If there’s one person who knows a great swimsuit when she sees one, it’s 36 year old ex-supermodel and former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition glamour girl Monika Schnarre. Coming out of her 15 year retirement from modeling, she is now the new spokesperson for Sea Queen. Never heard of the brand? Neither had I. That’s because the swimwear maker has just returned from a 10 year hiatus from the market. And why should we care? Because this is a brand specifically designed to fit and flatter women 35 and up and has figured out what makes the perfect swimsuit. Check out the video or click on to find out what the secret is! Get the whole story

I must begin this post with an apology to my brother for the following story. Sorry Mat, it just had to be told.

A bunch of years ago, my brother thought it would be a good idea to get rid of all the hair on his back. The best way to do this he thought? A cream depilatory. This story invariably ends with the horrible smell of chemicals mixed with burning hair, a patchy looking pattern of back hair, and a week of my brother not feeling confident enough to take his shirt off and go swimming. Tragic. So when it comes to hair removal techniques, I go pretty standard with a razor. In an attempt to convert the simpletons like myself, Veet has come out with an entire line of hair removal products. The line, consisting of both painful and painless methods, has a solution to every kind of hair removal procedure you can imagine. Female mustaches be gone! Let’s see what we can find out. Get the whole story

This is one of those stories that when you read it you just go “Whaaa???”

Last Tuesday, a 375-pound black bear found himself in a world of trouble when it took a plunge into the Gulf of Mexico after scavenging through garbage cans in the small beach front community of Alligator Point in the Florida Panhandle. Wildlife officials had been alerted that the bear was hiding under a home and tried to tranquilize it with a dart. Unfortunately, the tranquilizer worked slower than expected, leaving the bear just enough time to make a run for it and end up in deep water.

So what do you do when you see a huge bear slowly drowning in front of you? If you’re biologist Adam Warwick (a.k.a. the bravest man on the planet), you jump in and play lifeguard.

According to Warwick, the original idea was to prevent the bear from swimming further out to deeper waters but after a few minutes it lost motor control and started sinking. On the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website, he explains what happened next:

“At that point I knew I had to keep the bear from drowning,” he said. “After a few seconds the bear popped his head up out of the water and thrashed around a bit, but could obviously no longer keep his head above water.”

Warwick kept one arm underneath the bear and the other gripping the scruff of its neck to keep the bear’s head above water. Warwick said he walked barefoot over concrete blocks crusted with barnacles in the 4-foot-deep water as he tried to guide and use the water to help float the bear back to shore.

Putting your own life on the line to save an animal big enough to eat you for a morning snack from drowning. Now that’s what I consider to be true heroism.

You can read the whole incredible story and reevaluate the useage of the term “hero” here.

Here are some great tips from readers:

For crunchier coleslaw, cut a cabbage in half and soak it in salted water for an hour. Drain well and use.

If cookie dough gets gluey, resist the impulse to add extra flour - doing so will make your cookies tough. Instead, cool the dough in the fridge until it becomes firm, or roll it out between 2 pieces of waxed or parchment paper.

Pat Clement sent in this helpful tip:

I was burned with hot butter over most of my hand. I immediately cut a russet potato in slices, placed them over the burn and wrapped my hand with a kitchen towel. The starch in the potato stopped most of the blistering and eased the pain.

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The technique, the execution, the personality, the passion…the right choreographers! They twice in a row have my vote, this time for an impressive Napoleon and Tabitha lyrical hip hop number to Leona Lewis’ wildly popular single “Bleeding Love.” Is it just me or was Wednesday’s show packed with theatrics? There was a heck of a lot of acting on the dance floor yesterday. Though I do think it makes a performance more interesting and engaging, I hope they don’t get too carried away. For a few of the couples, I found my mind wandering and when I start thinking that the routine is long, that’s not a good sign. I think the key is finding that right balance, which was achieved beautifully by Mark and Chelsie’s symbolism-packed routine. It was very imaginative, writhe with emotion, very in tune with the times, and most importantly, entertaining. This is one couple I can see in the final four. The other two are my early favourites Katee and Joshua.

Usually I get to walk dogs at the Vancouver SPCA but this week I got to walk a beautiful white bear cub named Oscar!

It was one of the first sunny days Vancouver has had in a while and all I could think about was how terrible it must be for Oscar. Oscar is not actually a bear cub but he is the size of one! This Samoyed Cross looks like he was made for the Arctic and taking him around town in anything above 5 degrees feels like you’re punishing him simply for being alive. He has the biggest, fluffiest, and FULLEST coat of white hair you’ve ever seen and a tongue the length of the Pacific Coastline. I felt so bad for the poor bugger that I stopped every 10 minutes to give him a drink of water from my bottle (don’t worry, I didn’t drink out of it afterwards – I may love dogs but I’m not unhygienic).

It’s hard to say what Oscar would be like under normal Vancouver weather conditions but in this summer heat he was very docile and walked at a very steady pace. Nothing seemed to catch his interest enough to bark or run but he did catch his own reflection in a window and was rather intrigued by his stunning self.

For details on Cinder (Animal ID: 128902), click here.
BC SPCA Vancouver Shelter: 604 879 7721 or vancouver@spca.bc.ca

To read the profile of another dog, click here.

Click on to read about our second featured pet, Buddy. Get the whole story

Press Release: On September 7th, Red Bull Soapbox Race will be taking a road trip to Canada for the very first time, racing down Vancouver’s West 4th Avenue – from Vine to Burrard - bringing with it a wacky combination of speed and extreme silliness. Sixty teams will be selected to build and race outrageous human-powered soapboxes through a steep downhill track, racing against the clock in an all out battle to the finish line. But speed demons beware! Creativity is just as important as the nuts and bolts!

Red Bull Soapbox Vancouver is accepting applications now through July 4, 2008 (you’ve got exactly one week!). Drivers and their three crew members ready to hit the raceway can enter their ideas at www.redbullsoapbox.ca. Those selected to race will receive confirmation on or before July 10, 2008. The grand prize is pretty sweet y’all, so click on to find out what it is! Get the whole story

They must, because I just got a non-taxable cheque for $100 in the mail. Sorry to burst your bubble but you weren’t the only one to get this “Climate Action Dividend.” Every individual (adult or child) with a BC residency on December 31, 2007 is eligible for this monetary incentive (except those incarcerated of course). And what exactly is the government’s message? Well, as the name of this initiative implies, it is “to help British Columbians make lifestyle changes to reduce their use of fossil fuels.” The total value of these benefits is $440 million, paid out of the 2007/08 surplus.

Now hold up. Before you start jumping for joy and running to the mall for that new pair of shoes that you’ve been salivating over, remember that starting next week, the province’s Revenue Neutral Carbon Tax will kick in and you’ll find a dramatic increase in your use of expletives whenever you make a stop at the pumps. The math is complicated but just to give you an idea, according to “North America’s first comprehensive carbon tax,” you’ll be paying 2.41 cents more per litre of gasoline this year, a premium that will increase each year for the next four years. Eventually, you’ll be paying 7.24 cents more per litre by 2012. For diesel and home heating oil, it works out to 2.76 cents more per litre, rising to 8.27 cents more per litre over the same period.

So yes, the $100 does seem to be sugar-coating this terrible news, but keep in mind that it’s a “Revenue-Neutral” Carbon Tax, which means that by law, all revenue raised by the carbon tax must be returned to individuals and businesses through reductions to other taxes. So, if you’re a cup half-full kind of person, all of it can be viewed as an incentive to make better choices for the environment and as a consequence, for yourself and your family. So kudos to the government I say. I’m going to be buying light bulbs with my $100. Seriously folks, do use it for what it’s intended. Energy Star qualified bulbs use about 75% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. If you wanna join me, here’s a link to a great article that’ll come in handy on your next shopping trip.

Reena’s Tips of the Week:

There are a number of options to freezing garlic:

1. Peel and chop cloves or leave them whole. Pack them into suitable containers, seal, label and freeze. Grate or break off pieces to use as needed.

2. Leave head unpeeled. Pack in suitable containers, seal, label and freeze. Peel off cloves as needed.

3. Peel and chop cloves or leave them whole. Lay them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze. Transfer frozen garlic to suitable container, seal, label and freeze.

4. Garlic in Oil: This method preserves the flavour of garlic the best. However, it needs to be used immediately when removed from freezer. It should not be stored in the refrigerator (for more than one week) or at room temperature where it can support the growth of Clostridium Botulinum. To prepare, peel cloves. Make a puree with oil in a food processor (1 part garlic to 2 parts oil). Pack in suitable containers, seal, label and store in freezer. Puree will stay soft enough to scoop out as needed for sautéing. You can also leave cloves whole and pour oil over them instead of creating a puree. Get the whole story

Here’s something to give you a chuckle (especially if you’re at work) on a Friday afternoon. Do you know what it really means to give something 100% or more than 100%? Well, someone’s figured it out mathematically! Here’s a treat from Blogvaria entitled “Simple Math”:

If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

is represented as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

It is obvious that H-A-R-D W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

While B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

Finally, and most effectively A-S-S K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 127%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that while Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it’s the Bullshit and Ass Kissing that will put you over the top!