Video of the Day: Magic Switch
A Journey to South Korea: Day 3
This is the third post of South Korea tour, and this was the day I went to two places: downtown Seoul and the famous 63 building, which is in Seoul as well.
I went downtown because I wanted to a big book store to buy Super Junior’s CDs and luckily the book store downtown.
Since my hotel was in the south part of Seoul, I took line 2 on the subway and then transferred to line 5. The Seoul subway has a total of 9 lines and there are certain stations you can transfer to different lines and it will only cost the price of going one way. Just to be careful of which way you are going because you can get lost very easily.
In downtown Seoul, there is a park in the middle of the street and that’s for memory their great hero.
This is the statue of a famous hero – I don’t know the name because it was in Korean.
This is the garden in the park. There are many more flower gardens and there are many status made of trees as well.
If you look closely, you can see the image on this wall is made in the shape of the royal’s palace. This park is really close to the palaces.
After I hung out downtown, I went to the 63 building. It was given this name because it has 63 floors and is the highest building in Seoul. I took the line 5 subway and transfered to line 9 in order to get there.
The first floor of the building it has an aquamarine, a movie theater and an elevator that goes to the top of the building. In the basement, there is a wax museum which is where I went first.
This is “The Last Supper” and is all made of wax.
I think everyone knows who the lady is beside me.
Here are one more wax statue. She is a famous actor in South Korea.
After the wax museum, I took the special elevator to the top of the building and at the top there was an art museum. However my eye was caught by the scenery outside.
This ended day 3 in South Korea! I hope you enjoyed it!
Another Poetry Moment: Shel Silverstein’s Messy Room
Here’s another poetry post by Shel Silverstein! Read the poem below:
Messy Room by Shel Silverstein:
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater’s been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or–
Huh? You say it’s mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
What are your thoughts on the poem? Have you read any of his poems before? If so, what do you like/dislike about them?
Video of the Day: iPad Magic
Lord of The Flies by William Golding
So, a while back I read a book called GONE, which is part one of a trilogy that I quite enjoy. Recently, I found out that the trilogy was based
on a book called Lord of the Flies by William Golding, so I decided to find that book and read it.
Lord of the Flies explores what would happen if everything was run by kids, and the consequences of an adultless world…kind of like a realistic version of the Peter Pan story.
Basically, a group of kids are stranded on an island, they form a community and vote Ralph (the average boy) as chief with Jack (alpha male) as second in command. It soon becomes a battle between instinct and logic when Jack wants everyone to hunt and Ralph tries to get everyone to build and maintain a fire as a distress signal. On top of that, there is also a monster of some sort causing issues on the island.
This book starts off with a bunch of seemingly innocent kids, and I thought the worst problem they could encounter would be someone losing their teddy bear. But then, all of a sudden the story takes a dark turn that would catch a lot of people by surprise (they start hunting animals, then each other).
This is a short read, but it is still a classic. I fairly enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend this to readers 13 and above; I give it a 4/5.
Happy Duck Family Photos
The happy ducky family I found at Nose Hill Park
So Cute!
Have you Shaved recently?
Since 2005, my brother, sister and I have been raising money for the Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta to help send kids and their siblings who have been touched by cancer to a special summer camp. Camp Kindle is owned and operated by the KCCFA and the camp tuition is paid only by donation. For the three of us, going to summer camp has always been something amazing that we look forward to, and we never believed that because you are sick you shouldn’t get to go to camp. So, when we heard about Camp Kindle, we thought it was the perfect cause to support! 😀
So far, between the three of us, we have passed the $10,000 mark of donations to help send kids to camp! We are so happy to have been able to make such a contribution with the support of our community 😀
Along with raising money, my sister and I donate our hair to make wigs for kids who have lost their hair to illness and our brother does the Shave Your Lid For a Kid event. My sister and I have donated our hair 3 times and are working on our next “harvest.” Our brother recently did his 3rd Shave with his junior high.
Check out this awesome video of his Shave!
[youtube 2NLrmGmvaxQ]If you would like to support my brother Dennis in his fundraising, you can pledge him through the KCCFA by clicking here 🙂 (You’ll get an instant tax receipt!)
Have you ever donated your hair? Shaved Your Lid For a Kid? Planning to do either? Done some fundraising? Or went to the camp? Please leave a comment and share your story 😀 ♥
Final Perspective: The Journey
Hey readers.
This will be my final Perspective post (at least for quite some time), so I thought I’d leave you with something special.
As photographers, we can be obsessed with getting just the right shot. Sometimes it just takes a quick snap of the shutter to get what we want, and sometimes we can labour over a set-up to get just the desired effect. Sometimes though, the very act of capturing the beauty of the world around us is what makes us pass it by so readily. The next time you see something that you just need to take a picture of, leave your camera alone. Just enjoy it with all your senses. Take in all its beauty. Why? Because so much is lost when we see life through the lens of a camera.
Last night, I went out and took this picture:
But you know what? I could care less about the picture, because the ride out there was a thousand times as beautiful.
[youtube HhosS0Jv2y0]The pastel skyline, the road glowing under the streetlamps, the light sparkling off the raindrops on the windshield.
Signing off, The Gentleman Scholar
A tribute to Social Studies 30
Social Studies 30 was one of the best high school courses I could have ever taken! Well, for a military and history buff like me, learning about the interesting topics of the Cold War, totalitarianism and the many methods employed by dictators and their regimes, political ideologies from autonomous Communism to lassiez- faire Capitalism, economics, and classic liberalism made it a fantastic experience!
Social Studies 30 had also revealed new perspectives to me, researching in depth the shocking war stories, recalling America and its proxy wars in Vietnam and Korea, Fidel Castro and his leadership role in the Cold War in Cuba, Adam Smith and his ideologies involving the invisible hand and Karl Marx and his ideologies demanding a proletariat revolution; I guess I’ve walked away from Social Studies 30 learning a plethora of history and events that has shaped our world.
Thanks to Social Studies 30, I can now confidently declare to other where I sit on the political spectrum, my opinions concerning the economic growth that defined classical liberalism, and my regards of the theocracy in Afghanistan.
Very apprehensive about the new curriculum that will introduced to future high school students; I wanted to dedicate a short story to an aspect of social studies that I found delightfully interesting and fascinating. However, I don’t believe there isn’t an aspect in Social Studies that isn’t worth learning; the whole course is geared towards learning about our culture, past and present, the important figures throughout history and the global resources we all are consuming at a concerning rate.
Everything You Need To Know From: Boy & GurL
Passion meets pop in this Calgarian singer/songwriter du0, Boy & GurL. Jarred Nicklen and Crystal McGrath have been creating together for years. They formed a musical duo group in 2008 and recorded their first EP together in February 2009. They are about to release their first full length album and on their website you can vote for your favourite song to help them decide which song will be their first single!
YAA: Why is it so important to you to give back to the community with your music?
Boy: The music industry isn’t the easiest buisness to be in at times, so I think as a band we understand how important it is to give support when ever and where ever we can. If it’s by giving financial support or just being part of an activist march, it feels great to stand behind something you really believe in.
GurL: Music is something everyone can identify and connect with; it brings people together and creates feeling. By being in the public eye, we are able to take our passion to raise awareness and fundings for organizations.
YAA: Before a show, do you have any rituals before you go on stage?
Boy: I ususally insult Crystal before going on stage. Come to think of it, I usually insult her on stage and after the show as well.
GurL: I usually cry. All the time. Kudos to Loreal for waterproof mascara…
YAA: What’s your usual order at Tim Horton’s?
Boy: Nothing, because they don’t have soy milk…Starbucks all the way!
GurL: Coffee…2 sweetners…allergies don’t let me join in on the whole “double double” trend…
YAA: Have you decided what to title your upcoming album?
Boy: “Crystal is an over emotional chick that likes to make Jarred’s life very interesting,” You like??
GurL: HA HA! Here come the tears I was talking about… To be serious, since Boy appears to live in the land of make believe, the new album is called Love Crimes.
YAA: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
Boy: When I was a kid my mom always told me that life wasn’t fair and just to get over it. Hard thing to hear, but stops you from ever feeling sorry for yourself.
GurL: My dad once told me the key to success is to be persistant through the good, the bad, the slow, and the fast times…He’s right.
YAA: You’re both very strong songwriters, does that ever make it difficult when you write together?
Boy: Not at all…it makes it that much better. You challenge yourself that much more because you’re not the only one that has to like it, but two people [have to like it].
GurL: We are lucky that our writing chemistry is strong. ..We bring out elements in each other that we wouldn’t find alone…and from the very first time we hung out we started writing hits…We actually started writing together for fun before we even decided to be a band, so that was a good sign!
YAA: What’s your favourite type of cheese?
Boy: Marble, but I know as soon as I eat it my body will reject it, as I am lactose intolerant. But I love dairy!!
GurL: I also have the joy of being lactose intolerant, but yet I still find a way to eat Provolone cheese.
Now that you know everything about Boy & GurL, don’t forget to vote for which sing you think will be their first single, befriend them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
ghoti = fish?
I’m sure that most of us have had to write English or Social Studies papers this past week…and because of that fact, I was reminded of an article I read a while ago about spelling.
“English spelling “truely atrosious”, says academic“
This article basically highlights how…unique (to put it nicely) the English language is. Don’t get me wrong, I quite enjoy English…but I do have to agree that the rules on spelling can be a little ridiculous at times.
Writer George Bernard Shaw was fond of pointing out that the word “ghoti” could just as well be pronounced “fish” if you followed common pronunciation: ‘gh’ as in “tough”, ‘o’ as in “women” and ‘ti’ as in “nation”.
In a nutshell, one side can argue that it’s okay to accept change, that society tends to be ruled by majority anyways. But then on the other hand, if there is leniency on different ways of spelling the same word (not taking into account Canadian, American, or British spellings), then how do we know where we stop accepting the endless ways? Do you guys have any thoughts on this?
Chinatown Turns 100
Calgary City Parks aren’t the only things turning 100 this year – Chinatown will also be celebrating a century of existence with celebratory events taking place from June through August.
Coming up quickly on Saturday June 19th, the United Calgary Chinese & Calgary Chinese Elderly Citizens Associations will be hosting a Stampede Breakfast. Food will be served from 9 – 11 a.m, accompanied by a stage performance until 12pm. You’ll find the food and festivities at “the heart of Chinatown” – 3 Avenue S.E. Calgary.
You can check out the rest of the events here.
Wanted: Street Team for Sled Island
Wanted: Street Team for Sled Island
It’s that time of year. Sled Island Music and Film Festival time of year that is. 
The line-up is pretty wicked this time around and we need some equally wicked volunteers to go to the shows (volunteers will receive festival passes) and watch Girl Talk, King Khan & BBQ, The Posies, and lots more. And, of course, to spread the word that civic involvement is the new black, I mean pink. Watch the shows, snap some photos and show Canadians how hot democracy is.
A is B is a non-partisan non-profit charitable organization that tries to show youth that democracy is sexy through art and technology and wicked musicians like the performers at Sled Island.
We want dynamic, dedicated, and (obviously) organized volunteers from across Canada to be part of this summer’s Street Team campaign. We will be selecting volunteers based on experience and an interview.
Are you the cat’s meow?
Here are the details:
Date: Friday July 2 & Saturday July 3
Time: Friday – 3pm to 11pm; Saturday – 12pm – 11pm
Venue: Olympic Plaza, Calgary, Alberta
Note: A is B does not cover travel costs, volunteers should be from Alberta and able to get to the festival themselves.
One Lead Volunteer ($100 Honorarium):
Responsibilities:
- Coordinate the local volunteer team with an Apathy is Boring staff member leading up the event
- Participate in at least one phone meeting leading up to the event with an Apathy is Boring staff member
- Coordinate meeting time and location with other volunteer
- Bring all contents of the Apathy is Boring kit to the event site
- Fill out short surveys with audience members throughout the duration of the festival
- Pass out flyers about Apathy is Boring
- Interact with festival goers and show them how boring apathy really is
- Collect all Apathy is Boring material and mail it back to the Apathy is Boring office
1 additional volunteer:
Responsibilities:
- Fill out short surveys with audience members throughout the duration of the festival
- Pass out flyers about Apathy is Boring
- Interact with festival goers and show them how boring apathy really is
Please contact Apathy is Boring at info@apathyisboring.com if you’re interested OR for more details.
The New Black: Upcoming Shows
The New Black, a Calgary-based non-profit music venue/recording studio, is the perfect spot for music lovers of all ages to come and see live gigs, create music themselves, or simply hang out with their peers. The New Black also offers its all aged clients a stage to practice their music as well as a recording studio.
Here is a list of upcoming shows:
June 18th – The Rocket House w/ Without Fail – Doors at 7 – All Ages
June 19th – Sultan Pepper w/ Transit and the Shagbots – Doors at 7 – All Ages
June 25th – Tree Burning w/ Miskatonic and Frightenstein – Doors at 7 – All Ages
June 26th – City of Fiction – Doors at 7 – All Ages
June 30th – Sled Island featuring A Decade Lost w/ Vendetta Skies and Sing City Lights – Doors at 5 – All Ages
July 1st – Sled Island featuring Go For The Eyes w/ Inner City Elegance, Dean Selena The Dead Hands – Doors at 5 – All Ages
July 2nd – Sled Island featuring Infunkstigation w/ Danny Rebel and The KGB, Transit, Nostalgic Machine Gun – Doors at 5 – All Ages
July 3rd – Sled Island featuring Crystal Kid, Fireside Riot, Meisha and The Spanks, Pine Tarts – Doors at 5 – All Ages
July 16th – Kataplexis w/ Terrorhorse, Faceless Hulk, Akakor and BuKkaKe Cannon with The Malibu Knights – Doors at 7 – All Ages
July 19th – ILL Intent w/ Frustration, Old Problems, The Illustrated, Runaways – Doors 6:30 – All Ages
July 24th – Caught off Guard w/ Ebenezar, Alamagokus, …And Explode! – Doors at 7 – All Ages
July 31st – Ze (Japanese Metal) – Doors at 7 – All Ages
For more information check out http://www.thenewblackcentre.com/
How Are YOU Spending Your Summer?
Looking for something to do this summer? Interested in making new friends and scoring some volunteer hours while you’re at it?
Child and Youth Friendly Calgary has a few opportunities coming up if you answered “yes” to the questions above.
The Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC for short) is a program that provides youth-approved volunteering opportunities for youth. Volunteers sign up online for one-time projects that they can participate in with a bunch of other young people. There’s huge variety in the types of projects – everything from helping out at festivals to volunteering with the Food Bank.
Now’s YOUR chance to join the YVC Steering Committee, a.k.a. the group of youth who meet 2 times per month to choose YVC volunteer projects and help plan Empty Bowls 2011. If you’re interested, please contact Erica at yvc@cyfc.ca.
If that doesn’t sound like you’re cup of tea, but you still want to get involved, maybe you’d be interested in helping young people improve Calgary one project at a time…
The Calgary Youth Foundation is run by youth who get together 1-2 times every month to look over grant applications for youth-driven projects and programs around the city, and then gets to choose the projects to distribute grant money to. Plus, you’ll also get to work on expanding the Youth Vital Signs report. Interested? Email Ros at ros@cyfc.ca.
Both opportunities will let you work towards a greater good, get volunteer hours, and make awesome new friends. The meetings are tons of fun, and everyone here at Youth Are Awesome is sure you’ll have a great time. So, what are you waiting for? Get involved!