The pygmy marmoset (Cebuella pygmaea) is the smallest monkey in the world, about five to six inches tall, not including the tail. And when they eat a piece of macaroni, they are just the cutest things ever!
May18
Author Archives: callmehannah
Apr25
Hey! I just met her, and it was crazy. Here’s a video, watch it maybe?
I was at The JUNO Awards in Regina because I was invited to be the “on the ground” eco blogger for the weekend. I was there to learn and share what the JUNOS and CARAS and Canadian musicians are doing to be eco-friendly. You can read about some of what I saw and learned at the official JUNO Awards website. Of course I met totally awesome rockstars like The Sheepdogs, Marianas Trench, Hedley, Victoria Duffield and The Tenors, to name a few. Later I will share my full experience at the JUNOS, but for now I want to share one very special moment.
When I started my blog and was trying to choose a name I was loving the song Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. That song inspired the name of my blog, Call Me Hannah and my tagline “Hey, I just met you and this is crazy here is my blog, read it maybe?” At the 2013 JUNO Awards Carly Rae Jepsen had more nominations than any other artist or group: JUNO Fan Choice Award, Artist Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Pop Album Of The Year and Single Of The Year. Carly won three awards of the 5: Album Of The Year, Pop Album Of The Year and Single Of The Year.
Going into the weekend she was one of the people I was most excited about seeing. During the two award ceremonies I was in the press room where the winners come to meet the media after they accept their award to answer questions. On Sunday night I knew I would get my chance. She was one of the last people to come in and when she did I was ready with my question and of course my business card. My mom was also ready and caught all of it on tape.
Carly’s answer was amazing. She gave some really great advice for kids who feel like giving up and think that they’ll never reach their dream. Her advice for anyone who felt like it didn’t work out for them the first time – keep trying. Use it to motivate to do better next time. Her answer made me think about a conversation I had that morning with Randy Lennox, President/CEO of Universal Music Canada. He gave some really good advice and said this “No is a request for more information.” Musicians hear “no” a lot. It’s important to remember to keep trying.
I was really nervous and excited to ask Carly the question. When she answered she was so nice and happy. It made me feel good to know that she thought it was a great question.
I want to give a few special thank yous: To everyone at CARAS and The JUNO Awards for such a special opportunity and an awesome weekend. I also want to thank all of the media in the press room on Saturday and Sunday night for making me feel like one of you. Thank you for welcoming this 10 year old blogger into the behind the scenes action. Also thank you to all of the artists that took the time out of their very busy weekend to sit down and talk with me. I can’t wait to do it all over again next year! See you in Winnipeg!
Apr24
Wordless Wednesday – JUNO Edition
Apr16
We Are Silent
On April 17 I am taking vow of silence. Free The Children has a campaign that’s called We Are Silent – for 24 hours participants are going to be silent and not talk at all.
We Are Silent is inspired by one boy and his name is Iqbal Masih. When Craig Kielburger was 12 years old and reading the newspaper like he did every Saturday. What caught his attention was the headline that a 12-year-old boy in Pakistan had been murdered. Iqubal had been sold in child labour when he was 4 years old. When Iqubal was 10 years old he escaped and he spoke out to the world for child labour rights. He won the Nobel Peace Prize and more awards, two years later Iqbal went back to his home and he was shot. Craig was so angry. He went to his on class on Monday and told people about Iqubal and Free The Children was born.
Some Facts:
- 215 million children under the age of 5 are working in child labour.
- One in every three children in developing countries is malnourished.
- People suffer up to 160 days of illness each year.
- Someone dies of starvation every 3.6 seconds, most of these deaths are children under the age of five.
- One billion children are deprived of essential services like bathrooms, education and food.
That is why We Are Silent. (source from We Are Silent Booklet)
These children have no voice to speak out to. Free The Children is giving them a voice. Free The Children is giving not just children but adults and parents things like education, opportunities, food, clean water and other necessities of life. We in Canada take these things for granted.
When I take my vow of silence it’s not just for kids who live far away. There are kids that are silent in our neighbourhoods, communities and schools that are bullied and too afraid to use their voice so they keep it to themselves. They don’t tell anyone – their friends, teachers or their parents. With my vow of silence, I am silent for them too.
Your voice can be the most powerful thing you have. Molly Burke turned blind when she was 14 years old and she was bullied. She didn’t tell anyone. Molly is now a motivational speaker for Me to We and the Ambassador for We Are Silent this year.
This year I have discovered that my voice can be so powerful in many ways through my blog, speeches and more social media. Just use your voice and speak out for what you’re passionate about, every little thing adds up to make a big difference in the world. If all of us use our voice together as one it will be so powerful that it will make a difference.
It is definitely going to be hard to be silent for a day because I’m very talkative. Today I shared with my teachers and my classmates that I am going to be silent and why I’m going to be silent.
On April 18th you too can take a vow of silence for children who have no voice. I’m doing it on the 17th because on the 18th I am going to be on my way to Regina for the JUNO Awards. I won’t be talking but I will be using my voice through social media. Tonight, I’m sharing my blog and tomorrow I’m going to take over my mom’s Facebook and Twitter accounts for the day.
Apr11
I’m going to the JUNOS as their “on the ground” eco-blogger!
I’m very excited to tell you that I’m going to be attending the 2013 JUNO Awards this year as their “on the ground” eco-blogger!
I’ve been to the JUNOS for the last two years and it’s been so much fun! This year is going to be different because I’m going to be learning and experiencing about the efforts, projects and partners of The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and the JUNO Awards to be more sustainable and I’m going to be blogging about it here and at the official JUNOS website too!
I am excited to share about Me to We Style and their partnership with CARAS and the JUNO Awards. Me to We is part of my favourite non-profit organization, Free The Children. Me to We Style partners with the JUNOS to sell limited edition Live Music. t-shirts made in Canada of organic cotton and bamboo. For every shirt bought from Me to We Style a tree is planted. I can’t wait to buy a shirt!
I’m looking forward to learning about Bullfrog Power and Carbonzero. CARAS has partnered with them to help reduce the JUNOS impact on climate change.
I’m so excited to go to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum for the exhibit – “The Power of Music: Sustainability and the JUNOS”. The exhibit will have four interactive listening and learning stations and each one will have a different sustainability theme featuring a Canadian musician and their cause. It will be cool to learn about the causes that Canadian musicians care about.
The JUNO Awards are all about celebrating Canadian music. I not only love the environment, but I’m a huge fan of music! I’m excited to do it all – JUNO Fan Fare, be in the JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards media room and of course the big televised award show hosted by Michael Bublé. I hope to have the chance to meet, sit down with and interview some of the 2013 JUNO nominees and performers including Marianas Trench, Carly Rae Jepsen, Metric, Serena Ryder and Hedley.
See you next week in Regina!
Juno Awards 2012, Ottawa, Ontario
Apr7
Free The Children Youth Summit 2013
This weekend I went to the Free The Children Youth Summit. It is a day for young leaders who want to make a difference and this summit helps the youth take action in their community and the world. They are teaching youth about how powerful your voice is and how to turn your passions into action. There were different groups to let you get to know your group leaders and your group better and I was in the Green Group.
One of the activities we did was the Issues Bus. The group pretended that we were on a bus and we would debate which cause is more important to us and we would get to say why we chose that cause. One of the choices was either the environment or poverty. I chose the environment and both answers were really good. Another choice was between women’s rights and child labour. I found out that both causes are connected because if you stop either one, the other cause will also begin to stop. I also learned that the Issue Bus can help think about what you want to be when you grow up or what you want to pursue because you’re learning to use your voice in a way that can be heard by everybody.
Another workshop was Putting Plans Into Action. We had to think of an action-plan or a foundation a school could do. We wrote down who would help you with your plan, your resources, what could go wrong and the solutions. The leaders would help you make a strategy and the next steps to follow your passions.
We also talked a lot about advice for young leaders. These are 5 things that I learned:
- Know your audience.
- Be fun and creative.
- Say it like you mean it, be energized.
- Use why, how and what.
- Share your passion.
There were also a few special Me to We speakers and one of them was Sydney Bouillard Coyle. I saw her speak at We Day in Waterloo. Sydney is 13 years old and already is an awesome motivational speaker – how cool is that? Before she spoke, I got to go inside the auditorium to meet her. We had a nice a conversation. I was so happy when she told me that she reads my blog. Sydney’s speech is about what Canada will be like when she is the Prime Minister. I told her that in 40 years she’ll have my vote to be Prime Minister.
Next up was Me to We motivational speaker Molly Burke. When she was 14 she turned blind and she has such an amazing story to tell that is about bullying, perseverance and courage. She is using her voice to help others that have no hope. She is amazing. People hurt her, even her friends but she has inspired others who might feel that things might not be okay right now, but Molly is proof that it can get better. I read her article in Chatelaine Magazine and her story is so unforgettable and powerful.
Before the end of the day there was a surprise speaker………it was Marc Kielburger! I was so happy when I saw him, he even brought me up on stage. He said he remembered me and my blog, he even called me awesome! He asked me what I’m passionate about and I said the environment. I think he remembered that at We Day I talked to him about his eco cleaning supplies science project when he was a kid. A lot of people don’t know about his project and I think it’s awesome!
This summer I’m going to a Free The Children Take Action Camp (thank you Kelsey!!!) The Summit, as Marc said, was a taste of the week long sleepover camp program! The Summit was so fun and I learned so much about using my voice, being heard and different causes. Just as I answered Marc when he asked me what my favourite part of the day was – I loved it all.
Thank you Free The Children for everything.
Apr7
Earth Hour 2013
So it’s after Earth Hour and I’m so happy to hear and see the amount of people who did my Earth Hour Pledge and made commitments of their own. I was invited by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) be a Earth Hour 2013 Team Captian and to participate in a big event for Earth Hour in the Roncessvalles neighbourhood in Toronto.
The WWF invited me to be to their 7th team captain. At first there was only supposed to be 6 Canadian team captains but when the WWF people found my blog they thought that I had to be a team captain so I was their 7th. As a Team Captain I wrote a guest post on WWF’s blog about my passion and commitment to the environment. The WWF selected team captains to honour people who are really involved with making Earth Hour special. This means so much to me because someone really special has recognized my blog and thinks that a 10 year-old kid can make a difference.
Before the evening event we made crafty lanterns for a special walk through the neighbourhood. We walked with our candle lit lanterns and it was so fun! We did the walk to let people know about Earth Hour and it was time to turn off their light. There was also a choir walking with us from Etiobicoke School Of The Arts who sang one of my favorite songs, Don’t Stop Believing and then the lantern walk ended at the Earth Hour event stage.
WWF asked me one question on stage , she asked me “What are you doing for Earth Hour?” I told them about my stop, start and continue pledge. I met amazing people who worked at the WWF and I thanked them for choosing me to be the 7th 2013 Earth Hour Team Captain.
When me and other kids were making the lanterns I met other team captains like Karen who brought Earth Hour to Roncessvalle and other amazing people who did something really environmental and have made a difference in their community or the world.
Vancouver was crowned the winner of the Global Earth Hour Challenge between six others. Vancouver won for their actions on climate change and trying to make the world a better place. The entire world did amazing showing the rights for the environment and being together on that one night.
This year for earth hour was awesome, next year I think it will be even better. I would love to hear what you did for Earth Hour and what your planning for Earth Day on April 22nd, if you didn’t get to do the Earth Hour Pledge you can also get here.
Mar12
Earth Hour 2013: Join me and make your own pledge to STOP, START, CONTINUE
What is Earth Hour?
Earth Hour is when everybody turns off their lights and their electronics to show awareness and concern for climate change and the environment. It is sort of like celebrating an environmental new year. This year Earth Hour is Saturday March 23 from 8:30 – 9:30 pm.
Cool Facts about The History of Earth Hour.
The WWF (World Wildlife Fund) founded Earth Hour which I think is totally awesome. The very first earth hour was held in 2007 in Sydney, Australia. Over 2000 people participated. The next year Earth Hour was participated in all around the world – 371 cities and towns in more than 35 countries. 36 million people turned their lights out that second year.
I am proud to say that Toronto was the first city in 2008 to sign up for Earth Hour. Wow! Since then, more than 15 million Canadians participate in Earth Hour every year. In 2012 more than 6950 cities and towns across 152 countries and territories took part and made a change. That is amazing! It’s amazing that you can see how many people are concerned about the environment and their future.
Take the Stop, Start and Continue Pledge. Make Earth Hour last all year.
I have a project, a challenge and a goal for Earth Hour 2013 and it needs you.
This year when you turn of the lights off, take my pledge by yourself or together with your family, and commit to your Eco-resoulutions!
When you power down for the hour, I want you to spend that time and think about what you can do, what you change – what you can stop, start and continue. Three things.
I always say that every little thing adds up to make a change and the more people and families that take this pledge and make their commitments, the more change there will be. The earth needs it. The earth needs us.
To Do:
- Choose and print your Pledge Certificate below.
- Browse the list I made (below) to inspire you to choose your own personal commitment.
- Write down your commitments for each action – Stop, Start, Continue.
- Sign it with your name.
- Decorate and colour it. Make it special.
- Find somewhere in your home, office or classroom to display it so that you will always be reminded of the commitment you made.
- When your friends and family see it and ask you about it, tell them to come back to my website and take the pledge. It starts on Earth Hour, but it can be done anytime.
Choose, Download and Print your Pledge Certificate:
Suggestions for what you can pledge Start, Stop and Continue:
STOP:
- Littering
- Using plastic water bottles
- Leaving lights on when you leave the room
- Using plastic bags
- Being silent about my concern for the environment
- Pretending that there is not a problem
- Using the washing machine during peak hours
- Throwing out what can be donated or reused (clothes, toys, books)
- Stop using disposable cups, plates and cutlery
- Stop using pesiticdes on my lawn and garden
START and CONTINUE:
- Using my voice
- Unplug electronics when not using them
- Use biodegradable products
- I will organize a cleanup in my neighbourhood
- Get involved with local causes
- Recycling everything I can
- I will pick up garbage whenever I see it
- Buy more local
- Use only eco-friendly cleaning supplies
- Learn more about the real problems facing the environment
- Grow a garden and try to plant some of my vegetables
- Compost
- Conserve water by getting a rain barrel
- Drive less, and walk more
- Get outside more
- Learn about animals that are being endangered
- Form an eco team with my friends
- Continue to read up about people that are making change
- Turn off the water when I’m brushing my teeth
- I will learn about how to dispose of waste safely
I would love to hear what you are pledging. I hope that you’ll leave some comments here and let me and everyone else here know what you have committed to.
A big special thank you to my friend Lindsay Brewda of Everyday Grace for designing the Pledge Certificates for me.
Mar8
On International Women’s Day 2013: An Interview with my Role Model, Severn Cullis-Suzuki
Today is International Women’s Day and so it is a good day to share this interview that I did with a woman who is my role model – environmental activist, Severn Cullis-Suzuki.
On February 25th I went to Roy Thompson Hall to see David Suzuki and his daughter Severn-Cullis Suzuki speak. Before the show Severn came early to meet me and I had a chance to interview her. When I heard that I was going to get to talk with her, I was so excited. When I met her I couldn’t believe I was meeting my role model! After I did the interview I ran into David Suzuki, Severn’s father and I had no idea I was going to meet him. Their talk was amazing, Severn told me that it was the first time that they were giving a talk together. Severn shared her life-story with the audience and David talked about what we can do about the environment and the problems it is facing.
Mar6
My Interview with Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls were just in Toronto for a show. They are my mom’s all-time favourite band and she never misses a show. This was my second time seeing them and their show was awesome. After the show I got a chance to go backstage and interview Amy Ray. Amy is really fun to talk to and I was so glad to hear all her messages and what they’re doing as social and environmental activists.