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Rwanda Poem

kaiz
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As promised, here is another poem, commenting on the Rwanda genocide of 1994. For more information, please visit this BBC news article.

Our people are scared, miserable, weak,
but won’t get help, nobody has courage to speak.
Disrespect, Torture, Rape, and Argument,
Nowhere to turn, Noplace to run
Dead bodies lying in the street,
Tutsis and others prostrate at their feet.
We will not stay here we will rise up
We are worth it, we will erupt
Despite our loss, Despite what we lack,
Rwanda has fallen, but we will fight back.

By Kaiz Alarakyia

Shutter Island (Spoiler Alert!)

katty
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*Spoiler Alert* When people watch the trailer of this movie most would think this is a horror film, but after I watched the movie it was actually not scary at all. This movie is directed by Martin Scorsese and the main character is Teddy Daniels (Andrew Laeddiss) played by Leonardo DiCaprio. It started of by Teddy and his partner Chuck two U.S Marshals went to a prison that kept criminals with mental disorders and the prison is on an isolated island called Shutter Island. They went there to investigate a case of disappearance of a woman called Rachel Solando who drowned all of her children. The head of this prison is Dr. John Cawley who is a psychiatrist, and he descried Rachel vanished in a lock room like magic. Teddy didn’t believe a woman who didn’t wear any shoes could escape from the island by running because the weather outside are cold and rainy. After a serious of investigation, Teddy find out that this is actually a trick to kept him and his partner on this island for brain surgery which is taking people’s emotion and memories away to make them like “Ghost”, and the prisoners (Dr. John Cawley refer as patients) are all for experiments. Teddy wants to escape from this island but more importantly he wants to find a man called Andrew Laeddiss that killed Teddy’s wife and Teddy know he is on the island because his wife tells him that in his dreams. As Teddy’s partner fell off a cliff and his body disappears Teddy knows that Dr. John Cawley has taken his friend to the light house for surgery. As Teddy rush inside the light house he only see Dr. John Cawley sit there with no Chuck, and then Teddy find out the real truth about himself. Teddy’s real name is Andrew Laeddiss and he is the most dangerous patient on Shutter Island. He shot his bipolar disorder (mood disorder) wife after she drowned their three kids. Andrew creates a fantasy world in order to escape from reality, and Chuck who is his doctor played along with him. Dr. John Cawley doesn’t believe Andrew’s state because Andrew have been going on and off for many times. As Andrew pretend himself as Teddy again, Dr. John Cawley have no choice but to gave the surgery to Andrew and take away his memory.

Personally, I enjoyed the film very much because it gives tension throughout the whole movie. The ending of this movie is very surprising because I would never think that Teddy is actually a patient on Shutter Island. The very last part of this movie is interesting because is hard to figure out if Andrew is still live in the fantasy world or he have defeated his fear and face reality as he said to Chuck:“Is it worse to live as a monster or die as a good man.” Such a movie with such a ending and a excellent director and cast is really worth for watching it.

The Last Touring Year – Revolver (1966)

steve
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“We suddenly thought hey, what does a record do, it revolves, great you know and so it was a Revolver.”  -Paul McCartney

Beatles1966 ended with the end of the touring of the Beatles. With increasing complexity in the reproduction of their music on stage and also getting tired of touring since they can only hear the fans screaming and not the music. Furthermore, complications during this year lead to much discontent.

Starting off the year with a bang, March of 1966, a photo shoot for their American Yesterday and Today album caused much uproar from the public due to its disturbing cover and had to be replaced. Lennon also made a controversial comment on how the Beatles are more popular than Jesus. Although this did not cause the much trouble at first, the event will backlash later in the year.

The Beatles started their world tour June 23rd starting in Germany, the tour went smoothly until arriving in Manila, Philippines. Due to a refusal of invitation to breakfast from Imelda Marcos, first lady of Philippines, by Epstein, the Beatles and associates were pushed and beaten on their way to the plane upon leaving. Soon after they left the Philippines, the early comment made by Lennon caused huge discontent inside the United States in which Lennon had to apologise for what he said. The world tour ended on August 29th in San Francisco. This is the last concert that the Beatles performed.

However, the year went by bearing fruit. The album Revolver was released just before the end of their tour world wide hitting top of the charts. The album featured original sounds combined with sophisticated lyrics making it one of their best albums. Songs such as Eleanor Rigby and Yellow Submarine are still famous today. Also, with new experimental music, the Beatles found themselves drifting towards the genre of psychedelic rock leading to the album soon to come – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Here’s Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles, one of the greatest songs ever written!

[youtube OaRNrDaoMqw]

Feed by M.T Anderson

william
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I really enjoyed reading “be more chill”, so I looked for novels similar to it. That’s how I found “Feed”

Both “be more chill” and “feed” deals with nanotechnology electronics being installed in peoples brains to influence their choices. But the stories are completely different.

Basically, the feed is a computer chip that is installed into the brain. The feed does the role of any house hold electronic device (TV, computer, iPod…), it also monitors the user’s bodily functions.

In “feed” the protagonists Titus meats Violet during a spring break party on the moon. Their lives become connected when they are sent to a hospital after having their feeds hacked. This is a story of love in a futuristic world where society is crumbling and the world is turning to chaos.

M.T. Anderson does a realistic representation of youth. He also makes an excellent prediction of the future of our sometimes shallow and materialistic society. This novel can be sort of depressing. The only thing I don’t like about the novel is the protagonist, I don’t like him, at first he seem to be the only character besides Violet who’s not shallow and selfish, but in reality, he is the most selfish.

Over all, this was a great novel intended for a 14+ audience; I give it a 4/5

Girls and Beauty – YOGA and Dieting

irene
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Few weeks ago, my sister told me to do some YOGA with her every night. Since I was considering trying out a new fitness regimen, I said yes immediately. As me and my sister, most teenage girls (and boys!) are interested in getting fit.

Getting fit and healthy is often encouraged by those in the mainstream but the biggest reason to do it is to stay healthy.  Obesity is a serious health issue that affects nearly 30% of the population in North America in Today’s society. Obese individuals have a higher than normal rate of hypertension, Type2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, gallbladder diseases, etc and even some types of cancers.

There’s 10 Tips to make balance your body.

  • Find out how many calories you need. —— BMR(basal Metabolic Rate)=Bodyweighr(lb) * 15 + (moderate activity [min/day] * 3.5) since you wish to lose ewight, your target = BMR-500kcal
  • Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
  • Be aware of your portion size.
  • Do Not Skip the Meals.
  • Go for wholesome fresh foods.
  • Don’t be overly restrictive.
  • Understand Food Claims and Labels.
  • Watch for sugary drinks. —— juices, soda, cream & sugar in your coffee or tee all add up. Opt for drinking at least 8 glasses of water/day.
  • Keep a food journal.
  • Exercise, period. —— there’s nothing important than do some regular exercise to losing weight and reduce the side effect of diet.
[youtube MFfIoU_-0Ds&feature=related]

also, try to follow this YOGA tape if you interest in losing weight with YOGA.

[youtube CTZIGHg-9MA&feature=related]

 

April, yet April

Cindy
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Have you ever wondered how beautiful Canada is?

Well it’s beautiful.

This is Cammore…

And my trip…

Canmore

Everywhere and anywhere

SCENICAL

Perspective Pt. 5: And Now We Wait…

TheGentlemanScholar
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This week in our Perspective series, we’re going to try to do the opposite of last week! Don’t remember what that was? Click here!

Instead of taking pictures really fast, we’re going to take them very slowly. The main use for this is most likely night shots, but I has many uses. With a little practice, you’ll be creating masterpieces like these:

Neat, eh?

The technique to a long exposure is astoundingly easy, and yet it yields such beautiful results! Here it goes:

  1. Make sure it’s dark out 😉
  2. Set up a tripod or stable surface on which to put your camera.
  3. Go to either Full Manual of Shutter Priority mode on your camera
  4. Take a picture with a 1 second shutter.
  5. If it’s too dark, go up to 2 seconds, and on and on, etc.
  6. Make sure that you’re not touching your camera when the shot is taken; set a timer before the shot.
  7. Experiment and have fun with it!

Happy Spring Break!   – The Gentleman Scholar

Boys Like Girls, Stereos and HEDLEY, oh my!

SaM
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Hedley's lead singer Jake performing "321"--photo courtesy of Alyssa Steel

This past Sunday, I attended my first concert ever and I must say that I was not disappointed.

The show started off with FeFe Dobson, whose opening act got the audience on their feet. She was very energetic and played a new song that was about to be released. As never having heard her music before, I was pretty impressed, as was the crowd. And her guitar player Steve definitely had some major fans!

Next was Stereos, who made an excellent stage presence, but sounded WAY different live than on their CD. My friends and I joked that they sounded like they were on helium… sad but true. Their show was very lively, nonetheless. They played “Turn It Up”, “Throw Ya Hands Up” and “She Only Likes Me When She’s Drunk”. During the intermissions, the band walked around signing autographs and enjoyed being flocked by fans.

Boys Like Girls. Opened with “Love Drunk” and closed with “The Great Escape”–my two favourite songs :D. In between, they played “Hero/Heroine” and “Two is Better Than One”. The lead singer was so into it, he even got a “boo-boo” on his forehead… “war blood” as he called it. They must have been in the midst of a different show, as they thought Faber Drive was there too, haha. Maybe he hit his head a bit too hard ;).

And of course, last but DEFINITELY not least, the crowd welcomed Hedley. They started off with a video introducing the band members as they made their trek into a cargo truck which said “to Calgary”. A sudden blast of sound, and they started singing “Cha-Ching” with the audience on their feet and screaming. A bunch of their new songs were played, including “Don’t Talk to Strangers”, “Scream”, “Hands Up” and “Perfect”, complete with piano! Hedley classics like “321”, “Gunnin'” and even “Saturday” were incredible. Not only did they sound great, but their performances–an acoustic campfire skit for “Gunnin'” (complete with a glowing campfire and Boy Scouts blankets) and an Anchorman spoof leading up to “Scream”–were a great addition. To top it off, they played an unreleased song for us, which was astounding! The concert ended with everyone singing “Sweater Song” and one of the guitarists throwing his shirt into the audience.

As a concert first, I absolutely LOVED it! I would definitely go and see Hedley perform again, they put on an amazing and entertaining show. I had an awesome time 😀 ♥

Tuesday Nights British Invasion

jessica
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kids up front

On Tuesday evening, CYFC volunteers were treated to one of the most anticipated concerts of the year. Kids Up Front was gracious enough to donate a box suite to the volunteers of CYFC and YouthAreAwesome, and we cannot sing their praises enough. (Check out a previous post about the awesome work Kids Upfront does.) Kids Up Front provides opportunities for children and youth to attend local events such as concerts and sporting events.  They were kind enough to give  some youth volunteers something special, a night they won’t soon forget. That’s for sure!

When Muse’s single Uprising hit the radio, it dominated and naturally it was the song they opened with Tuesday night. The ten of us were up on our feet singing along, fists pumping in the air taking in the spectacular show. The three performers each had their own platform which raised and lowered for various songs, and at one point the drummer, Dominic Howard and bassist, Christopher Wolstenholme, performed on a revolving stage. The lighting was absolutely spectacular and is something unlike I have ever seen before, the whole ‘dome was lit up with rotating green lasers. At one point giant balloon eyeballs fell from the rafters and when they popped, there were explosions of confetti!

One of the attending volunteers, Isabella Skuplik, had to say this about the evening, ” I was so excited when they played my favourite songs, Starlight and Time is Running Out. It was brilliant! Muse is awesome and I have been raving to my friends all week about how I couldn’t wait for this. Thank you so much Kids Up Front!” Speaking of their trademark song Starlight, it was definitely a crowd favourite and the band even had the crowd singing along.

The whole CYFC crew is completely in love with Kids Up Front for giving us the opportunity to watch lead singer, Matthew Bellamy, slide all across the stage in hot red pants, singing his heart out and playing his guitar like nobody’s business. Check out these pictures some of the volunteers were able to snap…

Community Garden Fundraiser & Other Great Events

Sarah K
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If you’re looking for something to do this Saturday, consider dropping by the Community Garden Benefit Concert at the South Calgary Community Hall. For $10 you can enjoy performances by local artists, refreshments, and a silent auction, all in the name of locally-grown food and community building.

For more local events promoting positive social change in Calgary, check out the Facebook page.

Compostable Chip Bags?!

eva
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So the other day I went out and got some chips. Feeling somewhat healthy (yeah you can’t be that healthy from eating chips), I decided to pick up a bag of SunChips. To my surprise, the bag was ridiculously loud. And I mean ridiculously. There was no way you could have been subtle while eating from that bag of chips. So I checked the label on the bag and found out something really neat about it…

It’s compostable! In just 14 weeks, it can be fully broken down! The picture below is of a bag in the process of decomposing…

Compostable Chip Bag

Being an environmentally conscientious individual, I was quite happy to find that I could reduce the amount of garbage I produce. This caught my attention so I looked up the bag and found out that SunChips currently has a campaign out to reduce their environmental impact. In addition to compostable bags, they also have started using solar power to power their chip producing plants. I like the fact that SunChips is contributing to environmental sustainability. Yay SunChips! 🙂

(Although the bag is still ridiculously loud and annoying.)

The Best Kept Secret in Canada – Oups.

chester
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I will start off this blog by simply telling you about a summer enrichment program in Canada that strives to inspire the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation in the next generation of high-potential youth: this program is known as Shad Valley.

Before your eyes start drifting away as you scan below at blocks and blocks of text, stop.  Shad Valley is literally the best kept secret in Canada, and you could possibly be missing out on the greatest experience you can have in your entire high school career if you choose to ignore this amazing opportunity!

Shad’s mission statement states in short that they want to find the best, and make them better.  To sum it up in my own words though: 52 amazing youth in high school across Canada, stuffed into the residence of a University for an entire month, with a whole lot of laughter, and tears (Tears? More like a waterfall, but just keep reading).

The most important part of that statement though, was those 51 other unique and amazing individuals who shared the Shad experience with me, because at the end of Shad, it’s about the people you meet, who all have inspired you to become a better person – just because it’s the Shad way.

Even though 8 months have passed since Shad, there still hasn’t been a day where I have not thought about it, or had it not affect my life in some way.  My Shad program leader had said at the beginning that by the end of Shad, you would be, “a changed person forever,” and of course me being a skeptic, I didn’t believe him – and now I’m forced to eat my own words.

I’ve told you a lot so far, but I was never a telling sort of person, so I guess I will show you some of my own experiences that I had at Shad so you can see for yourself.

The most amazing things I did for Shad are hard to pin down, because I can say without a doubt that there was not a single day I had that I regretted (Although sleeping in a mosquito ridden tent during a camping weekend comes close ^_^;).

One of the first things I remember doing was spending Canada day in downtown Ottawa.  Have you ever been in Ottawa for Canada Day? Because I don’t think I have ever seen so many people concentrated in one area in Canada, ever.

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Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution… The new Revolution

Bo
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Jamie Oliver's Food RevolutionBorn in the small town, Clavering, Essex, of England, Jamie Oliver is a English chef with a vision to change the way we eat.  For the past decade, Jamie has launched numerous campaigns in United Kingdom raising awareness about the importance of eating healthy food.  Now, he has extended his vision to change people’s habit of eating junking food in North America.

Earlier this year, he received the TED “prize wish,” and the theme of his wish is to teach American children about food, nurturing a generation who is conscious about the food they eat and in time, make Americans healthier, and help them live longer.  With the passing of America’s revolutionary health care bill, Americans are hopeful about their nation’s future health.  It is one thing to provide the medical care patients need; it is another to ensure all people are taking preventative measures to get out of clinics and hospitals.  In his TED “prize wish” talk, Jamie showed us the staggering statistic about the cause of death of most Americans: over a quarter are caused just by heart diseases alone, and another quarter by cancer, while less than 5% are caused by homicide.  Why have we only been informed about that 5% of the death?  Aren’t those other 2 causes of 25%, total more than 50% of death, more preventable?  Jamie believes, by having people eat more nutritious, fresh, homemade food while injecting less factory-processed  junk food into our system, we can easily lower that cause of 50% of death.  The statistic could not be more convincing  that healthy food isn’t just a choice, it is a need.

Sadly, there are still people out there eating junk food knowing the fatality that it brings, so why have we not been eating healthier???  Why have some people resisted such positive change???

Well, this is my theory.

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Paper, napkins, towels, toilet paper?!

alice
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Remember your childhood of folding paper airplanes and shooting them across the classroom, or maybe you still do now.  That is origami.  Origami comes from two Japanese words, ori and gami, and literally means ‘fold paper’.  This is an art form that takes ordinary paper to a whole new level, but origami is not restricted to just paper.  From awesome towel animals in hotel rooms, napkin swans on dinner plates, and even origami on toilet paper rolls; origami is everywhere!  Not only are they creative, but also very amusing to make and play with as well.

Basically any sheet material that can fold and hold a crease can be used for origami.  Check out some amazing creations folded simply from paper!  One could only wonder how much time and effort that goes into each of them.  My personal favourite is the big white dragon.

[youtube YCgnFIk5Acg ]

Instead of reading a book, magazine or the newspaper in the washroom, why not take your toilet paper roll and fold it into something unique.

[youtube jRHU_r9LFK4 ]

Whether it is paper or toilet paper, there are many origami books and tutorials on YouTube so go try some out. Happy folding! 😀

March. Yes it’s March.

Cindy
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Now that March is almost over, things are beginning to be wrap up.

Places that I’ve been through, things that I’ve seen are all so memorable to me.  These are the things that I see, yet so hard to recapture off the top of my head. I wanted to keep them.

Some say, “there will always be a way.”

And yes, I did find a way.

PHOTOGRAPHY

I knew this could be IT

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