• As a follow-up to my review of Vidfest, I met up with Ben Burden Smith, the producer of Tony Hawk and the Boom Boom Sabotage after its world premiere screening and got his take on what is was like working with the Hawk, the local pros, and the challenges of capturing all of the action for 3D. The interview has been posted on the Industrial Brand Blog.
• Also, it seems that the Industrial Brand Blog has won another award. Well, two in fact from Portfolios.com. We received a Bronze for Best Corporate Blog and a Merit for Best Self Promotional Blog.
• Finally, I just learned that I am going to be going down to Seattle, once again as a correspondent for TAXI Design to cover the ICOGRADA convention from the 9 - 15 July 2006. My attourney has advised me to rent a very fast car with no top...
Labels: Collaborators, Design, Industrial Brand Creative, Shameless Self Promotion
Monday, June 26, 2006
The Dark Side of Douglas Coupland
Douglas Coupland doesn't want to end the Book Club meeting on a positive note. They always end upbeat he explains. For once, he wants things to end darkly. "Doomed. We are all doomed." He throws this out there as his final words. "Quit your job. There is no hope."
It is this topic of life's darker edges that seemed to continue to be addressed over the course of the two hour discussion tonight that was being recorded for an upcoming episode of North By Northwest, hosted by Sheryl MacKay and Georgia Straight's John Burns for CBC Radio Studio One's Book Club.
Vancouver, as much as we wish to ignore it, has a rather notorious underbelly - and not just the open and festering wound exposed on the Downtown Eastside. As Coupland pointed out, we don't really make all that much here aside from pushing a few pixels around on a screen and some high-end real estate. And yet, no one asks a lot of questions about where all the money is coming from; instead we remain complacent, like a good mafia wife. "We are living in a unique place, at a unique time" Coupland stated. That is one of the main reasons that he based his latest novel J-Pod here. (Well, that and the fact that he was feeling too lazy to travel).
So it should come as no surprise to anyone that the discussion tonight veered onto such topics as "where is the best place to dump a dead body" It was in relation to the passage he read in which the main character's mother kills a biker who tried to extort her for a share of her basement grow op. But Coupland is visibly pleased to be sitting up in front of us, relating his experiences during the research phase of driving around Vancouver looking for the perfect place to get rid of a corpse. From the novel:
It's strange how everything in the world changes the moment your focus becomes extremely specific. Hmmmm....is that a good place to bury a body? No, soil's too thin.
Mom suggested Stanley Park, on the edge of downtown. "If there was ever a place to dump a body, the park is it. At this point in history, there are probably more bones there than soil."
His choice of reading, he told us, was inspired by a report on NEWS1130 of three grow ops exploding out in New Westminster earlier in the day. "This is the only place in the world that they don't have to explain the term 'grow op' on the news" he wryly observed. And then, in the same way that he had done at the last reading I had attended, he stumbled over an explanation in the attempts to set up the scene of the selected passage, loose thoughts trailing after one another with starts and pauses until suddenly it all seemed to gracefully take flight and you realized that he was reading.
There were a lot of those tonight, trailing loose thoughts and quirky starts and pauses, as Coupland took questions from the audience about his take on programmers, micro-autism, the Google phenomenon and our divorce from history. This is the first time in the world that we have nothing to look back on and learn from, he told us. "History cannot help us anymore. We must begin fresh and figure it out as we go". Which is exciting, in my opinion, and optimistic. And it ultimately ends this entry ..on a positive note.
Douglas Coupland doesn't want to end the Book Club meeting on a positive note. They always end upbeat he explains. For once, he wants things to end darkly. "Doomed. We are all doomed." He throws this out there as his final words. "Quit your job. There is no hope."
It is this topic of life's darker edges that seemed to continue to be addressed over the course of the two hour discussion tonight that was being recorded for an upcoming episode of North By Northwest, hosted by Sheryl MacKay and Georgia Straight's John Burns for CBC Radio Studio One's Book Club.
Vancouver, as much as we wish to ignore it, has a rather notorious underbelly - and not just the open and festering wound exposed on the Downtown Eastside. As Coupland pointed out, we don't really make all that much here aside from pushing a few pixels around on a screen and some high-end real estate. And yet, no one asks a lot of questions about where all the money is coming from; instead we remain complacent, like a good mafia wife. "We are living in a unique place, at a unique time" Coupland stated. That is one of the main reasons that he based his latest novel J-Pod here. (Well, that and the fact that he was feeling too lazy to travel).
So it should come as no surprise to anyone that the discussion tonight veered onto such topics as "where is the best place to dump a dead body" It was in relation to the passage he read in which the main character's mother kills a biker who tried to extort her for a share of her basement grow op. But Coupland is visibly pleased to be sitting up in front of us, relating his experiences during the research phase of driving around Vancouver looking for the perfect place to get rid of a corpse. From the novel:
It's strange how everything in the world changes the moment your focus becomes extremely specific. Hmmmm....is that a good place to bury a body? No, soil's too thin.
Mom suggested Stanley Park, on the edge of downtown. "If there was ever a place to dump a body, the park is it. At this point in history, there are probably more bones there than soil."
His choice of reading, he told us, was inspired by a report on NEWS1130 of three grow ops exploding out in New Westminster earlier in the day. "This is the only place in the world that they don't have to explain the term 'grow op' on the news" he wryly observed. And then, in the same way that he had done at the last reading I had attended, he stumbled over an explanation in the attempts to set up the scene of the selected passage, loose thoughts trailing after one another with starts and pauses until suddenly it all seemed to gracefully take flight and you realized that he was reading.
There were a lot of those tonight, trailing loose thoughts and quirky starts and pauses, as Coupland took questions from the audience about his take on programmers, micro-autism, the Google phenomenon and our divorce from history. This is the first time in the world that we have nothing to look back on and learn from, he told us. "History cannot help us anymore. We must begin fresh and figure it out as we go". Which is exciting, in my opinion, and optimistic. And it ultimately ends this entry ..on a positive note.
Labels: Literature
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Zen, Kafka and Typography
"For many, including myself, the voice at the start of "The Trees" belongs to Kafka's letters themselves, speaking directly to the reader: "we are like tree trunks in the snow." Picture a field after a recent snowfall."
A beautiful article by Rob Giampietro on the relationship of Zen Buddhism, Franz Kafka and typography over at the newly redesigned Design Observer.
"For many, including myself, the voice at the start of "The Trees" belongs to Kafka's letters themselves, speaking directly to the reader: "we are like tree trunks in the snow." Picture a field after a recent snowfall."
A beautiful article by Rob Giampietro on the relationship of Zen Buddhism, Franz Kafka and typography over at the newly redesigned Design Observer.
Labels: Asia, Design, Literature
Updates
I've made a few changes to the site over the past week, flipping the layout of the homepage so that the nav now sits to the right; combining the primary and secondary navigation into one column in the writing section; and giving the portfolio pages a vertical structuring that is more consistent to the other pages (not to mention solving a really annoying menu structure).
I'm still in the process of debugging but if you notice anything peculiar please send it my way. Otherwise, positive feedback is always welcome. :)
I'm still in the process of debugging but if you notice anything peculiar please send it my way. Otherwise, positive feedback is always welcome. :)
Labels: Design
Sunday, June 18, 2006
BIMPE IV
While down on Granville Island at Vidfest last week, we stumbled upon The Fourth Biennial International Miniature Print Exhibition (BIMPE) on display at the Federation Gallery. The exhibit is exactly what its title suggests: an eclectic range of small scale etchings, woodprints, linocuts, mezzotints, metal engravings, and digital prints. Very inspiring. Not only that, the prices for the prints are equally miniature in comparison to other artwork in this city. If you are on the Island before June 25th, be sure to check it out.
While down on Granville Island at Vidfest last week, we stumbled upon The Fourth Biennial International Miniature Print Exhibition (BIMPE) on display at the Federation Gallery. The exhibit is exactly what its title suggests: an eclectic range of small scale etchings, woodprints, linocuts, mezzotints, metal engravings, and digital prints. Very inspiring. Not only that, the prices for the prints are equally miniature in comparison to other artwork in this city. If you are on the Island before June 25th, be sure to check it out.
Labels: Art
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Vidfest in Vancouver
For the next couple of days (June 15 - 16), Ben and I are covering Vidfest for the TAXI Design Network out of Singapore. Our review will be posted on their site later next week but in the meantime, for images and a few infrequent postings check us out at Industrial Brand Creative.
For the next couple of days (June 15 - 16), Ben and I are covering Vidfest for the TAXI Design Network out of Singapore. Our review will be posted on their site later next week but in the meantime, for images and a few infrequent postings check us out at Industrial Brand Creative.
Labels: Collaborators, Industrial Brand Creative, Shameless Self Promotion
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Anthony Bourdain: Live at the Yale
There was a true rock n roll buzz flowing through the bar of the Yale Hotel last night, as though one might expect Bono or Neil Young to step onto the small hallowed stage and play a solo set. Tickets to the event had been hard to come by. If you listened close enough, you could catch tales of backdoor dealings and namedropping to gain access. The only other way had been to write an online 200 word essay on why you deserved an invitation to this most heinous meeting of… the CBC Book Club?!?
Without question, the new rock star of the 21st Century is the Celebrity Chef and no one out there is keeping up the hells bells persona better than last night's guest, Anthony Bourdain. Somewhat ironically, this rebel of the gastronomic realm has come to represent the voice of more traditional bistro fare. He has no time for kitchens that offer “Wasabi Sorbee” or “Green Pear and Lychee Reduction”. And don’t even bother sitting down at his table if you are anything close to being vegetarian. His tastes are carni-centric and the more of the beast that you consume, the better.
Above all else, food for Chef Bourdain has become a means of communicating and breaking down cultural barriers. For the past five years, with only a few small breaks, he has been traveling to the farthest and most remote corners of the world in search of “the perfect meal”. When you are on the road for such an extended period, you come to learn that ego and attitude do not translate as well as sincerity and gratitude. Likewise, you find yourself quickly humbled by the generosity of your hosts who will often sacrifice a week’s worth of food to assure that you are well fed. As Chef Bourdain talked of his experiences, extolled the ethereal nature of Vietnamese cuisine and read passages from his new book Nasty Bits, you could glean from him the wisdom that comes with seeing so much. He repeatedly told us that he had the best job in the world; and we believed him.
From the Preface to The Nasty Bits:
“It’s an irritating reality that many places and events defy description. Angkor Wat and Machu Picchu, for instance seem to demand silence, like a love affair you can never talk about. For a while after, you fumble for words, trying vainly to assemble a private narrative, an explanation, a comfortable way to frame where you’ve been and what’s happened. In the end, you’re just happy you were there – with your eyes open – and lived to see it.”
There was a true rock n roll buzz flowing through the bar of the Yale Hotel last night, as though one might expect Bono or Neil Young to step onto the small hallowed stage and play a solo set. Tickets to the event had been hard to come by. If you listened close enough, you could catch tales of backdoor dealings and namedropping to gain access. The only other way had been to write an online 200 word essay on why you deserved an invitation to this most heinous meeting of… the CBC Book Club?!?
Without question, the new rock star of the 21st Century is the Celebrity Chef and no one out there is keeping up the hells bells persona better than last night's guest, Anthony Bourdain. Somewhat ironically, this rebel of the gastronomic realm has come to represent the voice of more traditional bistro fare. He has no time for kitchens that offer “Wasabi Sorbee” or “Green Pear and Lychee Reduction”. And don’t even bother sitting down at his table if you are anything close to being vegetarian. His tastes are carni-centric and the more of the beast that you consume, the better.
Above all else, food for Chef Bourdain has become a means of communicating and breaking down cultural barriers. For the past five years, with only a few small breaks, he has been traveling to the farthest and most remote corners of the world in search of “the perfect meal”. When you are on the road for such an extended period, you come to learn that ego and attitude do not translate as well as sincerity and gratitude. Likewise, you find yourself quickly humbled by the generosity of your hosts who will often sacrifice a week’s worth of food to assure that you are well fed. As Chef Bourdain talked of his experiences, extolled the ethereal nature of Vietnamese cuisine and read passages from his new book Nasty Bits, you could glean from him the wisdom that comes with seeing so much. He repeatedly told us that he had the best job in the world; and we believed him.
From the Preface to The Nasty Bits:
“It’s an irritating reality that many places and events defy description. Angkor Wat and Machu Picchu, for instance seem to demand silence, like a love affair you can never talk about. For a while after, you fumble for words, trying vainly to assemble a private narrative, an explanation, a comfortable way to frame where you’ve been and what’s happened. In the end, you’re just happy you were there – with your eyes open – and lived to see it.”
Labels: Literature
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Coudal returns for another summer of Field Tested Books
The Field-Tested Books project is our version of the Heisenberg principle: reading a certain book in a certain place uniquely affects a person's experience with both. The writing you'll find here is grounded in that idea. You won't find any book reviews here. You'll find reviews of experience.
My experience: Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha on a train between Madrid and Barcelona. Check it out here.
The Field-Tested Books project is our version of the Heisenberg principle: reading a certain book in a certain place uniquely affects a person's experience with both. The writing you'll find here is grounded in that idea. You won't find any book reviews here. You'll find reviews of experience.
My experience: Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha on a train between Madrid and Barcelona. Check it out here.
Labels: Collaborators, Literature
Monday, June 05, 2006
Crucial Viewing: Beautiful Losers
A documentary on the artistic subculture that emerged in the early 1990's influenced by skateboading, grafitti, pop culture and the D.I.Y. aesthetic.
A documentary on the artistic subculture that emerged in the early 1990's influenced by skateboading, grafitti, pop culture and the D.I.Y. aesthetic.
Labels: Art, Crucial Viewing, Design, Street Level
