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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.

Dreamland

alice
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The other day a friend and I were discussing about dreams and whether if you die in your dream, do you die in reality? This got me more interested in the topic and thankfully after some ‘googling’ and research, the answer is no! (Phew)
Dreams have been around for quite some time; at least as long as human beings have been around. Everyone dreams and they dream every night. One third of our lives are spent sleeping, and we have approximately 4-7 dreams a night that each lasts at least 10 minutes..Wow these dreams add up in a life time! Below are just some quick awesome facts regarding dreams:

~Regardless of sight, blind people dream too but instead of images they have vibrant dreams involving other senses.

~Ever had one of those days when you know you dreamt of something the previous night but can’t seem to remember? Well don’t worry this is common since 90% of the dreams are forgotten upon awakening for 10 minutes.

~Men tend to dream more about their own gender and women dream equally of both genders.

~Our minds do not invent new faces therefore we only dream of who we know. So the random stranger, who gave you that big million dollar check in your dream last night, may actually not be someone random after all.

~Not everyone dream in colour; 12% of people who have vision dream in black and white.

~It is impossible to dream and snore at the same time. (This may explain why my Dad does not dream often.)

~Humans are not the only ones who dream; animals dream as well.

We established that everyone dreams, but are their deeper meanings to them? Some common types of dreams are the ‘falling’ and ‘flying’ dreams.

Falling dreams usually involve the odd sensation of your stomach doing ‘flip-flops’ and ends with being awakened with a sudden twitch. These kinds of dreams often indicate:

unresolved fears, anxieties, instabilities or insecurities.Which represents a loss of control, or feelings of helplessness.

Flying dreams are unusual dreams to interpret since it is very broad thus can mean many things. The ones that have you soaring through the sky like Peter Pan often means you are in control of your life. On the flip side, difficulties controlling and staying in the air may represent lack of power, and an inability to control personal situations.

Make sure to take advantage of the exam break and get those extra hours of sleep. Sweet dreams! =)

Save the honeybees, You can help.

Bo
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nullSince 2007, there has been a high percent of honeybee hive die-offs (30-70%) occurring in US and parts of Canada.  This syndrome is called Colony Collapse Disorder or Honeybee Depopulation Syndrome.  European beekeepers have observed a similar phenomena in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and initial reports have also come in from Switzerland and Germany, albeit to a lesser degree, while the Northern Ireland Assembly received reports of a decline greater than 50%.  This means that more than 50% of the honeybees who went out foraging have not returned to their hive, making the hive vulnerable to attacks of hive pests.

The actual cause of Colony Collapse Disorder is not yet confirmed, but some possible causes are malnutrition, immunodeficiency, toxic chemicals such as pesticide and antibiotics, and climate change.

Why is this at all important?  Well, many agricultural crops worldwide are pollinated by bees, and the disappearance of bees will initiate a series environmental issues.  Fortunately, many scientists are working hard to find out and eliminate factors that could be causing Honeybee Depopulation Syndrome. Plus, there is something simple you can do: plant flowers in your garden.

The best type of flower to plant for helping population of honeybee is the sunflower, and there is an organization, The Great Sunflower Project, that distributes seeds of sunflowers for free.  By planting flowers in your garden, you are helping make sure that honeybees are getting enough nutrition to repopulate and stay alive.

In addition to planting your own flowers during summer season, you can also encourage your member of Parliament to increase public funding on honeybee research.

If you have any good ideas about how you can help out the honeybees, you’re welcome to comment.

Learn even more about colony collapse disorder and how you can help on HowStuffWorks.com.

Movie Review: The Book of Eli

william
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When I saw the trailer for “The Book of Eli” the first thought that came across my mind was Fallout 3: The Movie.  I’m not trying to be funny, I literally thought that they were making a movie based in the “Fallout 3” universe.  After seeing Avatar, I’ve had enough of movies with cliché plots and lame scripts, and I thought this new film would be the same.  But it only took 2 minutes for my friends to convince me to go watch it with them.   

I must say, I was wrong. The Book of Eli involves deep characters, a strong plot, and plenty of action.  I should have remembered that if Denzel Washington stars in a movie, the movie will be great.

The film takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting. The world has just suffered some nuclear war, our civilization has been destroyed, but remnants of it have been left behind.  With no governing force in this cruel world, gangs and warlords roam free and the average humans have been reduced to scavengers.

Basically, a character with amazing skills in combat and survival has been traveling America for 30 years, with the goal to bring some special book west.  Unfortunately he comes across a warlord who has been looking for this book for just as long.

This is a very dark film that deals with many sides of a possible post-apocalyptic world.  The great acting along with the realistic edge makes this a great film.  I would give this film 4 out of 5.  Sorry kids, this film is rated 14a.

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