FRANKIE’S FAVOURITE EATERIES 

Do you enjoy skiing? It's that time of year and people are hitting the slopes. Apparently, the snow is off the charts in Whistler this year. Lucky them :)

As a kid, my brother and I were lucky enough to have a dad who would get up at the drop of a hat and drive anywhere. Can you believe he would drive us from Toronto to… Telluride? Yep, yep, every March break he would throw us in the back of the Cutlass or Sunbird and make the drive. Often, we would stop in Chicago to see someone Polish we knew (Chicago has more Poles than Warsaw, I think) and drive like maniacs to a little town an hour from Telluride called Cortez Colorado, where our second cousins had a motel. No price for the motel and a half-price ticket at Telluride (motel discount), and we were up the hill on some of the best snow on the planet. At the time I thought he was crazy, but today I don’t even understand how lucky we were.

Saving all those dollars, from time to time Dad would splurge on lunch or dinner somewhere good. My dad is a lot like me: it has to be fresh or it has to be authentic, so on our way to Telluride we would often stop on the side of the road to buy beef jerky from local Aboriginals. It was amazing (biltongish), and there were plenty of Mexican-style joints in that area that we would try because, at that time in his life, he was really into peppers and beans (one of his stages).

Years later I hit Telluride again, slightly different trip and style. Telluride is still amazing and has really grown up from the time we went there. It's more Aspeny now and less tumbleweedy, but it's still got that charm. There is a great French spot at the top of the hill called Bon Vivant. I'm talking après without the outlandish things you see at Cloud 9. Food is a 10/10, I'm serious. Just dynamite. It's great that the strike is over and you can hit Telluride again. If you haven't been, it's one of those places where you can get the perfect sun on your face all day while skiing with your jacket open and hit some tennis balls at the bottom. Perfection, in my opinion.

Check it out!

TECH SPOTLIGHT

BMW is giving its voice assistant a serious glow-up — and this time, it’s not just learning new commands, it’s learning how to converse. The 2026 BMW iX3 will be the first car ever to roll out with Alexa+, Amazon’s next-generation, generative AI–powered voice assistant, officially unveiled at CES 2026.

If you’ve ever asked your car to “play music” only to be met with silence… or worse, the wrong playlist entirely, you’ll appreciate why this matters. Voice assistants in cars have historically been more “please repeat that” than “how can I help?” Alexa+ aims to change that by understanding context, breaking down complex requests, and responding more like a human than a help menu.

The BMW–Amazon partnership has been quietly brewing since 2022, with BMW choosing Amazon’s Alexa Custom Assistant platform to build its own tailored experience. The extra time paid off: Alexa+ runs on large language models via Amazon Bedrock, allowing BMW to customize the assistant using its own data while keeping conversations natural and fluid.

What does this mean in practice? You could start chatting with Alexa at home, hop into your iX3, and pick up right where you left off. Ask it to play your favorite playlist, set navigation, adjust the climate, and check your home security — all in one sentence, without app-hopping or raised voices.

With Alexa+ already living in over 600 million devices, the driver’s seat was the next logical stop. And if this rollout goes smoothly, it might finally mark the end of shouting at your dashboard like it personally offended you.

The future of in-car tech is less “command and control” and more “casual conversation” — and BMW’s iX3 is officially leading the chat.

Check it out!

REAL ESTATE SPOTLIGHT

This majestic Neo-Georgian home sits on the best block in coveted Southwest Rosedale—peaceful and quiet, yet steps to Yonge Street’s shops and restaurants. Branksome Hall, York School, the York Club, and Toronto Lawn are all within easy walking distance.

52 Rosedale Rd. recalls early Rosedale’s grand mansions, with elegant proportions and tall ceilings. The beautiful chef’s kitchen with cozy eat-in area, grand dining room, and oversized living room make both everyday living and entertaining effortless, from intimate dinners to cocktail parties. These spaces overlook superb, private gardens behind a tall garden wall. The large rear garden offers ample outdoor space and the potential for a plunge pool.

A sunken den with deep coffered ceilings is a standout feature. The second floor includes two bedrooms with ensuite baths and the primary suite with his-and-hers closets and bathrooms, plus a private office. The third floor offers two more bedrooms and an oversized flex space ideal for a gym or children’s recreation room, with a walkout to a private sundeck and skyline views.

The lower level has excellent ceiling height and a generous recreation area. Parking is best-in-class: a two-car garage with direct access, two additional front parking spots, and a stately circular drive accommodating three more vehicles.

Check it out!

f this one stays around this price- I'm thinking good deal. While I haven't seen it, price is very good. Busy street but look at long term upside. 20 years from now will surely looked at redev potential in that area, like all major arteries. 

Check it out!

On The Scene “Party of The Week”

By George Pimentel

Take a sneak peek at this week’s event photos, your 🫵 backstage pass. 

WORD OF THE WEEK

Marginalia

What It Means

Marginalia is a plural noun that refers to notes or other marks written in the margins of a text, and also to nonessential matters or items.

UNTAMED PODCAST

WATCH BELOW

FRANKIE’S SONG OF THE WEEK

Do I need to say any more? 

100 WEEKS OF POSITIVE MESSAGES

Frankie did 100 days of positive messages 3 years ago. He wanted to center them around mental health and positivity. We will post them each week for 100 weeks.

“I think at some point we all try to figure out what the meaning of life is?

When I was very little prayed before bed (Ojcze Nasz, ktorys jest w Niebe - our father who art in heaven) kneeling down with my knees on the floor, my elbows on the mattress and my eyes closed.

I never really understood what I was doing with my hands locked but I went through the motions, it definitely gave me a little peace, I think.

After that I would think about what was beyond the furthest star we could see, does it go on forever and ever?

How does this whole thing work?

It drove me nuts for many many years. I would lay awake nights thinking about why we are here and how far it all goes.

I’m not sure if the black hole, big bang, physics, or evolutions theories will ever quite define it for me.

And I think that is important to remember.

We may never understand everything and not knowing is probably a good thing.

There’s that old saying “ignorance is bliss”, maybe we shouldn’t try to figure it out at all.

Perhaps the problem with the question is easily fixed by changing the word THE with YOUR.

What is YOUR meaning of life?

Essentially, find YOUR direction.

Discovering purpose will give you a roadmap to some reprieve from your angst.

So, what is your meaning? Why are you here?”

OTHER POSH THINGS

Legendary La Folie Douce at Val d'Isere

I spent Christmas Day high in the mountains at  La Folie Douce  Val d’Isère, champagne in hand, music thumping, and snow falling all around us. I was with one of my besties, freshly flown in from Cape Town — and stepping onto snow for the very first time. Could there be a more epic introduction to winter?

The atmosphere was simply electric, combining the joy of the holiday with the vibrant energy that La Folie Douce is famous for. It was an unforgettable experience and an absolute must to experience!

If Val d’Isère has a beating heart, it’s unquestionably La Folie Douce. Perched at around 2,400 metres, just above La Daille, this legendary slope side spot turns an ordinary ski day into something bordering on euphoric. It opened in the early 1980s and helped reinvent après-ski culture in France.

By midday, skis are clipped off, sunglasses go on, and suddenly I found myself dancing on tables while DJs, live musicians and cabaret-style performers wearing flamboyant attire brought full festival energy to the mountains. It’s loud, joyful and unapologetically extra — and that’s exactly the point.

La Folie Douce was one of the first venues in the Alps to completely reinvent après-ski, blending serious food with serious fun, and it’s been setting the standard ever since.

Inside, you’ll find everything from refined Alpine dishes at La Fruitière (think raclette, fondue, and tartiflette) to Italian comfort food and an impressive wine cellar, proving this isn’t just about champagne sprays (though there are plenty of those too). And yes — during peak season, it’s not unusual to spot celebrities, DJs, athletes and influencers hiding behind oversized goggles, soaking up the chaos like everyone else.

Skiers / snowboarders can swoosh right in and revel in the messy, magical and utterly unforgettable, La Folie Douce - this isn’t just a place — it’s a Val d’Isère rite of passage. 🎿🥂

By Nirit Sumeruk Abbou

🧠A Weekly Dose of Psychology You Didn’t Know You Needed 🧠

Hi everyone! I’m Maya, I hold an Honours Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science and Psychology (basically, I can analyze both a crime scene and your overly complicated coffee order). I’m also an incoming Master of Arts candidate in Counselling Psychology, which means I spend a lot of time thinking about how the human brain works, and why it sometimes does the exact opposite of what we want it to do.

Psych Fact #28: Telling people your New Year’s resolutions can actually make you less likely to complete them.

Sharing goals feels productive, but psychologically it can reduce follow-through. When you tell others about a resolution, your brain can get a small hit of satisfaction from the social approval alone. That reward can trick the brain into feeling like progress has already been made, even though no action has happened yet.

This effect is linked to something called premature reward. The brain partially checks the box before the work begins.

That doesn’t mean you should keep everything secret. It means who you tell and how you tell them matters. Goals shared for accountability with one trusted person tend to stick better than goals announced casually or publicly.

So if you’ve ever set a resolution, talked about it a lot, and then quietly stopped working on it, it wasn’t a lack of discipline. Your brain just got the reward too early.

Sometimes, the most powerful progress is the kind that stays quiet.

Until next time,
Maya 🧠✨

TRIVIA

Category: Earth!

CHRIS’ CORNER

The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are upon us and it’s been a long, long time since the field was this wide open.

Gone are perennial contenders like the Kansas City Chiefs, who appeared in five of the last six Super Bowls and won three of them, as well as teams that have been playoff regulars of late such as the Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

With those teams out, that means the best quarterback in the NFL (and likely best player in the league) Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills has a chance to take his team to the promised land.

Not since the early 1990s, which the Bills reached and lost four straight Super Bowls, has the team been back to contest for the NFL championship.

With no team really standing out – in either the AFC or the NFC – there is no reason not to like their chances.

Sure, the Bills have flaws, but so does every other team, including the defending champions from Philadelphia.

As the talking heads like to note: “the NFL is a quarterback’s league.”

With that in mind, I’m taking the team with the best quarterback to win it all.

See the image above for my full bracket of picks that I have entered into a pool with my friends and check out my blog for an explanation behind each round as well as my alternate picks.

Ciao for now everyone!

By Chris Occhiuzzi

UPCOMING SPORTS EVENTS

WEATHER THIS WEEK

TORONTO

MIAMI

PARIS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“You want something from someone or someone wants something from you... Life”

-SFD

CONTRIBUTIONS

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Thank you

- Frankie

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Super Frankie is lazy. He loves technology because it makes life more simple. Technology is spawned from ideas that make life easier. He is the founder of Busys.ca which is a company that sells/leases and services printers, laptops, document management software, copiers, IT services, and phone systems throughout North America and Europe.

LET’S CONNECT

*These articles, jokes, and stories are written by individuals handpicked by SFD for their unique way of thinking and writing. While SFD appreciates their styles, he does not necessarily endorse their opinions. This newsletter is designed to bring a smile to your face. If you prefer not to receive this weekly newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe. You will be missed.