Eliminate the word "boredom" from your vocabulary.

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Enrichment is probably an integral part of many young gifted people’s lives already. Enrichment encourages gifted students to:

- expand knowledge and skills in regular school curriculum

Teachers should make efforts to enrich the learning of all their students but sometimes the average student may not be able to handle more than what the curriculum offers and/or expects. Gifted students, on the other hand, can often handle much more. When gifted students are challenged through enrichment, brainpower is being nurtured and there is an improved chance that potential is being met. Enrichment is also a great way to keep gifted students from getting bored. Talk to teachers so they understand the needs and get them to help gifted students in the suggested areas.

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World Youth Days ended in a torrent of rain but not dampened spirits. Everybody that was ever interviewed had nothing but good things to say about the many days of companionship, peace, cultural togetherness and just pure outpouring of love of people for each other.

The hundreds of religious events, the Way of the Cross, the Pope’s arrival and his messages to youth in Toronto and the final Mass in Downsview show the world that Catholicism and Christianity are not dead. These young people were all proud to be part of a religious group despite the secularism that is becoming so pervasive in our North American society.

It was mentioned that the city was more peaceful. There was less crime. People were more tolerant of each other and friendlier. Would that it would last.

What were the main messages? Jean Vanier urged people to go beyond the words and good feelings and do something about the problems of the world. World Youth Day should be more than a "feel-good" emotional event.

Pope John Paul urged young people to trust the Catholic Church to be there for them and to be the "salt of the earth and light of the world." In other words, set the example of good Christian living despite the temptations of all the evil around us. Make a difference. Be strong and determined. Fight for goodness to prevail in life.

Many people will feel good - for a few days anyway - reveling in the high emotions brought out by moving words and inspirational songs and plays. Others will be inspired to be the people that Christ and the Catholic Church wants them to be. That is the real message that hopefully will have been taken home by most of the pilgrims.

Peace and love for all. Isn’t that what we want?

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Autofest

Canadian Canoe Symposium

Caribana

Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games

Fringe Festival of Independent Dance Festival

Hot & Spicy Food Festival

Toronto International Film Festival

Vegetarian Food Fair

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Karen L., going into second-year university and a former LAT Gifted Program student, will be entering a Forensic Science course this fall. She was selected from about 250 applicants. She also attended a one-week course at the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Institute in Leavenworth, Washington this summer. This is the 2nd year she attended Icicle Creek. There were 33 students (compared to last year: 28) and this year the camp was more international than ever with 3 cellists from Seoul, Korea and 2 pianists from Toronto, ON, Canada. Karen was one of them. Best wishes for success!

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Here's some advice Bill Gates recently dished out at a high school speech about 11 things students did not and will not learn in school. He talked about how feel-good, politically-correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it.

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $40,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping -- they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you the test as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

__________

(muse-ings. O.S.)

Movie ticket prices are basically controlled by supply and demand. North Americans have an insatiable appetite for movies as entertainment, so the demand is very high. Along with that go higher and higher admission prices.

Ticket prices reflect the frenzy and lather that people get themselves into when a new movie comes out. When the last episode of Star Wars came out, people were lined up, days ahead of the opening of ticket sales, waiting for the "greatest" moment in their lives. They got a ticket to a popular movie! Like get a life! That is more important than their own reality?

If people were to control their hedonistic need for instant gratification, demand could be spread out and/or reduced and prices might actually be geared downward to lure more viewers. We are our own worst enemies in this stupidity and boy do we pay for it.

Doesn’t anybody else feel that it is outrageously sad that a single movie viewing costs $10-$16 Cdn per person? If people had any common sense, even a little patience and an honest respect for their money, they would wait a few months and then watch the video for $4-$6. A stadium full of family, friends and relatives could watch it at that price.

Who are these desperately deprived people that need to escape from reality so badly they are willing to pay any price for a single viewing of a movie? Is tossing away hard-earned money to obscenely filthy-rich people engaged in presenting mindless fiction and fantasy the best that people can do? Learned observers of life have noted that our society is slowly entertaining itself to death. Participation in life? What’s that?

I know, what can you do? You can’t change it. Or can you?

I almost forgot, let’s discuss the cost of cinema snacks! Oh…sure, another time.

London: $10
New York: $8.50
Chicago: $8
Paris: $6
Mexico City: $4.50
Rio de Janeiro: $4

_______________

(from an article in the Toronto Star by Bill Taylor)

Most young people know Spam as electronic junk mail. The real Spam actually has a longer history going back to 1937 when it was considered the "miracle meat" in a can and delivered by the millions to feed American soldiers in the war.

Hawaiians consume about 5.3 million cans of this stuff each year! It didn’t take long for a bright light to turn on at McDonald’s and now Hawaii is the only place on earth where McSpam is served with rice and scrambled eggs at the local outlets of the fast-food guru.

Spam is still popular today and has become so famous over the years that some devoted "genius" has built a museum in its honour in Austin, Minnesota.

________________

- Do you know where the term "soccer" came from? In the U.K. most football is played through football associations. When "association" was shortened in speech and an "er" ending was added, the word "soc-(c)er" football came about.

- Brazil won all its matches in the World Cup tournament in 2002 (along with only 3 other squads to do so) and won its fifth World Cup soccer championship in a row to set a new record.

- Skipper Cafu, of the Brazil soccer team, made history by becoming the first player to ever appear in three World Cup finals.

- Germany and Brazil had never met in a World Cup final before 2002.

- The jobs in which members are most likely to get headaches:
1. Accountants. 2. Bus or truck drivers. 3. Librarians. 4. Nurses.
5. Waiters/waitresses. 6.Homemakers.

- fingernails grow faster than toenails and the nails on the dominant hand grow faster than those on the other hand.

- in South Africa, Sesame Street will soon introduce a new Muppet character that is HIV-positive. 1 in 9 people there have the virus that can lead to AIDS!

- True story. This happened in early July. In Pakistan, an 18-year-old girl was sentenced by a village "court" to be gang-raped in order to punish her family. Her brother had been seen walking and talking with a woman of a higher status than his. A recent article in the Toronto Star described what actually happened. The girl was publicly raped and made to walk back home naked. This was all in front of her family. Arrests have been made but…

- there are about 310,000 Canadian households that have a net worth of over $1 million. Millionaire households are most likely to have adults 45 to 54 years old. The wealthiest can be found: 139,000 in Ontario, 56,000 in B.C., and 55,000 in Quebec.

- there is a growing interest in old stone fences in farmer’s fields. Treasure hunters know that in the good old days, people used to hide their valuables in them.

- The most popular snacks are 1. Cookies 2. Ice Cream. Vanilla and chocolate are the two top favourite flavours. (how boring!)

___________

(article in the Toronto Star by Thomas Wagner)

Two British inventors have a prototype of a "telephone tooth" which will allow you to listen to music, receive phone calls and connect to verbal internet sites without anybody hearing a thing. A dentist has to insert it in one of your molars.

Audio signals would be converted into mechanical vibrations and the resulting sounds would pass directly to the inner ear through the bones. A tiny device outside the body would allow it to be turned on and off and programmed.

____________

(from an article by Thana Dharmarajah in the Toronto Star)

Author Rebecca Wells wrote the novel: "Divine Secrets of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood" and a whole new fad has started from it. To be a Ya-Ya means you are a free spirit, flamboyant and love to ya-ya (chat casually).

There are chapters popping up all over the country as local groups or internet sites and women get together to, what else, ya-ya.

Here is some of the new language that is coming into being:

- Porch Members: members of a ya-ya website

• Gumbo ya-ya: when everyone talks at the same time in person or posts on a Website at the same time for "front porch visiting"
• Yahoo: husband of a ya-ya
• Petite ya-ya: child of a ya-ya
• Pinks and blues: happy thoughts, good wishes, prayers or thoughts from one ya-ya to another
• Rich girl red: preferred nail colour
• Preferred attire: tiaras, boas and rhinestones
• Preferred activities: dancing, socializing over a card game-or any excuse to have a party

__________________

(some thoughts – O.S.)

Somebody hurts you really badly. You want revenge. You seethe with anger and resentment. Your thoughts are consumed with the violation and pain. Your heart races and your adrenaline is pumping every time you think of it and how you were made to suffer.

This is not something new. Many people have had something happen to them that just drives them almost to the brink of murder and causes them to shake with anger and hatred. Parents lose their child to an abductor. Perhaps a close friend is sexually molested. The fact that there are serious consequences to taking revenge and getting back at the perpetrator causes many people to just wallow in stress and misery.

What is the solution? Forgiveness? That’s right, forgiveness. But why should I and how could I ever forgive somebody for doing the nasty thing they did? Because if you don’t, you will bring upon yourself suffering that will destroy your life.

Anger and hatred, loathing and a lust for revenge over long periods of time, produce chemical changes in the body. They will eventually disrupt sleep, eating, thinking, relationships with others, work habits, self-esteem, and more. You may end up destroying your own life needlessly without achieving the satisfaction of closure on what happened.

Forgiving is a valuable gift that you give to yourself! It does not mean condoning what was done or forgetting about it. It means that you give up your right to be angry about it. It is no longer your fault or somebody else’s; it is an acceptance that things happen and unfortunately somebody, including you, might have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Let it go. You can’t change it. It is part of life. If you don’t let it go, it can change you and all to the negative.

Here are some ways to develop forgiveness toward yourself or others:

• If you have personal "rules" for how people should behave, change the idea that somebody broke your "rule" to somebody else preferring to do something differently from you. Realize that you cannot control others.
• Look at hurtful experiences or incidents from a spectator point of view. This makes it a little more neutral and less personal.
• Instead of blaming, try to understand the situation and move on with life.
• Realize that the response to "Why me?" can be "Why not you?" We all get the good and bad in life. Unfortunately, this time, it was your turn for some bad. Learn from it. Find something good that can come out of it all – no matter how bad the situation.
• Turn anger and hatred into feeling sorry for the person who is the source of the pain. Their life must be very messed up for them to do what they did. They will probably suffer more than you can imagine if they ever realize what they did. Why should you be destroyed too and become a second victim?

_________

(an email from a friend)

These are from a book called "Disorder in the Court." These are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters - who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.
_________________________________________

Q: What is your date of birth?
A: July fifteenth.
Q: What year?
A: Every year.
_________________________________________

Q: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
A: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
_________________________________________

Q: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
A: Yes.
Q: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
A: I forget.
Q: You forget. Can you give us an example of something you've forgotten?
__________________________________________

Q: How old is your son, the one living with you.
A: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
Q: How long has he lived with you?
A: Forty-five years.
_________________________________________

Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
A: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
Q: And why did that upset you?
A: My name is Susan.
_________________________________________

Q: And where was the location of the accident?
A: Approximately milepost 499.
Q: And where is milepost 499?
A: Probably between milepost 498 and 500.
_________________________________________

Q: Sir, what is your IQ?
A: Well, I can see pretty well, I think.
_________________________________________

Q: Did you blow your horn or anything?
A: After the accident?
Q: Before the accident.
A: Sure, I played for 10 years. I even went to school for it.
_________________________________________

Q: Trooper, when you stopped the defendant, were your red and blue lights flashing? A: Yes.
Q: Did the defendant say anything when she got out of her car?
A: Yes, sir.
Q: What did she say?
A: What disco am I at?
_________________________________________

Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
_________________________________________

Q: The youngest son, the 20-year old, how old is he?
_________________________________________

Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?
_________________________________________

Q: So the date of conception of (the baby) was August 8th?
A: Yes.
Q: And what were you doing at that time?
_________________________________________

Q: She had three children, right?
A: Yes.
Q: How many were boys?
A: None.
Q: Were there any girls?
_________________________________________

Q: You say the stairs went down to the basement?
A: Yes.
Q: And these stairs, did they go up also?
_________________________________________

Q: How was your first marriage terminated?
A: By death.
Q: And by whose death was it terminated?
_________________________________________

Q: Can you describe the individual?
A: He was about medium height and had a beard.
Q: Was this a male or a female?
_________________________________________

Q: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice that I sent to your attorney?
A: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
_________________________________________

Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
_________________________________________

Q: All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
A: Oral.
_________________________________________

Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?
A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy.
__________________________________________

Q: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
_________________________________________

Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for blood pressure?
A: No.
Q: Did you check for breathing?
A: No.
Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
A: No.
Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Q: But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?
A: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

__________________

(from an article in the Toronto Star by Graham Fraser)

Mario Dumont is a truly extraordinary young politician on the Canadian political scene. His story should inspire many young people interested in politics – maybe you?

He was born in 1970 in Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec and went to McGill University where he learned to first speak English and studied politics and economics. He was only 20 when he first attracted public attention and in 1992 as president of the Young Liberals of Quebec, he challenged Robert Bourassa (the Premier at the time) on his attempt to hold a referendum on the Charlottetown Accord. At age 24 he was elected to the Quebec National Assembly in 1994.

For the last 8 years, he has been both liked and disliked by the population of Quebec but always had enough support to keep him in the political picture. Imagine being a one-man party in the Quebec National Assembly but being good enough to hang on to peoples’ support through several elections and referendums. His strength and durability are evident.

Just this year, "Super Mario", "le petit Mario" or le jeune" has become the focus of even more attention. As a veteran at age 32, Mario is now being taken very seriously as his centre-right party, the Action Democratique du Quebec, won 4 by-elections in solid Parti Quebecois ridings. He got 46% of all those votes, the PQ got 30%, and the Liberals 22%. He is perceived as fresh, now familiar to most people, and takes a political position that is between the extremist independentistes and federalists.

Many Quebecers are starting to see him as a viable alternative to Bernard Landry, the present PQ Premier. The Liberals under Jean Charest are also worried that Dumont is stealing more and more of the spotlight from them. Is he a threat? Most certainly. In the 1998 Quebec election, his ADQ almost doubled its support to 11.8%. This may not seem like much support but Mario’s snowball is slowly and steadily growing bigger and this is worrying the other parties.

His party takes the following positions: pro-business, pro-high tech, anti-tax, favours vouchers for education and child care, private clinics in health care. To Dumont’s advantage, the PQ promises another referendum and the Liberals warn of the dangers, while he doesn’t talk about the issue that most people are tired of discussing. People recognize his main desire is protecting Quebec interests and he is seen to stand his ground better than others in the past.

Keep an eye on this exciting young leader, Mario Dumont, as he charts his course in Quebec history and tries to gain legitimacy in order to become a future premier of the province.

_______________

(based on an article by Lynda Hurst in the Toronto Star)

There are people who design things that are enthralled by the technology. Making systems overly complex, frustrating and ever changing seems to be their objective. When something goes wrong, we are made to feel that it is somehow our fault. Because of the way many things are designed, human errors can often get a lot of help from the technology. (e.g. setting VCR’s, programming Microwave ovens, using features on a video camera, some computer software, and more). The general public accepts everything meekly and many people end up using the bare minimum of the gadgets and frilly extras on what they buy because the system is too complex.

An amazing example of this complexity is the new BMW (745I), which has about 700 functions, few of which are actually needed to get from one place to another. The radio is a state-of-the-art system but you have to practically read the manual to change stations. A mechanic requires a special-purpose computer to make engine diagnostics. Wow, do we need a Human Factors Engineer or what?

Here comes the Human Factors Engineer now. (Dr. Kim Vicente is such an engineer at the U. of Toronto) In this career, one must open the mind and see bad technology all around. The idea is to make things user-friendly and SIMPLE. Why aren’t doors designed to let you know whether to push or pull? Why doesn’t somebody put a simple vertical line in place of a numerical readout to show that something is full or empty? Why aren’t connections on hoses made simpler so that kids and disabled people can handle them too? Instead of thinking about just building technologies, one must also think about solving human needs through technology.

A lot of the work of such an engineer is common sense and requires an acute awareness of the needs of people instead of building the biggest and most elaborate technological system to show off personal intelligence. Areas that the engineer might work in: emergency dispatch service, public transport, nuclear power plant operations and monitoring, etc. Wouldn’t it be great to do a mentorship or co-op session with such a person?

Cognitive Work Analysis: Toward Safe, Productive, and Healthy Computer-Based Work by Dr. Kim Vicente.

The Psychology of Everyday Things by Donald Norman.

Organic farming is growing at a rate of about 25% each year in Canada as more and more people become health conscious and want better more nutritious food. Mass-produced, factory food is proving to be less than healthy and the deterioration of the general health of our population puts a spotlight on a career that should become more and more significant in the near and long term future.

Buying or leasing the right land is probably the first biggest task. Surprisingly, with a little planning, it is possible to grow a lot of food on a relatively small piece of land. The next most important thing is that the land be pesticide free for at least 5 years before one can be certified as an organic grower. It is important that an organic farmer learn the balance of nature and the natural ways of eliminating pests and preventing ruin of crops. No chemicals or pesticides, herbicides or other deadly toxins or artificial fertilizers are allowed.

Many organic growers are associated with co-ops, which include families who share the cost of purchasing the grower’s crops. They can also be found in weekend farmers markets or provide delivery service of their products as advertised in health magazines.

Although organic foods are more expensive partly because they are more labour intensive, the general population is drawn more and more to the better nutritional value and is willing to pay more for quality.

Interesting fact: the Canadian government allows regular farmers to deduct the cost of all their machinery, poisons and artificial fertilizers on their income tax. Organic growers end up paying more for benefits, and for the extra labour required on their farms. They also save the environment and keep people healthier! Wouldn’t it make sense to allow them to deduct their expenses and a little more as a small thank you for creating more jobs? Contact your MP or MPP about this.

Visit a health food store and get a free copy of Vitality magazine and find all the organic growers in your community

(article written by Jonathan Cheng, Eye magazine)

Our ideas about traditional heterosexual marriage are being shaken to the core - divorce is soaring, couples are choosing more and more to live common law, so-called alternative lifestyles are causing confusion as to the definition of marriage. Here are some statistics:

• the proportion of Canadians that is married has dropped from 48.3% in 1997 to 47.3% in 2001. This represents over 300,000 Canadians choosing to not get married.
• Close to 1.2 million couples were living common-law in 2001, up 20% in six years. This is up 28% since 1991. Marriages rose only 3% to 6.4 million.
• In 2001, the Canadian divorce rate hit 1.5 million people for the first time. In 1998, 69,088 couples in Canada called it quits.
• "Divorce Magazine" sets the Canadian divorce rate at about 45%, USA rate is about 49%, U.K. rate is 53%. The world leader is Balarus-68%.
• Based on 1998 statistics, 39% of marriages are projected to end by the 50^th anniversary of a marriage.
• The average length of time of a marriage is 13.7 years.
• Almost 30% of the people in the above common-law unions were previously divorced.

According to American Demographics magazine, the number of marriages ending in divorce with the first five years, often before either spouse has reached the age of 30 is quite high. The reason is that young couples are driven by a "marriage culture" and rush to the altar without enough planning and parental guidance.

A new term is working its way prominently into our vocabulary – "starter marriage." Like a free sample in the supermarket or a set of bicycle training wheels, the marriage is sort of a trial experience. Breakdowns are typically among twentysomethings, who are divorcing progressively earlier. A "starter marriage" is not considered a whim or fantasy – the people involved believe they are getting married forever.

(comment: You know what it takes to get a pilot’s or teaching licence. Now think about what it takes to get a marriage licence. The above are pretty sad comments on our society. What effects will this all have on kids?)

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This really works, try it.

Your Age in Chocolate

This is cool chocolate math!!!!!!! DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!

It takes less than a minute......Work this out as you read. Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out! This is not one of those waste-time things. It's fun.

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have chocolate. (try for more than once but less than 10)

2. Multiply this number by 2 (Just to be bold)

3. Add 5.

4. Multiply it by 50. (I'll wait while you get the calculator................)

5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1752.... If you haven't, add

6. Now subtract the four-digit year that you were born. You should have a three-

digit number.

7. The first digit of this was your original number (i.e., how many times you want

to have chocolate each week).

8. The next two numbers are ...........
YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it IS!!!!!)

THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2002) IT WILL EVER WORK,

SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS.
************

A new kind of alarm clock is on the market. It makes no noise. It uses lights and it gets brighter and brighter until you wake up. It’s called a window.

*************

Have you heard about the new sushi bar that caters to lawyers?

It’s called Sosumi.

************

A young woman was jogging when she saw a wizened old man smiling at her from his porch.

"You look so happy!" she said to him. "What’s your secret for a long, satisfying life?"

"I smoke a carton of cigarettes each week," he replied. "And I drink a bottle of whiskey every day, eat nothing but fatty food and never exercise."

"That’s amazing," the woman said. "How old are you?"

He answered, "Thirty-two."

************

In an exclusive private school, a Gr. 3 teacher was lecturing her upper-middle-class students about the less fortunate. She asked them to write an essay on a poor family in the area.

One little girl’s story began: "Once upon a time there was a poor family. The father was poor. The mother was poor. The children were poor. The nannies were poor. The pool man was poor. The personal trainer was poor too."

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Courtesy of DiscoverTeenergy.com
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