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Daily Record
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Talented pupils at Livingston school make it through to finals of singing competition
Kids from Bellsquarry Primary took part in the Scottish Primary School Glee Challenge's South East Of Scotland Regional Final at Edinburgh's Usher Hall and took home the top prize. Talented pupils at a Livingston primary school have made it through to the finals of a national singing competition. Kids from Bellsquarry Primary took part in the Scottish Primary School Glee Challenge's South East Of Scotland Regional Final at Edinburgh's Usher Hall and took home the top prize. This time all the choirs chose the same song, 'Love Lost' from the set Calum Bowie tracks, and a song of their own choice. The songs on the night ranged from Annie Lennox 'Little Bird', Paulo Nuttini's 'New Shoes' through to Bellsquarry's winning performance of 'Walk of Life'. All in all the performances were fantastic and every single child that took to the stage on Friday night can hold their head high as they gave their all in front of such a huge audience. A school spokesperson said: 'All in all the performances were fantastic and every single child that took to the stage can hold their head high as they gave their all in front of such a huge audience.'
Winnipeg Free Press
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Animated Indigenous series filled with friends of all kinds
Before they became chums, they were strangers with little professional acting experience. Elise Armitage, 17, and James Siegers, 11, are two of the young local voice actors featured in Chums, an animated children's series with an all-Indigenous cast and creative team from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The show — the second season of which premières on APTN today in Anishinaabemowin, Cree and English — follows a girl named Flies with Eagles and her ragtag group of animal friends as they learn about life on Turtle Island pre-contact. 'Romper is a fast-moving, energetic, but really empathetic bunny. So, pretty much me,' says Armitage, who is of Cree heritage and lives in Miniota, a small municipality 300 kilometres west of Winnipeg. 'Pterry the ptarmigan, he's pretty energetic, probably not as energetic as Romper, but he's a really fun character to voice. Every now and then he'll crack a joke, which is similar to me,' says Siegers, who lives in Oakbank and is a member of the Waskaganish Cree Nation in northern Quebec. Voice acting has been a learning experience for both up-and-comers. Prior to auditioning for Chums, Siegers had worked as a photo double on Crave drama Little Bird and has since appeared on several episodes of sitcom Acting Good — both Manitoba-based productions. Armitage is a former member of the Westman Youth Choir with performance credits in community musical theatre productions. 'It took me a while to really get comfortable in the studio. I was so nervous because I didn't want to screw up or get fired,' she says. SUPPLIED From left: Pterry the ptarmigan, Romper the rabbit, Ira the eaglet, Flies with Eagles and Emiree the baby beaver Siegers also describes his first few days in the recording booth as nerve-racking. 'But after that I was like, 'Oh, this is actually pretty good and fun,'' he says. Their initial reactions to hearing themselves on screen as a ptarmigan and a rabbit ranged, respectively, from 'funny' to 'weird, like in a good way.' Other local youth voice actors include Olivia Sinclair as Flies with Eagles and Zacchary Fontaine as Emiree the baby beaver. The 11-minute episodes are geared towards preschoolers and rooted in Indigenous teachings, with walk-on appearances from a wide cast of wildlife, from squirrels to coyotes to a young goose named Ryan the gosling, who has blue eyes and a swoop of blond hair. Chums is written, directed and produced by Dennis and Eric Jackson, a father-and-son team from Saskatchewan, and executive produced by Winnipeg's Zoot Pictures. Eleven-year-old James Siegers voices Pterry the ptarmigan The show, which made its television debut in spring 2024, has been greenlit for three seasons and picked up by global distributor Serial Maven Studios. The simple 3D design of Chums is also homegrown. Unable to find space at a Canadian animation studio during the height of the pandemic, Zoot decided to build its own. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'We have animators in Saskatchewan and here in Manitoba,' Zoot principal Leslea Mair says, adding the goal is to expand the studio while helping train local animators. 'It's a bit of an incubator for animation personnel and we've had great success with people taking on bigger pieces.' The success of Chums is thanks in large part to the strength of its Indigenous-led storytelling and creative, Mair says. Elise Armitage, 17, is the voice of Romper the rabbit. 'As someone from a settler background, I may have a hand in the story editing or I may have comments, but I don't make the final creative decisions, the Indigenous team does. That's something we have to do in order to have it really ring true.' Eva WasneyReporter Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva. Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Upgrades ahead across the special operations helicopter fleet
TAMPA, Fla. – Special operators are upgrading nearly every aspect of their helicopter fleet as they await the Army's newest addition to the rotary wing section. From the MH-6 light attack assault 'Little Bird,' to the MH-60 medium attack assault 'Blackhawk,' to the MH-47 heavy assault 'Chinook,' officials who develop the aircraft showcased ongoing upgrades Thursday at the Global SOF Foundation Special Operations Forces Week. Developers continue to tweak the Little Bird, the small but powerful aircraft unique to SOCOM. 'It is your streetfighter,' said Paul Kylander, product manger of the aircraft for Program Executive Office-Rotary Wing. 'When operators want to get to your front door, this is the aircraft they use.' The 'R' model project is finding ways to lighten the aircraft for greater speed and range by resetting the entire fleet's fuselage with lighter materials. Hegseth champions special operations as the force for today's threats The project is also upgrading the cockpit for better avionics management and an advanced airborne tactical mission suite, Kylander said. Those upgrades are part of ongoing efforts that will continue until 2034 for the aircraft. Then, plans call for a Block 4 upgrade or a possible divestment between 2035 to 2042. They're also lightening main and auxiliary fuel tanks and both the attack and assault planks for the aircraft. The MH-60 is seeing some of its own upgrades. Software updates, navigation tools for degraded visual environments, improved sensors, sensor data fusion and next generation tactical communications are currently being installed on the MH-60 fleet, said Lt. Col. Cameron Keogh. There's ongoing work to improve the engine life of the YT706 engine, and future efforts include building an open architecture common cockpit. On the weapons side, the Blackhawk is adding the joint air-to-ground missile, a conformal lightweight armament wing, M-230 recoil dampers, the GAU-19 Gun Pod and a helmet display tracking system. Those additions provide more options to Blackhawk crews. 'Having a quiver full of tools to do your job is pretty handy,' Keogh said. The Blackhawk will also see an improved crew chief seat, AN/PQ-187 Silent Knight Radar nose door reconfiguration and upturned exhaust suppressor II, engine inlet barrier filter for dusty environments and the GE T901 Improved Turbine Engine. On the heavy side, the MH47G Chinook is seeing increased demand for payloads, range and speed, said Lt. Col. Thomas Brewington, product manager for the Chinook at the PEO. The oldest frame in the Chinook fleet will retire soon after 59 years of service, Brewington said. But the aging platform is seeing its own set of advancements with a replacement of the existing flight control pallets, which augment manned flight by using a system called the Active Parallel Actuator Subsystem. The system 'augments manned flight by providing tactile cueing to prevent the pilot from exceeding an aircraft performance limit resulting in increased safety and operational usage while reducing pilot workload during the most critical stages of flight,' Brewington said. An October 2024 test of the system allowed a 'hands off' landing on a predesignated point by a Chinook crew at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, Brewington said. The system is a 'stepping stone' to autonomous pilot assist, he said.
Hamilton Spectator
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
CBC, APTN quietly cancel planned comedy about Indigenous rap duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids
Indigenous hip-hop duo the Snotty Nose Rez Kids say they don't know why CBC and APTN have quietly cancelled plans for a comedy series about their rise to fame. Originally slated to premiere this year, the half-hour scripted show was billed as the 'not even true, real life story' of how Quinton (Yung Trybez) Nyce and Darren (Young D) Metz found their way from Kitamaat Village to award stages and music critics' best-of lists. 'Unfortunately, we simply don't really know what happened here. We felt the show was in a good place,' Nyce and Metz said Wednesday in a joint statement. 'We had a great team put together and good scripts, and we were taken aback by CBC's decision not to move ahead.' Following a report in the Globe and Mail, publicists for CBC and APTN issued identical statements saying the decision to withdraw from the series was not made lightly, citing 'various creative, logistical, and financial factors.' Nyce and Metz were credited as the show's creators, with 'Little Bird' co-creator Jennifer Podemski attached as showrunner and executive producer. A representative for Podemski said she left the project in July but did not state the reason. CBC announced the show last spring as part of its 2025 slate. Nyce and Metz said they're 'optimistic' about the show's future and were looking for a new home for the project. 'We haven't given up on this and we'll get this show made. We're used to setbacks, but we always persevere,' said the Haisla Nation artists. The Snotty Nose Rez Kids said on Instagram last week that a fire on April 23 destroyed their Vancouver recording studio, equipment and clothing store. The duo launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist in rebuilding the store and studio, which is where they recorded their latest album, 'Red Future.' That release won the rappers their first-ever Juno Award in March for rap album/EP of the year. Speaking to the Canadian Press last year, the rappers said their show would be about two artists realizing that success isn't as easy as it seems. 'For us, as native kids trying to pursue something, there weren't a lot of people who stood behind us. It was two steps forward and 10 steps back, and that's just the way that it is navigating this world that was never built for us,' said Nyce. 'It takes a decade in the making to have that overnight success. So, it's really about the journey and to truly see what an artists' day-to-day life is.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
CBC, APTN quietly cancel planned comedy about Indigenous rap duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids
CBC and APTN have quietly cancelled plans for a buzzy comedy series about the rise of Indigenous hip-hop duo the Snotty Nose Rez Kids. Originally slated to premiere this year, the half-hour scripted show was billed as the 'not even true, real life story' of how Quinton (Yung Trybez) Nyce and Darren (Young D) Metz found their way from Kitamaat Village to national fame. Following a report in the Globe and Mail, publicists for CBC and APTN issued identical statements saying the decision to withdraw from the series was not made lightly, citing 'various creative, logistical, and financial factors.' Nyce and Metz were credited as the show's creators, with 'Little Bird' co-creator Jennifer Podemski attached as showrunner and executive producer. A representative for Podemski said she left the project in July but would not state on the reason. CBC announced the show last spring as part of its 2025 slate. The Snotty Nose Rez Kids said on Instagram last week that a fire on April 23 destroyed their Vancouver recording studio, equipment and clothing store. The duo launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist in rebuilding the store and studio, which is where they recorded their latest album, 'Red Future.' During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. That release won the rappers their first-ever Juno Award in March for rap album/EP of the year. Speaking to the Canadian Press last year, the rappers said their show would be about two artists realizing that success isn't as easy as it seems. 'For us, as native kids trying to pursue something, there weren't a lot of people who stood behind us. It was two steps forward and 10 steps back, and that's just the way that it is navigating this world that was never built for us,' said Nyce. 'It takes a decade in the making to have that overnight success. So, it's really about the journey and to truly see what an artists' day-to-day life is.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2025.
