The Thnickaman

Moving on up (blog-wise that is)

2006-04-25T21:02:00.000-03:00

well, this is the last post on Blogger. My insane procrastination has led me to redo my blog in PHP (i'm insane to have done so). I have to say it's looking kick ass. So those of you that have read this might want to redirect your bookmarks to www.verge.ca/blog

Enjoy!

1 year??

2006-04-21T14:57:00.000-03:00

I don't know if this date is correct. It seems like forever. I've been living out of a suitcase for a year. where's the candle to blow out?

I'm clueless

2006-04-19T10:27:00.001-03:00

Losing weight has been pretty cool. It's given me a confidence I could never imagine having. More engery, better clothes.....just better life in general. I'm not fully there yet....but for the most part, I think I'm looking ok.

One of the things with losing weight is the attention of women. Let's face it....women don't like fat guys. It wasn't the main reason I lost the weight, but it is a welcome addition to it.

But holllllly fuck. I'm clueless. Reading women now is like studying hieroglyphics. I know of 3 women since moving here that I think are sending signals......but they could be saying i have something on my forehead for all i know.

Anyway....One of them's here now, so I'll end this blog. I'll piece it all together somehow.

I'm clueless

2006-04-19T10:27:00.000-03:00

all that white space

2006-04-14T17:42:00.000-03:00

Or more specifically.....nothing at this stage.

Always the situation when beginning a project. In this case, 2 websites. My own and a client's. And lately it's become more and more difficult. I just seem so un-creative when attempting new projects. A great deal I think has to do with the annoyance and frustration i encounter when actuallly building a website.

I remember telling myself at one time I didn't want to get into programming. There was a point where I was going to stop and just cconcentrate on the design and execution of projects such as these. But as days went on and as grocery purchases had to be met, I dove into the geekier waters of design.

Which leads me to my client's website that I'm doing. I think it's one of the first sites where I am hiring someone to build the website. I've delegated on small team efforts before...but this is the first one where I feel I can be somewhat free to design. It truely is a nice feeling. Yet I enter into the design process thinking "how's that going to work?" or..."how would I ever do that?" In this past, this led to hours (sometimes days) of research and trial and error......really leading to more spinning my tires in the mud. It's tricky to get past this...but I will.

As for my own website, more and more I have an interest in getting someone else to build it. Doing so would mean money and that is something I'm not plentiful in these days. But I'm trying to justify that it really is an investment. A professional would solve a lot of the problems and desires I have for my website. We'll see how it works out.

On other news. I seem to be the king of non-synchronization. Rumor has it that there may be a job open in Halifax that I might have an in at. Just as i was starting to settle here in TO. But in reality, it is a good money-making / stabilizing opportunity. We'll have to see how it plays out.

A new look for the blog and hopefully (after a suggestion from a friend of mine) a commitment to update a little more often. We'll see.

I'm back and stable

2006-04-10T21:14:00.000-03:00

Hey to everyone out there that reads this. My verge website and email are FINALLY back on and are solid. Apologize to anyone who might have been trying to reach me. I have my own server and stuff. Look for some cool things hopfully in the near future.

Juno's = suck

2006-04-03T15:52:00.000-03:00

I didn't watch the Juno's. I'll start off by saying that. So maybe my comment that they suck unfounded in the eyes of some. But I do think most would agree with me on this point. In a year that fantastic bands have been receiving world wide acclaim, the Juno judges have again chosen sales over talent.

Now I know it's naive to think that Arcade Fire would win an award like record of the year....but really, our priorities are srewed up when a band like Nickelback can win year after year. It's very similar to the East Coast Music Awards giving Great Big Sea top honors again and again.

Oh well, The Juno's won't change. But that's ok. I know who the real winners are at last nights show.

Where's Verge?

2006-04-03T15:48:00.000-03:00

To anyone who might be trying to get ahold of me, my email and website have both been down for awhile now. As to why would take too long to explain. I am trying to get it fixed.

To those that want to see my website it is being hosted under http://www.thelapdawg.com/~vergeca

To those trying to email me, I have gmail account - jasonalward@gmail.com

I hope to get this resolved soon.

what's goin on? An update

2006-03-08T15:35:00.000-04:00

Well, to those that read this, I figured I best give you an update as to what was happening with me. It has been awhile since my last post.

Some good, some bad. Eb and flow.

I am still in Toronto. And it seems different than the last time I was here. The last time I was here I wasn't really working....just a lot of looking for work. I still am this time around, but I'm offsetting my rent with some freelance work I'm doing for my friend Laura who owns a design firm. She's just starting out and can't hire me full time. So in exchange for my crashing at their place, I'm doing some web design for them. I don't feel as guilty this time because a) I'm doing work for my rent, and b) I'm busy doing work so it somewhat excuses my lack of handing out resumes since i got here. In general...it's just nice to work. I get the odd payment here and there and I pick up freelance projects outside this arrangement. So no full time work and still in debt...but not on the streets. I believe that with time I'll find something here. For the last little while I began thinking of ways I could make it work if I moved back....and then I realized I can't make it work in the situation I'm in. I have to say that It wasn't so much living in Charlottetown that pissed me off....it was more the patronage nature of that city. There was no way you could sustain yourself unless you had connections through family or friends. I'm somewhat bitter about that..but really I'd take those opportunities if they were presented with me. There are other methods that I'm looking at, but in the short term they wouldn't work. So this time, I do believe I'm here longer than 3-4 months.

It's also a bit easier that I have other friends here. Good friends from Charlottetown....who in turn are introducing me to others from here and in some cases from back east. 2 of my best friends, Dave Noel and Jud Cameron are here and that makes the stay quite a bit easier.

On the shittier end of the scale. I ended a relationship with a woman I started seeing back east. It's weird. I was in Charlottetown on and off for 10 years....had a couple of relationships that maybe weren't great. But this one....this was someone I enjoyed being with very much...unfortunately it was towards the end of my days there. We both knew that I was moving up front..and I tried to continue it after I left. But the knowledge that we wouldn't be in the same vacinity anytime soon was really making it hard to root myself here. Honestly, it's hard to be in any relationship in my situationn right now. This whole thing was one of the hardest things about the move to Toronto. But most of my life I've been through similar situations. I have the job, i'm unemployed, I find someone, I'm moving....so on and so forth. Instability is my middle name.

Back to a positive note. To those who know me, I had lost 90 lbs. within the past year. But since arriving I stopped going to the gym and started eating poorly again. My outlook was looking down. I'm happy to say that last week I put a stop to this slippery slide. I began eating right and I made a return to the gym. And wow! There's no excuse for people here not to have a membership at a gym. Toronto owns and runs a number of gyms in and around the city. They're part of the parks and recreation department. This in turn allows the memberships to be dirt cheap! For instance....if you wanted to just use the weight room, a 6 month memberrship is $55. If you want a membership that includes the whole facility (basketball court, track, weights, cardio, and pool) it'll run you $50 for 3 months. Anyway you slice it, it's an amazing deal! Charlottetown should look into doing something similar with the now defunct Charlottetown Community Centre.

To regular lurkers of this blog...and even new readers, I will be moving this blog to my own server in the near future. Since arriving, I've learned a few web tricks with the help of my friend Dave. I'm hopfully going to be implementing that knowledge into a new website for my work (verge) and a blog. When that all goes down, I'll let folks know.

Until then, take care to all and I'll try and write again in the near future.

Some people are jerks

2006-02-18T14:03:00.000-04:00

Wow. I knew that things were harsher, faster, go go go in Toronto....but what happened Friday was a rude-awakening.

For the past week, I've been developing a resume/dvd kit to hand out to design firms here. By Friday I was confident enough to start hitting the streets again. I set out with 5 places in mind. By 2:30, with the 4th kit delivered, I made my way up to Dupont and Bathurst to go to the last stop.

Well, I get to the office on this insanely cold day and find this very nice girl there (she's not the bad part of this story). I ask mention I heard that there was a design position open. She responded saying, "no, I'm afraid not, there is a production manager position open". Now, on this I was mistaken, but a bit confused I asked her if I could check my iBook to verify the job opening. She said fine, and went on to her work.

I then sat down and begain opening the email with the job postings. It was indeed a production manager position. While looking I heard some conversation in the open office area involving the girl and another guy that was sitting there. It sounded like concern and later I clued in that it was him asking her "what was up?"

1 second more ladies and gentelmen. 1 second more and I would have closed my iBook and left to go meet up with my friend. But instead what happened was that this guy bolted over to me and curtly asked "may I help you?" Well.....I had already established any help I needed with the woman before. And I was concerned about this guy's attitude. To say that he was about to throw me out the window wouldn't be an understatement. I then mentioned that I was just checking my email to verify the job opening. He then said "I don't appreciate some guy off the street coming in and opening up his iBook".

Well...at that point, I was thinking.....this guy was way too paranoid. I then started walking out noticing that this guy had his back up and was furious. I said "that's alright, I don't want to work here anyway, you seem very rude"

Annnnnd that's my story.

Now my friend Rod and I were going over why he may have been such a dick. We both agreed in the end that he was just that.....a dick.

Now granted, he may have been concerned about "hacking" into his system...which I doubt because if he was so concerned with that he would have had the wireless password protected. No....I was simply taking a second to verify my facts before heading out, and he was incredibly rude.

Luckily the first 4 weren't like that. They were all very nice and one place even sat down with me and went over my DVD. He seemed very interested and I'll email him thanking for taking the time. As Rod said, it's too bad that the last one had to be met with such an asshole.

wake-up call

2006-02-01T13:05:00.000-04:00

oh my god......i've become stagnant. My design has become ubelievably boring and predictable.

What awoke me to this realization? Where do I go from here? These are all questions going through my head. I received some advice from an art director friend of mine from back east who is now working here early this morning. Normally I would get my back up at such criticism....but in this particular case I respect this guy and know for a fact that he is a fucking good designer. Also...his advice was true.

I sent him a letter and my resume asking if he knew of any jobs open around the city. He wrote back giving me a few job postings and some advice. The advice was concerning my resume. Now....I've had this resume for some time and I didn't put much stock in redesigning it. Since then I've added more stuff...but it's also become cluttered and busy.

There was a time I'd look at something like that and say....what the hell am I doing? I can do better than this. I looked at my resume and agreed. It's reeally bad. And i've been sending this out for the last 6 months.

Now....really...only one thing doesn't lead to being stagnant....but as I was walkinng along Queen Street and began thinking about my design in the last year. I'm repeating myself! I'm safe in my design! My god.....my website forms haven't changed in a couple of years! It's funny....before I knew the methodology of buidling a website, my design (although raw) wasn't so rectangular. I was actually able to design outside of a box. Everything is so structured now.

Really...since I've been out of the design loop, and unemployed, my interest for tryinng has dropped. I used to nitpick and criticize my work. it's gotten to the point that I just want to do it and get it done.

I really need to step back and look at stuff around me.....try to get inspired again. I need to get out of this creative rut. Starting with my website. I had done a version some time ago with the notion i was going to redesign verge.ca . I've now come to the conclusion that I'm throwing that out. I'm going to make the most imaginative design i've done in a long time. Here's hoping it works.

If I can make it here....

2006-01-16T12:42:00.000-04:00

It's weird. A week ago, I was walking along the all-of 4 blocks of Charlottetown's downtown thinking that in a weeks time I'll be walking in a much larger sea of concrete and glass. Well....how time flies. Here I am after a 2 hour flight later, in the center of the universe, Toronto.

I knew this move was going to happen. Even though I'm so sick of moving, it was going to happen. Whether it was Toronto, Halifax, London, Vancouver....I was going to move. I've lived in Charlottetown on and off for 10 years and have not been able to do the work that I want to be doing. So a move had to happen.

The trick now (and you'll note this from my previous posts) is to get a footing here. I have high hopes. Maybe more than the last time I lived here (2002). I have more friends here....one of which (who I'm staying with) owns a design firm in town. A small one...but still...very helpful in getting contacts and the odd web site here and there.

As far as the other things about moving away....they all sucked. Leaving my family, my friends, and someone I was growing very close to. The pros? more work...yes....but a chance to continue getting my life in order. I had slipped away from the gym and my weight loss. That changes today. More to do.. you know...usual things when youu move to a new place.

I do hope to visit the Island as much as possible. Hopefully if work builds up I'll be able to make regular trips.

So that's all for now. I'll try and keep things up-to-date here.

Happy New Year / Go west

2006-01-04T12:41:00.000-04:00

As the post says. Happy New Year to all! I hope your holidays have been great, and I hope 06 provides everything you're looking for.

Also the subject says "go west". Which is what i am doing. I bought the ticket today and I am relocating to Toronto this month for the 2nd time. over all though...I think this my billionth move. Seems like it anyway. And although I'm moving with no "big pay" job on the other end, I do have some form of work waiting for me. And to be honest....at this point....it's work in my field. I'd rather be doing this in a bigger city which can perpetuate into more work. In the end...it's a better move to Toronto than my last one.

If you've read my random posts, you've seen that I have this thing with moving away...coming back...moving away. I truely hope this is the last move. I'm 31 and I'm getting tired of it. As well, while I'm still 31 I may as well take this last stab at what I truely enjoy...graphic design....and maybe get back on my feet so I can pay off debts that are over due.

To all those people I know here, thanks for the friendship and I'll try my best to visit often. As well, I'll try to post here in the future.

Jay

How do i get off this ride?

2005-12-08T01:16:00.000-04:00

It's an interesting situation I find myself in these days. Most people that have read my blog in the past will consider this another in the long line of rants by myself. And if you aren't interested then read no further. But some of you that do read this may find some similarity in what I type.

I have been unemployed for about 6 months now. Somewhat out of stupidity for not taking a minimum wage job..but it's mostly out of stubbornness to strive for that "dream job". In reality it's at the point now where I'd take "A" job in my field.

There are 2 road blocks I find myself in. There may be some fault on my part, but I'd like to push that aside for this argument as I feel I've done the best of my abilities to be employed....and although this is going to sound like gloating, it's more a confidence in my saying, I am MORE than qualified for a LARGE portion of the jobs I've applied for.

Road block 1. Patronage. Welcome to Prince Edward Island....land of Anne, Golf and climbing the familial success ladder. I remember a time in college when I was naive enough to say to my friend that It didn't matter I didn't have any connections, I was going to make it on my own. I still believe somewhat in that adage....BUT NOT ON PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND. If you aren't related or know a person with a zillion generations on this Island, GOOD FRICKEN LUCK. This also pertains to loopholes, programs...blah blah blah. I can give a lot of examples but on the Island you have to watch where you set fires...because they can attack back at you. So......you may ask..why am I still here? Reason number 2....

Regional discrimination - This is a term I've used a lot in the last 2 weeks. About the time that's passed since my client in Toronto let me go....and coined by another Island friend. Regional discrimination is this... If you live away from the desired location, It is almost impossible to get employed in that location. I say almost, because there are exceptions. I have emailed resumes, created full colour promotional kits, built portfolio DVDs, made numerous calls to Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver..... and I think maybe 1 or 2 got back to me. There is NO way I'll get to Toronto from here. Which is what I was hoping to do. Acquire a job first then move with confidence in that I'd have a job at the other end.

so why am I still here? Support mostly from family and friends. But it's a rut that I keep getting stuck in. I've tried to move 3 times so far and have not been able to get a footing.....so then I move back to regroup....and of course I can barely survive here because of patronage. I regroup...get more money.....and try again.....to only have the same process happen.

Has anyone else experienced one or both of these instances? It's very frustrating. As of right now, I'm hoping to make another stab at Toronto....but due to the contract falling through it will take longer.

remember that light?

2005-12-03T17:22:00.000-04:00

Well, in my last post, I was boasting and yelling at the top of my lungs that I had a freelance gig that was going to set me on the track to success.

I must have missed the potholes

This project I was supposed to start on wasn't due until the 16th of December. Plenty of time. The content...being only dropped into the server last Friday was pretty straight forward. So my thought was...now that I have the content I'll begin workinng Monday and have a good portion done by the end of the week (today).

Then I receive an email Tuesday morning telling me I've been dropped from the contract . Well that wasn't the only drop that morning as my stomach dropped instantly when I saw that. They're reason or excuse was that the end client thought I was too far away (PEI) and was on dial-up (even though I mentioned I was on high speed daily)

To me...that's bull. It doesn't matter how I do the work, just as long as I get it done. But that didn't matter I guess. And there you have it. slammed down again. As a friend of mine put it... regional discrimination.

I'm hoping something comes about in a week or so with a 9-5 here.

light at the end

2005-11-13T10:34:00.000-04:00

Well...I'm not there yet, but I've recently landed a mind-blowing freelance gig. Biggest I've ever had. And it all came about while going to the washroom.

Bit of a weird "by chance" story behind this. I had just finished my duties of best man at my friend, Dave Noel's wedding in Toronto. It was supposed to be a 4 day thing.....we'd be driving back to the Island on Sunday. Just so happens that my Mom was in town taking care of my grandfather for a week. She suggested if I wanted to stay an extra week to work, she's fly me back when she flew back. Any opportunity where I'm actually in the city i'm looking for work in, is more than welcome. So i did.

That week I phoned every firm in the graphic design section of the yellow pages. I may have had 3 "maybe...but not really" responses. I'll tell ya...it ain't only hard to get stuff here. Also there's a bit more elitism at the bigger firms in Toronto. So while I was there, i was using my friend's office as a base to get email and such. Tall Poppy, owned by Laura Weatherbie is located in an amazing location on Spadina. The building that they're in houses a large number of up and coming marketing firms. I've seen similar buildings in Vancouver and Halifax....where it's a prime location for small firms starting up, and rent isn't a zillion dollars a month.

So after a session at Tall Poppy I was on my way out and had to use the facilities. Just so happens that construction was going on so I had to use the one of the 4th floor. I was told this by a person who was also going to the facilities. This sounds like a weird scenario...but it just so happens that this persons marketing company has just hired me for what is (to date) my highest paying freelance gig.

It also strengthens my perception that I must get off this Island.

In the 10 years I've been here in Charlottetown, I haven't even come a fraction close to this gratitude for my skills. The simple thought that anyone here would pay my hourly rate is insanity at best.

I've wanted for sometime to make the leap from here. Most of my friends have and in the past 5 years, I've seen how dismal and backward this place has become. On a larger scale you can see this in the Atlantic Technology Centre. It has recently been reported that this white elephant has been bleeding money. Why? Because the people that run that monstrosity haven't a clue about anything tech oriented. It boggles my mind how many of my friends who are scraping by aren't called upon to help improve things here. This Island will continue moving into the "It's a lovely Victorian life here" attitude. Patronage and cluelessness run rampant on the Island.

Sorry for the bit of the rant. But It infuriates me that I've dedicated this much time of my life hoping and working towards things improving financially and socially for me here, and my biggest financial freelance gig comes from meeting someone going to use the can.

Long story short I'll be relocating as soon as possible. Even if things turned out ugly from this job, i'll be relocating. There is no future here.

so close, but yet so far

2005-11-06T12:09:00.000-04:00

I'm in a weird position. For the last 6 months I've been trying to find work in my field. Let me tell ya.....not easy at all. it is either bone dry, or I'm doing something wrong.

Anyway, I'm in a thin-ice situation in which i have very little right now (including living conditions)....but yet there are some prospects on the horizon. These prospects though seem like years down the road. The time amplified by the situation I'm in.
I'm hoping for a job in the next week. if I can get that, you'll see much happier posts. It'll give me a chance to get back on my feet again.

The gym has also been non-existent in the last 2 weeks. When your routine is thrown out of whack, it doesn't make it easy to commit to a schedule.

I'm keeping optimistic though. If I get the 9-5, I'll be back to what I was like at Trapeze. Up at 5:30....gym....work....eating properly. In my situation, I have to have the routine to finish losing the weight. So it's important i get back to that.

this is a blabbing post I'm afraid...but I thought I'd update my blog to keep it going. Take care

J

Due South?

2005-10-30T14:16:00.000-04:00

So I think I might be moving to the States.

Kinda funny, because I remember when I was younger....hell....even later as an adult that I wouldn't move to the states. That may change soon though. As you may or may not know from my previous profile, I've been unsuccessfully seeking work for the last 6 months and am now just a millimeter away from sleeping on a crazy friends sofa.

So I finally received an email from a place that seem interested in me but they were just wondering about the legalities and work visas and stuff. As far as I'm aware, it's an easy thing to do if you have a job lined up.

And the salary is killer.... over 50,000 US

Considering nothing possitive is happening up here, it's my only option at this time. Just frustrating y'know.....spent all this time trying to find work in my own country and nothing. Anyway...I'll let y'know what happens.

I'm the second best man

2005-10-22T07:24:00.000-03:00

Today is my best friend, Dave Noel's wedding. I've known Dave since 1995 when I attended the Visual Communications course at Holland College. Hard to believe it's been 10 years. We've both seen the ups and downs in our lives as well as those around us....but it's cool that all of us from those days are still friends.

So here I am in Mississauga doing the duties of best man. And I'm up at 6:30 just running through what I'm going to say at the reception (I hate public speaking). I should be fine. I reemember the embarrassing event in which I'm going to tell.

So a busy day. Until the next post....

31 and counting

2005-10-15T13:10:00.000-03:00

Someone told me when I turned 30, that it's pointless to look back with regrets. It's true to some extent, that you can't change the past, so why worry about it. Still with 31 less than a day away, I can't help but wish I had turned left instead of right on a number of occaisions. But again, you can't bother with regrets.

Certain things at 31 are becoming a reality. My desire to own my own business is pretty much all but done. If after 5 years nothing solid has happened, then you have to take another path. My goal now is career climbing...which is something I suppose I've been doing anyway.

In general, there's an air of stabilizing my life now....eating better, better job....blah blah blah. My Dad talked to me about this awhile back...mainly because he didn't prepare for the later years, but of course in your 20s your outlook is very short-term. I'm scraping by right now, but when I do level out I think my 30s will be just fine.

Aardman Animation

2005-10-11T10:26:00.000-03:00

My history watching Aardman Animation started in 1994 when I saw an animation festival while living in Vancouver, British Columbia. The cartoon in question was Wallace & Gromit's "The Wrong Trousers". It was the last piece on the bill. Let me tell you...I was in tears after that. It was some the best, most original, funny animation I've seen in a long time. Since then I've loved pretty much anything Nick Park has done.

It saddened me though, to find out that Aardman's warehouse in the UK burned down a few days ago. The sheer thought of that much history...that much sweat and that much creativity being destroyed in such a brutal blows my mind. Storyboards, models, sets...gone.

I'm sure they had it insured, but in the end you can't replace those things. After hearing the news, I felt compelled to go see the new full length Wallace and Gromit movie (was going to see it anyway). It was, as I expected a wonderful piece of creativity. I highly recommend it.

It doesn't rain, it pours...

2005-10-10T14:38:00.000-03:00

Well, I've had about enough of this rain...I don't mind rain broken up by spells of dry..but I think it's been a constant wet outside....if not pouring, then misting.

The subject matter could also pertain to the last days of October. With about $110 I plan on buying groceries, celebrate my birthday, go to Toronto for my best friends wedding and try to somewhat enjoy Halloween. Neat trick huh? How do I plan on doing this? I've no fucking clue. But I'm sure something will pop up.

On the bright news, I have a phone interview with CCL, located in Halifax. Production work....not exactly what I hwas hoping to land, but at this point, I'll take almost anything. I did bug another place that I had applied for an art director position. They seemed somewhat impressed that I took extra interest in the job. I'm currently reworking my promo DVD to send to them. Hopefully that'll push them over the edge on their decision. In the end...I hope i get good news in the next week or so on the work front.

I'm currently listening to Metric's new CD, Live it Out. Run, don't walk to get this CD. Mind blowing. And....well....I think Emily Haynes is smoking hot. :D

I've also currently cleaned out my contact list. Most of you that may have been deleted, I see almost on a daily basis.....so don't worry too much. The main reason for deleating them is to clean up people who I don't talk to regularly. As well..there are some people who I didn't want to talk to for personal reasons. All in all, I'm just cleaning some space in my aleady stressed life.

So that's the update for the day. I'll probably do 1 or 2 more before the "big trip". Until next time kids!
J

damn!

2005-10-05T18:48:00.000-03:00

Well, I did post a photo before...but as I said a couple posts ago, most of the links in my earlier posts have been broken or deleted. So I'm posting this picture....not only because of that but because it has been close to a year since that last picture.

It has been about 14 months since I started getting in shape. I'm surprised I've kept up this long. In past attempts I'd quit after 2 months. In fact I remember thinking I'll be happy or impressed if I make it to 3. There were signs of my sneaking back in to old habits this past spring, but I'm happy to report that not only am I back to good standing, I'm at the gym every day at 7. Harsh...but a routine helps a lot.

To date, I've dropped about 95-100 (depending on the day). So....here's an idea of what I look like.....to those who maybe haven't seen me in awhile.

I'm not finished yet...but I will be by next summer. Stay tuned.

It's gonna get thick

2005-10-03T19:29:00.000-03:00

I like to think I'm on the ball....but this particular topic has taken me awhile to grasp. Or maybe it's my gullible sense of honesty.....

whatever the case is, I'm about to become a liar. For the past 4-5 months I've been aiming for jobs left, right and center only to be shot down every time. I'm not getting it. If there's one thing I'm confident in is my ablility to design. 8 years have taught me some great tricks of the trade. These years have brought me to a point where I am confident about my abilities.

That being said though, when i look at my resume, I see honesty to the last dotted eye. I was brought up (especially by my Dad) to play the honesty game. But I'm noticing suckers whiz by me in this life by BS'ing to the utmost. Time to join the fray.

I'm going to go through my resume and embellish it all over the place. Art director this, designed for this big whig, owned one of the premier agencies in Eastern Canada. Fuck it. When I show potential agencies my resume as is, they see the norm. My resume is a bore in the sea of countless other resumes. I need to fucking blow their minds.

I just have to remember that there's some honesty in my embellishing. If I believe it...then it's true. :)

Mark Bragg

2005-10-02T14:56:00.000-03:00

Well, I thought...maybe I shouldn't go out twice in a row.....need to save m'pennies these days. But then I thought...fuck it...Pat Deighan and the Orb Weavers were playing so I was sure of a good show even if I wasn't crazy about the opening band. But boy....was I in for a treat.

Mark Bragg was the opening act last night at Baba's and he and his band put on a truely kick-ass show. I had heard his name thrown around here and there....I think I remember hearing about him playing the ECMA's one year. But what I saw was hard to pin to any style. If I had to, he'd be a combo of Elvis Costello and.......Hawksley Workman. But really he had his own brand of play.

Unfortunately due to my financial situation I wasn't able to pick up his CD.....but he is on Maple Music so if in the near future I become rich and famous I'll consider buying one. I urge those reading to check this guy out.

The cart before the horse

2005-09-30T14:21:00.000-03:00

Well, Charlottetown does it again. Anyone? Anyone? Can they give me a proper design job off of this Island to a place where they function properly.

I was one that bitched about a new transit system... so you'd think I would be happy about it finally happening. But damn...only Charlottetown could shoot themselves in the foot before the thing actually starts.

I remember contacting Trius about 6 months to a year before this thing started....offering to help them implementing marketing for them. This would entail everything from advertising in the Guardian right down to the schedules...

...which brings me to my main annoyance. Ask Joe Blow on the street where to get a schedule...or where the stops are. I bet you that person won't have a clue about the operation of this transit system. Hard to have a successful transit system if no one knows what's going on. I mean really folks...are you planning on telepathically broadcasting the marketing of this thing to the masses of Charlottetown. I'll leave my gripes about the transit at the marketing stage....I'm not even going to touch on the topic of the bus design. Get your act together folks or we'll be without a transit system in the near future

Two timing blogger

2005-09-25T14:04:00.000-03:00

Wow. March?? That was my last post? Tsk tsk tsk. I was blogging...but unfortunately not on this particular blog. That being said...and now that the summer days are closing I'd like to take on more attempt on this little blogger spot?......I would advise not to go back too far on this blog as there's probably broken links, pictures and just a cornucopia of mess.

Well...where have I been? Where am I now? March.... I believe back then I was beginning to come up with the crazy idea of leaving Trapeze Animation. The days became long and boring, and the initial idea of working there was just until the end of the initial contract. Well...by March / April the contract had been extended twice. Although work is good, my dream job wasn't Trapeze. I severely want to get back to print design....with a bit of interactive as well.

So I left...but where to? With a bit of savings, I decided to take Halifax as a stop. Now...I lived in Halifax about 7-8 years ago. At that time, I had just left college and was trying to make a name for myself. Kind of difficult for a newbie designer in a big city. So I figured things would be easier 8 years on. The slight mistake I made is 2-fold a)summer time: NOTHING going on in summer. No hiring....big mistake, b) lack of knowledge about the Halifax scene; Where I was getting a lot of work/little pay in Charlottetown, I was getting no work/no pay in Halifax. That's the trade off...

I might have been working in Halifax...if not for a foolish wild goose chase I took on about 3-4 weeks into my job hunt. I happened upon a posting for an art director position with none other than the mighty CBC! Well....to me that'd be the job amongst jobs.... print creativity galore.

Well, they wouldn't look at a simple black and white print resume from some hick from the Maritimes. So I took a week to create a full-colour book and DVD package. This did indeed impress them and I got the call to visit the mighty CBC tower in the centre of the universe....Toronto. Now I'll be honest...I've wanted to move to Toronto for sometime...so this would be the perfect life change. Then the lockout. Although that wasn't the reason I didn't get the job, it is the reason the interview was pushed forward to just a day before the lockout. No...it seems 2 others with more studio experience were up for the position. So...the summer was spent pining for a position that I wasn't even sure I'd get. I spent one week on a massive project to get the interview...and then another week developing a brand new website to further impress them.

Broke and frustrated, I returned to Charlottetown. I've had this happen too many times to me. Go off...try to create a foothold in another city, and then get pushed back. Not again. I'm sending all resumes from here from now on. The chances are reduced quite a bit as a company would rather hire locally...but it's also less costly from here.

So...as you can see...my career has taken a beating. What of my social life? It was probably my loneliest summer ever. It was pretty harsh. Brand new place...hard to make friends (I did make a couple). But for the most part, it was very lonely. And that would also include my love life. But these set-backs only tended to thicken my skin. This also led to a sense of being jaded towards society and the way it works. It's funny...my Grandfather is very old Scottish....very old advice...very old in thinking. I destinctly relect 2 pieces of advice he gave me....that I just shrugged off, saying sort of.. "no no I'll live by my own idealistic way". The 2 pieces of advice? "You have to have contacts in this life". Now another friend gave me this advice and I now believe whole heartidly it's who you know. The 2nd piece was "you have to be fit to get anywhere in this life". Now wow....for 30 years my whole thought process was "why care what the world thinks of me?". Boy was I naive. The world functions on image. The idealism is right out the window on this one. I agree 100% on this. If you aren't fit, you don't get anywhere....jobs, relationships....forget it..if you're overweight it's over. Now I started to see this a year ago when I weighed 320pounds. I've now lost 90 lbs and I still have a ways to go. But let me tell you, it'll be great being in a controlling position in my life when I do finish losing the weight.

Jaded view you say? Yup. But I'll debate with anyone who differs with what I just said. Trust me...I've had 30 years to see the "fat kid" side of things. Now if only I could have transfered the amount of experience in this subject to the CBC job interview, everything would be set.

So...where am I now? Scarred...bruised...metaphorically speaking. I'm picking myself up and moving on. It's all you can do right? I'm at the gym every day now...so far it hasn't caught up. My confidence level is up some because of the weight loss...but I have a ways to go on that. Unfortunately in the end nothing concrete to report. I will try to update this blog regularly though. Until next time..

Oh the possibilities

2005-03-04T15:10:00.000-04:00

Well, I am now on a part-time schedule from my full-time work. This was both an iffy and a welcome event. The full-time work was not what what I was trained for and not what I have spent so much time investing in. With the increased free-time I am now able to devote my skills to something I enjoy and know-graphic design.

I have a number of jobs I'm working on now and I have a feeling things will improve as the months go on. Here's hoping

After a long hiatus....let's rant.

2005-03-01T10:54:00.000-04:00

I have to apologize for not publishing a post in some time. Winter and a hectic schedule don't make for a good blogger. But now that I'm back, on to this week's rant!

What the hell???

This administration really needs to grow up. "Wahhh...you won't come to my party!! I'm not going to talk to you". Is it any wonder why there is such animosity towards this government?

I might be living in a dream world here....but wouldn't a better solution than spending billions of dollars to bomb a country and build a paranoid defence system be to spend that money on bettering relations with the world. By the looks of the news reports on TV I guess I'm just living in a dream world.

Top Google result??

2005-03-01T10:51:00.000-04:00

Wow!! Someone has drawn my attention to the fact that we're the top Google search when it comes to Thnikkaman! I didn't expect that when putting this site up. I was looking for an obscure, "inside" character and of course.. Homestar Runner is one of the coolest pop-culture phenomenons out there right now.

This nagging feeling

2005-01-15T09:11:00.000-04:00

To avoid certain people reading this and mis-understanding the context, I won't get into the details of the event....

But..did you ever go through something and even though it's such a small insignificant portion of your life and it probably shouldn't make a difference in what you do or feel; the event just takes over and makes you feel like crap?

One more thing...could this post be any more vague?

The Spirit is gone

2005-01-05T09:04:00.000-04:00

Just a quick sad note. I just read the news that one of my favorite illustrators has passed away. Will Eisner was the creator of the Spirit; to me one of the coolest looking comic characters out there. If you get a chance, check some of his stuff out.

Social study contrast

2005-01-05T08:51:00.000-04:00

It really takes me aback when I see figures like this in the news....

Now don't take this the wrong way (some may just do that)....any amount of life lost is not a good thing. That being said, 2,500 lives were lost in the World Trade Centre attack.....the US then spends BILLIONS in a war that has nothing to do with this said attack.

150,000 people perish in what could be considered one of the world's most catastrophic disasters of our modern times, and the US offers $150,000,000. Don't get me wrong...that's a nice chunk of change....but really, when you compare it to the above figure, it just reminds me of how much the US government sucks.

I mean, the Canadian government is supplying $80,000,000. When you consider the size and power of our country compared to the States, the US offer is horribly low.

Hello 2005

2005-01-03T16:03:00.000-04:00

Wow...it's been sometime since I posted. My apologies. What with the holidays and everything, a person just seems to want to shut down. I know I had grand plans to do some of my own stuff...but those didn't happen.

But 2005 is a new beginning right? I'm not keen on resolutions all that much...and really the big resolution I had began 5 months ago. There are some things that I'd like to happen in 2005 that are probably too early to divulge.....mostly because I don't know which direction this year will take me.

In the short term, I have projects that I'll be starting tonight actually. Sketch 22, Trivia at Baba's and the Little Mac Shoppe are all on my agenda as far as projects go. I'm also teaming up with some people on some projects that most internet users in Charlottetown will know.

So that being said, I have a feeling 2005 will be one hell of a year! Be sure to check back as I'll be posting more frequently.

As well, be sure you head down to the Red Cross and donate as much as you can to the Asian relief effort.

XML

2004-12-16T10:08:00.000-04:00

Just a quick announcement that Thnikkaman is now XML capable. The link is on the left hand side. Enjoy

Ease of mind = $74,500

2004-12-15T08:53:00.000-04:00

Society scares me at times. Walmart was recently sued by a family complaining of a "foul" word on a CD that they sold. The story indicates that this family received $75,000 for "damages" due to their 13 year old daughter hearing the f word in a new Evenescance song.

My god folks. It's A WORD. 4 little letters. Not only that, It's within an artistic interpretation. I'm betting their 13 year old daughter is well versed in other things of this nature wayyyyy worse than that 4 letter word.

I shouldn't point the finger at America in this situation...because not all degrading society relates to the States...but in this case this story is not shedding a great light on American society. I think in this case the people need to take a step back and take the stick lodged up them, out.

My 2 cents

Concert #2

2004-12-04T09:34:00.000-04:00

Well.... road trip #2. This time to the historic city of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The reason? My favorite band.

Why The Hip are my favorite band? Hard to say. I know everyone I talk to just cringes when I say this. To me though...they're one of the hardest working, no-flash bands Canada has produced. They're music is visual and well.....just kicks ass.

After saying all of this though, I wasn't sure whether I was going to come over. Now that I'm here I'm glad I did. This will be my 4th time seeing this band...and it's just as much fun as the first time.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

2004-11-28T09:04:00.000-04:00

It's great staying with friends...no hassle of hotels or the expense. Unfortunately my friends are very busy with school work and it's tough to motivate them to go touring with me. I wouldn't be all gung-ho about seeing the tourist traps either. With that in mind I've checked out obvious places. Friday's destination was le Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal. For $6 you get an amazing array of some fantastic art.

Saturday was a day of not knowing what to do...and getting this nervous feeling in my stomach. So I decided to find this area of St. Catherine Street that had a bunch of shops. When I got there I was surprised to see how much it reminded me of Young Street. Same feel....same types of shops.

So i returned back to the apartment and watched movies with my friends until my friend from Ottawa showed up............and then one of the most memorable times of my life I think.... a time of such a high and such a low. It was a mixed bag of emotions. Let me just say that the Pixies were un-fricken-believable (sorry Rob). How Frank Black doesn't have a voice anymore is beyond me. They belted out all the classics and had all the goth/punk kids (damn I felt old) in the palm of their hands.

What happened after the show was done was pretty painful. To make a long story short the best girl I've seen come through my life in probably the last 10 years didn't recipricate similar feelings. In the last few years, I've shrugged things like that off because upon a closer look it was probably for the best. I don't have those feelings this time. But stuff happens right? You move on....to some extent.

Train leaves tonight...and then back home tomorrow. It's been....interesting.

Day 1

2004-11-25T19:27:00.000-04:00

After a long trip here (first bus than an overnight train trip) I've arrived at my good friend Bill's place. Most of today was getting the lay of the land down...but I was able to visit the Biodome (no...Pauly Shore wasn't there). What a place! The amount of work involved in keeping those mini-ecosystems in check is mind-blowing. It was weird....to get to the Biodome you have to walk through the Olympic Stadium....even though baseball season is over, you definitely felt you were in dead shell. With no Expo's I'm not sure what they'll do.

Plans are uncertain tomorrow...but I'm sure I'll find things to do. I'm checking out the CD shops here....way more selection that little ol' Charlottetown.

Trip of a lifetime

2004-11-23T13:34:00.000-04:00

The time has come.... FINALLY. I remember posting about this (I forget the forum) early this year. When I heard that the Pixies were re-uniting I said to myself "If they come anywhere near here, I'm going". Well the place, Montreal, departure time...tomorrow morning. 4 glorious days in the big city.

Beyond the Pixies show, I'll be hooking up with friends from my past.....It will be very amazing. Maybe with some additional surprises. Who knows!

p.s. - I'll try and get pictures

I'm lost

2004-11-15T16:29:00.000-04:00

Something's missing. At times it feels as though my life is like driving at night without headlights. I know the destination..but I'm lost getting there. Being single can suck at times. That's not to say I haven't been in relationships, but the relationships I have been in haven't fit... and if there's no perfect connection...well then it's no better than my previous analogy. As I'm past 30, I hope I find someone soon, to help me find my way through the dark.

True heroes

2004-11-11T22:17:00.000-04:00

I won't get into the politics of whether the attack on Iraq is right or wrong. That's for a whole other discussion. The one thing I do know is that today is for honoring true heroes during a true war. My Grandparents fought in World War Two, and I'm amazed at what they went through. It's astonishing that I am here today.

Today is a day for remembering our veterans, legends in our own time.

umm....wow!

2004-11-06T17:23:00.000-04:00

I do a lot of ranting and raving on this blog....who knows if a lot of it is seen...but it's a good outlet if something is on my mind or bothering me.

This post however I have to write a happy bit. 4 months ago I was very ill....mentally and physically. Esentially for the past 5 years my outlook on life wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. With my 30th birthday coming up I decided to change things...so I started at the gym. Being me..and not really noticing things, I didn't know if what I was doing was working. Today I found a photo from about 6 months ago and a photo taken a couple of days ago....I don't even recognize the person on the left. When you think of losing 60 pounds....you don't consider what that is until you look at a comparison.

I can't wait to see the next 4 months.

It boggles the mind

2004-11-03T13:16:00.000-04:00

Four more years of this dicatator? how does that work???

I was so sure that America was as pissed off at this idiot and his goons as the rest of the world was. He has single handly lit so many powder kegs around the world I'm surprised we all don't blow up.

One good thing... comedians have fodder for the next four years.

A super movie for a super cause

2004-10-19T21:29:00.000-03:00

Although the posters are all around Charlottetown and there will be more media coverage of this event, I thought I'd post it on my blog. This Monday (October the 25th) at 7pm, I'm screening Superman.

Two things prompted this idea. One was paying tribute to an actor and a movie that we all grew up watching. The special effects may not hold up...but it's a damn fun movie. The idea was originally suppose to be a few friends getting together to watch Superman...but then I thought "how can I get MANY friends together to watch this and maybe do some good at the same time?"

A friend then told me about Empire Theatre's fundraising program. So what better way to help out the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation than this?

I hope anyone in the Charlottetown area reading this can come out and enjoy this movie. You'll be supporting a good cause at the same time.

Christians cancel Hanukkah!

2004-10-19T14:38:00.000-03:00

Ok....so it hasn't happened yet. But it's just a jab at the recent foolishness that has happened within the town that I live. It seems as though city council has changed Haloween this year to a Saturday night (October 31st actually happens on Sunday). This anger ups the blood to no end....when a cult (lets face it....organized religion are cults...but that's a whole different subject) can change other people's traditions to suit their own beliefs, we are surely living in the dark ages.

Isn't it a sad time when the Christian society of Charlottetown can dictate other people's beliefs or traditions? Pssst, Christians....best stop Hanukkah.....it's getting in the way of your crusade.

Excuse me while I go shake my fists in disbelief.

Busy time ahead

2004-10-05T22:03:00.000-03:00

Wow. It just dawned on me that November is fast approaching. Which tells me I best get in gear if I want my plans to happen.

I have 3 concerts in 3 different provinces to go to in this time period. First, in mid November, the very talented Sara Slean will be performing in Summerside; so that's not a huge leap. The big one will be next. This is the show I've been waiting for since there were inklings of a re-union. The pixies in Montreal.....road-trip style. And last but not least will be a trip to Halifax in early December to see my favorite band, the Tragically Hip. What a way to cap things off.

Fricken great band!

2004-10-01T17:43:00.001-03:00

Metric is a band originally from Montreal. They have moved twice in the last couple of years but are now based in California. I just have to say that this band kicks ass. If you haven't listened to Old World Underground, you're missing out on some great music.

I like this band so much, I'm trying to contribute something in order to bring them to the Maritimes. Stay tuned to learn more.

Took me less than 12 parsecs to buy this one.

2004-09-22T08:48:00.000-03:00

Well, Mr. Lucas has once again been able to drain more money from my pockets.

Yesterday I (as I'm sure many others as well) purchased the much coveted DVD box set of the original Star Wars trilogy. Now there are at least two sets of this trilogy in my apartment. Two "VHS" sets. To me, I might as well be watching cave drawings interpretting this cinematic epic. So when I got wind of this DVD collection last year I quickly moved it to the top of any movie purchase I had planned.

Am I Impressed? Well unfortunately I haven't had much time to watch the set...but what I did watch on the special features disk is very impressive. A good portion of the archived footage included on the disk is amazing. It gives a glimpse into the history of the creation of this movie like I've never seen before. If you're really die-hard you can scan through the multiple movie/tv commercials. Let's just say trailers sucked in the 70s.

As well, having just completed my first DVD interface, I am blown away with how they were able to construct such a beautiful navigational flow.

So was it worth forking more money over to George Lucas? Very much so. If you're a fan of this series, check it out.

The weekend is too short

2004-09-19T11:29:00.000-03:00

What a weekend. Two nights of drink, music and good friends.

Referring to my last post, this weekend was a going away / reunion party. It almost had an air of a "last party of summer" night. Saturday was the best of the 2 nights though. There must have been about 20+ people there. Old friends and new sending my good friend Dave off to TO.

As far as my reflection on my current status goes....nothing conclusive from this weekend. I'm sure I'll look things over in the months to come as I get closer to the end of my contract and get a better idea of what 2005 will hold.

All-in-all though....a memorable weekend.

Time flies

2004-09-11T20:52:00.000-03:00

I was just informed that next weekend will be a be a time for asking myself "where did everyone go?"

I first came to Charlottetown in 1995 to attend the Graphic design course offered by Holland College. Since graduating in 1997, I've moved away and have come back twice. So more or less I've been based here for close to 8 years. But as I look around now and within a week or so I must ask myself.....what's keeping me here? A large section of friends that I've developed in that wonderful 2 year course have moved off. This coming week sees one of my best friends making the leap to the big city. To celebrate that big move, 4 other classmates (3 who I've not seen in some time) are visiting from Halifax as sort of a reunion/send-off party. But come Monday, the reasons for still being on this Island seem a bit emptier.

There certainly are other reasons I stay here, and there may very well be a big reason coming up that will keep me here. I'll be reflecting on my future and deciding what my next move is in the months to come.

Stay tuned.

Let's try this again

2004-09-04T10:50:00.000-03:00

Well, It's been ages since my last post. A couple of reasons (or excuses for that). One of those is that I wasn't as interested in the blogging thing at the time....but a bigger reason was the time that I made the decision not to post. Times were tough and Summer was on the door step. Since that point though, life has turned a complete 180. I'm currently employed and have lost 40 lbs.

So now that Summer is pretty much over (let's face it, Labour Day signals that end), I've decided to fire this blog up again. Charlottetown is a great city for this sort of thing. The blogging community provides information that one may normally miss.

So here I pledge to try to post regularly. Stay tuned.

The ATC rant

2004-04-21T09:58:00.000-03:00

Where do I begin? A logical place would be the entrance, the door. Ladies and gentlemen, as part of your tenancy at the ATC, you receive a constant non-functioning door/entrance! I know this sounds too good to be true, but it is. Let me expand on this point a bit....for all the money they spent on this building, they can't get the doors to work properly. I don't know how many times I walk by there, where I see "use other door" or "under construction". It's been 2 years and they haven't figured out a simple "technology" as the door. And that's just the door, there's also a nice piece of work on the Fitzroy entrance sidewalk. Gravel says high tech to me!

So you don't mind the entrance. Ok, no problem. You go into the building to the lobby. I'm snackish. I wouldn't mind some lunch. Hmm.....no cafeteria. In a year of trying to get a service counter in the empty space all they have to show are the vending machines. Again....to me this is a small expense to pay for when you have rent as high as they do. Maybe offer free operating space for a company for the first couple of years of business? Be flexible. It would go a long way.

staying on the first floor/basement, we come up to the subject of the high priced/state of the art editing bays. This is great! Prince Edward Island can finally become a world class production community! We can begin learning and producing content for off-island marke.......what's that? It's practically off-limits to the general public? Only big productions in town seem to be using it? So it's quite good at collecting dust then? Well that's money well spent. Offer training programs. Offer deals to local movie productions. Or, just leave it sitting there.

And now we come to the rental spaces. You like bland? Well have we got a deal for you! Now don't get me wrong here. Cudos to the Centre for having vast technologies streaming through the building, offering tenants easy access to the world. But, if I wanted to pay that much money for what's basically a small cube, I might as well by a house. I did spend a bit of time in this building, and the major plus was the windows. So I will give credit where credit is due. Vast amounts of light. I just don't know how you go from a nice look on the first floor, to nothingness on the office floors.

And last but not least.....and this is a thorn in my side, not only with the ATC, but other areas of government, is the constant shipping of work off of this Island. "ATC! A tech centre for Islanders! We want to bring work to the Island!"......but we'll ship our own jobs off Island. Both the graphic identity of the ATC and their brand-spanking-new website were done by firms in Toronto. Bravo ATC, bravo.

So there you have it. And that's just a few items. I didn't even get to the supposed wellness centre that was proposed when the thing was being built.

Movie Madness

2004-04-17T11:04:00.000-03:00

Although 2003 didn't bring the riches I was hoping for, I was able to be involved in a terrific project. Living on the Island doesn't bring graphic designer many choice jobs, but last year's Reel Island Film Festival program was a welcome exception.

The planning committee seems to be welcoming me back again for this years festival, which I'm very pleased about. I've begun working on some of the material and hopefully before too long will be able to post it on my Verge website (www.verge.ca)

Back from the dead

2004-04-14T13:40:00.000-03:00

The Pixies (the pre-alternative band that started the whole thing in motion for the 90s) played their first reunion show last night in Minneapolis. They took the stage after an 11 year hiatus from playing together in what is a warm up show before the actual tour kicks off at the Coachella festival on May 1st.

Early reviews (from what I've been reading) peg it as a luke warm kick-off mixed in with a bit of friction between the irreverent vocalist, Frank Black and bassist, Kim Deal. Here's hoping they can hammer these things out long enough for this fall, when their tour takes them east (and hopefully in my neck of the woods).

In any event, I think I'll que up my Pixies playlist and listen to some Debaser. :)

The under-appreciated Canadian musicians

2004-04-07T14:17:00.000-03:00

I just listened to Big Sugar on iTunes, and that gave me today's subject....the under-appreciated Canadian artist. Now...maybe it's a combination of my age....or music interests, but I wholely believe that this list of Canadian bands should have just as much recognition as Sum 41 or Avril Lavigne or even the mainstay Canuck band, The Tragically Hip.

The list that follows is a short list. I'm sure there are many others out there, but these are the ones that come to mind. They are:

Big Sugar
Cowboy Junkies
54-40
Ron Sexsmith
Sloan (an underground following, not mainstream)
Hawksley Workman
Rheostatics
Sky Diggers
Joel Plaskett
The New Pornographers
Sarah Harmer
K-OS

They're Tragically Hip

2004-04-04T23:07:00.000-03:00

Well, as this is a new blog, be forewarned to those readers who happen upon this blog, that I am a major Tragically Hip fan. And this next week renews that fandom.

The Hip are debuting their new single "Vaccination Scar" off of their upcoming album (rumored to be called "In Between Evolution") on Hockey Night in Canada's pre-game show.

The word out is this CD gets back to some more up-tempo stuff, similar to Road Apples. This will be a good summer. :)

Future design

2004-04-02T14:38:00.000-04:00

Just got back from the Graphic Design exhibition being held at the Atlantic Technology Centre. It's interesting to look at the work coming out of that course. I have memories of insane deadlines flooding back to me just looking at the various pieces.

If you get a chance, head over to the the show. It runs today and tomorrow, 9-5.

It's alive!

2004-04-02T09:36:00.000-04:00

After redoing the Thnikkaman blog in Camino, I'm pleased to say that everything looks to be in working order in Mozilla, Safari and IE on the Mac. I only hope everything is working on the PC side.

Thnikkaman under repair

2004-04-01T18:27:00.000-04:00

Hey. Being new, I'm sure to run accross these things. I just took a look at this site in Mozilla based browers.....something is out of whack.

I'll check it out and resume posting soon.

Quote of the millenium

2004-04-01T11:51:00.000-04:00

I try to catch Compass as much as I can these days. It's good to keep up-to-date as to what's going on in this Province and I can even put up with Boomer's puns now and then (hey, I'd like to see you try to come up with them on the spot).

But as I was watching the show a last night, I heard one of the most unbelievable quotes I've heard in a long time. It was made by a man being asked his response to the cigarette tax increase in the provincial budget. The quote was something along this:

"I don't care how much they raise it, I'll still smoke. The ones being hurt is the kids. It'll just take money away from them."

Now not exact...but there ya go. Parenting at it's best

Venturing into Blog Land

2004-03-31T21:52:00.000-04:00

Well. I've finally decided to get on the blog highway. I'll post my ramblings and opinions on this site, and I welcome all those to comment and critique to your hearts content.

As this is the first venture, I'm sure the site will change. I'm surprised what I could change just by messing about with the code in the template. Maybe soon I'll be able to get rid of the ad.