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Canadian National Parks: Something To Be Proud Of

7 Nov

It was 100 years ago that the National Parks system was created in Canada. The first of its kind in the world, the National Park system has grown to encompass more than 42 National Parks, 4 National Marine Conservation Areas, one National Landmark, and 167 National Historic Sites. Managed by Parks Canada, these areas have been set aside by Canadians to protect them from development, and to preserve the natural landscapes and wildlife of the country. With that I find it fitting to include a gallery of photos of some of the countries national parks, you can see the photos below.

 

Starting with the first national park in 1885, Banff National Park was merely a stepping stone into the network of terrestrial and marine areas in the park system today. By 1911 the Dominion Parks Branch was created, the beginning of our current system, and by 1930 the National Parks Act was put into legislation protecting all National Parks. These parks play a familiar role in the lives of many Canadians, from canoe trips on great rivers, camping in thick boreal forests, to skiing and snowboarding one of the world’s most spectacular mountain ranges. The expansiveness and the privilege of the natural beauty can often be overlooked, however it is important to value what so many other places on earth do not have, a natural beauty that attracts visitors from all over the world to see.

2011 is the anniversary of this century old system and the Royal Canadian Mint is commemorating the milestone with special coins that you might just come across in circulation and a pretty cool commercial as well. So the next time your find yourself in one of Canada’s Parks, take a minute to appreciate not only the wilderness around you, but the effort involved to create such an icon of sustainability in our great country.

Photos courtesy of National Geographic, you can view the gallery on their website here.

You can also visit the Royal Canadian Mint website here.

Chicago Style Hot Dog & Home-made Coleslaw

5 Sep

So it may not be a poppy seed bun, and it may not have the sport peppers, but here’s my take on a Chicago Style Hot Dog, complimented with some easy to make home-made cole slaw. For this dish you’ll need:

Hot Dogs/Smokies

Buns

White onion (diced)

Red onion (diced)

Green onion (chopped)

Sweet Peppers

Dill Pickles (Sliced)

Tomato (Sliced)

Red Cabbage

White Cabbage

Eggs

Celery Seed

Paprika

Vinegar

Best to start off making your coleslaw first, as this will need to cool in the fridge for some time. Add vinegar, sugar, salt, paprika, celery seed, ground mustard or a heavy spoonful of real mustard in a sauce pan. Separate a few egg yolks and add them in as well, pour a little water in and let the mixture simmer as you mix or whisk it all together. While that’s happening time for the main component in any cole slaw; cabbage. You can now chop up your cabbage, or use a grater and shred it depending on how you like it, I used red and white cabbage, but your free to use what you like. Once ready, you can add your sauce you just made and mix it all together, this is where I added in some green onion as well. And your done, easy right? Make sure to get the coleslaw in the fridge to let it chill.

Now everyone knows how to make a hot dog, but here’s a few key ingredients to get that Chicago style taste. Slice up dill pickles, tomato’s, and prepare your onions as well. Grill the hot dogs on the BBQ, and prepare your buns. If you have poppy seed buns great, if not I used large sesame seed buns. Garnish your bun with sweet peppers, tomato, red and green onion, relish, and the king of all condiments; mustard, and please, refrain from using ketchup! Finish with a small pinch of celery salt and your ready to chow down.

Coupled with your home-made coleslaw, some chips, and a beer, you’ve got a fantastic meal that is sure to please everyone. Enjoy!

911-10 Years Later

31 Aug

It was 10 years ago that I woke up to goto school, and flipped on the television only to realize that it would not be an ordinary day. 911 2001, will always be one of those moments when people think back and can pinpoint exactly where they were when they first heard of what was happening in New York City.

As September 11, 2011 approaches, and with a coming trip to New York on my horizon, I was curious as to what the site was like today. Currently the site of the once massive World Trade Center buildings holds a host of memorials and busy construction activities. It seems there is no stop to the movement, constantly building, rebuilding, never replacing, but creating something new in a place so needlessly destroyed. Even as hurricane Irene pushed through the city, the site was flooded, but the construction activity continues.

There is one man who see’s more than a mess of construction on the site, but rather a beautiful process of rebuilding. Marcus Robinson is an artist and photographer who has been documenting the world trade center site for the last 6 years. And with those horrible events 10 years in the past, maybe we can bring some good and beauty to the world. Take a look at the video, and check out his website.

http://marcusrobinsonart.com/

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2011/08/29/robinson.ground.zero.cnn

Egypt Protests: Memories of Tahrir Square

29 Jan

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Egypt is not like it was one week ago, Cairo is in chaos, protests in Alexandria and Suez, the country is changing. Egyptians want change, and the target of their frustration is President Mubarak. For the past 5 days the situation has gotten increasingly tense, the police force is virtually non-existent, stations burned out, even the National Democratic Party’s building is burned and looted. Tanks and APC’s are rolling into the city as the military is  brought in for the first time in decades to deal with a civilian situation, in an attempt to restore order.

But perhaps the most fascinating thing about the protests, is the ability to watch them unfold though videos and photos, and accounts of people on the ground. Only recently has it been possible to witness history as it happens, it may not seem like it now, but this is history. Go to any major news website and you can watch videos coming through almost constantly, this type of information sharing having only been possible recently.

As crowds filled Tahrir Square, and I scanned images of burned out army vehicles and street fires in the square, I couldnt help but think about the last time I was in Cairo. During my month in Egypt, when in Cairo I would stay at a little hotel right on Talat Harb, one of the streets connecting to Tahrir Square. We would grab a drink at the north end of the square and walk a couple of minutes back to the hotel. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be there now. Everything has changed.

As the situation in Egypt unfolds, take a minute to witness some of those changes, for history is not always confined to books.

Joshua Tree Experience

7 Jan

 

This week I had the opportunity to finally goto Joshua Tree National Park, while visiting my mother down in Palm Springs. Having been to California numerous times before I had never been to the Coachella Valley, so I was eager to explore the desert surroundings, and the famous Joshua Tree. Not just because its featured in a favorite episode of Entourage of mine..

Theres 3 access points into the park, the west Joshua Tree entrance, the north 29 Palms entrance, and the Cottonwood entrance at the very south end of the park. We drove up the 62 to the west Joshua Tree entrance, it took us about 45 minutes from Palm Springs, but was well worth the drive. The park itself is massive, with some very well maintained but limited roads through it. We checked out the Keys lookout, where you could look into the Coachella Valley, picking out Palm Springs, Indio, the mountains, the I-10, and even the Salton Sea far to the south-east.

We then hiked up Ryan mountain, a 3 mile in and out hike up the mountain. Southern California desert is very interesting in January, you can be hiking in the heat of the midday sun, and encounter frosty snow-covered sections of the trail on the backside of the mountains. Either way, making for an incredible experience as we pushed up to the top of Ryan mountain for extensive views of the park. We then drove through the park to the southern Cottonwood entrance for a rip up the I-10 back to Palm Springs.

One of the most interesting aspects of Joshua Tree is the changes you experience in the terrain and the flora and fauna with each ridge you pass over. The iconic Joshua trees giving the park its name spanning much of the higher elevations on the Mojave Desert, and the Cholla Cactus gardens blanketing some of the lower elevations. A dried up wash in the shade will host tall Junipers, while areas 20 feet away in the sun hosts a different flora altogether. With the help of a car, you can witness the scenery changing drastically as you descend down from the higher elevations on an ever winding road.

When I have more time, I’d love to head back into the park and spend a couple of days, doing some more hikes, but for now it was a great introduction to the park itself. I took my camera along with me, so all the photos you see I took myself. Needless to say, my time there was everything I hoped it would be, it may be just piles of rocks, but at the same time so much more.

Home

7 Oct

I just finished watching a documentary called ‘Home’. It’s a film about our home, not the roof over your head but the planet you live in, earth. I sat in my dark living room learning about our planets extraordinary beginnings, and its progression through its own life. Then came humans, you and I, and as the music and images build tension, you start to lose faith in the role of mankind. The film paints a gloomy picture of the effects of humans on the planet, and it builds up to a climax where you think the film couldn’t get any more depressing. But luckily there is a turning point in this film, as the good things that mankind has done, and can do are outlined, leaving you with a spark of hope in a dreary mind.

Here is some of the good and the bad, according to the film:

Over 50% of the grain traded around the world is used as livestock feed or biofuels.

13 million hectares of forest disappear every year.

100L of water produces 1kg of potatoes, 4000L produces 1kg of rice, 13000L produced 1kg of beef.

Since 1950, fishing catches have increased from 18 million to 100 million metric tonnes per year.

The average global temperature in the last 15 years is the highest on record.

1 in 10 rivers in the world no longer reach their delta’s for months at a time due to heavy irrigation.

95% of soybeans produced in Brazil are used to feed livestock and poultry in Europe and Asia.

3/4 of the varieties of crop developed through mankind’s history have been wiped out.

Antarctica has immense natural resources which no country can use for themselves.

2% of the worlds territorial waters are protected, not much, but thats 2 times more than 10 years ago.

13% of the continents of the world are covered in natural parks.

South Korea restored 65% of its depleted forests through reforestation.

The U.S, China, India, Germany and Spain are the biggest investors in renewable energy.

Although the dialogue and text may be a little rough around the edges, the imagery is stunning, and the message is important and clear. We must change.

 

Whats wrong with an Orange mini-skirt?

17 Jun

FIFA 2010 is now in full swing as teams begin their second rounds of games this week, but the star players aren’t the only ones creating media buzz during the king of all soccer tournaments. If you’ve been reading up on your news, you may have noticed this story.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/dutch-mini-skirt-marketers-1-south-african-police-0/article1606825/

I was reading a copy of the Globe and Mail on my flight home today, and I found this article particularly interesting. Here is the quick breakdown; Dutch brewer Bavaria NV paid for 2 attractive dutch girls to fly to South Africa for the tournament. Once there, they successfully recruited roughly 36 other girls for their mission. The mission? Disguise themselves as Danish fans and attend Hollands first game of the tournament against Denmark. Once inside, the girls stripped off their Danish outfits leaving only tight orange miniskirts and tops bearing the Bavaria NV logo on the back, as they danced together in the crowd. Flaunting the dutch colors and promoting Bavaria NV all at the same time, it didn’t take long for this youtube video to pop up soon after the spectacle.

The girls were quickly escorted out of the game by local authorities and the two dutch girls were charged by south african police with ambush marketing.

As we all know, advertising rights for the 2010 World Cup is a lucrative gig, Adidas and Budweiser pay massive amounts of money for exclusive rights to promote their products during this tournament. Budweiser is claiming it had no part in the events that took place at the dutch game on Monday. The girls have been released on bail, but the story is growing in complications as a british TV commentator recently lost his job when the tickets the girls used were traced back to him. Apparently Robbie Earle, the commentator and former player himself was sacked as it was discovered that tickets issued to him were used by the girls at the Netherlands-Denmark match.

Ambush marketing it may be, but do these girls really deserve to be kicked out of the game and charged just for wearing certain clothes at a soccer match? When did world cup games have a dress code? Is there really that much damage from some attractive women in tight-fitting orange outfits dancing in the stands? I think not.

Airport 101: How to act like you’ve done it a 1000 times, for your first time.

12 May

It’s a sunny mid May morning; you grab your bag out of the car and walk through the revolving doors into the departure hall. You knew which entrance was closest to your airline’s check-in counter, so you have a short walk straight ahead to the counter. You bypass the ticket sales line, the check in line, the automated check in machines, and walk straight to the baggage drop off counter because you did online check-in the night before, and already have your boarding pass. Placing your passport with boarding pass tucked inside at your photo page on the counter, the staff working the counter will smile, and print your baggage tag off and tag your bag, pointing out the boarding time and gate number. You smile and say thanks, as you place your bag on the conveyor, and head towards the security checkpoint.

Another smile and a quick “nope, but thank you” as you walk past the security staff checking for liquids and other banned carry-on items. You didn’t pack any liquids or gels in your carry on, you just walk on by towards the lineup. You’re not complaining about the long line, you use the extra time to take your laptop out of your carry-on bag; you take your zip-up sweater off, maybe your watch, and keys and change out of your pocket. Laptop into one bin, with your boarding pass on top in plain sight. Keys, watch, change, maybe your belt and sweater in another bin, but you know not to place your bag in a bin. The security staff notices your boarding pass, picks it up to check it, and asks if you have any other metal items on your person, and hands you back your boarding pass. You walk through the metal detector when the staff prompts you to, and go collect your items, you luck out, and they decide not to swab your laptop, so you simply put it back in your back and move on.

You knew your gate is right, not left, so you take a turn and stop to check out the new release books at the bookstore, before continuing on towards your gate. You don’t have to sit front and center at the gate jostling for space, you take a seat between gates where there’s more space, and open your book to read.

You listen to the announcements and watch as everyone lines up to board the plane, you continue reading until the line dies down, closing your book, you walk up to the counter last, your passport photo page is opened, and you hand it over along with your boarding pass. You take both back and are walking down the ramp towards the plane. More smiles from the staff on the plane, you selected or requested your seat in advance and you picked front row, window, placing your bag in the over head bin, you take your seat. Your iPod is already in your pocket, your book in hand, you sit down lean back, and begin reading again, only putting your ear buds in once you’re up into the clouds, and the seatbelt sign is off.

The flight staff offers you a drink; you get a half 7up half orange juice, and thank them. Maybe it’s time for a nap, or a chat with the flight staff, they always have interesting stories to share. Before you know it your on the ground again. You quickly find your baggage carrousel, standing back to allow others to easily get their bags when they come out. You see your bag, pick it up, and you’re walking out of the arrivals hall.

Airports, they can be daunting places for a newcomer or for anybody who doesn’t travel often. No parking zones, sniffer dogs, masses of people, no messing around security staff, and that ever looming boarding time can transform even the most calm people into a distraught panicking mess. Constantly changing security measure, technological advances in check in procedures, and ever changing airport policies make staying on top of the procedures a difficult task for anyone.

But navigating through any airport can be done fairly easily and stress free, if you prepare properly, and know what to expect. You can walk with confidence through the terminal whether it’s your fourth flight this week, or your first flight in your life. Heres how you can make that airport struggle into an enjoyable experience.

1.Airport Arrival – A few quick notes, check airlines for their guidelines on arriving at the airport before flights. For domestic flights, most airlines will let you check in even up to a half hour before boarding time but don’t push your luck. For international flights, 2-3 hours before departure is the norm. And for the record ‘Arrivals’ means people arriving at the airport from a flight, ‘Departures’ is for people entering the airport for a departing flight, you don’t know how many people I meet who get these two mixed up.

2.Checking In – The days of walking up to the counter with paper flight tickets and your ID are long gone. Most airlines have online check in, where you can either print your boarding pass off, or have a 2D boarding barcode sent directly to your mobile phone. If you can’t do either of those, use the automated check-in machines, follow the instructions, they aren’t difficult to use and save a lot of time.

3.Identification – If you are travelling within Canada domestically, you do not need to bring your passport, any government issued ID such as a driver’s license is sufficient. If you’re flying international, then do bring your passport. Have it ready at the check-counters, and again when boarding your flight at the gate.

4.Liquids/Gels/Aerosols – Ever since some terrorists in Britain decided to fill soft drink bottles with concentrated hydrogen peroxide in an attempt to detonate a bomb on a plane in 2006, the liquids/gels/aerosols rule has been in effect. You can bring these items, but they must be in containers of 100ml or less and in a resealable plastic bag. It’s easier just to put these items in your checked luggage. Don’t blame the airport for this inconvenience, blame the terrorists.

5. Metal Detectors – Security is a breeze, as long as you have nothing to hide. Should you take the change and keys out of your pocket? Well those are metal detectors, so it’s a good idea. If you’re in the U.S you’ll need to take your shoes off as well thanks to our friend Richard Reid the shoe bomber. Yes they want you to take your laptop out of your bag, no you don’t have to take your digital camera out.

6. Screening – Five words; randomly selected for additional screening. This will happen from time to time, from my experience and conversations with security staff, you are more likely to be selected for addition screening if you do NOT make the metal detectors go off. Sometimes I leave my belt on just for that reason, a quick look at your belt beats the full body grope for addition screening. But if you are selected, relax, do as they say, they might need to go through your bag etc.

7. Missed Connections – If your flight was delayed, your baggage didn’t come off on time, or for any reason other than your own (and even sometimes if it is) and you missed your connecting flight, don’t worry. Missed connections happen, and finding the next available flight will not cost you anything 99% of the time, whether you are wait listed or have a new confirmed flight, just relax, there’s nothing else you can do now, you’ll get there, eventually. Talk to your airlines customer service at the airport, sometimes meal vouchers and hotel accommodation is provided, depending on the country and airline.

8. Port of Entry – No matter what any airline staff, airport staff, or friends tell you. You must pick up your checked baggage at your first point of entry into any country, whether or not you have a connecting flight internally. This is because you need to have all your luggage on you as you go through customs.

9. New Country – While on the flight to a new country, the flight crew will hand out customs declaration cards, and possibly health and/or immigration information cards. If you are sleeping, you might not get one, so be sure to ask. When you land, if there is a health screening, this is usually first. Some nations have taken extra measure to screen complications such as H1N1 and SARS, so be prepared to possibly present your health declaration card. Next up will be immigration, you will need to remember to stay behind the painted line, and show your passport when called to the counter. After you get through immigration, you pick up your bags and make your way through customs, this is where you hand in your declaration card.

10. Enjoyment – In all reality, compared to so many other ways people around the world move about, flying is really not that bad. Where else can you sit back in a nice clean chair, watch a movie on a your own little TV, and have somebody bring drinks right to your hand. Look out that window, you’re flying through the clouds, mankind dreamed of this moment for thousands of years, you’re living it.

Stir Fry!

1 May

That age old classic; Stir Fry is still a popular dish to make. Why? Its easy to make, healthy, and delicious! Last night I made a quick stirfry so I thought I’d share it with you. I had some pointers from my friend Ling in Australia with this one so credit goes out to her as well. Ok listen up!

Ingredients? For me I used beef, fresh ginger root, bok choy, red onions, bean sprouts, garlic black bean paste, also corn starch and various spices. But this is stirfry, you can use any variety of vegetables and meat, use what you have!

For starters, get your wok or frying pan warmed up with a little oil in there. Take your ginger, and thinly slice up some of that carefully. You can toss that in the pan first thing,  keep your heat medium to low for this whole process.

For beef, I use cheaper cuts of beef that I buy in bulk from the store, you dont need to use the most expensive steak for stir frys, all though you can if you like! I had taken my beef out the night before, I precut beef slices in 1 or 2 person portions in ziplocs before I freeze them, this makes it really easy and fast to make dishes such as stir fry on the go. Think about it! So with my sliced up beef in the ziploc bag, I threw in some corn starch, and shook the bag up to lightly coat the pieces of beef, you can do this in a bowl as well. The corn starch coating will help lock in the juices and help the beef stay tender when cooking, so dont miss this step!

As soon as you can smell that tangy ginger cooking in the pan, its time to throw in the beef. The beef wont take long to cook, so you can either quickly chop up your vegetables, or have this already done if you had time. Im pretty fast so I quickly washed and chopped up my bok choy and red onion, and got my sprouts ready. When your beef is nearly cooked, you can throw in all your veggies, mixing it all up in the pan.

Now theres a million different things you can do for sauces, but this time I used garlic black bean sauce. You can find this in most grocery stores, maybe in the ethnic food aisle. I like Lee Kum Kee brand, its quite good. You can pour some in the pan, careful not to use too much as it can be quite salty. You can add sugar to the pan to help sweeten the taste as well.

Your stirfry should almost be done by the time you get the sauce in, mix it all up well, make sure the beef is cooked but not overdone, and your done! Some steamed rice in a bowl, dish your stirfry on top, serve with an ice cold glass of milk tea, and you’ve got a delicous meal. Enjoy!

Jan 10/10: Language Barrier in Nanjing

17 Apr

Resting my head back, I gaze out through the rain drizzled window, a hazy landscape rushes by as our train makes its way from Shanghai to Nanjing, a city a few hours northwest of Shanghai.

Arriving at the Nanjing Railway Station, I soon realized we were in a little bit of dilemma. Nanjing had a subway, but subways are only effective if you can figure out where to get on, and exactly where to get off, then you have to know how to get to this hostel you’ve never been to before which sometimes is a far cry from the nearest station, add to that you are fully loaded with whatever you have in your bag, and its sometimes a lot easier just to take a Taxi, to at least orientate yourself initially. In this case, the nearest station was quite far away, so we ruled it out.

Taxi’s themselves are no walk in the park in a place like China either, with my lack of chinese skills and no english spoken on behalf of most taxi drivers it can be a challenge to complete such a task that we take for granted at home. As we made our way outside of the train station I realized a big mistake on my part, I had forgotten to get the chinese address of the hostel we were staying at in Nanjing; a critical component for a successful taxi ride. Regardless of this fact, I headed out to talk to some drivers upfront of the massive station, I made good headway with one driver, and he seemed to understand where we needed to go, but the deal fell through when he refused to use the meter, writing down a hugely inflated price. I was stubborn, I turned him down, and we rethought our next move.

As we were sitting thinking about what to do, I noticed to girls sitting next to us, I asked them if they spoke english, and they did. I then asked them if they would be so kind as to write down the chinese address to our hostel. The girls managed to write down a bus stop near our hostel, and we thanked them for their help, you can’t be shy in China, and being polite can go a long way. Armed with our new weapon we laid siege on the taxi armada at the front of the station. We found a taxi who was able to take us where we needed to go, and on the meter, success!

Wandering through the streets of Nanjing in the pouring sleet rain and snow, we eventually located the hostel, and were happy to have a place to call home for a few days. Over the next few days we would explore this city, its drum tower, university, ming palace ruins, eating tasty noodles and sipping my first delicious glass of iced milk tea since I was last in asia as we looked onwards to Xi’an, our next stop.

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