If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
I'm delighted to announce the launch of HuffPost Alberta and HuffPost British Columbia, which will bring HuffPost's signature mix of news, blogging, community, and social engagement to these western provinces. From Alberta and British Columbia's vast energy industry and environmentalist traditions to First Nations lands and the Northern Gateway pipeline, these new Canadian editions will tell the stories that need to be told -- and, just as importantly, help those in Alberta and British Columbia tell their stories themselves. As the HuffPost family grows -- it was just last month that we welcomed HuffPost Canada Impact -- we can't wait to see how these new editions will start conversations around the stories that get to the heart of each province's identity, and those that will decide their future.
Long considered a bland, western outpost thick with cowboy culture and thin on the cosmopolitan feel of Toronto and Montreal, Calgary is in the midst of a stark change. There's an emphasis on public art and on growing independent music and arts scenes, and people are coming to the city not only for its financial stability, but for what it offers in terms of new culture as well.
We believe Albertans are ready to embrace the exchange of ideas. This is a province that's being shaped by a young, connected, diverse and intelligent citizenry, a citizenry that needs a punchy, politically savvy, smart online publication that sparks ideas and stirs the imagination but that doesn't always take itself seriously.
I figured I'd play the good, if aloof, son lingering in Draft Horse Town, chatting up the chuckwagon drivers, hobnobbing with the blacksmiths. But I had no idea how the Stampede changes even the most stubborn gait.
As I watched the more off-putting events like calf roping and steer wrestling I couldn't help but feel like I was watching a group of people who didn't realize that society has evolved past them.
First Toronto, and now Calgary, has done the moral thing. Both cities have passed a bylaw banning shark fins. Consumers of shark fin soup must consider the effects of declining shark populations on our delicately balanced ecosystem.
Calgary is so much more than "Cowtown," and is a wonderful spot (and starting point) for a family vacation.
ArtsSmarts, a non-profit helping schools across Canada use the tools of arts integration, recently announced its plans to explore the larger issue of the role of the whole community in fostering creativity. More regions of the world are coming to the realization that education is everyone's concern, and that the role of art-based training is critical to success.
...not. Got your attention though didn't I? The old saying "No news is good news" was never said by a journalist. No news = no customers. We feel like bored salespeople, constantly re-arranging the goods in the front window. This isn't to say we wish ill or disaster upon the world (not openly anyway). But is it wrong to wish for more than, say, the Tony Clement/Ezra Levant/Norman Bethune controversy?
I suppose I can understand why Stephen Harper would call Calgary the "greatest city" in Canada, as he did this week. After all, a whopping 70 per cent of the city voted for him and his Conservative party in the 2011 federal election. But he's quite obviously wrong. Toronto is Canada's greatest city. And if you don't believe that, well you're just as delusional as the prime minister.
In this exclusive excerpt for HuffPost from Richard Florida's new book, the author reveals that scientists and engineers, architects and designers, artists and entertainers and the growing ranks of professional knowledge workers -- what he labels as The Creative Class" -- now number more than five million in Canada, or roughly 30 per cent of the workforce. So where do they live?
Under what circumstances should Albertans be required to sing the national anthem in French? If you answered "all," then you're pretty close to the mainstream press' reaction to Tuesday's horrific revelation that the Calgary Stampede's chuckwagon choir sung (or more properly, lip-synced) an English-only version of O Canada for a full three ghastly days!
Alberta is not the province of two decades ago. Perhaps for the first time in our history, respect for the dignity of all has become acknowledged as a fundamental value and a political issue worth defending. The public have shown ethical leadership in rejecting tired old Alberta stereotypes about fearing difference, and it's good to see the politicians finally catching up.
There's nothing like letting the wild, bucking bronco in you loose and heading out to the fairgrounds to take in the rustic tradition of the rodeo.
For those of us who are Calgarian, it is often said that Stampede is better than Christmas. But this guide is not for Stampede. This is to help you for the moments you stumble out of Nashville North in search a break. Or when you wake up post pubcrawl and all you want is greasy bacon.
Last year I spent out eight hours with a handsome "urban cowboy" at a bar. A day and a make-out session later, I found out he was married. I told his wife what had happened. I don't know if I made the right decision, so after a year of not speaking to her, I got in contact with her, and here's what she had to say about knowing that her husband cheated on her.
