Happy "Hump Day" — Andrew from Narcity here. ☕
Off The Top: Oscar-winner Halle Berry took a dramatic tumble while walking up to the stage at a charity function, sprawling face-first in front of the stunned audience. But here's the thing: she took it all in stride, brushing herself off and even turning her misadventure into a meme.
This isn't the first time the 56-year-old has had fun at her own expense. Years ago, she stunned organizers of the Razzies when she showed up to accept her award for Worst Actress for the film Catwoman and brought down the house with her humour and humility.
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In Case You Missed It
What Is Gaslighting & How Do You Stop It?
Brooke Houghton. Right: Woman upset with her partner.
Brooke Houghton | Narcity, ldar Nurkovic | Dreamstime
"Gaslighting" became one of the trendiest buzzwords in the lexicon over the past few years — and there's a solid chance you've either had the phrase misapplied in your direction or wrongly used it yourself. So what does it actually mean? Psychotherapist Kristina Virro tells our Brooke Houghton that gaslighting is when someone "slowly and systematically" causes you to question your own reality.
Kristina uses the example of someone taking your money, lying about it and then also convincing you that the reason you've lost your money is that you're careless. Pretty insidious stuff!
- Go Deeper: OK, so we've identified what gaslighting is. Now what? Brooke and Kristina take us through some practical advice for handling a gaslighting partner in your own life.
- My Take: Gaslighting doesn't actually exist and you'd know that if you read things more closely.
- READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Where Are The Most Affordable Places To Live In B.C.?
Prince Rupert, B.C.
Despite boasting some of Canada's most expensive cities to live in, B.C. also offers a couple of much more affordable gems. According to a report from Zolo based on Statistics Canada data, the medium-sized city of Prince George is the most affordable place to live in the province thanks to its average home price of $361,000 compared to an average household income of $107,200. Morgan Leet pores through the numbers to find us other reasonable places to set up shop.
- Counterpoint: How does Vancouver stack up to Prince George and other more affordable options? The average household income of $117,300 is fairly comparable... but pales in comparison to the average home price of $2,685,000. Whoa, boy.
- READ THE FULL STORY HERE
What Are The Best Seats On An Airplane?
Passengers on an airplane. Right: A flight attendant helping a passenger with their luggage.
Kasto80 | Dreamstime, Svershinsky | Dreamstime
Good news, frequent fliers; according to a former flight attendant, there is a bit of a benefit to each seat on an airplane. As Asymina Kantorowicz writes, a TikToker extolled the virtues of each position in a three-seat row and it all makes sense. The aisle seat has the benefit of getting in and out of the row with the greatest ease, the window seat has the best views and is the de facto controller of the window shade, and the poor inhabitant of the middle seat is entitled to double armrest access (in a fair and just world, anyway). Here are some other observations the TikToker has from her time in the skies.
What Else You Need To Know Today
💰 TIP OF THE ICEBERG
A Toronto board game café is trying to change the expectations around tipping by telling their guests that gratuities are not expected. Instead, the business guarantees their servers a living wage of at least $25 an hour plus health benefits. Rhythm Sachdeva spoke with the owner of Bampot Bohemian House of Tea and Board Games about
how it's working so far.
🚇 METRO BOOMING
Toronto's subway system boasts 75 stops, spanning Etobicoke to Scarborough and downtown's Union station way up to beyond York University campus. So which stops are the best of the bunch? Beauty's in the eye of the beholder but the denizens of the internet gave high marks to the creatively designed Museum Station. Patrick John Gilson details where the Reddit community thinks the
best and worst TTC stations in the city are.
🏠 SURREAL ESTATE
If you have about $11 million collecting dust, you might want to check out this gorgeous suburban mansion in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, just east of Montreal. With 26 rooms, a six-car garage and big indoor pool, you'll soon be hosting small get-togethers (or hedonistic all-night ragers) in the comfort and privacy of your heavily wooded lot.
MTL Blog's Willa Holt takes us on a tour.
💊 PILLS FOR THRILLS
Health Canada has issued a warning for nine unauthorized products that could pose serious health risks, Sarah Rohoman writes. The products are marketed as helping with weight loss, skin lightening and sexual enhancement but never received approval for sale in Canada and contain ingredients that aren't listed on the label. If you've been taking some sketchy pills lately,
you'll want to double-check this list.
🎂
BIRTHDAYS
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion turns 28 years old today. Retired Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin hits the big 4-0. Hockey legend Jaromír Jágr is 51. Voice actor Alex Borstein — aka Lois from
Family Guy — is 52. Artist Shepard Fairey, whose "HOPE" posters helped turn Barack Obama into a cultural icon, is 53. Hockey broadcaster Craig Simpson turns 56. The late SNL superstar Chris Farley would've been 59 today. Eat his shorts; Simpsons creator Matt Groening is 69.
Cesar Romero,
Batman's original TV Joker, was born on this day in 1907. American Suffragette icon Susan B. Anthony was born today in 1820.
Thanks for reading Narcity's Canada Morning Brief — the newsletter that will heed the advice of Canada's medical experts and stop taking illegal rhino horn "stamina" pills immediately.
Have a question or comment about today's edition? Let me know at andrew.potter@narcity.com or hit me up on Twitter if you'd prefer at @andrewjoepotter.
Have a great day and I will see you back here tomorrow!