youth are awesome.com

Do you like unscripted entertainment? Well how about improv?

Proudly brought to you by ‘The Improv Guild’ is The 2nd Annual Calgary International Improv Festival.
This festival will feature Los Angeles Impro, Vancouver Theatresports, Edmonton’s Rapid Fire Theatre and our own Calgary Improv Guild.

It is “Seriously, funny theatre.”

On Wednesday night to kick off the festival is the premiere of ‘Women in Improv’ directed by special guest Patti Stiles from Melbourne, Australia. Like the title suggest, it is made up of an all female cast.

The Los Angeles Impro (a mixture of Royal Shakespeare Company and Whose Line is it Anyway) will showcase the highly anticipated “Jane Austen:Unscripted”.

At the Engineer Air Theatre at Epcor Centre, this festival will run from September 30th- October 3rd. So don’t wait, reserve your tickets soon as they are hot hot hot!

If improv is something you are interested in, you can sign up for classes for as little as $5.00!

Have you heard of buildings that can move, be quickly installed and generate electricity?

Dr. David Fisher is the architect and inventor of Dynamic tower, the world’s first building in motion. He has always been focused on two concepts: an industrial approach involving the use of prefabricated units, and Dynamic Architecture, where the traditional three-dimensional design meets a fourth dimension: Time. With his invention of the Dynamic tower, he is transforming Time to herald a New Era of Architecture.

One of those unique characteristics of Dynamic tower is undoubtedly its ability to move. Essentially, the Dynamic tower itself is being divided into different floors and all floors are connected and supported by the main core structure. The rotation of each floor then can be controlled by the owner or user of that floor; the frequency and direction of the rotation can be adjusted to the need of the owner or user. The benefit of such design is the ability for the user to enjoy the dynamic view of the surroundings of the building. The constantly changing view of the Dynamic tower combining with the modern Smart Home technologies making the Dynamic tower the most luxurious home anyone may reside in.

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Youthareawesome.com is not the only Canadian, youth-focused blog out there…

Youth Action Network is a youth-run blog and organization based out of Toronto, Ontario that is committed to youth action within their city, around the world, and the movement toward a just and sustainable society. They do some pretty cool things, like the annual RUCKUS! Youth Activism & Anti-Racism Conference. RUCKUS! is a free conference for high school-aged youth of Colour, their Allies and other concerned youth.

They also have a youth run magazine that’s published nationally called FORUM. FORUM’s mandate is to provide a space for young people to share their thoughts, opinions and experiences with other youth across Canada and to motivate youth to be proactive in their communities. The Fall 2009 edition of FORUM is based on the theme ‘social networking for social change‘

Nothing is more important than connecting with like-minded people and sharing ideas and experiences so bookmark YAN, subscribe to the national mag or add yourself to their mailing list and keep track of what other awesome youth are doing across the country – you might get inspired by some of their stories and be able to start a project of your own!

As September ends, we are into a new season and new month. There are some awesome holidays in October, including some that you may never have heard of. October is a month for many things, some that we never even hear about! Did you know October is Adopt-a-Shelter-Animal Month, Computer Learning Month, Family History Month, National Apple Month, National Clock Month, National Dessert Month, National Pizza Month, National Popcorn Popping Month, National Roller Skating Month, Polish American History Month, and National Stamp Collecting Month?

There are also week-long themes happening such as Fire Prevention Week on the first week of October and Teen Read Week on the second week.

On almost every day in October there is something happening. Check out the dates below!

October 1st: Homemade Cookies Day, World Vegetarian Day

October 2nd: Name Your Car Day

October 4th: National Golf Day

October 5th: Child Health Day, World Teacher Day

October 9th: Moldy Cheese Day

October 12th: Columbus Day, Día de la Raza, Farmer’s Day, Indigenous People’s Day, Thanksgiving Day in Canada

October 15th: National Grouch Day, National Poetry Day

October 16th: Boss’s Day, Dictionary Day, World Food Day

October 17th: Black Poetry Day, Sweetest Day

October 18th: Alaska Day

October 22nd: National Nut Day

October 24th: National Bologna Day, United Nations Day

October 25th: Mother-in-Law’s Day, National Denim Day

October 28th: Plush Animal Lover’s Day

October 31st: Halloween

This is it! The King of Pop hits stage October 28th in theaters around the globe. This is the moment that everyone has being waiting for! You can check out the trailer for the new movie here and find out more about this awesome experience! The movie though will be only out in theaters for two weeks so save up your money now!

May the King of Pop live forever in our hearts. R.I.P. M.J.

Apple has done it again. The new fifth generation iPod nano is amazing. The bugs from the previous iPod nano have been fixed and tons of new features have been added to this new and improved iPod nano. The new iPod nano is smaller and lighter then the previous one. It also has a video camera and a voice recorder, which is perfect for capturing funny moments and giving yourself reminders. If you get tired of the music you have you can always listen to the radio on the iPod nano. And its the perfect mp3 player to take to the gym – it has a pedometer built into it!

For young women ages 12-17 only! This FREE conference will inspire and enlighten young women about the opportunities for non-traditional careers in science, engineering, entrepreneurship, and technology.  During fun-filled workshops with some of the most successful women in our community, participants will gain confidence, connections and career options.

Due to the success of women in these programs, the Beauty and Brains Conference aims to help young women explore and network with professional women involved with such fields of work. This all-day event will provide young women with a chance to meet other like-minded women while learning more about these fields of work, the important role that they have in Calgary and possible education paths. Participants are invited to a fun filled day where they’re able to make lasting connections, enjoy a delicious lunch, win great prizes and take charge of their future!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

TELUS World of Science – Calgary
701-11th Street SW
Calgary AB
T2P 2C4
1 block west of the 10th St. C-Train Station

CLICK HERE for more information about this awesome event!

Registration has begun! You don’t want to miss out, so click here to register

In 2005, a young filmmaker in the states adapted a slam poem written by his friend, entitled “Slip of the Tongue”, with the intention of applying images to a poetry recording.  This four-minute short was submitted to the Media That Matters Film Festival, as well as the 2007/2008 Reel Youth Film Festival based in Vancouver, where it won the People’s Choice Best Overall Film award.  It is now also featured on Citizen Shift – “the National Film Board of Canada’s participatory Web platform exploring today’s crucial issues through films, photography, articles, blogs and podcasts”.

Usually, saying that you are a “Gleek” would not be the coolest thing ever, but this Fall, Glee is the biggest new show!

Glee is a comedy about a teacher who risks taking over the glee club at his school. Everyone thinks he’s nuts, because this glee club consists of five members, and let’s face it, they aren’t all that wonderful. But, everything is about to change.

Glee not only is full of great dance and song numbers, but it inspires the underdog in all of us. There is a hero for everyone in this show, someone we can all relate to. This is what really makes us all want to become “Gleeks”. We see that we can all shine no matter who we are.

Become a Gleek too! Watch Glee!

Remember the Rubix Cube? Different colours, brain twister toy, IMPOSSIBLE to solve? Now there’s a Rubik’s cube that’s computerized, just in case the original wasn’t hard enough. This new cube, called the Rubik’s TouchCube doesn’t require you to twist or rotate it. Instead, just a simple swipe of the finger will do it. There’s many different gadgets that can help you out. A hint, scramble, and solve button are all there for the user.

This cool cube will be on sale in October, so if it’s something you’re interested in, look for it at Best Buy, Amazon.com, and Hammacher.com.

For more information, click here. And good luck on solving the puzzle!!

Canada World Youth (CWY) is a Canadian non-governmental organization that uses informal education and international exchanges among youth to develop engaged citizens. Since 1971, CWY has carried out programs with more than 60 countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe. Their mission is to “increase the ability of people, and especially youth, to participate actively in the development of just, harmonious, and sustainable societies“.

Currently, they have three programs running. In particular, I’d like to draw some attention to the Youth Leaders in Action program.

International Phase of Youth Leaders in Action--Julie Graham from Canada with her Malian host sister in the community of Yélékébougou, in Mali (2007-2008 Quebec/Mali). Photo Credit: Rick Kelly.

Youth Leaders in Action is a six month long volunteer program (read: six months of adventures, excitement, and fun!) for a group of about 18 young people (ages 17 to 24); nine are from Canada and nine are from a partner country. They spend three months in a community in Canada followed by three months in a community overseas, living with host families and working together on a project. Each Canadian participant is paired up with a participant from the exchange country for the entire time. In this project, not only do you get to travel overseas, but you will discover other cultures and maybe learn another language!

The two other programs CWY is running are Global Learner and InterAction, which do not last as long as Youth Leaders in Action, but are also unique learning experiences. You can learn more about CWY on their About CWY page.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to be away from home doing volunteer work for half the year? I totally think so.

It’s official.  Friday, September 25th, 2009 is International Hug A Vegetarian Day, the day you can reach out to your friends and family members who have chosen to be vegetarians and hug them. (And hugs are generally just awesome!) But this year promises to be bigger and better; you can sign up to pledge your hugs and send e-hugs.

The day is sponsored by peta2 an organization dedicated to animal rights and they are the largest youth animal rights group in the world—maybe even the universe. They interact with all sorts of artists that youth are interested in and have a whole bunch of ideas for people who may just want to take days like Hug A Vegetarian Day a tad farther.

Don’t forget to check out the Random Hug Related Fact of the Moment. Did you know in Lithuania, it is illegal to hug your neighbor during the full moon?

So pop in a breath mint and get hugging! *hug*

Calgary is haunted?! Well, sort of.

See Calgary in an entirely different perspective with a ‘ghost tour’. Enjoy an evening of spine-tingling entertainment with spooky local ghost stories and a dash of Calgary history. All the stories have been thoroughly researched from the Glen Bow Museum and Ft. Calgary archives, newspapers, personal accounts and interviews.

There are five different ‘ghost tours’ in the Calgary area, lead by a tour guide dressed in a cape and holding a lantern. Unexplainable and mysterious sightings and experiences have even been felt by some guests themselves.

Skeptical? Well why not join the tour and see for yourself! You just might get lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an old soul roaming around or some paranormal activities go about.

Have you heard of the marshmallow test? It may sound delicious, but it really is a test of self-control for early age children. This test was conducted around the 1960s and it is being brought to our attention in the recent years.

This test is simple; a pre-school child is being brought to a empty room a marshmallow in a plate. Then, instruction is given to the child: if you do not eat the marshmallow after a while, you will receive another one; however, if you do eat the marshmallow, then all you will get is the only one you have eaten. Then there is waiting…

Eventually, there are a group of children who tried to resist the temptation to eat the marshmallow, as a result, they receive the reward of another marshmallow (let us call these kids the alpha group); on the other hand, there are a small group of children who tried but could not succeed (beta group); finally, there is a very small group of children who would just proceed to eat without worrying about getting another one (gamma group).

So What?…

Well, years after, when most the children who participated in this little test have grown into gals and lads, the researchers then look at the lives of these people. Interestingly, they found that:

1. Alpha group scores higher on SATs than beta and gamma group.
2. Alpha group manages stress better than the others.
3. Alpha group has less chance of having behavioral problem than the others.
4. Alpha group is able to maintain friendship better than others.
5. Alpha group is able to plan ahead and more easily cope with problems.

Of course, this is just a little marshmallow test, it is truly amazing how little details like this in life can tell you about people.

So, lastly, as a reward for reading this long description and explanation of the test, here is a clip of video of the test in progress:

YouTube – kids and the marshmallow test

Well, there you have it. Isn’t it interesting how a little self-control test can tell you about a child’s future?

To learn more: The secret of self-control : The New Yorker

Try finding your way around the world! At age 13, Laura Dekker wants to embark on a solo mission to circumnavigate the globe in her 26-foot sailboat, “Guppy”. Her father supports her dream, but her mother and the Dutch courts are making an effort to postpone the trip until Laura is older. Currently, 17-year-old Mike Perham of England holds the record for the youngest solo trip around the globe, while 15 and 16-year-olds Jessica Watson and Abby Sunderland (sister of Zac Sunderland, the former record holder) are planning journeys of their own. Is 13 too young to travel the world alone? And how old is old enough? What do you think?