Pretty Observer

This post was written for Volunteer Toronto and was originally published on their website . Check them out!   No Digital Marketing Manager?  Here's How To Get By! Grassroots groups and non-profits are often strapped for resources, and it's not uncommon for volunteers, members and staff to wear many hats. Is your Kitchen Assistant managing your website? Are you tweeting two weeks' worth of content at 2 a.m. on Friday because that's the only time you have to do it? Some say, "Never judge a book by its cover," but many of us still do. The same can be said for your online presence. Not everyone is going to care if your Facebook cover photo is badly cropped and pixelated, but ignoring comments, having impossible-to-find contact information, or being invisible on Google may cost you clients, followers, and/or legitimacy. If this sounds familiar, these tips and tools are here help. 

Definitely do not let him move in. But if you do, don't be ashamed for loving someone deeply. If you lost yourself, changed yourself, thought they could complete you, depended on their attention and approval, let their whims dictate your moods, your self-worth, spent hours refreshing your inbox, ignoring your friends and family, waiting, wondering why they didn't love you back... It's OK. Even if you're doing it right now, it's OK. You are human and you want to be loved. So don't be ashamed. Don't be foolish either.  No one will ever love you as much as you can love yourself, and no one is going to save you from that. But there is no shame in not having learned it yet, in never learning it. The rules are different for women. The rules state that we must be lovable to have worth, that we are innately devoted, that love means sacrificing ourselves. The rules are lies. Photo: http://pichost.me/1954606/

I had the chance to ask writer Diana Tso a few questions about her play, Comfort , recently. The show is described as: "Comfort is the love story of two Chinese youth; a fisherman, Ping Yang, and the daughter of an esteemed silk merchant, Dan Feng, who find love and friendship in their shared passion for opera against the backdrop of World War II. As the war rages on, their city of Nanjing is captured and occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army, setting off the Nanjing Massacre where hundreds of thousands of citizens were brutally murdered. The lovers become separated when Dan Feng is captured and imprisoned in a comfort house in Shanghai." Check out our Q&A below the cut!

Sometimes the reality Far exceeds the fantasy And you laugh And it's easy And you kiss And you're in it  And it tingles And you're ready And on fire and Just... So... Close... And then you're naked And he feels bad And it's been hours And he's declined to sleep over And is walking out the door And you sit on the throne And remember And miss the one before And you wonder Because women often do Was it the wine Or was it you? Photo courtesy:  bit.ly/2fHcFFs

Christopher Enns, Larissa Koniuk, and Stepanie Tritchew in  Shadow Box If you read my reviews for Mooney On Theatre (and if you're not regularly visiting Mooney on Theatre , you should start right now), you may remember my review of The Bicycle Opera 's Shadow Box in 2015. It was my first opera, my first time seeing any sort of performance in a bicycle shop, and it was a truly unforgettable experience! This year I was lucky enough to ask The Bicycle Opera 's co-founder Larissa Koniuk a few questions about their new production, Travelogue , part of the Toy Piano Composers  nine day Curiosity Festival . Travelogue  is two nights only, so get your tickets now (details at the bottom).