Youth Are Awesome, commonly referred to as YAA, is a blog written by youth for youth.
YAA provides the youth of Calgary a place to amplify their voices and perspectives on what is happening around them.
Youth Are Awesome is a program of Youth Central.
Any views or opinions expressed on this blog belong solely to the author and do not represent those of people or organizations that the blog may be associated with, unless explicitly stated. All content is for informational purposes only.
Taste of Calgary is back again this year from Aug 15 to Aug 18, and like previous years, there will be lots of ex0tic food and drink sampling available just outside of Eau Claire Market. For those of you that haven’t been to Taste of Calgary before, visitors can buy sampling tickets for $1 each, and then use the tickets to get food and drink samples from the multitude of vendors participating. If you don’t want to try the food, there will also be many forms of local entertainment at the Taste Stage for festival goers to enjoy!
For 2013, Taste of Calgary has partnered with Ford Canada to support four local charities: The Calgary Flood Relief Fund, The Calgary Children’s Foundation, The Christmas Fund and the United Way of Calgary. Ford is offering to donate $20 for every test drive at Taste of Calgary of their F-Series truck lineup to these charities. In addition, Taste of Calgary also supports three other local organizations: The Calgary Saracens, The Calgary Chinese Community Services Association, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary.
Taste of Calgary 2013 will be running daily from 11am to 9pm from Thursday, August 15 to Sunday, August 18. Hope to see you guys there!
Exceptionally talented and gifted musicians from all across Canada, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, is on their national tour and performed yesterday at the Jack Singer Concert Hall. A great bill included Wagner’s Overture to the Flying Dutchman, Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes and Debussy’s La Mer. I’ll interviewed two great local talents after the performance, to discover a behind-the-scenes sense of life as a aspiring and young musician and the rigors of “orchestral boot camp”- consisting of intensive training sessions that includes private lessons, career development workshops and full orchestral rehearsals, from 8am-10pm in the months of June to August.
Courtesy of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada
The Millennial Generation is the name of the generation that have been born roughly between 1970-2000. The dates are up to debate though, and are mostly a cultural thing, since I may not like 1997 onward, since I may not think they’re not a part of “us”, the Millennial Generation. I think our generation has a kind of cultural ground, and has it’s own characteristics. These characteristics are interpreted very differently by people who do not belong to our generation. I will explain these different opinions later on.
An unfortunate idol of our generation (Please don’t kill me Beliebers, all respect!)
After maybe losing a few of you, I’d like to say before going on, that this blog post will be mostly about youth (1990-2000). Since 1) I’m a youth and most of the people reading this are youth (Youth are awesome!), and 2) We are the upcoming generation. So, I believe finding out why people think we’re screwed, is important. If you are not a part of the Millennial Generation, I of course still welcome you to read further.
There are different opinions on the Millennial’s. On the Wikipedia page you can see many, like Jean Twenge, the author of the book Generation Me, who thinks that the Millennial Generation feels like they have a sense of entitlement, with a general narcissistic attitude. ‘Strauss and Howe’ feels the opposite, thinking that Millennial’s will be more civic-minded with a strong sense of community in both local and global identity.
While these opinions differ, they have a common assumption. That the Millennial Generation is feeling the heat. Not only economically, but also socially. In our generation, we probably have the highest rate of teen suicide, ever. We are also the generation that basically invented the term N.E.E.T. Not in Education Employment or Training, people who stay at home all day living off of someone else’s money, without attempting to go out, or do/find work (We have a lot of these people). Critiques also say that we are lazy and will not be able to set foot in the adult world due to our overuse of technology. We apparently have a terrible economic outlook; youth unemployment is very high, we have had a large recession, and we are still in a global debt.
With these gloomy outlooks, it would be safe to say that to be civic-minded, or to be narcissistic, would both be appropriate attitudes for oncoming adulthood. If I were narcissistic (or more individual minded) I would want to fend for myself, and find economic success through self-ambition instead of relying on others. If I was civic-minded, I would feel that we should all get through this together as a team and fight through this outlook as a community.
Our bleak economy
With these issues as the upcoming generation, do you feel gloomy and lost of hope in our future? Do you feel like the heat is coming and adulthood will be dreadful, and doomed to failure with unemployment? Well fear not! For I will lend you a different perspective.
“Unbeknownst to me, there was a generation clash. And as a Gen X’r, we were destined to have problems because we were part of an “entitled”, “lazy”, “goof off” generation.” – Scott Hess
Listed out rather well by Scott Hess, Generation X (1960-1980) also had criticisms in their time. Labeled as the generation “doomed to failure”, with economic outlooks looking bleak. Well doesn’t that sound familiar? And as quoted by him,
“I find that Millennial’s are sort of like the new target, you are “lazy”, “entitled”, and just not fit to live right? ”
And hilariously, I have come to realize that we should not feel bleak about the ‘predictions’ of our future, because the harsh judgement on our future,was also applied to previous generations. With all the assumptions out there, I have come to the conclusion; there cannot be a definite generalization of the Millennial Generation because we are so varied. Additionally, everyone has hardships, and we can choose to ignore the pity. We should not lose hope in our future, as the strenuous lifestyle that many present to you, is something that happens to everyone.
Work hard you “lazy” generation
And who knows, with the coming of “us”, also comes new potential technologies beyond Apple, Microsoft, or Android. Political structures will change with us in the seats, businesses will be crowded with our new ideas, and eventually the world will change like with the coming of other generations. Global culture will also change with the Millennial Generation.
Maybe we’ll be criticizing the following generation, Generation Z (2000 onward), for their overuse of technology and media. They’re just going to have a “bleak” future because they won’t be able to stand the outside world, right?
One of the most beloved daytime TV hosts of our generation, Ellen Degeneres is set to host the 86th Academy Awards for 2014! This is the second time around for the comedian to host the Oscars. The announcement was made this past Friday by the producers of the program, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. Mrs. Degeneres took to her twitter to celebrate the news. As expected she added a comical flair by stating; “It’s official: I’m hosting the #Oscars! I’d like to thank @TheAcademy, my wife Portia and, oh dear, there goes the orchestra.”
Many believe Ellen Degeneres is a secure bet for an entertaining evening at the annual Academy Awards. After a controversial hosting by the ever-so scandalous Seth MacFarlane, I believe the illustrious figures at the Academy desired a more PG version for the following awards ceremony. I, personally am very stoked to have the humorous and amiable grace of Ellen Degeneres hosting the Oscars. It will be refreshing after a continuous cycle of contentious hosts, including the infamously awkward hosting of Anne Hatheway and the questionable James Franco at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011.
I can assure you all that with Ellen at the realms of the usually mundane Academy Awards, it will surely be a night to remember! Or as memorable as one can experience, having a fish with a short term memory hosting the prestigious evening.
Saturday was the one and only day to #seizethesunfest. It was Inglewood’s day to showcase its charm, and the mostly-sunny weather helped with reining the crowds in, but the actual festivities did the rest. After I finished my volunteering shift there, I was able to check it out!
Being a neighbourhood street festival, this meant having lots of vendors from the Business Revitalization Zone, street performers, and food trucks, the usual elements. With a similar structure between most, I tend to forget the fact that each festival has unique sweet spots to be discovered:
The vendors – I had time to stay at the vendors area and check out lots of booths in detail as opposed to just skimming through the area. Many set up shop directly in front of their store locations, giving a look at the diverse range of stores in the heart of Inglewood. I was personally impressed at the exotic selection of merchandise from the butterfly specimen to the persian rugs. Each festival has their own mix, and this one was fascinating – if you remember the names of any of these vendors, please let me know because they deserve all the credit.
The performers – The two street performances I watched were thrilling at first glance – that being said, I’ll try to not ruin the shows for you (and let the pictures be your hook!). Oh, and then who can forget the coin operated girl with her humorous reaction?
The food – A 3 dollar double cone deal at Olivier’s Candies for the festival was truly awesome. And watch for a review of Subs n’ Bubbles from me!
The layout – Sunfest spanned three blocks on 9th Avenue from 11th Street to 14th Street. Despite that it seems short, the straight line helped with checking out the whole festival from one end to the other.
The partnership with 2 other festivals – I believe that how Sunfest partnered up with the International Street Theatre Festival and Fringe Festival was a win-win situation. I was lucky to get the chance to enjoy incredible performances. On the other hand, the more festivals the merrier. (Despite not being able to check out either of the two festivals)
That’s my take. Too bad I wasn’t able to catch the pie-eating contest which I was hoping to head to and drool at the sheer amount of pie! 🙁 Next year it must be then.
As I always say, do remember to have a read of our other blogger’s festival posts through the yycstreetfestivals tag. 🙂 Watch for more posts here on the site as we head to festivals all over Cowtown!
The northern lights is a mystical phenomenon. Sweeping through the skies of the open grasslands, the aurora fascinates us beyond their formation in atmosphere. The alluring image is what makes this Albertan brillance especially perfect to share with you –
During the summer months, long weekends mean hours spent around a campfire, and of course, smores. In celebration of the classic campfire food this weekend from August 2nd to 4th Crave offered a long weekend special, the Smore Cupcake, a “double chocolate cake [topped] with a toasted meringue and a handcrafted grahamn cracker.” Not only this, but the smore cupcake is a treat with a cause; all proceeds from the cupcake sales were donated to high river. Strolling into Crave this Friday these cupcakes’ warmly browned tops stole my eyes away from personal Crave favourites- namely the Red Velvet Elvis and Nutty Over Chocolate cupcakes. Once home, I impatiently snapped pictures of my prize, eager to relish in what I was sure would be a delicious cupcake.
The first bite proved to be just that- the cake was chocolatey and rich. What the cashier at Crave hadn’t told me, which made for a very sweet surprise, was that the cake was double chocolate, meaning the batter had chunks of gooey chocolate scattered throughout. While I have no complaints about the flavour, I found that with the chocolate chunks the cake seemed a little too moist for my liking, and had an almost doughy texture.
The torched meringue gets full points for aesthetic appeal; topped with the miniature grahamn cracker the cupcake had a very professionally handcrafted look which perfectly suited the smore “theme.” In taste the meringue made a light, fluffy topping, and unlike Crave’s signature sugary icing, was not too sweet in the least, which complimented the richness of the cake perfectly. For completeness of review I will also touch on the grahamn cookie, which was cut into an adorable flower-like shape to garnish the cupcake. While this tasted distinctly like a grahamn cracker, it was definitely a little sweeter and tasted more like a cookie to me- a cutely sweet end to a delightful summer treat.
This post is specially for all of you who have been attending summer school and have sacrificed their holidays so far! All the rushed up assignments, daily tests and quizzes, mark worries….all will be over! And you will will be a free birds to fly in the warm breeze of the summer. Right from the first day of summer school, I have been craving for some holidays- real carefree holidays! (*weekends loaded with assignments don’t count!) And I had a list of things I wanted to do during holidays.
Here is the list of all the things you might want to do!
Read a novel, without any time bound schedule!
Stay in the bed forever! ( bed is my favorite place !!)
Go on pleasant walks.
Cuddle up with friends and watch a movie! (probably a scary movie!)
Attend social events.
Visit places around.
Capture random things with your camera!
Catch up with some old friends
Take a walk through the memory lane while sneaking through some old snaps. ( that is my favorite one. I can spend hours doing this!!)
And much more!
Alas for those of us who are preparing to write diploma exams, its not going to be all so easy. But do spend some time doing things you love, things that make you feel happy and pleasant. Because until you don’t feel good, you won’t be able to study well. And remember these days will pass soon and we will be free birds, just like everyone!
Check out this interesting, yet terrifying, look into the future. And by future, it really is a look far, far into the future, and not just a prediction of when the next iPhone will be released (though that may seem terrifying to think about).
Well said Zooey Deschanel. Well said. Considering I just posted a depressing and cheesy postabout my insomnia and lack of sleep for the past week, I thought that this week’s theme should consist of sleep. These are all of my favourite songs that deal with sleep and for those who just wish to get some sleep. Caution, this music is really dull and somewhat depressing, so please excuse me if you have sad dreams tonight.
HER MORNING ELEGANCE.
This song screams Insomnia. The anthem for all those with Ikea inspired bedrooms. This is actually one of my favourite songs and also one of my favourite music videos. It has such a melodic tone and a dreary sad, yet happy, sound to it. Sounding somewhat memorising and sleep like.
…AND COUNTING
This song is purely for those who just cannot sleep because they long for someone. Sung by Lights, this song almost could put any heart broken person to lull to dream land. Fun tidbit for you, in French, you don’t actually say, “I miss you,” as, “I miss you.” You would rather say, “Tu me manques,” which means, you are missing from me. I love that. The fact that you are something that’s part of me and can never leave from me. Taking this in part, you could have a better understanding for the depressing, cold mood of the song.
WHITE NIGHTS
Straight from Scandinavia is Oh Land. Her song almost sounds like a fairy dream mixed with a little Nordic flair. The lyrics sound dry at first, yet somewhat captivating. The tune almost is contagious in the sense that the more you listen to it, the more it gets stuck in your head. Perfect for all those wishing to dream the most sweetest of all dreams.
FOR THE NIGHTS I CAN’T REMEMBER
Last but not least is Hedley with this heart felt ballad to broken relationships. He speaks of all the times that he has failed the person he cares about by being too distant. It is a sweet song to end such a short playlist. Yet it’s still meaningful none the less.
Now to really get you into the mood. Here are some animals falling to sleep.
This year I was lucky enough to experience the Calgary Stampede for each of the 10 days. How you ask? I was working there in the Lammle’s Western Wear Store and it was a fantastic experience. Each day I took some pictures of what I found interesting at the grounds. You couldn’t even tell what a traumatic experience the grounds had endured during the flood – workers and volunteers at the Stampede had worked that hard to make it happen. “Come Hell Or High Water” became more than just a slogan during those 10 days. Most of the pictures are taken on Day 10 as I decided to come early morning and watch some of the shows that day before going to work.
Day 1: At the gates
Day 2: I worked near the Coca Cola stage and consequently, was able to hear all the fantastic bands play every night. It was a special treat to be able to listen to my favourite singer Serena Ryder
Day 3: The scene I looked at every day from where I worked
Day 4: Perhaps a cotton candy inspired sunset over the Big 4
Day 5: The painted steps of the Saddledome (because there isn’t enough food at the Stampede already)
Day 6: Fireworks – which I had the pleasure of viewing every night, since I worked until midnight
Day 9 (yes, I skipped a couple): The Calgary Stampede Showband and The Outriders performances
The Grand Finale: Day 10
My Favourite Rides: I like the tame ones
Games, Contests and Prizes, Oh My!
And Finally, the Bell Aqua Ranch, H2X Extreme Water Show: What a fantastic display of skill on jet skis
Google is famous for being a hub of innovation, creating products which have the potential to change our lives in ways that no one imagined even a year before they were released. Google always manages to monetize these projects, improving the world while earning a profit. Looking at the evolution of these projects offers an insight into how Google thinks, and helps everyone else appreciate the great affect that this company has had on our lives. Every once in a while, Google comes out with something that will change lives across the globe, and the most recent of these is Project Loon.
In an effort to help ensure that everyone around the world has internet access, Project Loon aims to use balloons which carry signals to help make internet more accessible. Loon is made up of two parts – a balloon transmitter and a spherical receiver. The transmitter is placed inside a balloon, which moves around the world using air currents and offers coverage to the area it is flying above. The receiver is attached to a home or school and accepts the signal, turning it into a wireless signal that any device can use. This project has recently begun preliminary testing, with numerous areas in New Zealand now receiving free internet from Google as a stress-test. If this project is viable, it will allow people all over the world, especially in places too remote to receive wired internet, to gain access to the internet for an affordable price. Google’s projects always have an upside for Google, and this is no exception. Google has always been an advocate of faster, more accessible internet, even launching Google Fiber to help bring the United States’ internet up to speed. If Project Loon is a success, Google will quickly gain access to an untapped market, with their advertising revenue able to jump through the increased usage of Google Search, as well as their other free services, such as Google Docs and Youtube.
Google has a great track record of developing projects to their highest potential with the precedent for this path being seen in Android as well as other currently ongoing innovations such as the self-driven car. With these in mind, we can expect that Google will ensure that Project Loon has a positive effect both on society and on Google’s bottom line.
The biggest mistake in life could be shaking an unwashed hand. Especially considering the modern arsenal of viruses and biological threats. From influenza to smallpox, many viruses have been silenced or moderated, but throughout our earth, unimaginable biological threats are peering over every corner waiting to ignite the next pandemic. Here is my list of the 5 most infectious diseases.
5. Anthrax
Anthrax is a disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. The bacteria forms resilient spores able to survive harsh climates. The spores are found in all conditions and if ingestion or come into contact with a host, they become activated and reproduce at very fast rates. The anthrax virus is transmitted through these bacteria. The anthrax virus van be produced in-vitro as a biological weapon. They can be transported from clothing or abiotic things.
4. Malaria
Malaria is an infectious disease contracted by humans and other animals. It is transmitted by female mosquitos that have previously contracted the disease. Malaria is transferred through parasitic organisms that enter your blood stream. Once in an organisms blood, parasites travel to the liver to reproduce and grow. From the liver the malaria virus parasites cause symptoms like fevers and headaches. Because the parasites live in the liver and inside blood cells, they are not often recognized by the immune system attack. Within days, without proper treatment, fatality may follow. There is no known vaccine.
3. SARS
SARS is a disease which affects our Respiratory system, or our breathing. Viruses are often the cause of disease. These viruses are either DNA or RNA. They are not living and can only make children cells, if they infect those cells. SARS is caused by the RNA coronavirus. The coronavirus is transmitted through animals, and if the correct strain or version transmits through humans, it develops into a severe disease. The coronavirus is passed through people by any contact, including respiratory or humoral (liquid) contact. After multiplying in the body, it will affect the respiratory and circulatory systems. The virus affects a particular liquid essential in your respiratory system, a type of enzyme. The imbalance causes over-inflammation of the lungs, making it hard to breath.
2. Ebola
Thousands of litres of blood pass through your body every minute. As this happens, clotting takes place throughout several places around the body. The Ebola virus inhibits your ability to do this clotting. The clotting occurs so internal and external bleeding doesn’t occur. Without the clotting, the Ebola causes excessive bleeding. It has a very low survival rate of 10 percent, making it the highest fatality rate, but it is found very rarely.
1. HIV/AIDS
Human Beings have the immune system, which acts as a white knight, protecting us from a variety of threats. It is made up hundreds of cells that protect you by fighting against specific virus cells. Humans use this system to cope through the world’s perilous, unhygienic situations. The HIV/AIDS virus is a virus that silences the immune system and keeps you vulnerable to any infection that may come your way naturally.
All school year, we wait for summer to come. Then summer comes. At first, great. Sun, sleep, no homework, vacations, etc. But after awhile, if your friends are away and you’re stuck at home, thinks can get, well… boring. Let’s face it: most of us teenagers these days solve this through screen time, whether that means hours of gaming, searching the web, texting, hanging around on social-networking sites, etc. I’ll admit, I’m often a victim of this myself.
All school year, as I waited for summer to come, I told myself I’d get myself outside and active and adventurous. Easier said than done. However, after having a pretty dull time when I’m stuck at home, I decided to give off my butt, turn off the computer, and go do something interesting.
What did I do? Well… I wanted adventure, so I made myself just that.
Rule #1: Don’t have a firm plan (that takes all the fun out of it). Have a general direction you want to go, a way to get there (biking is great -that’s what I’ve been doing-), and the go with the flow.
So I decided to head over to Aspen Landing, and planned to get lunch there. After an exhausting bike ride, when my head was about to explode, I went to Good Earth for lunch and then got myself a cone of ice cream from Marble Slab.
Rule #2:Don’t stick to ordinary. Sit on a grassy area by a pond rather than on the bench outside the store or café or whatever.
Rule #3: Try something new – just give it a shot, even in the smallest and weirdest of ways. Order an Italian Soda with butterscotch syrup instead of pop or water. Go for a more exotic ice cream flavour. Opportunities abound 🙂
Rule #4: Give yourself time. Don’t gulp down a snack then head back. Bring along a book, or just sit there and soak up the sun (if you feel too awkward to just sit there as people pass by, pull out your phone so it looks like you’re engaged in something, but don’t necessarily actually do something on it).
Rule #5: Explore. Take a different route home, and stop at places that seem interesting. I ended up going to the new Target and also the public library, and detoured from my detours from my detours.
Rule #6:Bring along a friend if you want, but maybe just try being alone. Being a loner can actually be nice. Freedom…
Rule #7:Don’t follow any rules or plans or anything that you don’t want to (but don’t be stupid). Be spontaneous (just make smart choices, please).
Oh, and HAVE FUN!!!!
Some ideas if you’re stumped:
If your parents don’t mind, go over to a park that has those BBQ thingies, and make yourself a small fire to roast a hot dog and/or s’mores. Or cucumbers. Or chips. Or whatever you find interesting. Make sure to bring along some wood to burn, a lighting method, the food you want, a roasting stick, and some way to put out the fire (if you’re limited on space, such as biking with a backpack, take an XL Ziploc bag that you can then fill up with water there and then empty out before you leave).
On a sheet of paper or your phone, make a list of “left” and “right”, then follow your random directions and see where you end up. Just don’t go too far, as you don’t want to get too lost.
New store? New café? Check it out! Facebook is a great way to learn about grand openings, as well as…
… special offers and events! Free fro-yo, donuts, $2 fraps, the list goes on.
Just go with the flow. See where your feet or bike or horse or wagon or whatever mode of transportation you have goes.
Although everyone says you should never judge a book by it’s cover, that’s exactly how I chose this book. The cover art is beautiful, the book is beautiful, I think my approach of choosing Everybody Sees the Ants was a job well done.
A.S. King is truly royal in my eyes, she writes wonderful books that really do help out teens in different situations in a quirky way. In Everybody Sees the Ants she takes a very serious topic and puts a quirky twist on what could have been just another generic story about bullies and a family in peril.
Overview:
Lucky Linderman has not only been blessed with his name, but he also has been blessed with a dad who is more involved with Food Network than his family (aka the Turtle) and a mom who need’s to swim laps to keep her sane (aka the squid). He has also been lucky enough to get the attention of Nader, the bully of this story.
“If you were going to commit suicide, what method would you choose?”
The once harmless question is now a returning nightmare for Lucky, because now his parents and the school district are on his case and he has to go on a trip with his mom to Arizona. Staying three weeks with his pill popping Aunt and his mysterious Uncle was not really in Lucky’s summer plans. But that’s okay because Ginny, the beautiful and mysterious girl from church is here to save the day! Speaking of saving the day, Lucky spends his nights dreaming about saving his Grandfather from the war in Vietnam, where he has been trapped since Lucky was just a kid. Since his grandma has passed, it has been his life goal to get his grandfather out.
That is just the beginning of what happens in this amazing book. I know it sounds very odd, and trust me it is. But that is why it is so great, once you see that Lucky isn’t being 100 percent truthful, you can really start to appreciate the beauty of this book. There were times where I wanted to stop reading because it was just plain confusing and weird, and there were times where the only thing I could do to stop crying was to read on. It will be a hit or miss though if you do decide to read this book, since not everybody can truly read outside the lines.
