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Advocacy 101: Influential Writing

Elene Otte
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I never really knew why we were taught how to write business letters in junior high until I attended a webinar designed to increase advocacy to encourage governments to prioritize ending poverty by 2030. Seem crazy? Well I assure you it is more than possible if we meet the goals we have previously set. Unfortunately this is not happening. Of Canada’s promised 0.7% of their GNI*, only 0.24% is actually being put towards our international development fund. This means that less money and support are reaching people who live on less than $1.35 (USD) per day.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. We, as youth, have the ability to advocate for this change through persuasive speeches and letter writing and this doesn’t have to be a chore. Following this basic format can be pretty easy and it is concise enough that you don’t necessarily have to be an expert on the topic to be able to have an opinion. In fact, this can be done in seven easy steps.

1) Ensure letters are strategic

Send them to specific people who can address the problem, not a general letter that can look like spam.

2) Be constructive and non-partisan

If change for the better is more important than which political party is elected than this will allow for the change to be more effective.

3) Letters should be brief

(1-2 pages max – even shorter if you are sending the letter to a newspaper) – Use the EPIC structure (Engage, Problem, Inform of solution, Call to action) Click here for more information on the EPIC structure.

4) Choose a single subject

Yes there are lots of issues in the world that you would want to be addressed and solved but limiting yourself to one per letter is the best way to really get the thought across.

5) Include relevant facts

Two to four is plenty.

6) A clear request

This is the most important part, it’s your call to action and can be something along the lines of “Will you write to [relevant person] about [your issue]?” It should be a yes or no question that can be checked up on.

7) Your signature and address

This is important so that you can be contacted by your person of interest and so that they can let you know if they did follow through with your request. Attaching a name to a message can be powerful within itself because otherwise they might as well be reading a newspaper article with statistics.

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Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows: A Lesson On Cultural Appropriation

Emily Donville
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If you’ve seen The Hunger Games, you may have heard of 16 year old Amandla Stenberg who portrayed the young District 11 female tribute, Rue. While that is one of the works she is well known for, Stenberg is also known for advocating for issues relating to black culture. In April she posted a video to YouTube for her history class, titled  “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows”, a 4 minute long “crash discourse” on black culture. The video has now garnered around 1.5 million views and features Sternberg eloquently explaining the origin of cornrows, which are meant to keep African American people’s hair neat, and the recent movement that deems it “trendy” among white people, but “ghetto”, “ratchet”, “unprofessional”, etc. if black people wear it.

Around the 3 minute mark, Stenberg brings up how many individuals in the lime light “adopt blackness”, but fail to speak out on the issues that come along with black identity, like racism for example. I think this is a very important point.

Recently Kylie Jenner has come under fire pertaining to cultural appropriation due to a photo she posted on Instagram where she is seen sporting cornrows.

Stenberg had something to say, posting this on Jenner’s Instagram:

“@novemberskyys when u appropriate black features and culture but fail to use ur position of power to help black Americans by directing attention towards ur wigs instead of police brutality or racism #whitegirlsdoitbetter”

It’s a common thing to see people of privilege adopting black culture while refusing or completely ignoring relevant issues that arise pertaining to black culture, which is shameful at best. It seems to prove that black culture is cool until something relevant comes along and then people are quick to turn their heads. As a white individual, I don’t identify with black culture, and I can’t come close to feeling what it’s like being in their shoes, but even seeing prominent individuals adopt a culture that doesn’t belong to them and completely ignore the opportunity to speak out on issues that the culture faces everyday is incredibly infuriating. What I’d like to make clear is that adopting a culture because it’s “trendy” or “cool” in no way aids said culture, and in some cases, it actually harms them.

Although black culture seems to be on the forefront, it is not the only culture that is often appropriated. Headdresses, bindis and henna have been deemed “hip” as well. People are seen sporting them when most don’t know the history behind it, simply wishing to look “cool”. Henna is even sold in DIY kits nowadays. All of these acts of appropriation are disrespectful to the cultures they derive from and erase the history and meaning behind them. Though the appropriation seems to never end, there have been moves to attempt to end it. Montreal’s Osheaga Festival posted to their Facebook declaring a ban on headdresses from being worn, stating:

“First Nations Headdresses have a spiritual and cultural meaning in the native communities and to respect and honour their people, Osheaga asks fans and artists attending the festival to not use this symbol as a fashion accessory.”

While appropriation is still an issue, it’s comforting to know that there are efforts being made to end it. In Stenberg’s video, she ends with a question:  “What would America be like if people loved black people as much as we love black culture?”, stating it as a relevant question to what her video was about, and I think it’s incredibly important to take this question into consideration. I don’t think cultural appropriation will ever be eradicated unless people are willing to accept that what belongs to the culture in question is not “ratchet” or “ghetto”, but important to their identity, and are willing to consider or speak out on topics that affect individuals belonging to that culture, instead of staying in the dark. Until then, I’ll continue to stand behind Stenberg and her strong opinions because I believe in what she is saying, and I know she has a bright future ahead of her and we’ll be hearing more from her in the future.

 

Calgary Stampede Food Binge 2015: Red Velvet Chicken Strips

Didi Moffat
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Frantically searching through the stampede food map for the location of Pub Grub’s red velvet chicken strips selling point and dragging my weary friends in circles; I began my worthwhile journey to try out one of this year’s new midway food: the Red Velvet Chicken Strips.

Finally finding the building where the chicken strips were being sold, I purchased what would be the most daring thing I had ever tasted with the most basic thing I lunched on everyday. I bought the red velvet chicken strips that came with fries. Once I saw that this food was going to be served at the Calgary Stampede this year, I couldn’t imagine not trying it. My favourite cake is red velvet and one of my favourite bites to have are chicken strips. So a combination of both to me, was unbelievable, not to be cliche, but it was like a dream come true. These “red velvet cake mix” dipped double cooked chicken strips tasted “twice as nice” than your regular chicken strips, just like it said on the Calgary Stampede Website.

It had the crunch and savoury taste of the chicken strips with the mild sweetness of a red velvet cake. Even though the main attraction of the food was the fact that they incorporated the red velvet, this didn’t take away from the quality of the chicken strips themselves like you would expect. These were actually one of the best chicken strips I had ever tasted. I usually have my chicken strips with no dipping sauce and so my normalcy was followed that day. However, my friend did have it with a barbecue dipping sauce and enjoyed it just as much.

From how amazing the strips were, it was no wonder that I was met with a long line to try some out myself. Although it was a long crowded wait, it was definitely a worthwhile one. I really loved the red velvet chicken strips and can’t wait to see what Pub Grub comes up with next year again!

This was probably the craziest food I’ve ever tried in my life and I absolutely loved it. Hope you all had a great stampede.

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Do You Know Yourself?

Tammy Ma
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Do you know yourself? How well do you know yourself?

Self Portrait

In a way, it is so ironic to ask yourself this because you’d think that you would know yourself 110%, however it usually turns out that you don’t really know yourself all that well. I believe that being able to search for yourself is vital. Know your bad habits, goals, experiences, wants and needs. We are all mysteries to ourselves. It’s nothing to worry about because our mysteries can be easily solved, if you try. It can only be solved only if you want to solve it; only if you really want to know yourself. So, have that want!

I have recently created a mind map that allowed me to see myself from my past, the present, and the future. It wowed me. Here’s a mind-map guide for those who would want to dive deeper and seek for treasures.

Mind Map

In the middle of your page, write your full name and circle it. Then, extend it by adding 4 lines that stretch out to the corners of the page. At the end of each of the four lines, write down “Lessons Learned”, “What I Know”, “What I Don’t Know”, and “Priorities”.

In the section of “Lessons Learned”, it’s for you to write down the experiences that have taught you something. Try to relive them. Remember how you felt, and what you learned. Was it a heart-breaking pain? Were there tears streaming down you face? Did your cheeks hurt from smiling? Did you create abs from laughing lots? Write them all down. And then, write down what you had learned from that experience. Every experience we have experienced happened for a reason: for us to learn something. This section allows us to see how strong we are. Experiences have been a huge part of creating who we are.

In the section of  “What I Know”, it’s for you to write down what you know. You can write about what you want, and what you need. Write down your known goals and strategies to use. Include your daily routine into it. This will give you a summary of the known parts of your life. You may look at it and be shocked at everything because it will either look so foreign or so familiar. Life throws many curveballs.

In the section of “What I Don’t Know”, it’s for the clouded parts of your life. Have any questions about anything? Note it down. Confused between wants and needs? Include it. Can you see the future, think about the past, or live in the present and feel clueless? Write down those thoughts. Dig deep and find things that make you feel remote to yourself. It helps to physically write and see what is complicated in life.

In the section of “Priorities”, name your priorities. Let yourself know what means a lot to you. What would shatter your glass heart if it were taken from you? Don’t forget to write your name in this section because you are everything to yourself. You have to realize how important and special you are and that you deserved to be cared about. You should also learned to understand what is important and what isn’t.

The sky’s the limit. Add more sections, and think above and beyond.

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Afterwards, ask yourself,  “How well do I know myself?”. Do you know yourself better after physically seeing your ‘life’? This mind-map can help solve mysteries that seemed difficult at first. Give it a go!

4 Essential Photo Editing Apps + Tips

Hui Wen Zheng
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If you’re an avid iPhone photographer, you know that photo editing is crucial in unleashing the full potential of what your camera has just captured. Online programs can be sketchy (all those pop-up ads?) and impractical, given your photo is on your phone. Plus, there are so many photo editing apps out there that offer the exact same thing. If you have had these problems, I’ve been there too. Through downloading way too many photography apps, I have been able to narrow my app folder to 4 free ones that lets me do everything within my liking. Ever wondered what the best app for photo stitching would be? What about drawing doodles and adding stickers? How do I edit my own photos? Read on to find out.

 

1. Vscocam

Probably everyone’s favourite photo editing app, Vscocam allows users to navigate it’s simple but aesthetically pleasing interface and add filters and make detailed edits on their photos. This is such a simple-to-use app that it is hard not to love it. Free from the App Store, get it now if you don’t have it already!

For this photo, taken in the HAY Design House in Copenhagen, I used Vsco to turn the image on the left to what you see to the right. Here’s what I did:

Exposure: +5

Temperature: -1

Contrast: -1

Fade: +2

Saturation: +2

photo 1

 

Another image taken from Denmark at the Roskilde Cathederal. Very similar adjustments as the last image were made.

 

photo 4

 

 

2. Aillis

Aillis, or Art is Long, Life is Short, is a comprehensive and personalizable Japanese photo editing app that allows users to add cute “stickers” to their pictures, draw on them with multiple line effects, add borders and filters, and edit and beautify images. Basically, it is an all-in-one app. I did find it hard to navigate at first but after using it more, I have grown to like it more. There are definitely others who can utilize this app much better than I do, but no matter what degree of expertise you have, this app is worth a try.

Tip: having a stylus can be helpful for drawing lines and shapes in this app. Don’t have a stylus? Don’t fret, learn to DIY one with simple materials.

For this photo, I used the line tool in dotted and mixed the colour of the line to match that of the flowers. I used a light brush tip and outlined the flowers with freehand. I’ve definitely underutilized the tools I had to begin with in this photo so I highly recommend you try the app’s impressive retouching features.

photo 2

 

 

3. Photogrid

How could I make a favourite photo editing apps post without mentioning the app that allowed me to create the side-by-side comparisons of these featured pictures? After struggling to find a good photo stitching app that would allow me to seamlessly put two or more photos together, I stumbled across Photogrid and got so much more than that. The app not only allows you to stich photos, it also allows you to retouch, edit, add backgrounds, add filters, and add stickers.

For this incredibly embarrassing photo of myself taken in Denmark that I edited for the purpose of this post (why did I do this to myself), I used the photo stiching capabilities of the app that you have already seen, as well as two of it’s stickers.

photo
Don’t worry, the picture is staged

 

 

 

4. Adobe Color

This app is meant for you to create colour pallets from photos you have taken but the cute little colour dots are so cute that I couldn’t help but love this app for a reason other than creating colour schemes. Since the app doesn’t let you export the images with the colour dots on them, the only way to save them is to screen shot and crop out the excess later.

For this image, I basically did what the app can do. I played around with which colours I wanted to show up where and placed the dots as well and then screen shotted and cropped the image the create the finished version on the right.

photo 3

 

 

These are my 4 essential photo editing apps, I would love to know what yours are! Comment below to leave me your response.

 

All opinions are my own

Beauty

Jasmine
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Beauty.

It is a noun that pertains to the positive and stunning things in life, yet despite its positive connotation, it has become detrimental to females who are criticized for “not being beautiful”.  As a girl who experiences insecurities, I often feel as though I’m not fulfilling the standards society has set for me. Such insecurities have been experienced by many youth and –evidently– have decreased youths’ confidence in themselves. To meet the standards of society and cure the insecurities that standards create, many teens use makeup and other forms of cosmetics to live up to such standards and are still criticized, as demonstrated in this video. The issue raised through such an idea is, how can we learn to be confident in ourselves despite society’s unrealistic expectations? The answer is quite simple: realize what beauty is to you.

It is quite unrealistic to say that everyone is perfect, however, everyone is beautiful in their own ways. The ability to realize that being perfect and being beautiful are two different things is vital to accepting yourself. I often find, with my friends, that many people are extreme perfectionists; they strive too much to cure the negatives while the positives are ignored. Finding balance between realizing that you have areas to improve in and recognizing your positives assists in achieving harmony between confidence and self driven progression. By recognizing your negatives, you can set achievable goals to improve yourself (such as exercising everyday to lose weight or washing your face more thoroughly to reduce pimples) and stride towards being the you that you want to be.

So… How can I accept myself and find this balance? There are many things that you can do to find your own positives and redefine your perception of yourself. One thing you can do is “have another person take a photo of  you” as blogger Ailin says. When taking a selfie, you can adjust the lighting, angle, etc. but when someone else snaps a quick picture of you, you are seeing yourself as others are perceiving you. I, personally, hate having others take photos of me, however, allowing others to take photos of me and seeing myself through a different lens has influenced the way I look at myself. Just by looking in the mirror, you may also find parts of your face or body you like. Such characteristics can also be a source of confidence, and, when applying makeup, one can emphasize the beauty of these parts.

Using these tips, one can find a new way to view oneself, improving and cherishing one’s beauty. Using the words of many, I remind you that you are beautiful.

 

Video of the Day: The Greek Debt Crisis Explained

Hui Wen Zheng
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If you understand the significance that the Greek debt crisis poses for the world economy, you are probably pondering about the next steps for the country after it and other EU leaders came to a consensus yesterday. If you were like me and didn’t know what a”Grexit” from the world’s largest joint economy would entail, you were probably confused by the fuss. Although the Greek debt crisis has been escalating for a couple of years now, it reached a new level of dire in the past few weeks that has thrust the country into international spotlight. It’s very hard to ignore a news headline when it is all you see, so I decided to take action and find something that would comprehensively explain what is going on. After several unhelpful videos, I found everybody’s favourite teen author’s explanation of the Greek debt crisis and everything clicked into place for me. Hear John Green explain the current event in the video below in less than 8 minutes.

 

 

Advocacy 101: Powerful Voice

Elene Otte
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Changing the world surprisingly isn’t such a far-fetched idea. In fact, people have been doing exactly that for hundreds of years. As long as there is someone willing to speak out for something they believe in, change is possible. And that goes for you too, no matter how old you are.

Change is about voice, powerful voice. How can you get your idea to reach as many people as possible? Well let me just tell you this, if you have an idea and you’re prepared to advocate for the change you wish to see, chances are that other people have the same goal too, but are just too shy to own it. The moment they see you advocating for their idea, people will get behind you and the change will only grow from there.

So how do we get to this? Well you need a simplistic idea and general knowledge of the situation. Use the EPIC structure when writing or giving a 30 second speech to make sure you’ve thoroughly covered your point. You never know in the journey of your life when you meet someone influential that can take your fight to the next level. Capitalize on those moments by having your EPIC speech prepared.

E – Engage:

This is your introduction and being able to tie it to recent newspaper headlines can effectively draw people in.

1. The headline is appropriate to your topic – highlight the good things about the publicity but then talk about what more can be done

2. The headline is completely different and irrelevant to your topic – question why a cat is getting more local publicity than global poverty (for example)

P – Problem:

Let the reader/listener understand why you think this is a problem. Personal experiences/stories are much more effective than quoting stats as they are fairly common knowledge. Don’t make up something if you don’t have a story but look into personal pieces the media has done related to your issue.

I – Inform of solution:

Yes there are always solutions already available but typically lacking in application. For example the existence of world poverty is an issue and this could be better addressed by Canada contributing our promised 0.7% of our GNI as opposed to 0.24% as we currently stand at.

C – Call to action:

Depending on your audience you want to make sure your call to action is appropriate. If you are writing to the leaders of the political parties themselves, you want to ask them to prioritize your issue in the upcoming federal elections. If you are talking to your neighbor, ask them to write to the leaders of the political parties about your issue too. Unfortunately not every letter is published and in the hope to reach the most people it is important to have a balance of quality and quantity.

Together we can make a difference to combat the issues that matter to us and to see the world become a better place in our lifetime. We are the future and must protect that future that is so often overlooked by people hoping to stay in power for only the next couple years.

 

 

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The Disparity of Importance and Respect Between Genders

Malika Daya
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“I demand the independence of woman, her right to support herself, to live for herself, to love whomever she pleases, or as many as she pleases. I demand freedom for both sexes, freedom of action, freedom in love, and freedom in motherhood.” ~Emma Goldman 1897

The battle of gender inequality has been around for centuries beyond belief and not fully addressed until recently, meaning the struggle still continues. Progress has undoubtedly been made however it is still a prominent issue in society today because women are still confined by constrictions and judgement society has placed upon us. An example of this would be the literacy data collected in 2013, 774 million adults (15 years and older) are illiterate and of which two thirds of them 493 are women. If that doesn’t seem unfair then I don’t know what is. Why is it that the woman has to sacrifice her aspirations to get educated in comparison to a man? Why are women considered less important in general?

gender-equality-scales
Image Source

This week I am bringing to you a few perspectives from our bloggers regarding whether or not women are given the same importance and respect men are given?

Emily Donville: “To be truthful, I don’t believe women are given the same importance and while this is wrong, I don’t think feminism and other pro-equality causes would be as prominent in the spotlight as they are had it not been for this predicament. My dad works as a truck driver and I overheard him one day talking about a new female driver who was being attacked by the male drivers with sexist comments saying that the particular field of work they did was unfit for women. You can also consider double standards when considering if women and men are equal. For example, if a girl were to have a few partners, she’d be deemed ludicrous names (This is true. In my health class this year, the teacher asked if a girl was a “slut” if she had a few partners and no girls put their hands up but a few guys did or didn’t obviously state no and while this is not a broad portrayal of the male population, it certainly does stand for something) whereas boys would be deemed studs.”

Shruti Tangirala: “I have been reading quite a lot of articles these days that mention the fact that women are being paid less than men, especially women of different ethnicities. This problem is there pretty much global. I also believe that the women who are being paid less can do a lot more, such as negotiating better pay, fighting for their rights. I know that this is already happening, women are already fighting for rights, but what about the women who are still experiencing the wage gap? They still need to do something about the unfair treatment that they are receiving, they still need to fight this. And no matter how many times we have protested in the past, and how many times we continue to protest, the wage gap still continues. These tactics aren’t enough to change this gender bias.”

Richard Lee Thai: “Unfortunately, I do think women and men are not given the same importance and respect in current day society. There have been significant strides in equality compared to what it was like in the past, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. For example, there are still gender roles that are being imposed on women with how they’re supposed to act. They’re supposed to be the caretakers of the house. They’re viewed as inferior in the eyes of men. Men feel they have a right to harass women because of how they dress. The list goes on and on. 

This type of attitude is not only detrimental to society, but it’s upsetting to see that it’s still such a prevalent problem in this modern age. I think it stems from ignorance and not taking the time to recognize that all genders need to work together in order to form a more equal world. If this disparity continues, the consequences are that women will continue to be abused and stopped from reaching their true potential.”

From this we can conclude that women and men are unfortunately not equal in terms to the amount of respect and importance given accordingly. Males have always been given the dominant sex leaving women left to marginalized. However, although the gender gap in equality is still quite large the world has been improving drastically in the past century. Today women are working professionals, educated, and respected by society as a whole. Yes there are income gaps however we are moving forward and hopefully in the near future those income gaps will too be diminished. As a society, and as the generation of leaders to come we have to take steps in ensuring that there is no inequality, the future lays in our hands. Let us treat all human beings as equals for we all have the same capabilities and potential to grow and learn.

Making a Difference: Crescent Heights’ Gardening Club

Amy Chen
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I am sure that there are tons of school clubs at every school such as a volunteering committee, yearbook, student council, book club, other clubs that many schools have in common, however when I heard about Crescent Height’s Gardening Club, I knew that I needed to tell all of you about this club as well!

Interested in how this club started, I decided to interview Wayne Lin on his club. During the interview, he also offered some helpful tips which allowed him to start this club.

Me: Please tell me a little bit about your club and its goal. Where did the inspiration to start this club come from?

Wayne: The name of my club is Gardening Cub. The goals of my club is to build a centennial garden for my school’s centennial year. Additionally, the club aims to let youth who grow up in the urban city to understand how plants grow and the important of the environment. I got inspired when I was volunteering at the Calgary Zoo in 2014. There is a program call Little Green Thumb that help elementary and junior high students to build their own little garden. Also I will be in my last year of high school when I am back to school so rather join a club. I started one.

Me: What was the first thing you did to try and form this club? Did you talk to admin or a teacher? What steps did you have to go through in order to officially establish this club within your school.

Wayne: First, I wrote down the idea and the goals of the club. I found my guidance counselor and told her my idea. After the discussion with her, she told me to talk to the principal. The principal asked me for a club proposal. (What is the club? What is the club about?) Third, I found a sponsor teacher who was willing to help to start the club.

Me: In your opinion, what was the hardest obstacle to pass in this journey and how did you overcome it?

Wayne: There were many obstacles when starting club, here are two obstacles that I often faced.

1. Time. Everyone is busy including myself. I often needed to find a balance between the school work and the club. I usually plan a schedule and talk to the leaders of the club to set the time for meeting or others to help me lead the meeting. Always communicate with others if you don’t have time so let the other know what they should and expect in those time.

2. Managing. It is my first time to start club. It is hard to manage the club especially you are the founder and it is just the beginning. At first, I took over all the role of the leadership, planning, call a meeting, schedule and researching. I overcame this by forming a leadership team.

Call for a meeting, spread the news (put an announcement or poster). Let people know your club then find the student who is interesting in the club and willing to become the part of the leadership. I gave out forms for VP (vice president), secretary, treasure and project leader. I distributed my power among my team and I got help from all of them to manage the club activities and project.

Me: What impact do you think your club has made so far and what do you think you or your school can do to make a greater impact. (Are there any obstruction to taking action such as certain rules the school board enforced?)

Wayne: Well, so far people knew my club but didn’t know what does the club was about. The reason was that the gardening club forces on garden planning and during winter, we can only work on the green house that my school have abundance which I later pick up and use it. My club has impacted the students who were interested in planting but didn’t have the resources needed. My club gave them the opportunity to shine. My goal of the garden that my club built is turn it into a community garden in the summer when the students are gone for vacation. So the residents will have fun with my school’s garden and help us during the summer.

Me: Was it difficult capturing people’s interest? What percentage of the student population at your school are involved in clubs (excluding sports) and what is the reason for this percentage whether high or low.

Wayne: There so many clubs and sport teams out there in my school. Personally, I am on track team and a new film club of my school. The most popular are the sport teams. Also different club such as choir, band, GSA, student counsel and etc. I believe over 45% of my school population of nearly 2000+ are involved in one more of these activities. My school has a long history of the sport team and is famous for its sport program. Also the students at my school, I believe, feel comfortable and they are willing to participate in our Crescent Height Community. I believe it is the spirit of my school and the passion of each generation of student pass down to the other which allows for so much involvement from the students.

Me: Why do you think it’s important to be part of a club? What do clubs have to offer? (Do they offer experience in work as a team etc.)

Wayne: I believe it is important to be part of club for many reasons. First you meet new friends who have similar interest as you. Second, you will learn lots and have a new experience. Such as how to run a meeting, and how to start different projects and activities. You will learn a lot and most important is to have fun.

Me: What would you say are 3 of the most important tips in starting a school club or expanding your club to make a greater impact?

Wayne:

1. Know your goals and know what you want to do

2. You and your club member are equal don’t pressure other and be democratic

3. Get support from your teachers and peers, there is always people to help you, don’t pressure yourself to the limited

 

 

As you see, clubs don’t just have to be about academics or sports, sometimes you can use your creativity and introduce something new into the school community to make a difference!

Calgary Stampede Food Binge 2015: Jurassic Pork Mac ‘n Cheese

Talia Santarossa
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Calgary Stampede Food Binge 2015: Jurassic Pork Mac ‘n Cheese

This edition of Calgary Stampede Food Binge 2015: Jurassic Pork Mac ‘n Cheese. Last year, I had the experience (I can really only describe it as such) of trying the Million Dollar Baby Mac n’ Cheese from Reel Mac ‘n Cheese and this year, I was back for more.

The Jurassic Pork Mac ‘n Cheese is Reel Mac and Cheese‘s famous macaroni topped with pulled pork and crispy onions. At $12, it was reasonably priced and although the serving may appear small, don’t be fooled: myself and someone else shared it and it was quite enough for both of us. The macaroni base was perfect in every way; the pasta was cooked well, not to hard, not overdone, the sauce was creamy and cheesy without being too salty (which is a common problem that I’ve found among cheese sauces). Now, I can saw with confidence that I love pulled pork but I don’t know if I would have ever put on macaroni and cheese. Best. Idea. Ever. The tangier sauce of the pork was cut by the milder flavour of the macaroni and wasn’t too overwhelming.

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For what it lacks in beauty, it more than makes up for in taste.

Last year, a long line and a specialty order had me waiting for my food for almost ten minutes. This year, I was in and out of line in about a minute and a half, no lie. Perhaps I came at a slower time, but judging by the small mob that had gathered around the truck, I’m not so sure. Whatever the case, the service this year and speed thereof was far superior to last year.

All in all, this was some pretty amazing mac ‘n cheese. The difference between this year and last for me personally was the serving size and value. Last year’s specialty toppings hiked up the price when this year, simpler seems better and thus less than half the price. I would wholeheartedly recommend this dish to anyone. If it doesn’t seem quite like your cup of tea, Reel Mac ‘n Cheese offers a whole menu of other options which are equally satisfying. Happy eating!

Calgary Stampede Food Binge 2015: Fruit and Herb Infused Drinks

Talia Santarossa
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Calgary Stampede Food Binge 2015: Fruit and Herb Infused Drinks

This year at the Calgary Stampede, there’s another whole list of new eats and treats and it is YAA’s mission to eat as many as possible and give you the low down. This round: Fruit and Herb Infused Drinks from The Family Fruit Stand. In a word: AMAZING.

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Delish. 🙂

The drinks come in a selection of Mojito, Pineapple-ade (Pineapple Lemonade), Ruby Sparkle (grape fruit mojito lemonade), the Brave-ade (orange ginger), and The Red Head (strawberry mojito lemonade). The drinks are 32 oz. (which is massive) and cost $7. As for myself, I went for the Pinapple-ade and I must say, it is one of the best things I’ve ever drank. A perfect balance of sweet and sour, my palate danced with a tropical sensation.

One of the coolest parts of it was that you actually got to watch the drink made. The Family Fruit Stand, located in Weadickville, looks really weird on the inside because of all of these spring-like cords hanging from the ceiling (I think they must be hooked up to an air compressor or something of the sort) and they use them somehow to make the drinks! The water, sugar, fruit and whatever else is in your drink is put into what looks like a little bucket and they go at it with this hose thing, shake it up and boom! Done.

If I were to offer any critique at all, I would suggest that the drinks be offered in different sizes. The 32 oz. is enough to hydrate a whole family. Ideally, I could have gotten a smaller size but that aside, I have nothing much to add. I wholeheartedly recommend you check them out. It’s a new twist on your traditional fairground drinks and is well worth the trip out.

#SharkWeek Lesson No.5

Rebecca Yang
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Music to our ears. 

An innovative feature for the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week web page includes an interactive experience that allows users to see how our perception of sharks can be altered by different types of music. From a calm tune to a most ominous one, viewers are able to interpret scenes of sharks in a new light.

The reason our interpretations differentiate between the two polarizing melodies is due to the fact that our minds associate past experiences with these tunes to certain moods. An inspiring and powerful score is often discerning of a likeminded scene. Whereas decades of thriller films and the media have caused our perception of the other score to be associated with a threatening scene. Therefore, even if we are looking at the same scene, the music can make all the difference.

Check out SharksReScored.com to uncover many of its other interactive facets, such as a mini documentary and an orchestra performance, and make sure to share the site on Facebook or Twitter to help Volkswagen and the Discovery Channel help conserve these precious animals.

But if you were ever interested in what sharks like to listen to, look no further:

#SharkWeek Lesson No. 4

Rebecca Yang
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Taking a bite out of this one. 

Have you ever been curious about what a shark bite looked like, but was never curious enough to make it happen? Well now you don’t have to find out for yourself. In “Shark After Dark,” makeup artist extrodinaire, Andy Schoneberg, helped create what a shark bite would actually look like. See it for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmjqUC41eko

Looks like sharks may be just as curious as we are.

But how exactly are sharks able to bite down in the infamous way we say portrayed in the media?

The upper jaws of sharks are not firmly connected to its skull. Thus, it is able to dislocate and provide a wide range for optimal biting action at a force of almost 669 pounds per square inch.

What a bite!

To save these amazing animals, check out Racing Extinction to see how you can do your part.

Calgary Stampede Evening Show 2015

Didi Moffat
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Thanks to Kids Up Front, I was lucky enough to receive tickets to the Stampede this Tuesday. So, after a stressful day of morning summer school, I treated myself to a day of stampeding with my sister. This was actually my first time attending, and I finally saw what all the excitement about it was for. I had an amazing time and it was such a fun break from the stressful morning I had. After screaming on rides and tasting some really crazy food items (which I’ll blog about later), I attended the Evening Show.

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Seeing as it was my first time ever going to stampede, it took a while for me to find where the evening show was happening but when I did, I was glad I did. I met the Chuckwagon Race started as I got there. It was so exciting! After the nine races, there was a break, after which we were treated to a performance by William Shatner. He sang ‘O Canada‘ with a funny twist to it. According to Shatner, saying ‘O Canada’ sounds sad, it should be ‘Yeah Canada’! This can only tell how much more funnier it got as he went on. Referencing our free health care, cold weather and with replacements of ‘our home and native land’ with ‘our home on native land’ and how about ‘fabulous and free’ rather than ‘glorious and free’.

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After the comedic experience, there was a fun, lively dance performance by the Young Canadians. They were really entertaining to watch and had so much energy in their performance, that the audience got so energized and couldn’t stop cheering all through. The dance routine ended with a kick line and then they gave us what you could call a mini history class. There was a run through of Canadian music for the past 100 years. Different members of the Young Canadians would jump in and sing a song in representation of the artists from about 100 years ago, till now. From as old as Neil Young to as familiar as Celine Dion and Justin Bieber. I learnt more about Canadian music history in one night than I had in two years.

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There was a basketball display following the Young Canadians by four basketball players. They took turns going towards the net, jumping on a trampoline and then slam dunking. They didn’t only jump on the trampoline before dunking, they also used some stunts: somersaults, backflips. Personally, I’m not your biggest basketball fan, but seeing this display, I felt like getting on a court and dragging in my own trampoline. You would think that doing stunts and playing basketball was enough? But they had some dancing in store for us too. This wasn’t just a dance like the others we had seen so far, they did certain popular dances right now. All four of them did ‘the whip and the naenae’ and then before ending their display, one of them twerked on stage and no one could stop laughing.

The last performance I saw, I was so glad to see it before leaving for the night. A guy went up into the sky in a round transparent ball and then fireworks were constantly shooting out of the ball. It was a fantastic last memory to have. The evening show was truly an amazing experience and is one of those experiences about Stampede that shouldn’t be missed. I encourage you all to head out to see it within the few days left of stampede, you won’t be disappointed at all.

 

Thank you again to Kids Up Front for providing this amazing opportunity!

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