supplied Scientologists often offer a free stress test to evaluate a potential convert’s mental state. (Supplied)

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The science behind Scientology

Since widely popularizing Scientology in the early 1990s, celebrities like Tom Cruise and John Travolta have worked hard to bring the belief system into the spotlight. Despite the existence of over 700 Scientology centres worldwide, it continues to be shrouded in controversy and isn’t recognized as an official religion in many countries—including Canada. I

Previously in Postscript

September 25, 2009

Catwomen return to the big screen

In ancient Egyptian culture, the cat was worshipped. In the event of a fire, the men of the household would guard the fire to protect their cats from running into the flame. The historian Herodotus also documented that when a family’s cat died, the entire family would engage in a process of mourning, often even shaving their own eyebrows to commemorate their loss.

September 22, 2009

What’s MRI got to do with it?

The course of love never did run smooth. It consists of raging chemicals: estrogen and testosterone, as well as dangerously high levels of dopamine and serotonin. There is, however, a method to this madness.

September 18, 2009

The great search engine that could

It’s a multilingual, ever-expanding fountain of knowledge, able to spout the biography of Mrs. Ari Gold, the manifesto of the People’s Union of Estonia and the complete discography of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Dubbed “the free encyclopedia,” Wikipedia has become the seminal go-to source for curious Internet surfers looking for a quick answer since its launch in January 2001. It’s omniscient—almost.

September 15, 2009

These days, it’s hip to be cliché

Living in New York this summer and traveling from the depths of Manhattan into the centre of hipster culture—Williamsburg, NY—popular culture has reinstated its roots in a coy yet surprisingly vibrant niche. Walking down Bedford St. past a row of vintage stores and a 20-something with a typewriter and a mounted sign reading “Poetry While U Wait,” I couldn’t help but grin at the cliché of starving idealistic poets and prairie-dressed girls wearing large sunglasses.

September 11, 2009

Author proves it’s never too latte

This is the story of how a twintailed Siren and a non-fat latte saved Michael Gill’s life—at least that’s the way he sees it. Gill, author of the New York Times bestseller How Starbucks Saved My Life, is a former advertising executive who worked for J. Walter Thompson (JWT), one of the world’s largest advertising firms.