Cafe Foonzo – The Happiest Place on Earth

What would you say if I told you that there was a place you could play boardgames, video & arcade games and pinball totally for free. And it has beer. And cheesecake.
It would be a little like dying and going to geek heaven, wouldn’t it?
It’s real, and it’s in Montreal.

Small Business Saturdays

Listening to the radio this week tuned me into a new “shopping holiday” being promoted this year. Conceived by American Express, Small Business Saturdays will be having its second go around on November 26th across the states. This is a fantastic idea! I’m no huge fan of American Express, one of the down-and-dirtiest credit companies in terms of fees, customer support and terms of service, but I think they’re doing the right thing here…

Psych. Co and Occupy Wall Street

The great thing the truly amazing thing, about the Occupy Wall Street movement is its lack of unified voice. Every person who is a part of it or who seriously thinks about it is forced to decide for themselves if and how the status quo needs to be changed. Brilliant.

In following the Occupy Wall Street protests and the sympathy demonstrations around the world, I had to consider my own thoughts on the matter, and I came up with one obvious, glaring, pernicious facet of the world we live in: Corporate Personhood…

Looking Good – Lesbian-Style

On the lookout for a new stylist, I’d been asking friends with excellent coiffure where they get it done. One woman directed me to Bikurious on Amherst. “A bike shop?” I asked. “Lesbian Haircuts for Anyone,” she replied.

Sold.

Lesbian Haircuts for Anyone, owned and operated by the charming JJ…

The Ethical Hacker

Forget the Box got a wee bit hacked last week. No cloud being without its smidgen of silver lining however, our website troubles soon led us into an acquaintance with Terry Cutler…

No Business Like Political Business

I’m sorry, I don’t have a business post for you today. I have to be honest, after Monday’s nail-bitingly tense election I’m lucky I’ve been able to function the past few days. Nail-bitingly tense of course, for those who voted. What a showing for the NDP! What a blow to the Liberals! And the bloc! I didn’t expect to see that in my lifetime. It was only nail-bitingly tense, of course, for…

Who’s Cashing in on the Post-Secondary Myth?

I’ve made some bad choices in my day. As the summer rolls around again, I’m reminded of them. There are some jobs I shouldn’t have taken, things I shouldn’t have said, purchases I shouldn’t have made, haircuts I should have avoided and several guys I shouldn’t have dated.

Branding Baby

You’ve heard of the two guys who got sponsored for their university education. You’ve heard of the woman who tattooed a brand name on her forehead. You’ve even heard of the Egyptian family who named their daughter Facebook as a token of how important that medium was to them. But have you heard about the Spokesbaby? Tim Scarne and his wife are about three weeks away from welcoming…

In Defence of Big Bad Corporations. Sort of.

Last week I cancelled my Bell internet service. Believe it or not, doing so was some of the most fun I’d had in weeks. The retention rep who got my call really wanted me to stick with Bell. This man was well informed and passionate our conversation lasted a full half hour and ran the gamut from the morality of UBB (which he believed in and I did not) to basic economic principles. The most interesting thing he said to me was that this move by the big telecom companies was a completely natural, understandable and even admirable action of self-defense, and that if…

Is the New York Times Out of its Mind?

First things first: I believe in paying a fair price for things of value to me. Most good-hearted or even just habitual capitalists do. What I consider a fair price for value and what others consider a fair price for value may differ (for the purpose of simplicity let’s agree to the assumption that “I” includes people who had the Internet in high school and various other early adopters. “Others” includes people..

Money Money Money

Love it or hate it, you’ve got to have it. This is really a business column, but if any of the awesome small businesses or other worthy causes I’ll be directing you to are going to benefit from the attention at all you’ve got to have some scratch. This is easier…

Put your Money where your Mouth Is

You’ve signed the petitions. You’ve called your MP. You’ve filed a complaint with the Canadian Competition Bureau. You’ve voiced your displeasure to the CRTC itself. Good job…

A Roomful of People Cooler than Me

Yep, that’s where I spent a good part of my Sunday afternoon this past weekend; surrounded by artists, designers, bakers and musicians at this year’s 10th anniversary special “extra” craft fair. I actually found out about this weekend’s fair by accident having Sunday morning tea and cupcakes with some friends, they mentioned they’d be going along to Puces Pop directly afterward. I was surprised not to have known about it in advance did anyone else feel a little left out in the cold, or is it just…

NEW: The Lemonade Stand

My name is Megan Dougherty, and I’m for sale.

It’s true; I can be bought and frequently am.

“What?” you sputter (I can hear you from here), “on Forget the Box, a girl who can be bought part and parcel? Nay, I say! Nay.” But I can be. I think you can be too.

Don’t misunderstand me when I say ‘bought’ I don’t mean that I offer ownership of my person to the highest bidder, I mean that I am and have access to resources that businesses, governments, churches and even other people consider valuable.