By James Rubec

I took a hike and found a project.

Halloween is coming and I need to find some ghosts. Graveyards are interesting places, the older the better. Yellowknife, NWT, only has two. On Oct.16, I checked out one of them.

A friend of mine and I hiked from the Yellowknife Cross Country Ski Club’s parking lot, over some Canadian shield into Back Bay’s Old Cemetery.

Yellowknife was first settled about 75 years ago. Sparsely populated by prospectors and bush pilots, many died young because of the work environment that is the North. Some who died were buried in a valley between what is now a highway, and Back Bay.  The terrain of the Northwest Territories is unforgiving, with little in the way of flat ground, and much in the way of cliffs, crags and mossy stone.

In the cemetery there are no more than 30 graves, tombstones or crosses, many of which are broken, or partially grown over. The sign identifying the space as a graveyard has been shattered and left in pieces rotting.

Many of the graves are marked by white crosses, the smallest, saddest crosses I’ve ever seen, some aren’t standing, others aren’t there at all. The tombstones are few, but ornate. A pair marked the graves of newborns that didn’t make it to eight weeks old, another had a defaced picture of a 25-year-old (Peter Gene Hendrick).

Peter’s grave has an etching on its top right-hand corner, and down its side. It almost seems like the etching was done at some point after the epitaph.

Graveyards are full of stories waiting to be unearthed… who were these people? How did they die? What were their lives like? The graveyard was small, unkempt and forgotten.  The most recent addition was a bridge that crossed over a small stream.

The bridge wobbled. Winter is tough in Yellowknife, and this was not considered in the bridge’s design. Evidence of previous bridges was rotting and broken under and beside the current bridge, a graveyard of shoddy planning.

One of the graves was marked for a man from Grand Prairie, Alberta. Clayton Merrit McAusland, born June 30, 1911. He died in Yellowknife, on October 4, 1939. I’m going to call Grand Prairie and try to figure out who this guy was.

View the full gallery of images here.

Guest writer: Lauren Shorser. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Lies, lies, lies, it’s all lies. The Internet is full of myths and misinformation about fitness and nutrition. One of the most pervasive fitness myths is that aerobic or cardiovascular exercise, like jogging, can cause muscle loss. This is nonsense, for the vast majority of athletes of all levels.

But like any good story, this claim has a kernel of truth to it. Three factors have contributed to this preposterous fallacy.

1. Aerobic workouts send a different message to our muscles than resistance workouts do. Aerobic workouts try to tell your muscles that what we really need is endurance. We need the muscles to be able to work for a long time. Resistance workouts focus on getting our muscles to work as hard as they can, for a short amount of time.  Doing both can confuse our bodies, slowing out muscle growth, but this is a far cry from causing actual muscle loss.

2. After a long run, swim or any aerobic exercise, our bodies can be stressed. We feel tired, and some people believe that this exhaustion means we’ve taken something out of our bodies. Really, it’s nothing more than sugars and water. When our bodies are stressed, we produce a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is released into our bloodstream, and helps make sure we have enough sugar in our blood to ensure we can perform activities that we’re asking our bodies to do.  In extreme situations, cortisol calls on the proteins in our muscles to become sugar.  But unless you plan on running an ultra-marathon in Dubai, or competing on Survivor, this isn’t something you should concern yourself with.

3. The last contributing factor to this myth is that, for the ill-prepared, it’s true. If you’re asking bodies to perform at a high level, and you aren’t eating or drinking, your body will cannibalize your muscles. This process is called muscle catabolism. Trick to avoiding it: eat food, drink water, keep your glucose levels up. This isn’t rocket science, it’s shop class. Your body is an engine, it needs oil and fuel. If it isn’t fueled properly it starts to wear down.

So, what’s the moral of the story?

The first one is that aerobic exercise does not cause muscle loss, and should not be avoided for fear of wasting away.  The second lesson is that if you want to be healthy, you need to do more than just work out – proper nutrition is critical, both for general health but also to ensure that your exercises have the desired effect on your body and fitness levels.

Guest writer: Aquib Azim. Connect with him on Twitter.

Facing a long cancellation, airing four movies in an attempt to revive the series, changing networks, and now coming back from nearly a year-long break, Futurama and its sixth season has been a very interesting one for them.

The episode starts off with Professor Farnsworth introducing, like always, a unique and utterly useless device to aid him. The device looks like one of those old lamp projectors you would have at school. It allows you to insert any item and have it return that same item but 60 per cent smaller. However, this can only be accomplished if you input any sort of matter as a trade-off.

Bender, the king of laziness, takes advantage of this item and duplicates two miniature sizes of him in order to avoid folding sweaters. If you thought one Bender was obnoxious, irresponsible, and rude, imagine how three of them would be to the Planet Express team. After many antics, the mini-Benders start becoming lazy and create mini duplicates of themselves. Thus begins a very menacing cycle. Within days, there are several Benders swarming around the PE headquarters. Their duplications start getting smaller to the point where one can fit through a mouse hole. Professor Farnsworth realizes that at this growth rate, the Benders shall consume all of the matter in the world. They realize that they have to find all the Benders (except the actual one) and destroy them before this happens.

Aside from the main plot, the side story for the episode was about a delivery made to a very huge and ugly alien. The alien shows great patience and understanding whenever he is ridiculed, something the Benders take advantage of, but can create disaster once he reaches his boiling point.

Apart from a few good moments, there were flaws that really threw off the episode. Firstly, the pacing was off. It would jump from one conflict and then avoid it until nearly the end of the episode. However, it did allow the episode to be entertaining and unpredictable. One of the show’s great qualities is its ability to add cultural references into its futuristic setting. But other than a Twilight Zone parody, they really didn’t try this episode. There were a few nods here and there, but they were all dry or weak in humour. Also, the message was unclear at the end. I’m not sure if it was a social commentary or just one of those filler episodes because it did not contain any character development or story-line movement. The ugly alien was an amusing character, but it would have been better if he was more reflected upon by the main characters at the end.

When it came to creativity, some instances were not executed very well. In one scene, they destroyed a Bender by tying him up as a piñata and getting smashed by the real Bender, dropping metallic scraps instead of candy. Then they took its scraps, placed them in a bag, heated them up in a microwave, and made popcorn. Isn’t this a bit sick? They are eating pieces of Bender. Is he 30 per cent kernel? It is as if they ruined continuity just for an awkward joke.

This episode had its ups and downs. If it is just 30 minutes of entertainment that you are looking for, then this will surely do that. However, it doesn’t have anything else to offer. I am a bit surprised that they didn’t address Amy and Kip’s long-distance marriage or what happens to Cubert Farnsworth on a daily basis, or even Fry and Leila’s relationship.

______________________________

Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, who, after being unwittingly cryogenically frozen for a thousand years, finds employment at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company in the retro-futuristic 31st century.

By Anum Khan

Krispy Kreme, a company that is primarily based on warm, sugary, glazed doughnuts, has just announced that they will soon be offering nutritious options for health-conscious consumers.

CEO James Morgan has been trying to figure out ways to increase sales and boost business since taking over this position in 2008. He believes that creating a healthier alternative for those who don’t or can’t eat sugar can turn to items such as yogurt, oatmeal, and fruit juice instead.

At the same time, Krispy Kreme is currently testing doughnut milkshakes in a few stores in the U.S., with flavours such as Original Glazed, Chocolate Cake and Raspberry Filled, to choose from.

Does any of this make sense to you?

Frankly, I’ve never been a fan of Krispy Kreme and wouldn’t touch it’s disgusting, over-glazed, sugarfilled doughnut if someone paid me to, but this is a very sad attempt on Morgan’s part to try and bring in more customers.

If a company is known to produce quality doughnuts and pastries for more than 100 years, then that is what it should stick to. Even with this change of menu, customers still won’t see Krispy Kreme as a healthy breakfast destination and will continue on with their regular routine.

At the same time, while this doughnut factory is making an effort to push and persuade consumers into looking at their nutritious options, Krispy Kreme is advertising fatty-filled milkshakes, too?

Well, I am one confused consumer.

Sometimes I listen to music and I forget what the beat is all about. In many cases, this beat is about nothing else than the funk. Delivering the funk for four decades now, has been Fred Wesley.

Wesley has been a trombone-playing monolith, playing along the sides of everyone from Ray, to Brown, and his riffs have been sampled so much that they are the syntax by which anything with a beat and real soul is made up of today.

The following is a brief overview of his career, the intensity of which will be lost on anyone who has no groove to speak of.

“Born in Mobile, Ala., Fred Wesley began his professional career as a teenage trombonist with Ike and Tina Turner. He was music director, arranger, trombonist and a primary composer for James Brown from 1968-1975, then arranged and played for Parliament-Funkadelic and Bootsy’s Rubber Band. He has played with and arranged for a wide variety of other artists including Ray Charles, Pancho Sanchez, New York Voices, Slide Hampton, Van Morrison, the SOS Band and Cameo, to name a few. Scores of other artists including Janet Jackson and Nas have sampled his work. Since his stint with the Count Basie Orchestra, he has maintained a focus on jazz – playing, recording, writing and promoting it. His solo jazz recordings include “To Someone,” “Amalgamation,” “Comme Ci Comme Ca,” “Full Circle” and “Wuda Cuda Shuda.,” – Funky Fred Wesley

But seriously, virtually everyone that has provided the world with funk and soul and thereby R&B, maybe even through the same logic rap has played with, or had sections of their music composed by Fred Wesley. I’ve been finding it difficult to dance, and listen to music, as I constantly grow distracted noticing that Wesley’s trombone is ever present. Musicians, dancers, and DJs should be reminded of Fred Wesley’s work as often as a writer should be reminded that his or her work is printed on paper.

Whenever you feel the need to get your groove on, or feel that your funk is low. Go to Grooveshark and listen to some Wesley. The point is, if you are listening to funk, regardless of whose name it is on the album, or whoever it is written as who is the artist, you’d best know Fred Wesley had something to do with it.

By Anum Khan

Over the summer, a woman named Ally Flynn contacted me asking if I could review her jewelry, and I instantly thought, sweet, another chance to play around with jewelry and see if it breaks or gets damaged easily. Once she sent me the products, I fell in love with how cute they were, and I just couldn’t do the same thing I did last time with the LuShae ring.

She sent me a set of chocolate-chip cookie earrings, a matching necklace, and a charm bracelet with delicious treats on it. All her items that can be found and purchased on her website and Etsy shop are related to food somehow, specifically her latest Sweet Tooth collection. Products range from £0.50 to £15, depending on what you buy… which is the equivalent to about 80 cents to $20-25. I love almost everything from this collection, and the best part about her jewelry is that it is hand-crafted and each piece is unique.

Despite the fact that she lives in the UK, I was very impressed by how quickly she responds to orders and delivery takes between 2-3 weeks depending on where you live.

Additional Info

Ally started her little company by making soaps, candles and other small crafts, which slowly turned into jewelry. She uses polymer clay, which is very strong and waterproof as well. However, if you are wondering whether these pieces are edible, I wouldn’t try it.

Giveaway

Ally was very generous about offering to help me host a giveaway for my subscribers on my YouTube channel. If you are interested in entering, please watch the video below. The contest will end on Friday, September 24, 2010.

Rules

• You must be a subscriber of my YouTube channel, summerxskin, and her channel, allybruce08
• If you are under 18 or under, please have permission from your parents before entering
• You are entering for a chance to win a set of chocolate-chip cookie earrings and the necklace, and if you do win, Ally will ship the item directly to you
• To enter, all you have to do is comment on this post and type “Enter Me” but make sure to fill out contact info in case you do win
• Due to fraudulent activity, this contest is only open for residents in Canada, United States, and United Kingdom

Good luck, everyone!

Have you ever purchased a ring for the purpose of wearing it on a daily basis, only to find it rusting a few weeks after because of exposure to water, sun, or just every day activities? No matter where you buy your rings from, if they don’t consist of having a real diamond (although sometimes those rings rust, too), they are most likely to get damaged. This has happened to me so many times.

Recently I was contacted by a company called LuShae Jewelry, and they asked me if I wanted to try out one of their products and consider for an honest review. I chose a promise ring, and was almost certain that it would get damaged after a week of wearing it.

Her Promise Ring – details and dimensions

Finish: Rhodium – High Lustre

Stone Colors: Clear / White
Lead Free: Yes
Available Sizes: Sizes 5-10
Setting Type: Prong, Channel
Item Weight: 4g
Carat Weight: 4.5ct
Length: 8mm
Width: 8mm
Height: 8mm

I was so excited when I received the ring. They offer free shipping internationally, and I got my package in less than seven business days. I’m not sure if this was because I’m closer to their location, but either way, I was very impressed by how quickly I got it in the mail.

It is very difficult to pick out items online and figure out the right size for you. LuShae Jewelry has set up a page simply dedicated to a ring size guide. They have rulers and sizes that you can easily print off and measure from, and that determines your size. I thought this was such a neat idea, and immediately printed off the page and picked the right size. It is accurate and very easy to use. You can check out their ring size guide here.

In order to do a proper review, I knew that I had to test the promise ring under different circumstances.

I put the ring under water for more than 30 minutes; that is normally how long I shower for. I left the ring outside in the sun for half a day, to see if it would change colour or start rusting because of the brightness. I even threw it in with a load of laundry, and it surprisingly did not have any scratches or dents.

After a month of having this promise ring and wearing it almost every day, I can honestly say that it hasn’t rusted, changed colour, and does not have dents, scratches, and still has all of its crystals still in place.

LuShae Jewelry is not a scam. I actually received my product and absolutely love it. If you would like to purchase a ring, pendant, earrings or bracelet, visit www.jewelryartdesigns.com.

Check out the video review!

By James Rubec

The government has failed to figure out a way to fix it, but the Russians had a plan.

Nuke the oil spill.

It would make a fantastic t-shirt. If that doesn’t quite fit your fancy, the Federal Government is asking Hollywood for help.

Today it was announced on slate.com that the Federal Government is actually consulting with the director of The Abyss, Titanic, and, oh yeah, Avatar. Yep, James Cameron is figuring out ways to fix the spill… that or researching for another billion-dollar cinematic lecture.

I imagine James’ way of dealing with the spill would be building a giant loud speaker system to complain about how horrible the human race is until the oil feels bad for itself and works its way back to the centre of the earth. If that doesn’t work he’d just draw a bunch of pretty pictures of hyper-sexualized aliens and try to perform his own Top Kill with an army Avatards. This could build a great sequel, Avitanic.

Before James Cameron was called in, there was an international drive for human and animal hair. The hair was collected at barber shops and dog salons, then was stuffed in pantyhose and strung together. They were then brought to the shores to help stop the oil from reaching coastal estuaries. I now understand why so many people had long hair in the 60s, hippies were just being prepared.

So about the fisheries.

The fish stocks in the Gulf of Mexico weren’t that bad off. Hurricanes screwed everything up now and then, but there were some pretty strong regulations preventing over-fishing. Many of the shrimp farms were sustainable and provided a good living for communities along the coast. Now the fishermen are being paid to clean up the oil, that is still being pumped into their shores. I’m pretty sure that BP is going to be paying the fishermen along the coast for a decade or so, something along the lines of $5,000 a month per fisherman.

Problem here is some of the men that are cleaning up these coastal estuaries are getting sick because of the oil. The best way to clean up an oil spill in a marshland is to leave it alone, and let the oil biodegrade on its own. Stomping around all over delicate diverse forms of vegetation isn’t a great plan, and cleaning oil out of seaweed is close to impossible.

Now, if there was any sign that the environment was falling apart, Al and Tipper Gore are going to separate after 40 years. I blame this on the oil spill, and all of the hot air blowing out of Arizona.

South Park should make episodes year round just for months like this. There is an editorial void when that show isn’t producing.

Good luck, world.