As the holiday season rolls around, we experience an (over?) abundance of food, chocolate, costumes and stretchy pants! Every holiday season, we, the fortunate, often get bombarded with pleas for our aid, food, money and time to help those who are less fortunate. This season, with the economic downfall of the past year, it is especially important to give our time and resources to help  out Calgary’s homeless and impoverished.

Help put a smile on someone’s face (not to mention your own) at the Mustard Seed .

Volunteer at the Food Bank.

Donate to the United Way.

Want to do something more? Food drives, Mustard Seed campaign, raise money! Get friends or family involved!

Have a  more fulfilling winter season this year – Happy holidays!

I was having a discussion with some friends about social networking sites and it quickly became a Facebook against Twitter debate. Being an avid Facebooker, I thought I’d check in to see what everyone’s talking about with Twitter.

So here is some basic Twitter information I’ve collected:

Twitter was created by Jack Dorsey. The idea came from his growing interest in the simple idea of being able to know what his friends were doing. Specifically, he wondered if there might be an opportunity to build something compelling around this simple status concept. When he brought the idea up to his colleagues, it was decided that a prototype should be built.

And then I wondered, why do people like it?
It’s a simple, easy way to connect with people. All you do is answer this question, “What are you doing?”

It easily solves the problem of an information overload and saves you from messaging someone on Facebook chat just to say how’s it going.

I’ve heard the word tweet many times in these discussions so I sought to find the definition of a tweet in Twitter terms. A tweet is a short message, typically 140 words or less, sent over the Twitter network. Tweeting is free and you can start by signing up for a Twitter account.

So there’s your basic information on Twitter. Sound like something your interested in? To learn more click here, and if you already have Twitter, follow Youth Are Awesome! 🙂

This Thanksgiving long weekend, Heritage Park is offering free rides with your paid admission. Also a free pancake breakfast served before 10 AM awaits you if you come early enough.

Yes, you read correctly, FREE rides AND pancake breakfast!

During the afternoon if the sudden craving for a mouth watering Thanksgiving dinner arises, you can drop by the Elegant Wainwright Hotel for a delicious 3-course meal.

So bundle up and take a trip down there. Enjoy a day of history and exciting adventure of the West back in the 1930’s. See some sweet ‘vintage rides’ at the Gasoline Alley Museum, enjoy the fall scenery while cruising on the Glenmore Reservoir, get an overall look of the park on the steam train, ride on the fun rides at the midway, browse around in the one-of-a-kind shops or unwind on a horse-drawn wagon ride.

In 2006  singer/songwriter Derek Webb gave away free downloads of his album in exchange for a little demographic information from his fans.  The trade reached 80,000 fans and is said to be responsible for sold-out shows and sale spikes.

This success turned into the foundation for a little company called NoiseTrade.  Today, consumers can either pass along the e-mail addresses of five friends or can pay what they want for music downloads of up-and-coming artists.  If fans choose to pay for a download, the artist keeps 80% of the payment.  In the end, everyone wins.

Head over to NoiseTrade’s blog for more information, or dive right in and get downloading.

Since the Information Technology boom in the 1990s when usage of Personal Computers(PC) increases, a generation of tech-savvy people has embraced technology more than ever before in the history of all man-kind.

This phenomena is apparent when we look at internet usage in comparison to different generation of people starting from the 1950s when commercial computers is starting to spread. It is not until mid-1970s that the first consumer PC is being produced.

When it comes to internet usage, we have to look at one’s online time: the undeniable truth is that in general, the younger generation is spending more time online than the older generation, if the trend in the above figure doesn’t impress you, look at mobile data services.

What really puzzles me is why is the younger generation using mobile data services more than Generation X (age 27-40), after all, it’s people in their 30s and 40s who are doing more business calls and important business communications. I figure the mobile data services should look something like the online shopping diagram. Why? Because younger people do not use cellphones for important matters, they use them to chat with friends and text random messages. (Head’s up: in case you don’t know, sending data takes energy, every message you sent has to go through the local communication tower, if required, it will need to go through the satellites orbiting earth, then the message go through another communication tower and finally to the receiver. Think about this waste of energy when you send your friend a message or talk to your friend on a cellphone who’s 10 feet away!!! This is also true for computers and Internet communications)

Does music run through your veins or are you hoping to discover your inner piano man? Then you might want to look into The Youth Music Experience, a free after school music program  hosted by The New Black Centre and Community and Neighborhood Services.

The program is for ages 12 – 17 and will be two hours every Tuesday from October 6th till November 24th. Participants will learn about Afro beat, underground and electronic rhythms and create mini bands to eventually record a piece of music.

Call 3-1-1 to find out more information and sign up, because it is not too late to join.

Snow. It always depresses us all. With the first snowfall of the year comes the knowledge that from now on we have to always bring a coat with us when we go out, and that we won’t be able to do outdoor sports easily until April.

Every year in Calgary there is 1cm of snow or more on the ground for a quarter of the year, and frost for almost half of the year. And, this isn’t the coldest October (so far) that has been recorded. The record low in October was -25.7 Celsius, and the record low of the year was -45. Brrr!!!!!

The average snowfall a year in Calgary is 135.4 cm, and it has been know to snow from as early as September until May.

This gives global warming a whole new silver lining!

Are you interested in the many theatre, dance, music and visual arts events in Calgary? Are tickets to these events often costly? And are these costly tickets stopping you from attending these events? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then LiveRush is totally your thing! [See, I could be an amazing salesperson.]

LiveRush offers high school, college, and university students in Calgary an easy way to purchase low-cost ($20 and under!), same-day tickets to Calgary Arts events. Participating organizations include Alberta Ballet, Alberta Theatre Projects, Art Gallery of Calgary, Calgary Opera, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts, Lunchbox Theatre, One Yellow Rabbit, Theatre Calgary, Theatre Junction, Vertigo Mystery Theatre, and many more.

So, if you’re a student with a valid LiveRush card (and a valid student ID), you can buy tickets to these events for a cheaper price! (Be sure to click on LiveRush under Event Category every time you look at a new month to see the events LiveRush is participating in.) If you’re not quite convinced yet [by my totally superb (read: lame) salesperson skills 😉 ], click here to learn more about LiveRush.

Best of all? Signing up for LiveRush is free. So don’t miss out, sign up with them now!

Tired of teen magazines with no substance and newspapers with no good news? Grip magazine just might be the solution you’re looking for. A quarter-yearly publication, it tackles real-life issues and throws in just enough fun and interesting tidbits to keep you interested. Even better? If you can’t find it in person, you can check it out online!

Everyone knows a balanced diet is essential to one’s health. Do not let the title fool you, kids’ foods are the best tasting food, so the following list of nutritious yet delicious food is what you need for an active  and healthy life:

1. Beef (made in Alberta): protein and B vitamins, niacin, zinc and iron, minerals that all growing bodies need.
2. Eggs: full of gold standard protein, a dozen necessary vitamins and minerals, and contain a huge concentration of choline — a nutrient vital for brain development.
3. Milk: Calcium and phosphorous along with protein, energy fueling carbohydrates, Vitamin A, D and magnesium.
4. Berries: Blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are all key to providing potassium, vitamin C, fiber, carbohydrates and free-radical fighting antioxidants.
5. Tuna Fish: protein, niacin, B vitamins, iron and zinc. It’s low in fat and the fat it does have is the healthier Omega 3 kind. These unsaturated fats help brain development. WARNING: mercury levels in tuna means it should be eaten sparingly
6. Yogurt: every serving of yogurt contains calcium, protein, carbohydrates, vitamin B, zinc and phosphorus. This is your alternative ice cream!
7. Cheese: full of calcium, protein and vitamin B12. Not only that, but cheese contains phosphorus, a bone-building mineral. In addition, it prevents dental cavities.
8. Whole Grain: rich in folic acid, iron, zinc and B vitamins and some are fortified with vitamin D and calcium as well.
9. Broccoli: plenty of vitamins and minerals, which helps your eyesight and helps to ward off cell damage.
10. Sweet potatoes: tasty vegetables contain potassium, vitamin C, fiber, folate, vitamin A, calcium and iron, to name a few. Sweet potatoes rank as one of the most nutritional vegetables on the planet.

Blogger’s Pick: The winner of all superfood is Milk. It is no doubt the best drink on the planet and you can never have enough of it.

So, yeah, this is a perfect food list for young kids, when comes to diet for adults and older kids, generally, you want less fat, more vitamin and minerals. Of course, fiber and protein along with some carbohydrates are good for you also.

There you have it, a list of super nutritious yet delicious food for a healthy and active lifestyle.

Learn more about each of the superfoods being introduced here, visit HowStuffWorks.com.

  This book starts about one week before the finals exams in grade twelve, and follows the character Quentin Jacobsen.  Not a total loser,  just a normal guy that’s not part of the “in crowd”. He is accompanied by two interesting friends, Ben and Radar.

  Ben is a small Asian guy that is crazy for girls but some unfortunate events cause his chances of getting a girlfriend to become slim. He is an outrageous character. Radar is a tall African American; he is the more mature one in the trio, and he acts as their common sense. He is all around a nice guy – too bad he’s haunted by a dark family secret (which has to do with ancient Christian traditions), lol. 

  One night, Margo – Quentin’s former friend/high school crush/queen of the school- shows up at his window and takes him on the wildest adventure he has ever had. The next day she disappears.      

Anyone feel like running? Well, on October 11th, which happens to be this Sunday, you can walk or run for 5km or 10km respectively and feel good about  doing so! Calgary’s Alzheimer Society is holding the Thanksgiving Memory Walk and Run at Eau Claire Market. The event will take place from 10am to 12 noon.

You can register online for this great opportunity to run and help raise money for the Alzheimer Society. Still not convinced? Check out the great fun people are having here! Go and register now!

Sogo Active wants Canadian youth from coast to coast to get active and have fun! It’s the sickest way to live healthy.

You may not know about all the activities available near you. That’s why Sogo Active partners with community organizations called Community Hosts, who have facilities and experience. Get Sogo to make active connections, teams and plans with your friends. Use Sogo to track your progress and share your info, challenges and successes.

This is your chance to try new things and get active. Do things that you enjoy and you can make a difference in your community. You can even use Sogo Active Community Hosts to get the facilities, equipment and resources you need to support your Sogo group and get moving.

Sign up is free so go get inspired! So go connect with your community! SO… GO!