closely related to OCD – and it’s difficult to treat.

Case studies suggest hoarders respond to cognitive behavioural therapy when the notion of discarding items is gradually introduced and issues like perfectionism, need for control and fear of decision making are examined.

The eagerly anticipated return of Disney’s The Lion King to Toronto stages is just around the corner. The beloved musical opens at the Princess of Wales Theatre on April 19, 2011and runs until June 11. In late March 2011, Mirvish production announced the show’s Toronto cast.

The Lion King Toronto

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See Glee live in Toronto on June 11, 2011. Everyone’s favourite Glee club performs two live shows at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.

Presale tickets are available to American Express Card holders today – February 15 – until February 17, 2011 when they go on sale to the general public.

Glee in Toronto

Glee Live at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, June 11 – Showtimes are 3pm and 8pm

Presale ticket information is available at Ticketmaster.ca/americanexpress

Why IS gold valuable? We all know that gold is used in jewelry, but really, why is it that a simple element of the periodic table can command such huge piles of cash, when no-one really uses it for anything other than accenting their wardrobe?

The answer lies deep inside some of the biggest and most secure vaults in the world. That’s where most of the gold that has ever been mined is sitting right now. (more…)

Mary Poppins will open in Toronto in November 2011 Mirvish Productions announced on February 8, 2011.  The family-friendly musical adored by children the world over will be presented at Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre.  As of February 2011, tickets are currently available through Mirvish.com as part of the production company’s 2011/2012 Subscription package.

Mary Poppins in Toronto

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