There are not many positives that have come out of 2020, but one thing that has is the urge to support local businesses. Although many people were shopping locally before the pandemic, the past few months have shown just how fragile many of these businesses are. Local businesses are what make cities flourish. They are the flavour that makes each city different than the next.

From the Prairies acknowledges this and decided to use the current crisis to showcase some of Saskatchewan's homegrown talent. They offer a wide variety of different boxes, each that showcase different products all either made in Saskatchewan or supplied by a Saskatchewan producer. The products are thoughtfully curated by Brandi to engage all five of your senses -- touch, smell, sight, sound, and taste.

The box I got from From the Prairies was their "Prairie Goddess" box. This box is full of things for the goddess in you or the goddess in your life. Although many of the items in this box are items I would not use, there are people in my life who would use them.

If you're reading this, you probably already know what kimchi is. However, prior to my trying it, I did not know what it was.

For those unfamiliar like me, "kimchi" is a Korean dish made of fermented vegetables. Although you can buy kimchi at any grocery store, they are often packed full of preservatives and other little nasties. The kimchi I tried was made in Saskatoon by Baechu Kimchi. It was jarred, packed, and hand-delivered right to my door.

So, now that we know what "kimchi" is, what is "baechu"? Because kimchi has been around for centuries, it has a lot of variations. However, the most common and most popular is made out of Napa cabbage, which is simply "beachu" in Korean.

To start with, there was no Spanish Influenza vaccine.

Or at least, not one that was of any use.

In 1918, scientists didn't have the capability to see viruses, similar to how we don't have the capability to see dark matter today. They knew something was there but it was an enigma. In fact, they thought it was a poisonous chemical, which is why they coined it a "virus", which means a "slimy liquid or poison" in Latin.

In 1935, the National Socialist German Workers' Party – better known as the Nazi Party – forbid Jewish physicians from practicing medicine. Could this be the reason why Dr. Hermann Ernst Hinderks moved to South Africa from Germany that same year? Many believe so, especially after finding Dr. Hinderks' name in Adolf Hitler's infamous "Black Book".

Although the events of 1935 are not exactly where our story of Wilcox's Nuremberg Chronicles begins, it is as good a place as any to start.

Why Dr. Hinderks had a copy of the Nuremberg Chronicles isn't known. The last owner of it, Robert Barclay, died over a century prior. It also isn't known when, or why Dr. Hinderks sold the book to Kenneth Gardner either. The transaction occurred after 1936 but before 1940. One idea was that Dr. Hinderks needed the money, and the book was his sole possession after fleeing Germany. But if that was the case, why did it take him over a year to sell it? We may never know. Nevertheless, Dr. Hinderks sold the book to Kenneth Gardner for $600 – or about $7,500 in today's money.

For a moment it seemed like how it used to be.

I was invited to The Lancaster Taphouse's new downtown location for a pre-opening last weekend. The restaurant is in the old Capitol restaurant, one of my favourite places to eat in Regina. I liked the Capitol not only for the food and atmosphere but for the décor. I especially liked the mural on the back wall of the restaurant that showed how the old Capitol theatre used to look.

I was a little worried that when The Lancaster opened, they would replace this mural, but thankfully they kept it. They also added much more too.

I've talked about TokyoTreat before, but for those unfamiliar, TokyoTreat is a monthly subscription box that brings Japan's bizarre array of food to your doorstep. I purchased a box from TokyoTreat earlier this year, and it was "Spring" themed. However, due to the mail backlog from the COVID-19 pandemic, it took several months to get here. Since then, TokyoTreat has added shipment tracking, priority shipping and sends off the packages at lightning-fast speed. Although my first experience with them was a bit off-putting, follow-up experiences have been fantastic.

In honour of Halloween, TokyoTreat put together a box full of various Halloween treats. From ghosts and ghouls to pumpkins and apple-pies, their Halloween box was filled with a variety of tasty treats. Please check out my video or read below to see my thoughts on each of the different candy that came in their Halloween box:

I like Crème Brûlée and I like milk tea, but I did not really care for this drink. This is one of the few items in the box I got that I did not finish. I am a fan of other Lipton products, so I was surprised this one wasn't very good. Perhaps it would be better if it were served cold instead of room temperature, or perhaps even served warm. However, I'll never know because I poured it down the drain immediately afterward.

"The answer to this question will be given to the best of my ability." – How to Prevent Cancer, John Champaux, 1971.

Assistant pathologist John Champaux worked at the Regina General Hospital for over three decades. During his time there, he performed thousands of autopsies and collected hundreds of specimens. Champaux's primary job involved determining the cause of death, but he was also trying to prevent additional carnage too. While he was working, he was searching for the answer to a mysterious illness that was suddenly exploding across the country.

This illness was cancer, and he was looking for a cure.

When you are looking to book a vacation, you probably have your go-to websites to find the best places to eat, shop or sightsee. You might even look to see if any shows or performances are going on while you are in the area. But I often look for something else. Instead of fun, exciting, and entertaining locations, I love visiting the odd, obscure, and scary places. I love "dark tourism" and if you are reading this, you probably do too. Nothing thrills me more than going to a spot of a murder, an execution, a natural disaster, or the site of a dark, arcane ritual. So, in the spirit of Halloween, I decided to put together a list of some of the scariest places I have ever been. Hopefully, as the years go by, I can add even more places to this list.

Xochimilco is a suburb on the edge of Mexico City, floating on the remains of the canals that once fed into the metropolis.

If you were to visit these canals, you will find them filled with colourful boats, cheerful mariachi bands, shopkeepers, food, liquor, and plenty of tourists. But if you go beyond the music, noise, and excitement, the waters turn black like oil. The music fades away, the laugher vanishes, and you find yourself deep within one of the most haunted spots in Mexico City. These canals have seen centuries of violence, with their waters running red with blood more than once. Yes, these are the same canals where La Llorona is said to haunt and kidnap unsuspecting children. But we aren't here for her.