Calgary Journal Online Print Issue

Bringing home the bacon

Bacon lends itself well to any dish.

The versatile meat comes in many forms. Purists say that bacon is only cooked pork belly.

Calgary Dyke March and Pride Parade rely on efforts of the community

Calgary’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual) community has been picking up steam for a number of years, and with the Calgary Pride Parade and Dyke March both happening on the first weekend of September, that momentum is unlikely to slow down.

Dare Us... Ever wondered what it would be like to do something different but don’t have the time (or the courage) to try?  Follow our reporters as they try out these wacky, wild and wonderful things you’ve always been curious about.   Want to dare a reporter? Send your suggestions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , call us at (403) 440-6991.We are also on Facebook and on Twitter @calgaryjournal.

Calgary Journal reporter recounts the ‘madness’ of running the Spartan Race

How Disney Pixar’s ‘Ratatouille’ inspired me to try traditional French cooking

“Ratatouille. It’s like stew, right? Why do they call it that? If you’re gonna name a food, you should give it a name that sounds delicious. Ratatouille doesn’t sound delicious. It sounds like ‘rat’ and ‘patootie.’ ‘Rat-patootie,’ which does not sound delicious.”

— Chef Linguini, from Disney/Pixar’s “Ratatouille”

A dog helps his owner with counselling

Charlotte Johansen, 39, can only paint with one finger — her cerebral palsy makes activities like painting difficult.

However, Johansen still managed to sell her paintings in April of last year in order to continue working with her therapy dog, Tumbra.

Tumbra, a two-year-old Shiloh shepherd, works with his owner, Straja Linder-King, to provide animal-assisted therapy.

In today’s world, women need to be able to defend themselves.

This is according to René (Frenchy) Grenon, co-owner of Independent MMA where he teaches women-only mixed-martial-arts (MMA) classes.

“More and more there is divorce, separation of couples. Women are on their own raising the kids, or they live alone. There are more women living alone in 2011 than there was in the 1980s. There’s more attacks in 2011 than there used to be in the 1980s,” Grenon said through his strong Québecois accent.

Calgary-based stylist traveled the world to find success

The old brown in-fill house with a wooden plank walk doesn’t convey the impression that an internationally renowned hairstylist has a salon on the second floor — neither does the black pirate kite hanging from the porch light above the door.

Benjie Alcantara works at Angles Hair Salon downtown twice a week, on Thursdays and Fridays. The remainder of the time he cuts hair in a private salon in his home in northeast Calgary.

It is a good time for buying good inexpensive wines, expert says

Wine enthusiasts are getting the opportunity to buy better quality wines at cheaper and better prices, said Peggy Perry, vice president of purchasing and marketing, at Willow Park Wine & Spirits.

Dare Us...

Ever wondered what it would be like to do something different but don’t have the time (or the courage) to try? Follow our reporters as they try out these wacky, wild and wonderful things you’ve always been curious about.  Want to dare a reporter? Send your suggestions to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , call us at (403) 440-6991.We are also on Facebook and on Twitter @calgaryjournal

Energetic kid collecting donations to help African orphans and their grandmothers

Six-year-old Peter Osiowy is a typical playful boy.

This young Jedi warrior runs around the living room with a blue lightsaber in his hand.