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Take on the world with high school Model United Nations

arielle
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Last weekend, I had the power to keep NATO troops in Libya until the economic and political state of the country stabilize…

At least under the jurisdiction of high school Model United Nations.

As the delegate from Brazil in the Security Council, it was my role to participate in actions to maintain international security along with the other 14 countries in the Council. At Model UN, high school students get to discuss global issues that are equally discusses in the real UN and all of its subcommittees such as General Assembly, Human Rights Council and European Union among others. Topics such as nuclear proliferation and water and food crises are common ones just as they are in the real world. Not only are the crises real and relevant, so are the countries that delegates assume. Without a doubt there are conflicts and disagreements between nations. This just adds to the fun of debating your position.

Many school have a Model United Nations club so it’s easy to join in on all of the action. In my opinion, this club is one for passionate students who care about the world that they live in and brainstorming solutions to the issues around them. As preparation for our generation to take on the world and its issues in due time, Model UN is the place to be.

Video of the Day: Just a Funny Video

Qiwifruit
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A video a friend sent to me; quite amusing, and if you don’t think so, well it’s only seven seconds of your life. =P

Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra:Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique

lisa aka "Mangomaru"
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Tchaikovsky
Many great artists of our time wrote the most romantically moving scores or painted the most emotionally expressive pieces. A few of them, however, suffered great fits of depression and mania. One of those artists was Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky’s extraordinary talent was accompanied by terrible depressive episodes. His death, after the first nine days of the premiere of his Sixth Symphony – the very one I was able to listen to! – was rumoured to be one of suicide.
At a very young age he stormed out of a party, feeling ill after hearing piano music, and when asked what was the matter by his mother, he replied the music playing his head did not stop. But even during his time he was considered one of the greatest musicians. In the 1800s, critics called him a “modern music lord”.
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra from liveincalgary.com
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO), joined by the extremely talented piano soloist Simone Dinnerstein, shook the rafters of the great Jack Singer concert hall in their very recent performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.6, “Pathetique” and Ravel’s Piano Concerto. The CPO is the proud winner of the 2011 White Hat Award for Top Attraction – and for good reason! With high calibre musicians that are world class, you simply are in for a deeply, deeply exhilarating and satisfying time! I highly recommend  that you take your date to a concert performed by the CPO, because dinner and hearing these phenomenal artists is a recipe for the perfect night!
The bill for the performance opened up with Borodin’s Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances. This is a song you need to go out and hear, and along with Calgary Philharmonic Chorus, it’s amazing! The context of the song is set with the Russian prince Igor and a barbaric battle with Konchak, the leader of an Eastern Tribe, the Polovtsians. Regal and grand, this song definitely borrows from traditional Russian folk songs, and makes you want to get up and dance. The feeling I get when listening to the CPO’s performance of this song is of stunning beauty. The low, melodic mood of the piece reflects the barbaric battle between the Russians and the Polovtsians, the melancholy of the Polovtsians leader, with many highs illustrating the epic glory and strength.
Jack Singer Concert Hall from liveincalgary.com

Ravel’s jazz infused Piano Concerto certainly was brought to larger than life with the soloist Simone Dinnerstein, whom is a household name with her interpretations of Bach. Her fingers feverishly danced on the keys, every note a pearl. Her style was definitely different and distinct from other classical musicians, being more melodic than many. Spontaneous jingles of percussion and pizzicato strings definitely add to the dreamy and outgoing feeling of the melody.

Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.6, “Pathetique” was extraordinarily epic and emotionally devastating. This piece adds a little bit of surprise and the familiar grandiosity of the whole orchestra’s coming together, forte, for an amazing overture of crashing cymbals and drums. Usually signalling the end of a movement, the whole audience cried “Bravo!” for the incredible and overwhelming dynamism from the stage, this march to the finish but were taken back quickly. The movement continued into a dark and slow finale, sinking back into the depths of darkness.
There is seriously no equal experience to listening to the music of a world class orchestra LIVE! Thanks so much to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra for providing me the opportunity  to experience the amazing and emotionally stunning music of the CPO! Come one and all, young or old, single or on a date, you are sure to have a good time!

Book Review: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

victoria
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Battle Royale by Koushun Takami seems be one of those books that most people have heard about, but few people have actually read. It’s premise is definitely memorable enough; in the future, Japan is now part of the totalitarian state of the Greater East Asia Republic. As part of a mysterious military program, a random class of junior high students are kidnapped every six months, placed on an isolated island, and forced to kill each other until only one remains. This scenario is definitely chilling, and draws obvious inspiration from one of the more controversial books of the literary canon, Lord of the Flies.

However, while the book isn’t necessary bad, it is a bit of a disappointment. Where I was expecting some amount of commentary on politics, the education system or the human condition, I received… a lot of kids killing other kids. The truth is, Battle Royale is definitely not a deep book. It presents no discernible commentary on humanity at all, and the small amount of political critique is shallow at best. Furthermore, Takami misses a great chance to develop his very large cast. An interesting aspect of this book is that it struggles to show the perspective of every student in the program. As a result, even the most minor of characters develop unique identities from the rest of the cast. Unfortunately, this technique isn’t applied well at all. While the characters are definitely distinct, the overwhelming majority of them are also one-dimensional and boring. In fact, we only get to meet most minor characters for a few pages before they are inevitably killed off.

That’s not to say Battle Royale is a bad book. Actually, it’s one of the better thrillers I’ve ever read. The plot is very compelling, and Takami skillfully maintains suspense through the entire book. Each event in this book is well-crafted, and there will definitely be moments that will geniuely surprise and enthrall any reader.  In particular, the pacing of this book should be commended. The balance between exposition and action is just enough to captivate a reader while still keeping the plot comphrehensible and the ending can definitely be described with the word “awesome.” If you’re just looking for an exciting page-turner, this book is for you.

Ultimately, the biggest problem with Battle Royale is that it doesn’t live up to its potential. The cool plot and large cast indicate that Battle Royale certainly could be a great novel, but instead it is really only a satisfactory one.

Warning: This book contains explicit gore and other disturbing content.

 

Video of the Day: “OAH” by Alexander Rybak ~ Music Video

sarena
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One of the cutest and funniest music videos I have seen in a long time! Have a look and listen:

[youtube o4sfh2u8cgU]

Facebook by the Numbers: Infographic

jen
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An interesting look at Facebook statistics.

Image courtesy http://mashable.com/2011/10/21/facebook-infographic/

Child labour: The dark side of chocolate

kerri
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What comes to mind when you think of child slavery? Sweatshops, right? That’s certainly how it was for me. But would it surprise you to know that almost half of the world’s chocolate is produced by child slaves?

Image courtesy http://aturntohope.org/site/blog/

About 40 per cent of the world’s cocoa is produced in the farms of West Africa, particularly in Cote d’Ivoirie (the Ivory Coast). Most of this is produced by as many as 200,000 children. Some are victims of human trafficking and most work in an extremely abusive environment.

Awful, right? So how do you know whether or not you’re eating chocolate that was made by child slaves? You simply can’t. All the cocoa produced is mixed together when it’s sold, so the consumer has no idea where it came from. HOWEVER, don’t fret, there is some hope out there.

Image coutesy http://www.easywaystogogreen.com/green-guides/guide-to-green-symbols/

If you can find this little symbol on your chocolate, you’re good to go! It’s the free trade symbol, which means that it was produced fairly with proper conditions for all the workers! Now I’ve been looking around, and it’s pretty hard to find, BUT I have found a popular chocolate bar that possesses this glorious symbol.

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Cadburyi-Dairy-Milki-Goes-Fair-Trade-in-Canada-1035139.htm

If you’re looking for some more chocolate that’ll help you sleep at night, try some organic food stores. Here’s a link to a list of fair trade chocolate:

http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/main.html

Also, if you want to learn some more, check out these links:

http://www.oxfam.org.vt.edu/2011/02/14/make-this-your-last-slave-chocolate-valentines-day/

http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1272522.stm

Video of the Day: Hey Ya

Bill
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I think I speak for the masses when I say that Justin and Jeremy’s Spirit Fingers are by far the best you’ve ever seen. The twins give quite the performance and offer great homage to Outkast with their dance. Andre 3000 would be proud. The best part is that you can automatically tell that the two boys are going to part ways when they pick their careers; one’s obviously a singer, the other without a doubt, will be a dancer! Talk about double threat!

The evolution of Apple computers

vicky
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Following the unfortunate death of Apple founder and CEO Steve Jobs, many Apple fans have begun to reflect on the path of his achievements. Here’s a look at how the aesthetics of the world’s “coolest” computer has changed over the decades.

1976 – The Apple I computer (really high-tech, I know):


1977 – The introduction of the Apple II and the iconic rainbow Apple logo:

1980 – The Apple III computer:

1984 – The Apple IIc, a more “portable” design:

…and the Macintosh!

1987 – The Macintosh SE, and the switch-over from beige to grey:

1993 – The Macintosh Colour Classic:

and the Macintosh LC 500:

1998 – The iMac G3, a revolutionary take on computer design:

2002 – The eMac:

and the iMac G4:

2005 – The iMac G5:

2007 – The Intel iMac – Aluminum:

2009 – The Intel iMac – Aluminum Unibody (current model):


A more comprehensive article on the evolution of Apple products is available at www.webdesignerdepot.com.

All images via Wikipedia.

 

Five minute chocolate “cup” cake recipe

cathy
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So by “cup” cake, I literally meant a cake in a cup.

If you love chocolate cake and you’re craving it this very second, then here is a recipe that will only take 5 minutes!

You will need:

  • 1 large microwavable cup (or bowl)
  • 4 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp cocoa
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1/3 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 tbsp chocolate chips

Now that you have all your ingredients:

  1. Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa, chocolate chips) in the cup
  2. Crack and mix the egg into the dry ingredients
  3. Pour in the milk, oil, and vanilla essence then mix
  4. Put the batter into the microwave and heat for three minutes
  5. Take your scrumptious creation out of the microwave once it has stopped rising

Cheers to satisfying your chocolate craving!

Video of the Day: The Avengers Trailer

dhruv
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[youtube zatgnqdIefs]

Connecting with the outdoors: Clayoquot Sound

Erica
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Clayoquot Sound is an area rich in biodiversity along the West Coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. I have known of Clayoquot Sound since 2008, when I backpacked through Ahousaht with a group of students in my Outdoor Education class. Since that time, I had not given the existence of the trails that I had walked a second thought- a UNESCO biosphere reserve would not be at risk for development and environmental degradation, right?

A few years later, I went to the Calgary Zoo to hear an environmental group talk about proposals for recent development that posed serious risks to Clayoquot Sound. I was caught horribly off guard as a new reality threatened my memories of a place that I had come to cherish. The area has since undergone development, and more recently, has become threatened by proposals for mining, fish farms, and logging.

Normally quiet and reserved in my opinions, I was soon ranting in desperation to anyone within a 1-foot radius about my concerns with Clayoquot Sound. Perhaps unsurprisingly, people didn’t know about the issue. Much more frustratingly, most of them didn’t really care. In confusion, I thought about this: why did it seem as though no one felt a sense of responsibility to this issue?

Ignorance, devoid of caring, breed’s a sense of departure from reality and issues that trigger emotional connections related to our values and beliefs. Thus, ignorance leads to a lack of responsibility. This is not to say that people who don’t become involved in environmental issues are bad people. It is not expected that everyone must be feel a responsibility to all of the same issues. Rather, it means that citizens of our modern society may be missing a connection with the environment. I think that we would all benefit from taking some time to appreciate the outdoors and allow it to instill in us the feeling that we are all invested in its existence.

Photo taken from: http://www.canadianprincess.com/adventures/explore-the-pacific-rim/

Party with UCity

sheliza
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Have you ever gone to any UCity parties? UCity holds the best parties of the year open to 15-17 year olds or high school students. If you like to make new friends, dance to the latest music and have the time of your life- come to UCity. This recent theme was “glow in the dark” therefore everyone wore white clothes and truly shined at the Mansion Night Club. Yes, these events are held at real clubs- Jimmy’s Night Club or Mansion. There are 18+ people who serve unlimited beverages. You get to meet a ton of people and party till midnight.

The best part of my experience at this UCity event was being able to have VIP tickets. I got to go to the Mansion on a party bus, we got an extra floor to dance and we got unlimited beverages throughout the night? Sick? I think so. Interested in coming out to the next event? Buy your tickets fast! It’s called “Derillium” and it’s Halloween themed. It’s from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Chinese Cultural Centre. So far, there are over 2,000 people coming. Come out and dance the night away. Let loose, have a fun time and come out to UCity, you won’t regret it!

Become a fan of UCity on Facebook. Warning: There may be provocative dancing at these events. They are also meant for mature youth with parental permission to attend.

 

Rock, Paper, Scissors: How to win every time!

lucy
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Always wonder why someone manages to beat you each time at “Rock, Paper, Scissors” without pulling a sweat, while you are struggling to keep up with their lightning fast moves? No more shall the “Rock, Paper, Scissors” champions have such pride in their “skills”, because the tricks to winning are actually quite simple. Are you ready to “ROCK”? (Lame puns ftw!)

The First Move

  • …Actually, don’t “rock”. Usually, if you are playing against a beginner, or simply a clueless noob, they will play Rock, because rock is thought to be forceful and strong, hence symbolic of winning. Note- you should try to pull the Paper trick only on a rookie, because experienced “Rocker, Paper, Scissors” pros will know this trick like the back of their hand.
  • If you are dueling an obviously experienced player, Scissors is the right way to go. This is valid because Rock is too commonplace of a move, and overly predictable.

Game Play

  • If the opponent plays the same thing twice, then Play the object that will be beaten by their last turn. So, for example, if they play scissors twice in a row, then you should play paper. Why? Most likely, they will play something different in the third turn, either paper or rock. So, by playing paper, the object that would lose to scissors, you would either win or have a stalemate. Either way, you probably won’t lose.
  • The MOST IMPORTANT TRICK: Predict their moves. In “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, especially when you are playing quickly, psychology is on your side. Believe it or not, when the mind is under pressure, it will subconsciously try to show its strength; this applies to “Rock, Paper, Scissors” in that a flustered player would try to play the move that would beat their last one. For example, if the foe has lost the match, and has played scissors in the last round, they will most likely deliver rock in the next round- so play paper. However, this only applies to if they lose that match.
  • If the opponent is on a winning streak, try Suggestion. With the gullible and clueless, you can influence their weak minds by subtly suggesting a throw, like a magician often does. To do this, give a hint as to what you are going to play- rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper…and they will likely throw a paper, because you’ve suggested that you will play rock. Or, you could pretend to get flustered and claim, “I better play ____ next time! Mumble mumble… …”
  • And finally, if all else fails, CHEAT. If you lose the first three, claim that you played after the opponent- by not blaming them, this makes you seem like a credible person. Or, you could always say “two out of three” if you lose the first match! Hehe…well, it’s called cheating for a reason right?

Remember, success in “Rock, Paper, Scissors” equals to success in life. With these tips, you can clear a path to VICTORY!  😀

How to make the best chocolate chip cookies ever

Juliet
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How to make the best chocolate chip cookies ever

Generally speaking, most sane people like chocolate chip cookies. I mean, there’s really not much to complain about (aside from the obvious lack of health benefits) when one combines butter, sugar and chocolate to produce a delectable treat such as the chocolate chip cookie. But how can an ordinary person like you or me seek to work the magic required to form this delicious amalgamation of ingredients without reverting to dramatically inferior store-bought versions? Fear not, for this blog will show you how. And not only will I include a wondrous recipe, I will also provide step-by-step photo tutorial on how to make the best cookies ever. So, you ready for this?

Recipe: Pretty Much the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

1 cup of butter, softened

1 1/2 cups of brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup of white, granulate sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp of vanilla

3 cups (375 grams) of flour

1/2 tsp of salt

1 tsp of baking soda

1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips

Before baking:

Tip #1. Make sure the butter is SOFTENED. And by softened, I don’t mean a rock hard chunk straight out of the refrigerator, or a half-melted puddle because you microwaved it for 30 seconds on high power. Softened. As in you could easily make a dent if you were to push your finger against the surface. If you don’t know how to achieve this particular state, I recommend microwaving the butter for 10-15 seconds at a time on low power.

Tip #2. The eggs (and everything else) need to be a ROOM TEMPERATURE. If you’re like me, who can’t remember to take the eggs out of the fridge two hours before baking, place the eggs into some warm water and let them warm up a little.

Tip #3. Use a SCALE MEASURE for the flour. This was actually a turning point for my cookie-making. Previously, I had used measuring cups for flour, but the thing is, when I measured my flour, I would take the tip of the flour bag and wipe off the excess flour. I didn’t realize that this was actually compressing the flour and as a result, I was adding in way more flour than I needed, so my cookies always turned out thick and cakey. The conversion from cups of all-purpose flour to grams is: 1 cup = 140 grams.

Baking the cookies:

Step 1. CREAM the butter and sugar together. A lot of people seem to have troubles with this. Use a hand mixer (or stand mixer, if you have one) and beat the butter and sugar until you can no longer see the sugar granules. Generally, if you see the colour of the mixture lighten slightly, that means that the butter has been sufficiently whipped and that you’ve achieved the required amount of creaming. This process usually takes about 2-3 minutes and the end result should look something like this:

Step 2. Beat in the eggs at ROOM TEMPERATURE (refer to Tip #2) one at a time into the mixture. Add the vanilla.

Step 3. Using a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking soda. Do NOT skip adding the salt – it’s actually very important in bringing out the sweetness in a chocolate chip cookie.

Step 4. STIR in the flour mixture. Yes, that means that you should put the hand mixer away. Over-beating the dough will take away the chewiness of chocolate chip cookies and instead, make your cookies taste cakey.

Step 5. STIR in the chocolate chips! My Asian background requires me to use chopsticks for positively everything, but spatulas work just as well. At this point, you can probably preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 6. Drop the dough by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. I strongly recommend lining your sheet with parchment paper as that makes it much harder to burn the bottoms of the cookies. If you really want to get OCD and make sure that your cookies are uniform in size for each batch, you can weigh out each piece of dough.

Step 7. Bake the cookies for about 8-10 minutes in the oven. PLEASE remember that every oven is different, and thus baking times will vary depending on the oven. Always check your cookies a little bit before the timer is up. The cookies are “done” when you start to see the edges turn slightly golden; the tops may still be relatively pale. Do NOT (and I repeat, DO NOT) wait for the entire cookie to turn golden because cookies continue to bake on the sheets after you take them out of the oven. If you take your cookies out when they are golden all over, the bottoms will most likely be burnt and your cookies will turn rock hard during the cooling process. Most people do not like rock hard cookies. Also, don’t forget to put the dough into the fridge in between batches – this way, the butter won’t begin to break down and cause the cookies to go flat and ugly. The finished product should (hopefully) look something like this:
And that, dear reader, is how you make a chocolate chip cookie. Please note that these cookies are more on the thin and chewy side, and if you prefer eating thicker cookies with layers of chips, you will need to increase the ratio of flour to butter. So, what are you waiting for? Stop gawking and go make your own!
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