The idea of 99 red balloons hovering over a New York landfill
Winnipeg architect Emeka Nnadi appealed to a New York state of mind with his idea to hover 99 red balloons over a Manhattan landfill. His idea was one of the four best chosen out of 250 submissions in 39 countries across the world. His winning design was selected for an award given in New York last night.
Nnadi’s team, all graduates from the University of Manitoba knocked out the competition of some of the best design firms across Canada. The firms says they can harness methane for electricity with the gigantic bright red balloons, each capable of generating approximately 14,000 megawatts of electricity. Experts say that amount of renewable energy is enough to power 4,500 homes per year. The plan is to have the balloons flown 100-feet above the ground. They will be 50-feet tall by 40-feet wide.
DIY neutering. Say what!
When Bob Barker would sign off by saying have your pets spay and neutered, I’m sure he never imagined people would attempt to do it at home. The Saskatchewan SPCA says it is getting reports from across the province of people performing do-it-yourself surgery on their pets.
Kaley Pugh, of the SPCA, said she’s seen cases from veterinarians where dogs have seriously suffered as a result of these home surgeries. This year alone she’s seen five reports of male dog owners using elastrator bands to perform a neutering, a practice commonly done on farms when castrating young bulls.
Saskatoon vet, Dr. Terri Chotowitz told CTV News even with her years of experience she could not properly do the procedure at home.
Food drive for Calgary Veterans
Poppies will be proudly worn over the next two weeks to honour those who fought and what they fought for, but the Calgary Poppy Fund (CPF) works hard to remember the fallen all year long. The CPF has a goal of assisting needy veterans, their widows and dependents with medical, shelter, food and dental care.
Dave Tyrell of the Calgary Veterans Food Bank knows that a lot of veterans live below the poverty line and can be at their wit’s end as to how they will make ends meet month to month. Pride can often get in the way for many to seek out assistance.
“With the economy going flat, they’re in a world of hurt and we’re here to help them.”
The food bank sends out more than 65 hampers a month to veterans who need the short term help. The 6th annual Veterans and Seniors Food Drive kicked off yesterday as a part of The Canadian Legacy Project created by Dave Howard.
The drive consists of a two-week campaign to raise food and cash for the cause and goes to November 15.
Edmonton Metal Artists
The art scene tucked away in downtown Edmonton called Common Sense Gallery is anything but common, and would fit in to the heavy metal genre. The five metal sculptors collectively known as the North Edmonton Sculpture Workshop (NESW) share the space and devote all their time and energy to their work.
Ryan McCourt is one of the founding members and owner of the 57 year-old building that NESW occupied in 2007. Metal is fused into art in a 2100 square feet working space. It has cinder block walls, concrete floors and 20-foot ceilings.
The challenges for working with metal are more complicated than the requirements for a painter. For example, the studio must be ground level for transporting artwork weighing upwards of a tonne. Common Sense Gallery has a 10-foot by 14-foot sliding barn door that opens into a 2,800-square-foot outdoor yard that acts as a storage area and a parking spot for the studio’s half-ton truck.
The NESW studio doors will be open to the public on Friday November 2nd from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. during the opening of Conversations, a group exhibition of new pictures and sculptures by five Western Canadian artists at Common Sense Gallery.
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Chadd Cawson is an intern at Spectator Tribune. Follow him at: @ChaddCawson
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