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.
Do you have a band but nowhere to play or record your music? For the months of October and November, the +15 gallery at the EPCOR Centre will be a functional practice space for bands.
The Local Library will provide key access to the space during certain times for a two-week block. They provide recording devices, plus you’ll be able to leave your gear, posters and whatever else you need. At the end of your stay, you’ll have a mini show in the gallery. Solo artists are also welcomed.
Sound sweet? Here’s what you need to do. Email info@locallibrary.ca with your band name, ages of band mates and a MySpace link or a couple of Mp3s. The deadline is Sept. 28.
More than 200 local, national and international films are featured during the 10 days of the Calgary International Film Festival. Be sure to check out the Youth by Youth Cinema Competition this Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Plaza Theatre, which includes 15 films by youth ranging in age from elementary to high school.
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra brings us their rendition of Michael Jackson’s hits on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., including Thriller, Billie Jean, I Want You Back and ABC. Tickets range from $19 – $87, call 403-571-0849.
This Sunday marks the beginning of seven days of independent fashion shows and events, proving Alberta is about more than just oil and cowboys. Emerging and existing talent show their collections, featuring everything from swimwear to bridal gowns.
The Chinese Opera Festival was one of the performing arts highlights of the Calgary Chinatown Centennial celebration. With the unique collaboration of traditional BeiJing Opera artists and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jubilee Auditorium was filled with lively Eastern music. It was certainly a rare treat for Calgarians to see this redefined style, since it has only been performed in a few countries around the international stage like Germany and China. As a promotion of Chinese culture among youth, people under the age of 18 were given free admission.
The performances of the evening were put on by the Mei Lanfang Peking Opera Troupe, one of the top-ranked BeiJing Opera groups in China with 80 years of history. The troupe is named in honour of none other than the opera master Mei Lanfang himself, who was an internationally renowned artist in BeiJing Opera. The Director and leading actor of the troupe is Mei Lanfang’s son, Mei Baojiu, who has inherited his father’s legacy of continuing the mastery and performance of this ancient Chinese art. Mr. Mei Baijiu, who is 76 as of 2010, has been performing and training among world class artists since the age of 10. In 1989, he received the “Asia’s best Artist Award” from New York Lincoln Art. It was a real treat to see him perform his dan (female) character on stage.
The evening of performance began with the singing of the Canadian national anthem (probably the best I have heard in years) by the CPO (Calgary philharmonic orchestra) and the Mount Royal Kantorei. The rhythmic Chinese national anthem performed by the Zhiyin-Yin choir followed. Then, the audience was taken slowly back in time through the thousand years of legacy of the BeiJing Opera.
From contemporary operas of the 1950s and 1960s, detailing the accounts of brave soldiers sacrificing their lives to protect their country, to operas of ancient China about a bride lamenting over her uncertain future, the performance expanded the cultural heritage that tied so many generations of Chinese people together. The second half of the show was dedicated to the tragic love story of Yang Guifei, a famous imperial concubine of the Tang Dynasty, and the Emperor. In each act, the story of their encounters, emotions, and grievances are woven into a beautiful melody. The final act of the night, The Pear Flower Song of Praise, ended with the couple finally reunited in heaven, and garnered enthusiastic applause from the audience not only because of the fulfilling ending, but also because the act was sung by Mr. Mei Baijiu himself. The audience was absolutely delighted. The evening ended with Mr. Mei Baojiu receiving an honourary citizenship (symbolized in the form of a cowboy hat) from the citizens of Calgary.
All in all, the BeiJing Opera Festival was one of highlights of performing arts in Calgary this season. I feel very lucky to have had to opportunity to attend it.
On Aug. 31, 2010, Canon Inc. announced its newest image sensor for digital cameras – a CMOS sensor the size of your face.
Image courtesy of dpreview.com
At 202 x 205mm, this new image sensor has absolutely no precedent in an age where most cameras have a sensor smaller than a pinky fingernail and even the pros only work with chips the size of a film negative. Aside from the fact that a camera wielding this sensor would be nigh-unportable, the world of photography truly has an amazing future; Canon claims their new sensor requires only 1/100th the amount of light a regular sensor needs, and can shoot video at 60 frames-per-second while only requiring ½ the amount of light available on a moonlit night.
What does this mean for all the photographers out there? Even though there’s a good chance no one will ever release a camera with a sensor this big for consumer use, it means camera corporations are making huge steps in terms of the quality and capability of their cameras, which in turn means that much more capable cameras are in the works. Keep an eye out for new cameras with bigger and better sensors; they’re coming your way!
It’s my favourite website. It’s one of my greatest sources of inspiration. It’s something I recommend to everyone: Ted.com
There I find videos of “talks” (presentations, speeches) at Ted conferences. But what is Ted? In 1984, it started out as a conference to bring toether ideas from three realms- technology, entertainment, and design. T.E.D. – Ted. Since then, however, it has expanded to host conferences on hundreds of topics, anywhere from Creative Collaboration to History. They feature speeches that broaden your mind and change your perspective, be it on the efficiency of global education systems or what exactly makes humankind happy.
Ted showcases phenomenal people with intriguing, and often pivotal, ideas. Hence Ted’s motto: Ideas worth spreading. Names of speakers you might recognize? David Blaine, Bono, James Cameron, Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Al Gore, Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King Jr, Jamie Oliver and Elizabeth Gilbert.
Ted.com even features a very inspirational speech made by J.K. Rowling to Harvard graduates. Ted also offers something for everyone – any topic area is sure to be covered in a new light. Furthermore, most talks have entertaining humourous aspects and stunning powerpoint presentations.
To get you hooked, I posted one of my favourite “talks”:
(Click the image to go to Ted.com to watch the video.)
Sweden’s general election finished on Sunday with the center-right Sweden Democrats taking the house advantage with 20 seats. Some Swedes have seen this as a turning point in the political climate of Sweden for the Sweden Democrats are known for their tough stance in immigration and social welfare. They believe that multiculturalism in Sweden has failed and immigrants need to assimilate into Swedish society, or be denied citizenship. Jimmie Akesson, the leader of the party, denies any sentiment of racism and that immigration has caused a strain on Swedish welfare.
My friends say I am right-winged. I consider myself to be centrist. I guess that’s a nice way of saying I am very divided on issues and am indecisive, but it also gives me the chance to evaluate issues from both sides of the coin. But even I have noticed the rise of right-winged governments over the world in the past decade or so, particularly in Europe. Denmark’s government currently is also right-winged and wishes to impose strong regulations on welfare and immigration. Same has been with the Dutch since 2002 and now anti-immigration issues are in every political election. There has been momentum building up behind the far-right British National party pushing for capital punishment and contempt at various racial groups, especially Muslims, that can be seen as racism. Hitler’s Mein Kampt has seen rising sales over the world, even in countries such as India and Poland. I have already written an article about the banning of the burqa in France. Right across the border, the Tea Party in America has been getting attention left and right from winning senate seats by Rand Paul and Christine O’Donnell.
Whether these events are related to each other or not is uncertain; obviously some of these groups are more extreme than others. I don’t think the Tea Party is open to racial “debate” like the British National Party is. But what is certain is in the past decade we have seen slightly further right-winged parties, previously dismissed as extremists, to have a real political impact in countries. Generally these parties have an strict or anti-immigration and pro-assimilation policy. They believe in less social welfare and stronger motives for people do well by themselves.
There are many reasons why there may be an emergence of right-winged governments. The ones I believe are the most influential are those with a weaker-than-normal economy and a weak and apathetic leader. In times of tough economic downturns, people may question their decrease in wage or loss of jobs to immigrants or foreign companies and why they, as the citizens, are not protected from this. Economic hardship also leads to lots of people eating off of social welfare, which puts a strain on the government budget. And a weak leader who puts forward little to no changes to better the life of the citizens only force the citizens of a nation to turn to more radical political leaders and factions.
By no means am I saying these parties will rise to become fascist states or legally violate the rights of man. In fact, lower immigration rates can help countries in terms of their economics as there are now less people to care for. But there is a fine line between simply helping the economy, or sinking back into the days of racism and segregation and the concept of a master race. How far can a political party push the issue of national identity and assimilation until the country fissures? Whether this will be a rise to the challenge, or a turn for the worst, it is clear that further right-winged political factions are starting to have more influence in the world of politics. But I guess with voter apathy as high as it is in Canada, Stephen Harper can probably sit tight for just a few more years.
For more information, keep an eye on major news media. The information used for this article comes from MSNBC, BBC, The Guardian, this is Staffordshire, and Maclean’s Magazine.
The first time I saw this photo I was captivated and amazed. In a sense it seemed unbelievable because of how different this photo is from any other. Immediately I imagined the weather we had last week, rain pouring on a what seems like a normal and dim day. Yet in the sky it is something completely different than what appears to our eyes on a day-to-day basis. Watching the rain fall, it makes me wonder how standing in the rain soaking wet and watching droplets come down one by one, can somehow look so beautiful and elegant from a different point of view.
Last Sunday was the 2nd annual Haultain and First Street Festival! Filled with fun for all ages, the festival started last year as a celebration of the completion of Haultain Park – a seven year project. Last year was a blast, and this year was no different. Although it is still technically summer, it seems like snow is on the way with this horrible weather, BUT it seems like weather isn’t a factor to dampen people’s spirits.
The fashion shows were the first stop in my tour of the festival. Designs from all over the First Street area were a hit. So many people were crowed by the runways to watch, with cheers for EVERY OUTFIT.
Valetta brought a cool New York street vibe with their tees and pants, and Emogene Couture with Jewellery by Gorgeous went to show some beautiful classic and elegant pieces to glam up the runway.
A cool look for girls!
Don’t forget the guys!
Emogene Couture and Gorgeous’s beautiful look
Here’s JAY pumping up the crowd!
While the models were taking a very well deserved break, we were not left without entertainment. Local artists started to hit the stage such as JAY and Nick Rodreguiz.
Sisters Janel and Lisa!
From all the HOT runway looks it was time to me to cool down. Walking down First Street was no disappointment; local vendors showed amazing creations such as birdonawire.com, with beautiful feather earrings and necklaces. Sisters Lisa and Janel Nail showed off beautiful handmade brooches and accessories, including a pair of cuties (owls made of feathers!) As well, Sara Kasserman and Sydney Mielke showed up with dazzling necklaces and warm, fuzzy knits.
If you’re starting to ask, where’s the art? There is no need to panic! A local street artist showed up and made this amazing piece on the spot.
Mac’s Frosters also swung by, giving away free mini slurpees. Not only that, but down at the park Lululemon was giving away some free yoga lessons to ease your stress. Have kids? The playground area was filled with kids having fun with steel drums in the background, giving some sizzle to the classic pop songs.
Seems like fun?! It sure was! To check it out next year, visit www.victoriapark.com and keep yourself posted to local events.
“The strongest person is not the person who believes they are invincible. On the contrary, the strongest people admit they are weak, that they need to be loved, and that they are vulnerable. Indeed, these individuals reach out to their community, and realize they are part of something greater – they gain strength through realizing there is no shame in admitting they need to be loved, weak or are vulnerable. Instead, from this, we learn compassion – by acknowledging human frailty, we learn humility, empathy and love.”
Dr. Olaf Rieck, Wikimedia Commons
“Many may describe the journey of enlightenment with a mountain and a valley. The mountain top is point where we are the happiest, while the valley is at the point of lives where we feel the most depressed and weakest. This is true. However, enlightenment does not occur at the mountain top. No, it is at the valley where enlightenment occurs. At the valley, we learn our faults, we experience challenges, from there we learn forgiveness, we understand human frailty, and from there we grow compassion and we learn who we are.”
The day after the SM Town 10 concert, myself and some other fans have agreed to go to the hotel that the artists were staying at. It wasn’t far from our hotel but due to LA’s terrible traffic, a 10-minute ride turned into a 25-minute ride. When we got there around 11 am, there were already a lot of fans waiting there.
After a while, we still didn’t see anyone walking out of the building so we started to wonder if they were still there – then a hotel security answered our question. He held up a speaker and said, “The SM Entertainment has left the hotel long ago, they went out at the back door. Please clear the area.” Nobody moved because we all thought this was a trick. After we left we thought there would still be artists coming out, but then one of my group members told everyone SM Entertainment have already arrived the air port and someone have saw them. As we heard this news we were all very disappointed so we decided to go see the places they went in LA. We headed to Korea town.
This is us taking a picture in front of the hotel sign.
We arrived Korea Town around 12:30 p.m. and we decided to go eat lunch. We found a Korean restaurant that looks kind of nice on the outside, but as we saw the menu we wanted to go because it was all beef. However, we were already there so we decided to stay.
A few days ago I had the opportunity of attend the screening of The Social Network. Being a fan of Facebook myself, I was quite excited. I made my way into the movie theatre with fairly high standards. As the movie progressed, I soon realized that I would not be left disappointed. There weren’t many moments that left me bored. Constantly, the film caught me with wide eyes and an open mouth.
Overall, I have nothing negative to say about this film. The entire cast was phenomenal, and the movie was made even better by the fantastic soundtrack and smart comedy.
So by the time Oct. 1 rolls around, grab yourself a ticket and follow Mark Zuckerberg’s journey to becoming the world’s youngest billionaire.
TD Tree Days in Quebec. Eager volunteers plant new trees. Image courtesy TD Canada Trust
TD Tree Days is officially in full swing. Organized by the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, thousands of TD employees and everyday Canadians celebrate environmental awareness and action through a symbolic one day program. The idea is simple: holes are dug up at various parks throughout Canada and enthusiastic individuals work hard to fill those holes with growing trees.
I personally had the fortune to participate at the tree planting held in Calgary on Sept. 18 as a volunteer with Youth Central (formerly Child and Youth Friendly Calgary) as part of the Youth Volunteer Corps. When I arrived, a great number of volunteers were already prancing excitedly for the tree planting to start. A great variety of people showed up: TD employees, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Youth Central members and ordinary neighbours. A quick count yielded over 100 people on the grounds. Soon enough, gloves and shovels were handed out and a quick demonstration of the tree planting procedure shown. Without further ado, the tree planting began.
Then the event went on at a frantic pace. Eager individuals fought to plant the taller trees while little kids competed to see who planted more of the smaller ones. Holes were widened, roots were disturbed, trees were placed and then soil were moved. At the end of it all, over 250 trees were planted at South Glenmore Park. Refreshments of coffee and chips were given out as the planting went on. At the end of the two hour tree planting frenzy, happy and tired individuals left the event, feeling self-fulfilled and looking forward to the next year. This scene is not limited to South Glenmore Park. Earlier that day, a similar event occured at North Glenmore Park. In fact, across Canada for the past week, environmental enthusiasts gathered together and contributed to the cause. If you have yet to participate in one of these events, don’t fret. More events are coming up in the next week across Canada, so simply find a location and go show your support for the planet. For more information about the event and future events at different locations, visit http://www.tdtreedays.com/.
After a week of gaming, I think I am ready to review Halo Reach.
So let’s start with online multiplayer. There are countless game types a player can choose from. So this will satisfy the wants of any gamer (you can even have racing games). It is basically the super fun Halo 3 multiplayers, with amazing graphics, endless game types and improved matchmaking.
Now let’s talk forge world. Basically it is a map so big, it’s mind blowing. In that map, players are given all the tools the game developers had, so they can use their imaginations to create their own maps.
Now it’s time for firefight. This is just like the Halo odst firefight, where the player takes on endless waves of covenant forces. But this time, it has been fine-tuned to perfection. Also Bungie made firefight endlessly customizable so the player can honestly do whatever they want. Bungie also included a matchmaking option… so basically, it’s awesome.
It’s time to talk campaign; this might just be the best campaign in any shooter game I have ever played. It feels realistic and it never gets repetitive, I love they way things happen all around the player in an open world while the players are trying to complete a certain objective. On top of that, Halo Reach has fantastic cinematic cutscenes that have been missing from the Halo franchise.
On top of all that, the controls (like any Halo game) is great, the physics are good and the graphics are PS3 level. The players are also given awesome new weapons (needle rifle is my favorite) and amour abilities (but I only use sprint because I want to give my opponents a chance).
The only negative I can think of is that this will be the last Halo game by Bungie. I give this game a 10/10
Oh, and here’s a warning; if you plan to play some arena… just know that it is intense and you probably won’t do very well (*cough* I’m undefeated *cough*cough*) so if I were you I would avoid it. That being said if you must play arena, just hope you’re not facing me… or you might be the first person to score less than 1000 points.
