cool things other people are doing

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Two weeks ago my cousin introduced his friend's latest film, All.i.can., at the Banff Mountain Film Festival. During his brief speech he made note that the directors, Eric Crosland and Dave Mossop, had been making relatively unnoticed films for years until they decided to unrelentingly focus on quality. Their second major film is now being showcased all over the world.

This blog posting from the Partnership Group - Sponsorship Specialists (click the title of this post) highlights how the Vancouver Canadians A-League baseball team has made itself into one of the most valuable franchises on the market by focusing on quality and unparalleled customer service. A lesson for us all.

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There are very few people with whom you can have a rational conversation about the acceptable risks of getting kidnapped in Somalia. Jocelyn Edwards is one of those people. 

Jocelyn and I met working together for the Canadian government during election periods and have since used any time we can find on the same continent to bond over story-seeking in other countries. She just flew off to Juba. I wanted to take the opportunity to thank her for the conversations and share her latest story with you (click the title of this post) so you can keep an eye peeled for her by-line in upcoming publications. Hopefully she doesn't get deported for any of her stories this year. ...Wait, scratch that. Hopefully she runs that risk because in the process of getting deported last year she exposed some heinous security-force cover-ups. 

Kick ass, J.

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By the end of my degree in Psychology, oxytocin was becoming the wonder hormone that everyone was talking about. Apparently the trend continues.

Essentially, if you want to lower your (or your kids') chance of emotional, social, or mental anxiety disorders and disfunctions such as ADD, ADHD, and depression (all of which hover right now around the 25%-of-populations-in-the-Western-world-are-medicated-for-this mark), up your / their oxytocin levels. How do you do that? Hug, dance, move, chat, kiss, touch, and opt for natural birth instead of a c-section (when given the choice), then hug some more.

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"We have a brain for one reason and one reason only, and that is to produce adaptable and complex movements."

--Daniel Wolpert, Neuroscientist. 

This theory bodes well for my understanding of parkour as an extension of basic movement that is available to everyone. So, anybody want to read my magazine?

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“One firm estimates the average value of a FaceBook fan is $136.38.”

---That is the line from this blog posting that slapped me across the face. The Partnership Group is a Western Canadian firm that works to enable productive business partnerships through sponsorship. I regularly follow their blog because it boasts a wealth of information on developing business trends and often has little gems like this. Click the title of this post to read the article and start following the Partnership blog. 

Now knowing that a Facebook fan can be that valuable, will it change how you evaluate your marketing budget? -- my question is, over how much time can you make that value accrue? 

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“When I was in the air, they were already calling the ski patrol.”

-- Josh Dueck. The Freedom Chair.

He came down from a hundred feet in the air after badly misjudging the speed needed for a jump. He hasn't walked since. 

My roommate and I have had many heated debates about what qualifies as an inspiring story of surmounting adversity. He has a hard time finding it astounding when a person's hurdle is the result of his own mistake. I argue from the point of view of someone who, himself, had enough time in the air before breaking both of his legs on a misjudged ski jump to look over at the people on the chair lift and hear them say, "oh fuck." 

It's a difficult mental battle dealing with the repercussions of your own stupidity and it haunts you endlessly.

I got to see this short film debut at the Banff Mountain Film Festival last week. Josh Dueck and veteran ski hero / director, Mike Douglas, gave a talk at the end. The torture in Josh's voice was palpable. But that's the difficulty that arises when life changing stupidity forces you to make so many decisions that, in Josh's case, have lead him to a myriad of opportunities in the Olympics, X Games and in sport development talks around the world--all of which would have been inapplicable and intangible without his injury.

No matter your stance, if you would like to be deeply affected by a tortured story of human triumph catch The Freedom Chair in person on its North American Tour. 

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I had the great pleasure of working with Trevor last year when he won Discovery Channel's Iron Science Teacher Competition. 

He was a man who instantly bonded with our staff and inspired us to be jolly and sparkly-eyed even as we were trying to make a nationally televised event run smoothly. In the six minutes he had on stage he wrapped the audience into his presentation by making the science interesting, understandable, and, simply, cool. It is heartbreaking how wonderful an educator the world has lost. But to those who are still mourning in Riverview, New Brunswick, hopefully the lessons you had the great fortune of receiving will inspire you to hold true to his legacy and sow the same thread of wonderment through each adventure life brings you.

Click the title of this post to read about Trevor's tragic passing. 

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CHILLIWACK. You know in a town that has a classic rock band named after it, the classic rock station has to be particularly rocking. The Hawk 89.5 FM has just gotten a little bit higher on the Ultimate Scale of Kick Ass with the addition of my buddy. Tune in Saturdays and Sundays from 5AM to 1 PM to have Bob Ferris' sensual voice lull you into a stupefying rock coma. 

Click the title of this post to listen to 89.5's live stream.

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Totally on the low-down, don't tell anyone, especially anyone in the internet spheres, but a few of us are secretly considering mounting a small storytelling festival next year (based in diverse forms of passing on narrative: movement, film, poetry, etc.). For totally unrelated reasons, we found this guy inspiring.

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All I can think when watching this is, commute home: parachute.

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While you're out enjoying the Film Festival, make sure to stop in at Vertigo Theatre's Studio stage. You will, like I did, have happened to stumble into the most magically transformative and genuine piece of theatre that Calgary has managed to capture.

Often Calgarians are stereotyped as neophytes of culture who find it difficult to accept anything that doesn't look like a live version of American Idol...in lingerie. If you adhere to the stereotype, you'll be put off by the fact that these are puppets. I like to think that Calgary is in the midst of a seismic evolution. Allow yourself this indulgence. Go to How I Became Invisible before the weekend is out and feel how truly powerful the life of a puppet can be made to be.

We are not very different--puppets and fleshies--we are both just the products of layers upon layers of the fabric of memories. 

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First off, Matt Talbot-Turner created Breathe Parkour Magazine -- one of the two parkour-based publications in the entire world. Secondly, he did this speech. It is just as impressive. Watch, and see why.

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Congratulations to @DonovanDeschner for being cast in Morpheus' Theatre's "Picasso at the Lapin Agile"

See the play in January.

See @DonovanDeschner tonight in his stand-up comedy room, Red Carpet Comedy.

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Definitively uncool. 

If you want to instantly get people to turn on you, base your marketing in deception.

If you end up liking this ostensibly awesome idea for a Calgary-based fbook page, you'll quickly realize that every page link redirects you to a real estate agent's personal website.

Thank you, Cody Battershill, for wrapping a lot of very good leg work in a great concept, and then demolishing its credibility through duplicity.

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There is no combination of words to accurately explain how awesome this is.

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Is it just me, or does it really seem rare that A. Politicians become celebrities? And, B. They earn their stripes through transit reform?

@MayorNenshi, you're my hero. I'm going as you for Hallowe'en. And I'm gonna get there using a SmartCard.

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Stunning. At the risk of a pun, its effectiveness and simplicity is truly illuminating. Please spread this.