Things weren't so rosy in the Weimar Republic. After 1918, Germans were fairly bummed out after being on the wrong end of an armistice after World War I and needed something to bring sunshine back into their lives. Along came Hans Riegler, owner of the Haribo candy company, and his timeless creation of gummy bears, or as he called them, Tanzbären, in 1922. Now the world feels nothing but fondness towards Germany and their delectable gummy creations.

In its continuing quest to seek out the under-appreciated and little-known sports, the Gauntlet got ahold of the Calgary Kendo Club to talk about the elusive Japanese martial art. Club member Darren Barar indulged us and explained a little about the sport he knows and loves.
br> Gauntlet: Tell me a little about the history of the sport.

Theatre has been around for quite some time. Given the sheer number of performances taking place, it’s difficult for theatre-goers to find anything new. Luckily for them, the Downstage Performance Society has crafted a performance, Arm’s Length Embrace, that’s sure to be vastly different than what most Calgarians have experienced. Downstage’s Artistic Producer Simon Mallett had an idea that eventually blossomed into a full-fledged show.

In a province where women make up virtually half of the population, having less than 15 per cent of those women in legislature rings far less alarm bells than it should. To be a true form of democracy, our political spectrum should be a reflection of the society it was built to represent.

Fans following the men's hockey team last season may have found themselves scratching their heads in confusion on more than one occasion. The season was characterised by the inconsistent play, which plagued the team in recent years, despite clear indications that the team possesses superior talent. The hockeysaurs went on a tear in the first of their regular season campaign, with seven straight victories, only to finish the season losing nine straight games.

Editor's Note: In this article, several e-mails were copied directly without major editing. This was done to ensure that the original content remains without bias. This includes misspellings, poor use of grammar, et cetera. For purposes of maintaining the privacy of those mentioned in the e-mails, personal information has been removed. Beyond that, all relevant information has remained as it was in its original writing.

You need a license for everything nowdays. One needs a license to go hunting, a standardized test is required to operate a motor vehicle, and they don't let any old person jump into a plane and fly around. All these activities, as you may have noticed, require a great deal of responsibility, and involve holding other peoples' lives in the palm of one's hands. Everyone agrees; any activity which entails such accountability should be regulated.

There are very few things involved in the world of politics which can be counted on to cause such a dramatic lack of interest as Calgary's municipal elections.

Pop-quiz time! Who benefits from Alberta’s oil surplus? Is it, A, the oil companies, B, the provincial government, C, the average Albertan, or D, the average Canadian?
The answer is, of course, all of the above. However, with oil selling for over $80 a barrel and with them posting record profits year after year, the oil companies ain’t doing too shabby. Imperial Oil alone posted profits of $3 billion last year, without any sign of slowing down.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the last week, you have either seen, heard or talked about Britney Spears' "comeback" performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. It has been a little over a week since Spears rocked our world with her obvious lip-synching, lethargic dance moves, and questionable costume choice and we are still talking about it.