The time leading up to a brand new Disney movie is always an exciting one. I have to admit, I am often skeptical that the new release will make it up there alongside the classics I grew up with. Yet almost every time, Disney pulls through. This is especially the case with Pixar movies. The newest release, Inside Out, has proved itself as having earned its place among its brethren. Now no spoilers, I promise! I’ll just say that the film tells the story of an eleven year old girl named Riley going through a move to California.

I recently read a novel that completely pulled me into the universe –and what a universe it is! Fling!, the new novel from writer and educator Lily Iona Mackenzie, is set in many countries. It’s at once a glimpse into new, interesting characters - and new, interesting worlds. It’s a saga that spans time, all at once. It’s color, and cold; light, and dark; memory, and forgetfulness; mothers, daughters, granddaughters; culture, and chaos. I love it.

As the economy rebounds, business people have begun to travel again. A little more money to spare and a wider base of interested clients have sent business travelers back to the skies, making new connections all over the world. The New York Times reported that travel spending is up 4.3 percent, for an annual total of $273.3 billion.

Charlotte Chen was born in New York. Growing up, she embraced both Chinese and American culture through her living and learning experiences in both countries. She is a rising senior studying computer science at the University of Pittsburgh. Currently she is interning as a programmer in Washington, DC. Charlotte is passionate about arts and exploring international culture. She recently studied abroad in France.

During a trip to Eastern Canada, we thought Montreal was the most biker friendly place we’d visited. But after spending three nights in the Laurentians, we changed our mind. 

Starting in St-Jérôme, and ending in Mont-Laurier, the Laurentians offer a 200 km bike path—“P’tit Train du Nord” Linear Park—that follows an abandoned rail bed. It meanders through several villages, recreating the experience of riding the rails earlier in the 20th century.