This week on the Monday Mash we have another set of fantastic Wellness-related links to share with you.

• For those who love internet-radio here’s a couple of links for you.  CBC Music is a fantastic resource for Canadian music of all kinds – where you can listen live to CBC radio, find your favourite Canadian artist, or stream music from one of their online channels.
• If you’re into infotainment then Radiolab is what you need – such as this recent podcast about Stress (courtesy of my good friend Steve Page).
• If obscure art, literature, and popular culture is your thing, Maria Popova curates a fantastic blog called Brain Pickings.  If you’re not sure where to start, here is her list of 7 Must-Read books on the Art and Science of Happiness.
• Fort Whyte Centre has their 14^th Annual EcoAdventure Race on Sunday, April 21^st.   I’ve never participated, but it sure looks like an adventure, for the adventurous.

If you have a link or a photo that you’d like to share send an email to mkrywy@rrc.ca and we’ll include it in a future “Mash” edition.

This week marks the debut of the Monday Mash – a weekly list of Wellness-related links that caught our eye.

• Happy 40^th birthday to the Winnipeg Folk Festival! The lineup has been announced and tickets are on sale. The Festival is now five days long – running from July 10^th to the 14^th
• Here’s the ulitmate culinary companion – a recipe for Folk Festival Cookies that I found in the WFP archives. Five star rating.
• If migrating birds is your thing check out some of the bird watching events (and more) at Nature Manitoba as well as their birding resource page.
• Youth and Adult Soccer seasons are also set to begin. If you find yourself on the sidelines here’s some coaching resources that might help you out. Coaching Soccer 101 and the Manitoba Soccer Association.
• Ashley Blackman shared this post from Science Daily about the dangers of Second-Hand Smoke and linkages to Heart Disease.
• Melanie Bowen, a blogger for the Mesothelioma Cancer Blog Alliance has several interesting posts on the benefits of nutrition and exercise to help those who are battling cancer.

If you have a link or a photo that you’d like to share send an email to mkrywy@rrc.ca and we’ll include it in a future “Mash” edition.

When the Wellness blog debuted over a year ago, one of the first posts was a video collaboration between Doctor Mike Evans and filmmaker Nick de Pencier entitled 23 and a ½ hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health? touting the benefits of spending 30 minutes a day taking a walk. Since posting this excellent piece (initially shared by Lucille McLeod) I had forgotten about this wellness dynamic duo until last week, when I came to work and found a Globe and Mail article on my desk.  The article was dropped off by Ashley Blackman – who is a Wellness Nut and Director of Research and Planning – as he is often sending me Wellness-related articles that he finds.

As it turns out, Dr. Evans has continued this film making collaboration, and now has several other videos featured on his YouTube channel, including the ABCs of Diabetes, Concussions 101: a primer for kids and parents, the best was to treat acne, the single best thing you can do to quit smoking and the video below dealing with stress.

Aside from the interesting advice being provided, I am drawn in by the art of storytelling, which I think these two have aced. I doubt there are many people who can make Acne interesting, but somehow they do. Like all things medical, these videos aren’t necessarily the definitive word on the subject(s), but they provide a foundation for looking further and considering other advice and information.

I consider myself a child of the music video generation. I vividly remember staying up late every Friday to watch Friday Night Videos with Terry David Mulligan. I recall seeing the debut of Michael Jackson’s Thriller in a movie theatre in Lae, Papua New Guinea where my dad had taken the family on a year-long leave of absence from the Electrical Engineering Technology department to teach at the University of Technology in Lae. Aside from featuring some crazy dance movies and the Zombie storyline – that music video extended the limits of that genre into a whole other atmosphere.

In the roughly 30 years that has passed, music videos have dramatically evolved – losing the spotlight they once had on television (hello Youtube) and becoming ingrained into mainstream film and television where the boundaries are sometimes blurred.

This post looks at the art of musician M. Ward and animation director Joel Trussell. Neither is entirely a household name, though M. Ward gets a lot of love from CBC Music 2 (98.3 FM on the dial). In addition to his solo career, M. Ward is also in a band with Zooey Deschanel called She and Him (PS – if you’ve ever seen the movie Elf, Zooey plays the female lead) and another ensemble known as the Monsters of Folk.

The first song/video is Chinese Translation off his 2006 album Post War.  The song is a simple tale of a man seeking the answer to three eternal questions.  The second song – The First Time I Ran Away was done several year later off his new Wasteland Companion album.  I realize that everyone has different tastes when it comes to music and art, but I think these collaborations epitomize how music videos truly have become an art form unto itself.  Plus it makes me “well” enjoying a few minutes of it.

Chinese Translation

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While summer may seem a distant memory at the moment, Brenda Lesiuk (Accounts Payable, Lead Clerk) took some time to send along some photos that she took at her parents’ (aged 79 and 84) home in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba.   Brenda notes that her favorite pastime is sitting on a bench, talking to her parents and looking at the huge yard of flowers, shrubs and trees. Clearly it’s a beautiful place, with lots for the eyes to take in.

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Since opening the doors in January 2012 the RRC Wellness blog has amassed just over 2,000 unique visits resulting in over 10,000 page views. Wow!

The blog has been built from the contributions of 20 staff members, 2 students, and of course many readers.  We especially appreciate those readers who have taken the time to comment and compliment the authors on their posts, as it helps inspire them to keep sharing their thoughts, words, and pictures with you.

Since it’s the end of the year and the time for lists, here is a countdown of the Top 10 Wellness Blogs of the year (with a few others that didn’t make the Top 10 sprinkled in for good measure).

#10 – My Feet are Killing Me! – Stephanie Ruth Fraser’s post on plantar fasciitis comes in at the number ten spot, detailing signs of this condition and some suggested steps you might take if you are having troubles with your feet. Congratulations to Stephanie for her recent appointment as Assistant to our new VP Academic Stan Chung.

#9 –  A French Wellness Lesson – Guy Dugas, the outgoing (not to mention retiring) Chair of Accounting and Computer Education was one of the Wellness blogs most prolific and popular writers.  As you’ll see below, Guy appears several times in the top 10.  This particular post was an amusing, enlightening, and taste-bud tantalizing account of his vacation in France.  Caution – reading this post will make you hungry and thirsty.

#8 – Best Race/Worst Race – the post compiles vintage races from James Slade, Derek Kochenash, Judy McMullen, Mike Krywy, Guy Dugas, and Nancy Ball.  The best and worst moments are equally inspiring, touching, painful, and occasionally hilarious (see comment section). This post was used to help promote the Red River Fun Run an event inspired by Colin Fast (College Relations) and organized by the Run Club, the Wellness Committee, and the RRC Students’ Association.

#7 – Appreciating Nature – Mike Krywy comes in at Lucky #7 for his photographic reminiscence of the passage of summer.  His similar posts like Summer Ghosts and the Colors that Paint a Butterfly’s Wing failed the crack the top 10, but clearly struck a chord with other nature lovers at RRC. Incidentally, number seven is the first number he ever wore in hockey (another favorite topic of his).

#6 – Q+A with President Stephanie Forsyth – Part 1 and Part 2. Back in the spring RRC’s President Stephanie Forsyth took some time to share her thoughts on what it takes to build a wellness culture on campus, her own strategy for “being well”, and how wellness activities also include working with and within the community. Stephanie is a strong supporter of the College’s Wellness Committee serving as a judge for the third annual Chili Cup – which this year was won by Nursing instructors Tom Harrigan and Jackie Santiago.

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Hello. Today I am writing to get everyone involved in a dream I have. I have always wanted to write a book, so I have come up with an idea to get me on my way. I know that everyone at some point in their lives has had dreams and something they wanted in life. I came up with this concept for the book to help me get closer to my dream.

I would like to include you in my dream by asking that you participate with me. I want you to

• take a 4×6 card, paper or photo,
• write your dream on it,
• create it with art, paint, photos, anything you want,
• then mail it to me.

That’s it. It could take as little as 5 minutes or a lunch out with your colleagues. This is all anonymous so I won’t know who sends me what – so feel free to say anything you wish. After I have collected enough dreams I will print them into a hard cover book. Then I will have reached a dream by creating my book. I might look to publish it but that might be another dream. 😉 Have to put the dreams in order.

Join the Facebook group “I dream book” and the event. Any questions feel free to contact me. Pass this to everyone you know. Talk about it. I will also have a kids section so have your kids send me their dreams.

Mail dreams to:

I dream

650 Goulding St.

R3G2S2

Also look up the youtube videos for more inspiration at “I dream” channel satorisound

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM353TQZbXM

Thanks – Mario De Negri

Seven years ago I moved out to an acreage that has it’s own mini-forest on it.  Since moving there, I’ve spent many hours wandering through the woods, trying to understand the land and the things that live there. When I first began wandering, there were very few trails to be found, and I’d often follow deer tracks or crash blindly through the brush in my boots or snow shoes.

One year I decided to mark the oak trees in order to get my bearings.  I then used these oaks to plan my resting spots and devised a trail system around them. The Bur Oak is a grand tree – able to survive drought and fire, resilent to disease and insects, and a vital food source for  bear, deer, and many other birds and animals.

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Check out this fantastic little video on the flower by Andrew Zuckerman.  A mesmerizing piece of musical art.

http://vimeo.com/49613978

Here’s a little snippet from his bio on the Vimeo site:

Noted filmmaker and photographer, Andrew Zuckerman, utilizes a multitude of platforms to produce work that is systematically executed, conceptually based, and democratically presented. Minimalist in nature, Zuckerman aims to create atmospheres of clarity and neutrality to facilitate the viewer’s access to the material. His commitment to diversifying the points of entry into his work has garnered a global audience.

As someone born in the early part of fall I’ve always had a soft spot for the transitional months between summer and winter.  The mosquitos disappear, gardens are harvested, and there’s this interesting transition in the landscape when hidden things are unveiled as  the clutter of leaves depart.

Jumpin’ Pumpkins

For the last two summers we’ve had a little pumpkin patch in the yard where these orange beauties get loads of sun and have plenty of room to stretch themselves out. This past summer we witnessed our first ever pumpkin theft by a black bear, but otherwise the pumpkins are generally left alone to get big and bigger as the summer wears on. These five pumpkins were designed by a fairy-band of children under the ages of nine – with only a little bit of help from a knife wielding adult.  I find it hard to pick a favourite amongst them, though the understated one that is second from the left has a deceptive simplicity to it.

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