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CPOssibilities

Sarah K
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As Symphony Steve of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra describes, a live orchestra performance is the “closest you will ever come” to legends like Beethoven and Mozart. But orchestra tickets are normally out of the budget for students, often selling for close to $100. Thankfully, the CPO has a program in place for students called “cpossibilities“.

This program enables youth aged 15 through 29 to attend select CPO performances for only $12 – cheaper than a movie ticket. After signing up for a free cpossibilities membership online, users can complete all transactions through the CPO website. Beyond the experience of simply enjoying a live classical performance, attending a performance is a way to support an important part of the Calgary culture. The CPO also suggests that it’s a great way to impress a date.

The next cpossibilities performance is this Saturday, February 6th. Saturday Morning at the Symphony features an informal 45-minute lobby demonstration, followed by a dress-rehearsal performance of an upcoming CPO concert. This week the orchestra will be rehearsing Haydn’s “The Seasons”.

It’s a great way to enjoy what may be unfamiliar grounds to individuals our age. So if you get a chance, take the time to explore something new – the CPO will make it worth your while.

Planning Canada’s Birthday Bash!

eva
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Canada Day is indeed in July and is indeed months away… 5 months, to be exact. But the City of Calgary is looking for volunteers to join the planning committee for Calgary’s Canada Day Celebrations now!

Canada Flag Heart

What do you do for this committee? Well, basically, you plan the Canada Day Celebrations at Prince’s Island Park and Olympic Plaza. There are about seven different areas that you can help with on the committee: activities, entertainment, hospitality, volunteer, food and merchandise, information and public services, and site services.

Check out Volunteer Calgary and The City of Calgary for more details on this volunteer position! The application form can be found on the page  from The City of Calgary, or you can click here.

The City of CalgaryVolunteer Calgary

The deadline for committee volunteer applications is March 5, 2010, but don’t dawdle! This a unique opportunity, don’t let it pass by! 🙂

Yes, it’s iPad!

Bo
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nullLooking like the big brother of the iPhone, everyone is hyping over the new iPad coming out soon this year!

The iPad isn’t a typo of iPod, which one can imagine why people would think so since it was just unveiled.

So, what is the iPad? It is simply put, a larger version of  the iTouch or the iPhone.  Introduced on Wednesday January 27th, 2010 in San Francisco, this new touch screen device is thin and smaller than a magazine.  Apple designed it as a tablet computer that can be conveniently used as  a e-book reader. In fact, Apple is launching a online iTunes e-book store where people can buy books online and download them to their iPad.  The iPad’s operating system isn’t the Mac OS as many have hoped, it is actually the iPhone operating system. Like the iPhone, you will be able to surf the internet, listen to music, download different applications and access plan organizers.  Actually, the iPad will have 140,000 applications already available for downloading and will be able to run any application in Apple’s App Store unmodified, and of course, it offers additional features like the e-book reader.

With its extremely slim design of 9.7 inch LED screen, it is very portable as well as energy efficient.  The iPad can be bought with 16 GB and 64 GB of flash storage and has 10 hours of battery life, which is great for travelling.  Depending on the specific model, the iPad supports WiFi as well as 3G technology, and will be available for as low as $499 with Wi-Fi.

iPadThe one downside to the iPad has to be its operating system, as slim and portable as it is, it can never compare to regular tablet PCs due to its inability in multitasking.  As mentioned above, the iPad uses the iPhone operating system, which supports only one window, or one task at a time.  This may be a deal breaker for many serious computer users out there.  Other deal breaker would be its poor storage size.  Sure, it is flash drive, producing little sound and heat, but only 16 to 64 GB is just too little for computing use.

In conclusion, the iPad is not the ideal replacement for tablet PCs due to its limited operating system. If you are looking for connection on the go, the iPhone will satisfy your need anyways, except for reading e-book. Nonetheless, the iPad is still a piece of engineering beauty that is worth trying out.  It will be interesting to see how the iPad turns out after it releases in March and April this year. Stay “in Tune.”

Are you looking forward to this new Apple product? Will this product be a total disappointment or a marketing revolution? Feel free to Comment.

– By Bo and Austin

Nothing To See

alice
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Many of you may know that yesterday, February 2nd was Ground Hog Day!  This holiday is celebrated both in Canada and the United States.

What exactly is ‘Groundhog Day’ and how did it come to be?  I had the same exact question until some friends clued me in.

Groundhog Day dates back all the way to 1841, as a German tradition which originated down in Pennsylvania in the United States. 

Back in Europe they believed the hedgehog could predict the weather and when the early settlers arrived to Pennsylvania, they substituted the hedgehog with groundhogs.

When the groundhog emerges on February 2nd and does not see its shadow then that signified a quick end to winter and an early spring.

On the other hand, if the groundhog saw its shadow there is 6 more weeks of winter.

The largest Groundhog Day celebration is in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and it is home to one of the most well known groundhogs, Punxsutawney Phil.

Now did the groundhog see its shadow? *drum roll*

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, but, Alberta’s cute go-to groundhog, Balzac Billy (yes, he is from the same place where CrossIron Mills, aka the gigantic mall, is located) did not see his shadow!

I don’t know about you, but I’m putting my bet with Balzac Billy.  After all who would know Alberta’s weather better than a local?

(According to National Climatic Data Center the accuracy of the predictions is 39%. Now let’s hope this accuracy works in Billy’s favor.)

Where It’s Art: Please Do Not Taste The Artwork (7/10)

emily
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Alright, frankly, I find the following pieces of art to be a bit disgusting. They definitely don’t meat my tastes artwise anyway. Regardless, I must admit that these could have a meateor-like impact on the food-art scene. Puns aside, take a look.

meat art

If you’d like to celebrate your love of meat without hanging raw meat (yes, that intricately framed artwork is apparently raw) in your home, you could purchase one of the following (made of paper mache, wax, and other non-meat ingredients) instead. Or you could just hand out beef jerky business cards (I hear they’re great for meating people – ok, ok, no more meat jokes).

Let me know what you think about the above creations in the Comments section below!  And feel free to check out more “Where It’s Art: Please Do Not Taste the Artwork” here!

YAA Profile: Mayor’s Youth Council

Mayor's Youth Council
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Mayor’s Youth Council (MYC) is the voice of Calgary’s youth and (just like YAA) a program of Child and Youth Friendly Calgary.

We research and work to improve the issues in Calgary that affect youth.  In the past, we’ve tackled problems such as transportation, nutrition, and youth homelessness.  

To give structure to the committee and allow us to complete as much as possible, MYC is broken into three subcommittees:

Committee 1 focuses on relating MYC to the city by attending events, endorsing city facilities as youth friendly, meeting with Aldermen, and planning a city-wide youth event. Look for updates on this nearer to June!

 

Committee 3 recording a podcast about issues that are important to YOUTH!

Committee 2 chooses a theme to focus on, researches the issue through various means, and presents a report to the Mayor. Last year’s issue was youth homelessness; this year, the committee is focusing on teen drinking and driving and focusing on a safe graduation.

Committee 3 is a media based committee, focusing on making podcasts about topical issues, interviewing people in Calgary, and producing videos.

All the committees are doing amazing things and discussing important issues that affect youth within Calgary. Pretty soon, you’ll see blogs right here on YAA from the members of MYC about city issues and things that are happening in regards to youth and government. They’re going to be really interesting and keep you up to date about what’s happening in our city!

That’s all for now, but keep looking for MYC to appear on YAA!

Sports Legends Edition 4: Tennis

kaiz
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The man just won the Australian Open for his 16th Grand Slam single. How can he not be the greatest tennis player of all time! Roger Federer, a Swiss tennis player, regained his number 1 status, and is playing some of the best tennis the world has ever seen.

Throughout his career, Roger holds the record for the most Grand Slam singles, has appeared in 18 of the last 19 Grand Slam finals. He has won four ATP World Tour Finals, and has been named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for four years in a row (2005-2008).

 Although Federer’s main competitor, Rafa Nadal of Spain, leads their head to head 13-7, Federer’s amazing record classifies him as the best tennis player of all time. Watch Federer’s rise to fame below!

[youtube HGRFvus8v5M]

Where do your favorite Calgary restaurants rank?

zeeyaan
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I came across a ranking of Calgary’s restaurants and wanted to share this with you all! Peters’ Drive-In managed to take the number one spot. The first twenty-five are in this post! Check out the below list to see if some of your favorites made it or if you just want to try some new places:

1. Peters’ Drive-In
2. Bolero Fire Grill
3. Cora’s Breakfast & Lunch
4. Chili Club Thai House
5. Ristorante Pulcinella
6. Crave Cupcakes
7. Brother’s Taste of Asia
8. Moti Mahal
9. Tubby Dog
10. Globefish Sushi and Izakaya
11. The Coup
12. C B Drive Inn
13. Gaucho Brazilian Barbecue
14. Diner Deluxe
15. Caesar’s Steak House
16. Aida’s Mediterranean Bistro
17. Tandoori Hut
18. Bow Bulgogi House
19. Redwater Rustic Grille
20. Karma Fine Indian Cusine
21. Cactus Club Cafe
22. Spiros on 17th
23. Coco Brooks
24. Atlas Specialty Supermarket & Persian Cuisine
25. Quynh

I haven’t even heard of some of these restaurants before. Click here if you want to see all one hundred. On the side of the page, it tells you what kind of food the restaurant serves as well!

Speak up Against Violence

teenlinevibe
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You may have heard in the news about the tragic death of Calgarian teen Brittney McInnes.  She was allegedly killed by her step-father in her home on January 17th.  I find this story particularly tragic because she was an ordinary teenager just like us – she was in her senior year at EP Scarlett High School, looking forward to the future, and known for her infectious smile.   Reading about this murder, I couldn’t help but think about each of our roles in preventing this type of thing.  Although in this case everyone was stunned by the murder and didn’t think anything was wrong with the family, there are many cases of domestic violence where there are warning signs.

In one article about Brittney’s murder, Sergeant Rick Tuza, head of homicide issued a plea for Calgarians to report signs of domestic problems to social agencies or police.

‘You may have seen a trend here in Calgary with these offences.  I think everybody in our community is in a position to assist with these kinds of crimes,’ said Tuza.

‘We’ve had a number of very tragic incidents that I don’t want to be investigating.  If somebody saw something in the past and could have spoken up, could it have been prevented?  I don’t know.’

It is important to be aware of abuse and domestic violence and watch for warning signs.  There is reason to be concerned if a kid you babysit always has strange bruises that he can’t explain, your friend is scared to go home, or your classmate complains of her parents aggressively fighting.  Did you know if you have reasonable grounds to believe anyone under 18 is being abused or neglected you are legally required to report it? 

In Calgary, call the Child Intervention Services Line any time at (403) 297-2995.  And don’t worry that if you report that someone is being abused, they are going to automatically have to go live in a foster home – Child Services will just make sure they are safe and then determine what an appropriate response is.  This is really tough stuff and it takes a lot of courage to report it, but if you can help keep someone safe it is worth it.  If you want to know if you should report something, want to know who you should report it to, need support around abuse, or just have a problem you want to talk about please call the Teen Line at (403) 264-8336.  It’s open 24 hours and teens answer from 5-10pm every night.

Want to be extraordinary?

TheGentlemanScholar
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extraordinaryEveryone wants to do good for the world, but we never seem to have enough time. Be Extraordinary is a website that aims to fix this. When you create an account with them, they allow you to do simple, quick tasks for organisations in need of help. These tasks are even timed to give a sense of excitement to helping out, most being only 30 seconds long, while others are 2 minutes.

These tasks can range from tagging pictures to writing encouraging notes to students in third-world countries. Each task you complete gives you a credit. The leaderboards rank members each month on how many credits they gained. I can say, it certainly gives you a sense of accomplishment to see your name in the top 20.

For those who want something to do on the train, there’s an iPhone/iPod touch app that has almost the same functionality of the website. I personally quite like this feature, as it lets me put otherwise unusable downtime to use for the good of others.

Get crackin’ at http://beextra.org/

Mmm, what a tasty arrangement…

eva
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It’s only the 1st of February, but we all know that Valentine’s Day is coming up anyways.  I personally do not think much of the February 14th celebration, but chocolates, stuffed toys, and bouquets of flowers come to mind as gifts for this holiday.  Now, rather than sticking to tradition, here’s a new idea for a Valentine’s gift (or a gift in general, really):

Edible Arrangements!  What are these?  Basically…bouquets of fresh fruit.  Tasty?  I think so.

2010

Pearadise Bouquet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They have a bouquet for just about everything: birthdays, anniversaries, corporate events, personal gifts, and numerous holidays (including Valentine’s Day).  If fruit on its own doesn’t appeal to you, they can spice it up with chocolate dipped fruit!

Chocolate Dipped

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry VDay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are actually 949 different Edible Arrangement stores all over the world.  Large chain translates into easy accessibility!  You can place an order for any of their arrangements by phoning their main number, contacting your local store, or ordering online from the site!  Convenient, no?  And even better…they do deliveries straight to your house. 🙂

I like this idea so much more than a bouquet of flowers;  I mean, I know they both look beautiful and smell heavenly, but I think I can safely say that fruits taste so much better than flowers.

If you’re interested in picking up a brochure to look at all their deliciously wonderful selections of bouquets, feel free to stop by one of their stores. Calgary currently has two; one is on 7th Ave SW (the C-Train road) and 2nd Street, the other in McKenzie Town Centre on 35 High Street SE.

Don’t forget to check them out on Twitter and Facebook too!

Sam’s Weekly Serving of NeRd: Calgary Youth Science Fair

SaM
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Go beyond the paper maché volcano!

It’s not too late to start! With just under 50 days until the 49th annual CYSF, now is a good time to get researching, if you haven’t already.

The Calgary Youth Science Fair is an amazing opportunity for students grades 5 – 12 to explore a specific scientific interest to its fullest. Every year, almost 1000 students participate from schools all over Calgary, sharing their knowledge and competing for awards.

This will be my 6th year entering the science fair and I can personally vouch for what an amazing experience the CYSF is.

Did you know that science fair projects don’t have to be just experiments? They can be innovation and research too (I’ve done a research project every year up until now–I finally started my first experiment!). There are loads of project categories to choose from, as well–from social sciences to food studies (you thought I was going to say “from engineering to computer sciences,” didn’t you? :D).

The deadline to register your project is February 10th!–NOTE: your school must have pre-registered in the fall. And if they didn’t? Talk to your science coordinator about registering for next year–it’s never too early to start next year’s project 😉

So check out the site (click here!), talk to your science coordinator/teacher and work that log book!! I should probably add that you better get your hands on a 5′ x 8′ trifold. Yep, you read that right: five feet by eight feet. They’re such a beautiful thing. If you don’t have a spare sitting around the house (NO, you cannot have mine!), contact Science Is… to order one–look under “Odds & Ends”.

Not participating this year? Be sure to come on the Saturday morning (March 20, 9 – 11:30am) at the Big4 on the Stampede Grounds to check out all the amazing entries from CYSF 2010. With no admission charge, who can resist such an invitation?

Stay tuned, March 18, when I will post my project table location–come and say hi on March 20! See you then ♥

future CYSF dates!

The mission of the Calgary Youth Science Fair Society is “to promote an appreciation for scientific principles and method in the youth of Calgary by means of an annual science competition”.

The Sounds of Love

jessica
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PosterIf you have turned on the television lately you probably heard about the recent earthquakes in Haiti and about all the love that has been sent their way.  Nearly 80% of the population has been living under the poverty line, and since these quakes things haven’t gotten much better, but a group of local Calgary musicians are hoping to do their part.  On Tuesday, February 2nd, there will be a bunch of local musicians sharing their talent at 3 local Starbucks locations in Calgary.  Each location will have different artists, so bring your spare change (dig deep under your couch and car seats) to give to a very worthy cause.  All donations will be given to Samaritan’s Purse to donate supplies to Haiti such as water filters and food.  And get this, the whole event has been organized by one of Calgary’s own awesome youth and some of the artists playing aren’t out of high school just yet either!  The Sounds of Love will be happening at the following three locations, featuring the following artists, on Tuesday, February 2nd:

Sundance Starbucks
6:15-8:30
Alyssa Beth
Velvet Elvis
Tanner Steed/Carson Stewart
Kayla Block/Alex McInnes

Shawnessy Starbucks
6:45-9:30
David Clake
Connor Grant
Kevin Borst/Nicole
Graham Cook/Duncan Rae
Mark Klassen

Shawnessy Chapters Starbucks
7:15-9:30
Caitlin Heide w/guest
Erin Bonsol
Matt Dyck
Betti White
John Hamm
Andrew Clark

Some last minute points…

♥ If you choose to donate a cheque, please make it out to Samaritan’s Purse
♥ Please note: Starbucks is in no way endorsing, funding, or hosting this event, they are just kindly allowing us to use their coffee houses as a venue…

Where It’s Art: Please Do Not Taste The Artwork (6/10)

emily
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The life cycle of chewing gum is generally as follows: processing -> packaging -> sale -> consumption -> spitting out into the garbage -> life in the landfill.

On rare occasions, in the hands of the right people, such as Jason Kroenwald of Ancaster, Ontario (he now resides in Toronto) this life cycle is changed. Gum that passes through his hands (but usually not his mouth – with a dedicated chewing team, he doesn’t chew the gum unless he has to) follows a post-chew-pattern more closely represented by this:  becoming an art supply -> being turned into a work of art -> being sold and displayed for eternity (or something close to it). In 1996, Kroenwald created his first “Gum Blondes” portrait out of pre-chewed gum.

Each “Gum Blonde” is made entirely of chewing gum pressed onto a plywood backing. A variety of flavors are used with any colour blending occuring in the chewing process and all colours coming solely from the colouring of the gum. While Kroenwald uses multiple brands, he states that Trident is his favourite texture-wise (aspiring gum artists – take note!).

With no further ado, here are some of his works of art, with more displayed on his website here.

GumClinton.jpg image by parttake

For more “Where It’s Art: Please Do Not Taste the Artwork” – Click here!

Monopoly Canada, eh?

kaitlin
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wildcard_small

The Olympics are starting in less than a month, and to get everyone feeling extra patriotic, I thought I’d let you know about a cool contest that is going on.

Monopoly (one of my favourite games) is launching a new Canadian Edition (thus replacing the old one) of the game, and there’s a contest going on right now where you can vote for the Canadian cities you want to see make it on the board!

There are 22 cities in all, and right now, Calgary is in 3rd place!  Yay!  You can vote for up to 3 cities a day, and if your favourite cities in Canada (as small or as big a city as you’d like) aren’t listed, you can add them and vote up a storm!

After reviewing the list, there a bunch of cities in the top 20 that really surprised me, and I was shocked that others weren’t in the top 20 (like – as of right now – Vancouver, speaking of the Olympics)

You have 25 days left to vote.

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