In the 17th Century, in the chilly northeastern French region of Champagne, little bubbles appeared in wine bottles. Unknown at the time, an accidental second fermentation caused by the cold created CO2 in the wine, turning the bottles into ticking time bombs. Corks jolted away as if possessed. Bottles exploded, causing chain reactions of shattering bottles. Monks, many of whom were winemakers, called it “le vin du diable” — the wine of the devil. One monk in particular, named Dom Pérignon, tried desperately to get rid of the bubbles that appeared in his abbey’s wine. But try as he might, he couldn’t get rid of the fizz.

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Even before Prince opened the 32nd Montreal International Jazz Festival on Friday night, the streets were buzzing with music. A street performer drew the longing notes of Bésame Mucho out of his tarnished saxophone. Indian drummers in native costume pounded relentlessly on tabla drums as a bride and groom mounted a horse. A woman’s voice sang sweetly in Chinese out of an amplifier in a Chinatown CD store.

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When the Brazilian singer, songwriter and guitarist Milton Nascimento walked onto the stage of Theatre Maisonneuve to perform at the 32nd Montreal International Jazz Festival, he didn’t have to warm up the crowd. The people wanted Milton.

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A look at the culinary specialities of Dijon, including the wine of Burgundy, crème de cassis, pain d’epices, and, of course, mustard.

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Not long after I arrived in Armenia last year to work as a volunteer, I found out that my mother was in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant. She had lymphoma, an aggressive and unpredictable type of blood cancer. In order to perform the transplant, the doctors needed a blood donor who was a genetic match. But then, as now, there were no existing matches in the world. And so my family, friends and I went on a crusade to find my mother a matching donor.

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The recent cyclone and flooding throughout Queensland, Australia has provided an opportunity to rebuild devastated properties in a greener way, giving a jump to the government’s rebate programs for installing solar panels, solar hot water systems and waste management systems. Households with solar panels can even sell back excess power generated to the Queensland electricity grid, providing a real incentive to go green.

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