harry, you're all right.

What oh what have I been doing?
Humming away at Adbusters, the latest issue, the January/February 2011 Big Ideas issue just came out.

A few spreads I designed:




This issue was the 3rd and final issue in the Adbuster's Revolution issues (Issues about Revolution, giving a history of it, and what kinds of revolutions are happening now and could happen in the future). The visual themes tying this issue together was light and colors (yes, I know, really broad metaphors, but it did help narrow down how to approach designing these spreads). So the issue goes from dark colors (Indigo, Violet) and transitions on through to angrier colors (Red) and into calmer more poetic ones (Green, Yellow). With each corresponding colors, the stories of the magazine follow the same sort of feeling, so dark stories at the beginning, and revolutionary, activist stuff in the middle, and ending on more thoughtful and quiet ideas.

I used so many bitmaps and what seemed like the first time ever, gradients. Have never used so many gradients in all of my time designing, always kind of thought they were slightly ugly and cheesy looking, but erm, I've changed my mind. GRADIENTS!

So yes, go look at the issue, and...buy a copy. It's a good issue.

Other things I've been doing, and this is kind of Adbusters related:

Being number 1 in the office Fantasy Football. :) :) :) :) . Although I did lose last week, a pretty brutal loss, 200 points to my 140 something points. That team was insane though. Let's hope that none of the other teams are as insane in the next 4 weeks, cause then...I'LL WIN!

Just started watching Twin Peaks. Man I really like it. Endearing townspeople with dark secrets. SPECIAL AGENT COOPER! Holy crap Kyle Machlachlan. Did you know he has a vineyard? And keeps a blog for his dogs? And takes on the strangest and most varied roles? Like really good ones like Special Agent Cooper in Twin Peaks and then stuff like the villain in the live action movie The Flinstones (I know this because for some reason I watched this movie over and over when I was a kid) and as Charlotte's first husband in Sex and the City? He didn't want to be type-casted I read somewhere. Yep, I think you've got that covered Kyle. Also I really love the theme song of Twin Peaks. It has the most cheesiest bass line, and it is slightly creepy, but man it is good.

I was walking home with Will (the art director at Adbusters) and I told him I've started watching Twin Peaks and he said that a lot of people when they're at my age watch Twin Peaks. I asked why. And he said he didn't know, just that they do. And I can see that being true. All 23 year olds, watch if you haven't, you can appreciate this donut image more.

I leave for Calgary in a couple of weeks. I was passing by an apartment and I could see their Christmas tree, and I don't know! It instantly made me fall in love with Christmas! Or at least start to get really excited and into it, and now all these Christmas related things are popping up that are making me fall in love with it even more, like, CHEESE BALLS! I haven't had a cheese ball in so long! I LOVE CHEESE BALLS! Here is a place that has a couple of interesting recipes for them: http://homesicktexan.blogspot.com/2008/12/cheese-logs-cheese-balls-and-aunt-betty.html

Anyways, that's the long and short of what I've been doing, working at Adbusters, killing the football pool, watching things, and eating and dreaming about cheeseballs.

away, away, away.

I need to remember to bring my camera around with me more.

And FYI:

Thanks Jane.

VIFF '10

This feels like forever go, but I saw a lot of movies at VIFF (Vancouver International Film Festival) and before I completely forget what I thought about them, here is what I saw: 

This year's film festival made me realize:

I should watch more documentaries.

I like them more than I thought I did.

The Eye of the Storm

A poster I did for an upcoming show at Straw Gallery (this friday, also my brother's birthday, also thanksgiving weekend!), Matthew Mark, "The Eye of the Storm". I think you can see more of his work here. I really liked Matthew's colorful wooden sculptures, and I was told that he would be exhibiting some paintings at this show, so I painted a probable Matthew Mark sculpture and it was nice to paint colorful strokes on top of one another (although you can't really tell so well from the poster).

In other news, I am on the most hilarious winning streak in my fantasy football league. I did however have to let go of my kicker (he wasn't playing this week), the only sad news about this otherwise very funny/fulfilling endeavor that is proving to be so entertaining.

Team MeatHeist

Okay.

So something that has been holding a lot of my interest lately, is my first ever, fantasy football team at work.

Ha.
Haha.
Hahahahah.

Yes. I don't know anything about football, when it came to drafting, Tom just told me who to pick for my first two players and then I just picked what Yahoo told me to pick after that. Admittedly I haven't watched any of the games of this season on TV, so yes, I have jumped onto the football bandwagon. How come no one ever told me how much fun it was?! But hey, Frank Chimero (aka a great designer, and wait for this,) has a fantasy football team (never would have guessed it), and his is apparently doing pretty bad (which means, ha I would slaughter his team, because I am oddly, doing pretty well right now, but yah yah, it's the second week only). But holy crap, if winning isn't fun enough (won both of my match ups and possibly will win the rest, HA!) the NFL has the most hilarious players in the world. And so many of them have twitter accounts, and all of them have hilarious tweets. Specifically, Chad Ochocinco (#85, Wide Receiver for the Cinncinnati Bengals):


What is Chad Ochocinco doing with a pigeon? Gawd I love this guy. I don't know how to explain why I find these players to endearing, but they really are. I guess it's partly has to do with that I like watching people who really love what they are doing and are really committed to it. I also like when I can see aspects of their personalities, and a lot of these football players, they put their personalities completely out there (although I am sure this is the same with like basketball and hockey) and most of the time it's pretty funny.

I am really glad I did this. I was super hesitant at first, I don't really care about sports and to commit to something like fantasy football (you have to keep pretty up to date with it, who's injured, who's been suspended for a DUI or killing dogs or raping women, who's sucking, and who's not sucking) seemed really unappealing. But the prospect of smack talking and how fun it could be drew me in. And also everyone in my office was doing it and...to not have done it, I would have looked really anti-social and yah yah.

So watch out, Team Meatheist is going to...win. And steal your meat.

PS, isn't my kicker (the last picture and the only white guy on my team) cute?! I and apparently also the Chiefs picked him last. I wonder if they picked him for the same reason I did? Because he had a good looking face? And can get me 7 points a week?

undeniable.

I feel like I haven't done personal work in a long while. I always want to and felt like it but could never really bring myself to do it. It's like when you feel like talking and you want to have a great conversation but you have nothing to say. Or you really feel like cooking but you can only find shitty non-interesting recipes. Or you want to read a really good book but everything seems boring and long. Or you want to see a really good movie but you've seen a lot of the good movies and begin to get indecisive with the amount of choice thereafter (mystery, drama, romance, comedy, sci fi, and so on). I am hoping that while all this wanting and then not doing anything, that even though I'm not doing something, that I'm at least absorbing whatever is happening so that when it finally comes time that I make something, eat something, read something, watching something, talk about something, that it is somewhat informed and fulfilling and if I am lucky, meaningful.

I've also had a hard time with the idea of making stuff. Where does it all end up, what's the point, etc, etc. And I still have a hard time with it and maybe that's part of the satisfying thing of making something of your own, working through these personal misgivings and at least coming out with something. Something that is yours.

And this here, is mine.

fickle things.

What I did on my week off:

Maggie is leaving for far off places for who knows how long, so Jane and I had a goodbye dinner for her. At this dinner we destroyed a very big dish of lasagna. 

Ate pulled bbq sandwiches and pie.

With these guys:

Sean rolled through town. He was pretty tired.

Jane and I have been going to the Kitsilano Farmers Market the past couple of Sundays. We shared this amazing nutella brioche. Oh my gawd.

I have discovered my most favorite peach, the white champagne peach: 

I always liked the idea of peaches, and thought they were nice and all and appreciated them, but I always found the yellow ones a bit on the tart side, making it hard to fall in love with them. But these peaches, just sweet and juicy, I do, do love these. 

I turned 23.

And this is what I looked like for most of the end of that night, rolling around on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

yakkity-yak-yak-yak.

Hrm it's been awhile since I've said anything on this blog. I was in Calgary for a bit and just have been keeping pretty quiet these days.

Jane came with me to Calgary for a few days and we went to Banff:

This is at the top of a mountain where you take a terrifyingly long (and expensive) Gondola ride to get to.

We went to the show Sean helped put on, "The Chute Project" (which I did the poster for) at Straw Gallery. It was pretty great by the way, and congrats to Sean and everyone else who helped put it on. 

We went to Drumheller and ate deep fried chicken and fries (that were sadly not very good, maybe I should have taken note from this dinosaur and eaten a gigantic hamburger. I did however outdo this dinosaur on the ice cream part and had 2 gigantic scoops, one being mint chocolate chip and the other pralines and something or another) at this place:

The coolest part of Drumheller, HOODOOS:

I've been pretty quiet thinking, considering and trying to practice these things (except for one of them, you get to guess which one):

The Backside of Your Gullet is Decadent and Depraved by Frank Chimero - It's a four part (don't let this deter you, this is really really good), series of little, very easy to read essays basically about, what is the point of doing anything (something that I, and probably everyone else thinks about everyday from everything to the smallest to largest thing). Chimero is a great designer, has great clients, but he feels a little lost, stuff's feeling a bit pointless (I feel ya buddy). And I think it's great that he's admitting that and trying to figure out why and sharing his experience along the way (because I'd sure like some light shed on this as well). 

Skateistan - Sean had been telling me that his friend Rhianon was involved with this and I looked it up and I think it is so cool. Teaching kids how to skateboard in Afghanistan! I feel like it is such a simple idea, but that it is definitely a challenge to do in real life, but once done has a really great and wide-spreading positive effect. Donate to Skateistan! (I know how infomercial-y this paragraph is, but know that no one put me up to this. I won't let you donate to just anyone!)

But Will it Make You Happy? - This New York Times article really affected me, making me reevaluate how I live and how to live, trying to make things slower and simpler. This includes checking my email, facebook, and twitter less, which so far I feel like I've done in an okay and somewhat improved way, and ha, I hope it lasts longer than this week. I always do this detox sort of thing for a week and then eventually just give it up because I don't know how to occupy my time! But I guess that's the point. 

On that note.

Bye!

night market and chute project:

Went to the Richmond Night Market and ate a lot of food:

A woman accidentally knocked over her drink:

The woman running this stand was not impressed.

I lost this game within 5 seconds. I could have easily blown 20 dollars just to catch one tiny fish. The game was that intense for me.

A poster that I did for an upcoming show at Straw Gallery in Calgary.

Here is an example of what you may see at the show: http://thestrawnews.blogspot.com/2010/06/mom-brainstorm.html

Go!