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.
A heart touching Ted Talk about Caroline Casey’s life as a person without sight. She talks about belief and believing in oneself. She talks about the ups and downs in her life that everyone can relate to, disabled or not! Caroline promotes self-confidence and truly does believe the saying, “anything is possible” because as a disabled being she rode an elephant all across India by herself and raised 5 Lakhs for other visually impaired people to have surgery. People without disabilities wouldn’t even be able to achieve that! She talks about being limitless and free and also encourages others to do so.
If you are in need for some inspiration or need a confidence boost, Caroline’s speech is perfect for you. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did!
I caught this lonely icicle just as the snow was melting one warm March weekend. Hopefully the groundhog was wrong and Spring-like weather will arrive in a jiffy!
“You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.” – Theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein. (1879 – 1955)
Retrieved from “http://nolimitlearning.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/20thcentury.jpg”
The 20th century will forever be marked by the most violent and virulent wars to strike the Earth. Conflicts such as WWI, the Chinese Civil War, WWII, the Armenian Genocide, the Vietnam War, and the Rwandan Genocide have claimed the lives of over 160 million people. It is obvious that the world desperately needed international peace and security. Albert Einstein was right, nations must take non-coercive measures to ensure the protection of their civilians and the promotion of human rights in order to prevent war. The United Nations was formed in 1945 to guide the world with these principles. The 20th century was the beginning of a paradigm shift, which began addressing global issues with global solutions. These international efforts transitioned conflict to peace in an unprecedented way. Einstein’s words exemplified the progression from the dominance of national supremacy to a system of international discourse and unity.
On Monday, I got to go to the Tutti Frutti Sneak-a-Peek and get the inside scoop on the newest dining addition to downtown Calgary. I brought my friend Srinjoy to the VIP opening and we ate, took notes, took pictures, ate, spoke to the owners, we ate some more, and admired the place (seriously the best Monday I’ve ever had). He’s decided to contribute to this blog post, so check out what we’ve put together! –round of applause to Srin—
Tutti Frutti – the first one in our city! So what is it?
Cutesy sign
Within only 5 years since the first store opening in LA, Tutti Frutti has established their international chain using a flexible franchise model that allows for a contemporary feel, optimal staff to customer ratio and ultimately a great place to eat some frozen yogurt. So basically, they’re just the biggest frozen yogurt franchise with over 643 locations around the world and now, Calgary has their first shop as of March 23rd – the Grand Opening. Located on 858 16 Ave SW (which is basically 17th Avenue), they serve a variety of yummy flavored yogurt. It’s self serve, you add your own toppings, and then you proceed to stuff your face. Be there or be square. If you’re not there to try the amazingness that Tutti Frutti is, I’ll be glad to eat your share of froyo.
On March 23rd, the Grand Opening celebration starts at 12pm and goes until 10pm. During this time customers will have the chance to experience the following:
Free Frozen Yogurt from 12:00pm to 3:00pm with a donation to YMCA Calgary’s YMCA Strong Kids Campaign
50% Off Frozen Yogurt all Day with a donation to YMCA Strong Kids
Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt Gift Card Giveaways
YMCA Calgary Giveaways
Other Prize Giveaways
Okay, I walked in and…Tutti Frutti looks like an ad right out of a modern interior design magazine. This potentially makes it one of the chillest youth hangout spots located in the heart of trendy uptown 17th avenue, which is minutes away from all you Western kids (lucky –glare—)and a train ride away for most schools. The seating is snug in the froyo shop, but there’s a secret downstairs hangout that might eventually come equipped with a TV and game station. Anyways, I’m not going to expose all the beauty of this new yogurt shop because y’all have to go see it for yourselves on March 23rd, the GRAND OPENING OF THE STORE (just re-iterating haha).
Choices. The more we get, the more we want and Tutti Frutti does exactly that. Unlike other ice cream stores where you might get a wide array of options to choose from – at Tutti Frutti you make your own frozen treat, just the way you want with a multitude of options at your disposal. How many times have you just craved melting chocolate flavour with a tangy burst of blueberry that’s topped with a caramel drizzle, several peanut butter chunks and maybe some fruit loops to give it some additional crunch? Maybe that sounds repulsive to you but I’m sure that out of 20 different toppings and 6 different flavours of frozen yogh— Okaaaaay Srinjoy. I’m gonna stop you there. You should write poetry for frozen yogurt, or food for that matter. That imagery was too enticing. Let’s leave it off at a cliff-hanger and get all you readers out to Tutti Frutti to experience this firsthand.
These two photos: This is what Srinjoy is describing. His imagery wasn’t that far off actually. Impressive.
What’s better is that you pay exactly for what you get and at 55 cents an ounce it’s easy to submerse your taste buds in pure bliss. Also, no worries about leaving the store feeling fat because Tutti Frutti yogurt is soy-based, contains probiotic cultures to help with digestion, is protein enhanced, non-fat, gluten-free, and contains no artificial sweeteners. It’s a guilt free snack and if you want more information on this healthy treat, check out their nutrition facts here! And since you’ll be on the site anyways, might as well scroll through their list of healthy delish flavors.
Admire dat healthiness
It’s one thing to offer great prices, but Tutti Frutti goes above and beyond by recycling a good portion of their profits and re-investing it in the community around them. They support multiple local causes through funding small school programs, to university clubs, and donating several thousand to charities such as Project Extreme and several charitable causes such as children’s hospitals and women’s cancer.
Honestly, the place is warm and inviting. Now, please indulge in our photos. You remember me being camera happy back in this post, right? Well, I’m going at it again : D.
Also, in our conversation with the owners, we’ve got Tutti Frutti onboard for Youth Week. Stay tuned for the event they’ll be hosting. 😉
How to eat frozen yogurt Tutti Frutti style.You want this. Don’t lie.Cups and spoons.All the toppings. Oh my gosh. *-*More toppings. Very photogenic.
Well, that’s enough eye candy before you get cavities. Go down to Tutti Frutti on March 23rd. I’m like your nagging mom, except I’m telling you to go get free frozen yogurt.
If you’re looking into buying a new camera, read Part 1 of this series for advice on choosing the brand of the camera. This post will explore the two different types of cameras: digital, or film?
In our digital era, it may be very tempting or reflexive to choose the digital option. After all, what is better than a device that can immediately display pictures after its capture, where millions can be stored or deleted without any financial investment? Truth be told, there might be more to the film cameras than you think! As the cliche goes, never judge a book by its cover, or a camera by its functions. Let us embark upon a time-travelling journey…
2. Type of Camera: Digital or Film
Photography is as much about the subject matter as the feeling the photograph gives its viewers. Digital photograph may have its merits, but never underestimate what film can bring to the table. Here are some characteristics of the types of cameras:
Digital
Easy storage: An SD card and a computer is all you need; errors can be made without pain.
Easy manipulation: Whether it be Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, or Instagram, the quality of the picture can easily be changed. Anyone can become Andy Warhol.
Cheap: That is, after the purchase of the camera. There is no need to pay extra for taking pictures.
Crisp and clear images: Cameras are incredibly powerful these days. The smallest ant on a tree can be captured a mile away. However, mood and atmosphere of images is less distinct.
Compact and light: Or, it can be, depending upon the type of digital camera.
Consistent and for every occasion: Great for travelling, birthday parties, afternoon tea. Not to mention underwater snorkelling and mountain-scaling. Pictures are consistent in quality.
Everyone’s using them: Social media websites can easily share your pictures without wait, but photographs are more generic and there is less of an appreciation for image quality (twenty pictures of the same sandwich, anyone?)
Trees in Fish Creek Park last autumn. Taken with digital camera Nikon D7000.
Film
Atmosphere and mood of images: Nostalgic- and vintage-styled; with personality.
Requires film: This is a no-brainer. Films cost money and most cameras can only take approximately 30 to 35 pictures with a standard roll of 35mm film. However, there are many different types of film that can be explored!
Spontaneous: Quite frankly, you have no idea how your photographs are going to turn out, unless you’re really familiar with the workings of your film camera.
The wait: Film requires time to be developed. Though it might seem irritating to take every roll of film to London Drugs or Costco to get it developed (which usually takes around three hours), a lot of film camera lovers really anticipate this wait. Christmas every day, I guess. Also, the scanning process takes quite a while and can get pricey. It’s a good idea if you buy a $50 scanner off Ebay and D-I-Y!
Appreciation for photography: Once you have a limited amount of resources – assuming you don’t have the finances to get a thousand film rolls – you’ll start to think about what you really want to capture. Image quality increases drastically. (Instead of those twenty, blurred pictures of that sandwich, you’ll have a gourmet-worthy one.)
Less people are using them: If you want to be different, go for it!
Gull crossing road. Taken with film camera Pentax K1000.
“For me, the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson
Where does art take YOU? Where is public art taking Calgary?
Do you think by 2021 that you will think of Calgary as a beautiful city?
1% of the funding for our capital infrastructure projects over $1 Million is devoted to providing a Public Art showcase on that project or around Calgary according to current policy. That advertisement in the picture is particularly advertising the project at the Martindale CTrain station, “Confluence“.
A Picture Taken By The RDG Art Studio 🙂
Transit properties have a variety of public art incorporated into their designs, particularly newer CTrain stations.
A notable addition to the Center Street station is the installation of TransitStory, a set of steel sculptures that captures the rushed mood of passerbys catching the train.
It’s blue… (Calgary Herald)Or is it yellow? (Metro News)
A few stops westwards and you’ll see SWARM, the project at 6th Street Station. It’s high up on the glass of the canopy.
(Canadian-Architects.com)
You know those Jumping Trout as you drive on Glenmore Trail between Macleod and Elbow? That’s public art too.
Oh those fishies!
How about four images formed by 15000 marbles that is An Auspicious Find at Prince’s Island Park?
(centercitytalk.com)
Of course, when we talk about these relatively newer pieces, we have to mention older ones such as Family of Man, a set of sculptures located at the old Calgary Board of Education main office. Anyone who is going to a public school here would recognize this logo immediately.
(Wikimedia commons)
The Famous Five statue at Olympic Plaza is an especially monumental piece.
(heroines.ca)
Wonderland, the public art sculpture at the Bow, is one of our newest additions and has already amazed many Calgarians. I still have the urge to head inside and take a picture.
(The Calgary Sun)
Debates –Public Art is beautiful and only adds to the cityscape, but municipal funding plans have also brought its share of concerns. Last year, the City of Calgary discovered that $8.6 million dollars would needed to be devoted to Public Art on the West LRT according to the policy, but that money had not been reserved and where to recover that money became an issue. Pieces won’t be going up on the line until 2014 either.
From this debate, a bigger issue also spawns; how should we allocate funding to create pieces all around Calgary? The “onward” statement in the advertisement up top is a very difficult goal to balance with demands.
Do you believe in the city’s goal? Shoot me a comment below.
Finally, I leave you with Frozen Dreams, a mural at the Max Bell Arena. 🙂
Imagine this: you’re walking to a local bank branch when you come across a fifty dollar bill on the ground. There is no one around you and no clear indication as to whom the rightful owner of the bill is. What would you do?
A show called What Would You Do actually did an experiment based on this scenario. They laid out the money and recorded people’s reactions throughout the day. I was impressed, after watching the video, to find that most people decided to return the cash instead of pocketing it. But the part that really touched me was when the last of the show’s victims unknowing guests came onto screen. She is a homeless elderly woman with less than ten dollars to her name. She walks for two hours every day from a local shelter to a friend’s home for a warm meal. This amazing woman took the bill and without a second thought, returned it to the bank manager.
Below is the video showing this experiment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd6ImYIwcEk
This woman is a role model, she definitely could’ve used the money, but instead chose to return it to the rightful owner. She stuck to her virtues and did the right thing even though her situation was so harsh. I think we can all learn a little lesson from this.
You can visit YouTube to check out more What Would You Do scenarios.
For some reason, people have an insane obsession with popping bubble wrap. Most people no longer relate bubble wrap to “protective packaging”. Instead, it has become “insta-fun for all ages.” I have no idea why it’s so addicting. But it is.
So, in honor of bubble wrap, the internet has presented to us: Virtual Bubble Wrap!
Basically, you click all the bubbles as fast as possible. That’s it. Essentially, this is a great way for easily amused individuals to waste their time.
For some reason, I keep going back. In fact, there are some nifty applications. For example, you can choose from three different bubble sizes! There’s a bubble count, and a timer so you can compete with your friends! Beware of the buddy bubble… Or play on manic mode!
Ooooh…different sizes!
It’s not the same as having that realistic popping feel. But hey, there are sound effects!
Have you ever thought of those people in developing countries who are barely surviving in poverty? Have you ever thought that it would be possible to survive on $4.00 a week, without clean water, or shelter over your head, while starving? I don’t think so because here in Canada we are fortunate to have comfort and luxury. But that does not mean we shouldn’t do anything to help those who need it and that is why every year I decide to take part in the World Partnership Walk.
So what is the World Partnership Walk?
The World Partnership Walk is Canada’s largest initiative to reduce and end global poverty forever. It takes place in ten cities all around Canada around June but in the mean time ambassadors are raising funds to donate to help in forcing poverty to disappear for good! All proceeds go directly to the international development initiatives in more than a dozen countries around the world. The money you donate helps multiple poor communities become self-suffcient and helps them meet their basic needs.
For an example; farmers in Afghanistan have a difficult time with their pay due to natural disasters and unforeseeable markets. Thus AKFC (Aga Khan Foundation Canada, the foundation that runs the World Partnership Walk) are helping farmers cultivate their future by creating more than 5000 village-led projects in infrastructure, health and education. So now farmers are pursuing beekeeping as a secure and beneficial business and setting the foundation for generations to yet arrive. Hopefully by then Afghanistan will no longer be a developing country facing fatal poverty.
AND
In Mozambique, the community has to face immense poverty, lack of food, shelter and extremely basic resources. Thus the money donated goes into hands-on projects like training the citizens to have farming skills, storage techniques and healthy diets. Here is a cool statistic:
“Canadian-backed nutrition groups and workshops have reached more than 3,000 community members and 1,250 farmers.” How amazing is that?! If we contribute even $10.00 we can rest assured that our money is being used for the right purposes and we are helping establish better societies!
Access to comprehensive health care for new mothers and babies in Afghanistan, better quality education for girls and boys in East Africa, and new economic opportunities in Pakistan and Mozambique – these are just a few of the reasons I’m fundraising this year!
Taco Bell, Taco Time, Mucho burrito; just some of the restaurants people often think of when they hear “Mexican food.” What a disturbing number of people don’t realize is that these are not examples of true Mexican food. This is Tex-Mex; the traditional Mexican way of cooking shoved into a blender and mixed on high with American ingredients. I do suppose you could call it fusion, but then again, it could also be called a mess.
The oblivion most people display towards authentic Mexican cuisine is saddening, a whole array of flavours and dishes, a completely unique set of tastes, are unknown to a vast many. Luckily, an authentic Mexican taste can be discovered along Calgary’s Fairmont Drive, at Tu Tierra, a family-run Mexican restaurant which cooks using the authentic flavours and recipes traditional to Mexico. The restaurant is authentic down to it’s very decoration; the walls are a festive and cheerfully bright orange, and traditional Mexican artwork adorns the walls. The room’s lively appearance, combined with the added light from the wall-length mirror spanning one wall made the atmosphere of the restaurant close to perfect, as it would have been, had the loud Mexican music playing throughout the room been quieter.
Our server was friendly and attentive, along with being prompt from start to finish. Once ordered food came quite quickly, freshly prepared and hot. The prices are excellent, especially considering the portion size and quality. This trip we went for
If you think this is a large portion, just wait until you see dinner.
lunch, which I would highly recommend, as dinner portions are enormous, where lunch portions make a large, satisfying meal, although completely finish-able, if you anticipated a large lunch. I was completely full for several hours after.
Normally I order the Enchiladas Verdes, a choice of chicken or beef in a soft, wrap-like shell, smothered in green enchilada sauce, and served with beans and rice. This is my classic Mexican dish, one I would recommend for those new to Mexican cuisine, as it is mild, and while the flavour is distinctly Mexican, it is not super uncommon in taste or a huge leap from the world of Tex-Mex. Today however I experimented, and tried the Enchiladas Entomatadas, which are made with a tomato based sauce, rather then a chilli based one. I am glad to say I did. The flavour was magnificent, my fears of an overwhelming tomato-sauce taste were dashed with the first bite. I loved the avocado which came on top, the richness of it complimented the dish fantastically, and as a spice fanatic I found the jalapenos which also topped the dish a biting delight. It is safe to say I have found a new favourite Mexican dish.
I hope that anyone and everyone who dives into the world of ethnic cuisine will agree that authentic Mexican beats Tex-Mex any day, and even if you try it out, yet deciding you prefer “Taco Tuesday” any day, at least you now know the difference, and went out and tried something new. You never know what you like until you try it.
Vaseline is one of the most basic lotions and – well, there is really nothing fancy about it. However, its simplicity has actually made it more useful than other products. If you are bored with just using it as a lotion, check out some of my favorite ways to use it more creatively (which makes it more useful):
1. Add sugar – and it turns into lip scrub.
My lips get pretty dry in the winter to an extent that none of the lip balms can solve the problem. Most of the lip scrubs on the market are not cheap, considering that a lot of them are actually sugar based, so why don’t we DIY one? Add sugar to Vaseline at a desired ratio, mix with a Q-tip, and here you have your very own low-cost yet effective lip scrub!
Hint: store your Vaseline lip scrub in a small container such as a clean contact lens container.
2. Add liquid foundation – and it turns into BB cream.
The essential difference between the increasingly popular BB cream and normal liquid foundation is that BB cream has a lighter coverage, and is leaning more towards skin care than covering up imperfection. Therefore, you can make your own BB cream by “diluting” the intensity of your foundation with Vaseline to achieve a lighter coverage. Store it in a clean contact lens container.
3. Put a generous coat of Vaseline on wherever you get extra dry (knees, elbows, etc.), cover and leave for a night. Everything will be softer and smoother=)
4. I am still experimenting with this one but some people say if you apply Vaseline on your lashes, over time they will grow longer.
5. Vaseline is probably one of the cheapest and most harmless makeup remover.
I came across this web page called 50 Uses for Vaseline while I was browsing. Go check it out for more ideas (and last one is my FAVORITE! XD)!
So the other day my friend and I were working on this project when we decided that it would be fun to try and make our project look old and worn by slightly burning it. Neither of us were brave enough to actually do this on our own, so of course we went ahead and attempted it on our own anyway- whilst home alone, of all times. This of course was amongst one of our more brilliant ideas (we nearly burned the house down). WARNING: BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL!
Anyway, if you want to try this, you’ll need:
– A strong cup of coffee. You can also substitute this with tea.
– A paintbrush
– A blow dryer
– A candle
– Paper, or whatever you plan make antique
1) Start by brewing a cup of coffee. If you want your page darker, make sure the coffee is pretty strong. While you’re waiting for the coffee to cool, start crumbling up your paper.
Ignore the paint brush here for now.
2) Taking your paintbrush, coat the whole paper in a layer of coffee.
No need to ignore the paint brush here.
3) Using a blow dryer, dry the page. If you don’t want to do this, you can always leave your papers out in the sun (though this is probably not wise to do in the current snowy weather, unless you’re aiming for an attractive half soggy, half frozen, extremely tattered effect- in which case, good luck to the person who intends to read your paper).
4) Once the paper is done drying, carefully (and from experience, I must stress: carefully) light a candle of some sort. Hold the candle so that it touches the paper and the page begins to catch on fire just a bit. Quickly blow out the flame once it has spread and burned the desired amount of paper. It’s important that you do this before the fire spreads too much and burns not only your whole project to smithereens, but also other things (again, speaking from experience…).
Just a side note, I don’t have a picture for this step as my friend and I were too stressed while doing this to stop and snap shots of our near disaster/ burning of the house. To fill in the emptiness of this picture-less step, here’s a photo of someone else doing a much better job of the burning:
