When an object gets way too big, we start to lose the meaning of its size.  It is easy to imagine how big a city is, maybe possible to comprehend the vastness of earth, or even for some, the giant-like sun.  Of course, these are the objects we see or interact with everyday; we have close relationship with them, but can you visualize a sphere with diameter close to 2.8 billion kilometers?  Yes, I am talking about the largest known star, VY Canis Majoris, a red hyper-giant. To give you a perspective, the diameter of the earth is 12,756 kilometers. That makes earth an almost invisible dot on the surface of that red hyper-giant.

Check out the video below to help yourself visualize the variety of sizes of astronomical bodies:

In my opinion, one can never comprehend the unbelievable gigantic sizes before they experience a personal comparison, that is to stand side by side with the giant and feel like a droplet of water in the vast, deep ocean.

Of course, no one can ever stand side by side with a red hyper-giant.  First of all, you would die from the radiation before you approach it close enough.  Second of all, you would evaporate from the heat.

Are you impressed with the vastness of the universe? Does it help you visualize how big stars can get? You’re welcome to post any comment.

Upon first seeing this post, you may have paused for a moment to wonder if Halloween had already passed, or whether it was all a sugar-induced dream. Alas, it is over, but the sheer creativity, horror, originality, effort, and pyrotechnics of these pumpkins live on. Check out the galleries and start planning for next year. I guarantee that you haven’t seen pumpkins this cool or ambitious before!

Some of my favourites are: the rampaging pumpkin of destruction, the cannibal pumpkin, the giant carnivorous pumpkin (though is it really carnivorous? – I’m thinking more along the lines of cannibal…), the ninja pumpkin, and last but not least, the delicate and artistic pumpkin mummy 🙂

Ok, lets be honest. We all have at least one guilty pleasure of trash TV. For me, it’s America’s Next Top Model. For others it’s Wipe Out! We ‘waste’ hours watching these products of consumer culture that will not advance our intelligence or understanding of the world beyond how to achieve a marvellous face-plant or “smize” (smile with [your] eyes, coined by Tyra Banks). It’s time to rip ourselves away from the glorious screens of our TVs and computers and take a night to watch something worth while.

Starting November 17th and running until November 22nd, the Marda Loop Justice Film Festival is screening various films around the city. The festival is free and is not only screening movies that matter, but is also hosting speakers and a NGO (Non-governmental organization) Village.

With titles ranging from Addiction to Plastic to Iron Ladies of Liberia, something will surely spark your interest.

Not only is the festival raising awareness about some over-looked global issues, it’s also a volunteer opportunity!

Halloween may be over, but for the cast of Sweeney Todd, the bloody and diabolical “tricks and treats” haven’t even begun.

Most of us have seen the wickedly macabre film rendition of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Sweeney Todd. We all loved Johnny Depp’s version of the razor wielding, half-mad ex-convict, but to see it live is an entirely different experience! With riveting tunes, melancholy humour, and intense drama, Sweeny Todd has enchanted and disgusted audiences from Broadway to Japan. Now, Front Row Center Player’s brings this chilling story of vengeance and… savoury… meat pies to the Pumphouse Theatre.

The show runs November 6th to November 14th. Check frontrowcentre.ca for show times, tickets and other show info.

Support our vibrant theatre community!

Come tread the path that few have trod to Sweeney Todd… to Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street!

This Halloween, I watched a movie called Paranormal Activity.  This is a strange movie, and by that I mean it is very different from the traditional horror film.  How so?  Well, in a normal horror film something would pop out of no where accompanied by a loud sound, making the viewer jump.  Also in a normal horror film, we would actually see the source of evil.  Example – The Grudge.

But in this film, the traditional techniques are mostly abandoned.  The title of the film explains what you can expect to see: Paranormal Activity.  This means, you do not see any ghost, just a bunch of things that are not supposed to happen. This is a lot scarier than it sounds.  Also, there are only about two scenes that cause the viewer to jump, but the other scenes are bizarre and stay in your mind even after the movie is over.  The creepiest scenes happen slowly so you see every bit of it – that’s scary.

This movie follows a girl who has been haunted by a spirit since she was 8.  The paranormal activities that follow her have been getting worse and worse, so her boyfriend buys a hand held camera and sets it up in their bedroom to prove that she ‘s just being paranoid.  Right away, the footage captured proves that the girl is right.

The whole movie is shot by the boyfriend’s handheld camera.  This makes it feel very real. This is a really messed up movie, and people either love it or hate it.  This movie is definitely not for the easily scared.  A friend of mine had to sleep with his lights on for a week.

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So I’m sure you’re all familiar with Taylor Swift’s Love Story…

But what about Thug Story? She’s eight foot four and rapping hardcore… 😉

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Taylor Swift and T-Pain performed this song in June 2009 at the CMT Music Awards, so this is still pretty recent. I’ve listened and watched this more times than I can count, but it never fails to crack me up. Seriously, I love this song so much. It is beyond hilarious. Who would have ever thought that the country pop singer would even consider rapping? Taylor Swift is just so adorable. 😀

No, she’s not actually going to be rapping all the time now, but the song is still funny all the same. Check out the lyrics here!

When one walks down the streets of Kensington here in Calgary, one often comes across the question, “which coffee house is the right house?” Well the answer here is, The House! The Coffee Sanctuary, as it is often referred to, was started by The First Alliance Church and is run by volunteers. At The House they make sure that when they are buying their coffee beans, their money is going to the people who deserve it.

Now besides being a place to just hang out, drink coffee and meet people; it is also a place where you can plug in your laptop to  send emails or check Facebook (like every 30 minutes!), and besides all that, it’s a great place to catch some live music!  On Fridays you can often find cafe concerts going on, usually starting around 7:00pm, like this past Friday when local musician, Elise Roller, played an amazing two hour set.  Thursday’s are also great days for live music because starting at 7:30 p.m., it’s open mic night! Admission to these events is always free, but I do suggest you buy yourself a drink, and may I suggest the London Fog or Chai Latte. I always have trouble picking between those two!

As you may know, Youth Are Awesome is a program of Child and Youth Friendly Calgary. One of the staff members here, Andrew Phung, has made it into the top 5 finalists in the search for Canada’s next sportscaster on The Score‘s show Drafted. In the midst of all of this, you may be wondering who the famous Phungmaster is. Click here for some snippets of his interview and watch his video to see not only why they were convinced but also why you should support Andrew. Don’t forget to become a fan of him on Facebook, click here!

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This is it!

Finally, the movie that we all have being waiting for is out in theaters. Never seen before rehearsal footage of the King of Pop opened October 28th, but will only be in theaters for two weeks! This is a must see movie for all Michael Jackson fans out there and even if you are not a fan, go check it out anyways because you will for sure love it! Tickets can be bought online or at the movie theater in advance.

For those who don’t know, Michael Jackson was planning to have “This is it” concert starting in July this year to March of 2010 but tragedy struck. The King of Pop unfortunately passed away just before the concert began and left everyone devastated. This movie is a tribute to his legacy, something to remember his legend by.

Check out the movie trailer below!

R.I.P. Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.

You heard right! There’s some wicked math for you!

Of course, I’m referring to the Pumpkin & Leaf Composting Program run through the City of Calgary. Essentially, the program aims to promote the recycling and composting of our tree’s fall droppings and those spooky, delicious orange veggies. You can drop off your leaves and/or pumpkins at various locations around the city. Last year, this kept tons and tons of organic waste out of our landfills and the excess was turned into compost for our city’s green spaces.

Says the City of Calgary:

The annual Leaf & Pumpkin Composting Program is just one of many ways that Calgarians can reduce waste, reuse and recycle to help The City achieve its goal of recycling 80 percent of its waste by the year 2020.

It’s an easy way to be green! Be quick though, because the program only runs October 3rd to November 8th!

It’s great to see how much of a positive difference youth can make in our world today.

Hero Holiday organizes trips that are a fun way to make a difference and learn great leadership skills through participating in humanitarian relief projects and assisting those living in poverty. 

You can sign up for trips on your own or organize a trip with your school, and head off to places like Mexico and the Dominican Republic to help out and “expand your world view,” as the folks at Hero Holiday put it!

The next trip starts on December 19th, 2009 and applications are being accepted NOW.  So, go join the fun and be a hero!

Looking for a way to make your social class a little more entertaining?  I present to you: Historical Tweets.

With the ability to browse by time period, there’s an image to spice up every project. But if you’re looking for an escape from all things school-related, there are plenty of pop-culture mockeries as well.  My favourite? Check out Radiostar.

You can also waste all that time you ought to be spending on homework by using their random function.  Enjoy the hilarities, fellow schoolmates.

Following up on my previous post of how to watch your favourite television programs on the internet, I present reviews of television shows which you might be interested in!

Today I start with a great Canadian television show which ran for a strong six seasons from 2004-2009. The show of discussion is Corner Gas. Corner Gas is easily one of the top comedy programs out there and is definitely a staple of Canadian television, especially since our television market is dominated by American programs. Winner of six Gemini Awards – annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada – & roughly another 70 nominations for various other awards, it is apparent that Corner Gas has a fantastic crew all around, though particularly the writing and acting team.

Eventually all good things come to an end, as Brent Butt (the creator) decided to end the show on a strong point and avoid a slow death, which does happen to some television shows out there whose last seasons are just for monetary purposes:

When I told CTV about my decision, they made it clear that they were keen to do more seasons. But for the good of the show, I wanted to exit gracefully, on top of our game, when we’re at our prime…

As a side note for other fans of great television, Brent Butt’s main co-writers come from another great Canadian show This Hour has 22 Minutes.

If you are intrigued to watch and enjoy the outstanding work of Canada’s finest, you can head over to The Comedy Network to watch season 6, or you can catch re-runs of Corner Gas on CTV, Comedy Network and A. If you like what you see, I would definitely recommend finding & watching more from its other seasons on DVD. Enjoy!

Quote: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2008/04/10/corner-gas.html

November 11th.  A time to reflect on the sacrifices of civilians and soldiers who were part of the war.  A time to thank the soldiers who fought for our freedom in the wars.

It’s celebrated on November 11th because it signifies the end of World War I on that date in 1918.  The formal end of World War I was at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

The poppy is a national symbol of remembrance for the soldiers who bled for our freedom.  It is based off the poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae.  The poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields in the war, and because of this the government declared them a symbol of remembrance.

For more information on Remembrance Day or the poppy, click here.