Say hello to “Ardi,” a hominid who lived in what is now Ethiopia about 4.4 million years ago . The 110-pound, 4-foot female roamed forests a million years before the infamous Lucy, who was long thought to be the earliest skeleton of a human.

A study of Ardi, under way since the first bones were discovered in 1994, indicates the species lived in the woodlands and could climb on all fours along tree branches, but the development of their arms and legs indicates they didn’t spend much time in the trees. And they could walk upright, on two legs, when on the ground.

Formally dubbed Ardipithecus ramidus — which means root of the ground ape — the find is detailed in 11 research papers published Thursday by the journal Science.

“This is one of the most important discoveries for the study of human evolution,” said David Pilbeam , curator of paleoanthropology at Harvard’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

“It is relatively complete in that it preserves head, hands, feet and some critical parts in between. It represents a genus plausibly ancestral to Australopithecus — itself ancestral to our genus Homo,” said Pilbeam, who was not part of the research teams.

Scientists assembled the skeleton from 125 pieces.

Ardi was found in Ethiopia‘s Afar Rift, where many fossils of ancient plants and animals have been discovered. Findings near the skeleton indicate that at the time it was a wooded environment. Fossils of 29 species of birds and 20 species of small mammals were found at the site. Geologist Giday WoldeGabriel of Los Alamos National Laboratory was able to use volcanic layers above and below the fossil to date it to 4.4 million years ago! The pelvis and hip show the gluteal muscles were positioned so she could walk upright. Her feet were rigid enough for walking but still had a grasping big toe for use in climbing.

 Click here to read more information about this amazing discovery!

Yup, October is upon us already…but not to fear! First Thursday is here?!

First Thursday is Calgary’s monthly cultural crawl that happens on the first Thursday of every month—I love self explanatory names, don’t you?

So what’s involved? Let’s just say… theatre, art openings, food and drink specials, live music, and MORE! If this is your kind of thing, come on down to the Cultural District today, October 1st, to check out the events that are on all day, from 9am to 2am. (Although I should hope none of you are out this late…)

There is even a free historical walking tour of Calgary’s downtown area. Afterwards, when you’re tired, you can wind down by checking out the works of numerous artists at Art Central. Or you can attend one of the many art and theatre openings. OR you can visit one of the restaurants in the area for dinner or a snack!

With access to theatre, live music, and great restaurants all within a few blocks, the Cultural District is the place to come to experience Calgary’s arts and culture scene.

This is definitely a great opportunity to explore Calgary and to get to know it better. Besides, next month may bring snow… and exploring in the freezing cold just doesn’t seem as exciting. Well, at least it isn’t to me—the cold and I don’t get along very well. Anyways, to check out the schedule of events happening, click here!

This kid is five years old, and he’s already better at trumpet than many trumpeters with years of experience! Geoffrey Gallante can really play the trumpet, and he first started playing at the age of three!

Geoffrey has been featured on many news casts and has been the star of the stage countless times. From the moment this little boy picked up the instrument, he was not only a natural, you could tell he was a prodigy. While his classmates are still learning their ABCs, Geoffrey can regularily read and play music with trained professionals.

He makes it look so easy, even with those tiny lungs of his. To say the least I am very jealous of this little boy.

Trick or Treat! Smell my feet! Give me something good to eat!

This famous rhyme will be echoed all over Calgary in just 31 short days. Halloween, the favourite holiday of so many kids, is celebrated on October 31st. People dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, go to haunted attractions, and give out candy.

Most people are familiar with Halloween and love the holiday, but always have trouble thinking of costume ideas for the day. This cool website gives you lots of costumes you can make yourself and look awesome on the day. Just click here. Some of the coolest ideas include  the Joker from Batman, Ricky and Lucy, and so many others.

Check this site out and you won’t disappointed. You’ll find something you love that is easy to make!

Jai Al-Attas, a 25 year old director from Australia, just presented his punk rock documentary One Nine Nine Four at The Calgary International Film Festival, to a very wild crowd. The film was very well set up, informing audiences of what truly was happening in the punk rock scene when everyone was still wearing leather pants, way too much hairspray and still listening to hair bands, and just how quickly it began to explode and be played on radio stations everywhere. The film is narrated by Tony Hawk and provides interesting insight into the bands and record labels; with interviews with Tom Delonge (Blink-182), Fat Mike (NOFX, Fat Wreck Chords), Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion, Epitaph) and several other influential punk rockers. Through out the film there seemed to be a lot of focus on Green Day, who in the film is accredited with killing grunge rock and Nirvana, bringing punk rock to the forefront. However, by focusing on a handful of bands instead of the whole scene  the movie was very controlled and easy to follow. The film gave true depictions of what the industry was like; playing in warehouses, bands having their music featured in skateboarding and surfing videos, DIY records and labels, and the eventual rise of their own summer tour, Warped Tour.

If you love the whole punk rock scene I would definitely recommend this movie. The amount of information piled into the 90 minute documentary was momentous and I have not watched a music film like this one to date.

I give it four and a half crowd surfers out of five.

Tired of your parents always asking you to turn down that noise coming from your amp? Well drop off your band’s demo and bio to The New Black Centre for Music & Art and you could just get the chance to turn it up a whole lot louder. If your band has members all under the age of 18, CalgarySun.com & Red Rocks Concert Series are hosting an event just for you, Kick-Start 2009. One lucky winner from Kick-Start 2009 will be chosen by CalgarySun.com and The New Black Centre to win a full day in the studio, 12 jam sessions at The New Black Centre AND a spot in the upcoming show in the Red Rocks Concert Series. But get a move on it because the deadline is this Friday, October 2nd at noon.

Rock on!

Well, school is definitely back in session and that means that homework and tests abound. Most of the time, we study and work until we get the right answer. Sometimes we end up guessing. These people appear to have thrown caution to the wind and used a different form of logic altogether. Don’t try this at school kids. Enjoy!

Have you heard of buildings that can move, be quickly installed and generate electricity?

Dr. David Fisher is the architect and inventor of Dynamic tower, the world’s first building in motion. He has always been focused on two concepts: an industrial approach involving the use of prefabricated units, and Dynamic Architecture, where the traditional three-dimensional design meets a fourth dimension: Time. With his invention of the Dynamic tower, he is transforming Time to herald a New Era of Architecture.

One of those unique characteristics of Dynamic tower is undoubtedly its ability to move. Essentially, the Dynamic tower itself is being divided into different floors and all floors are connected and supported by the main core structure. The rotation of each floor then can be controlled by the owner or user of that floor; the frequency and direction of the rotation can be adjusted to the need of the owner or user. The benefit of such design is the ability for the user to enjoy the dynamic view of the surroundings of the building. The constantly changing view of the Dynamic tower combining with the modern Smart Home technologies making the Dynamic tower the most luxurious home anyone may reside in.

Youthareawesome.com is not the only Canadian, youth-focused blog out there…

Youth Action Network is a youth-run blog and organization based out of Toronto, Ontario that is committed to youth action within their city, around the world, and the movement toward a just and sustainable society. They do some pretty cool things, like the annual RUCKUS! Youth Activism & Anti-Racism Conference. RUCKUS! is a free conference for high school-aged youth of Colour, their Allies and other concerned youth.

They also have a youth run magazine that’s published nationally called FORUM. FORUM’s mandate is to provide a space for young people to share their thoughts, opinions and experiences with other youth across Canada and to motivate youth to be proactive in their communities. The Fall 2009 edition of FORUM is based on the theme ‘social networking for social change‘

Nothing is more important than connecting with like-minded people and sharing ideas and experiences so bookmark YAN, subscribe to the national mag or add yourself to their mailing list and keep track of what other awesome youth are doing across the country – you might get inspired by some of their stories and be able to start a project of your own!

As September ends, we are into a new season and new month. There are some awesome holidays in October, including some that you may never have heard of. October is a month for many things, some that we never even hear about! Did you know October is Adopt-a-Shelter-Animal Month, Computer Learning Month, Family History Month, National Apple Month, National Clock Month, National Dessert Month, National Pizza Month, National Popcorn Popping Month, National Roller Skating Month, Polish American History Month, and National Stamp Collecting Month?

There are also week-long themes happening such as Fire Prevention Week on the first week of October and Teen Read Week on the second week.

On almost every day in October there is something happening. Check out the dates below!

October 1st: Homemade Cookies Day, World Vegetarian Day

October 2nd: Name Your Car Day

October 4th: National Golf Day

October 5th: Child Health Day, World Teacher Day

October 9th: Moldy Cheese Day

October 12th: Columbus Day, Día de la Raza, Farmer’s Day, Indigenous People’s Day, Thanksgiving Day in Canada

October 15th: National Grouch Day, National Poetry Day

October 16th: Boss’s Day, Dictionary Day, World Food Day

October 17th: Black Poetry Day, Sweetest Day

October 18th: Alaska Day

October 22nd: National Nut Day

October 24th: National Bologna Day, United Nations Day

October 25th: Mother-in-Law’s Day, National Denim Day

October 28th: Plush Animal Lover’s Day

October 31st: Halloween

This is it! The King of Pop hits stage October 28th in theaters around the globe. This is the moment that everyone has being waiting for! You can check out the trailer for the new movie here and find out more about this awesome experience! The movie though will be only out in theaters for two weeks so save up your money now!

May the King of Pop live forever in our hearts. R.I.P. M.J.

Apple has done it again. The new fifth generation iPod nano is amazing. The bugs from the previous iPod nano have been fixed and tons of new features have been added to this new and improved iPod nano. The new iPod nano is smaller and lighter then the previous one. It also has a video camera and a voice recorder, which is perfect for capturing funny moments and giving yourself reminders. If you get tired of the music you have you can always listen to the radio on the iPod nano. And its the perfect mp3 player to take to the gym – it has a pedometer built into it!

For young women ages 12-17 only! This FREE conference will inspire and enlighten young women about the opportunities for non-traditional careers in science, engineering, entrepreneurship, and technology.  During fun-filled workshops with some of the most successful women in our community, participants will gain confidence, connections and career options.

Due to the success of women in these programs, the Beauty and Brains Conference aims to help young women explore and network with professional women involved with such fields of work. This all-day event will provide young women with a chance to meet other like-minded women while learning more about these fields of work, the important role that they have in Calgary and possible education paths. Participants are invited to a fun filled day where they’re able to make lasting connections, enjoy a delicious lunch, win great prizes and take charge of their future!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

TELUS World of Science – Calgary
701-11th Street SW
Calgary AB
T2P 2C4
1 block west of the 10th St. C-Train Station

CLICK HERE for more information about this awesome event!

Registration has begun! You don’t want to miss out, so click here to register 😀

In 2005, a young filmmaker in the states adapted a slam poem written by his friend, entitled “Slip of the Tongue”, with the intention of applying images to a poetry recording.  This four-minute short was submitted to the Media That Matters Film Festival, as well as the 2007/2008 Reel Youth Film Festival based in Vancouver, where it won the People’s Choice Best Overall Film award.  It is now also featured on Citizen Shift – “the National Film Board of Canada‘s participatory Web platform exploring today’s crucial issues through films, photography, articles, blogs and podcasts”.