This Shirt Goes to 11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I think I may have just purchased the most amazing t-shirt of all time. It has a guitar on it and using some sort of magic (magnetic pic and recorded guitar noises) you can actually play the guitar on the shirt. Also, it comes with a small amp (that goes to 11). Incredible! I hope it lives up to the expectations I have of it. And there is still the small mystery of how to wash it. Ha ha

To purchase an interactive tee for yourself, please click here

Hiroshima

"At, exactly fifteen minutes past eight in the morning on August 6, 1945, Japanese time, at the moment when the atomic bomb flashed above Hiroshima, Miss Toshiko Sasaki, a clerk in the personnel department of the East Asia Tin Works, had just sat down at her place in the plant office and was turning her head to speak to the girl at the next desk."

—Opening sentence, Hiroshima, John Hersey, 1946

I’m not really sure how to review a book like this. I’m certain that no matter what I say, it won’t do it justice. It’s a true story of 6 people who survived the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Originally, this was an article for the The New Yorker that was printed one year after the U.S. bombed Hiroshima. It has also been called the finest piece of journalism of the 20th century.

My friend Dan Robson recommended this book to me. I can’t thank him enough for his suggestion, this book will make your jaw drop. Having just finished a Stephen King book before jumping into this one I kept having to shake my head and think “this is a TRUE story, this nightmare I’m reading about actually happened” – that thought is a lot to take in.

I give this book 5 astonished faces out of 5 and highly recommended it to anyone who can read.

Young Lions 2010

So this weekend I participated in the Young Lions competition. Basically its a competition of young people in the advertising industry who are under 28. Here is the gist of the contest, you are emailed a brief at 9am and have 24 hours to complete an ad. I joined the print category but there is also a web, media and film as well.

This year the ad was for the Parkinson Society of Canada. The ad was supposed to increase awareness of Parkinson's Disease and to give the viewer a better understanding of it. I did some research on Parkinson's while brainstorming creative ideas and I had no idea its symptoms were so complex. The most common symptoms are tremors, slowness, stiffness, impaired balance and rigidity of the muscles. Presently most people associate Parkinson's with Michael J. Fox and from seeing him in the media, think that its a disease that makes a person shake or have "tremors". That is not the only symptom of Parkinson's usually thats just a side effect of the medication. I can't even imagine having to spend every day fighting your own body, or being on edge about when a sudden symptom may occur.

I'm very proud of the creative that I produced. I won't post it up here until the judge is over in mid-April but I feel like its about the best ad I've made to date. I strongly recommend any young creative person in advertising to sign up for this contest, its very exciting and fun to be a part of.

The winners of the Young Lions win a trip to Cannes, France and the opportunity to represent Canada in the official Cannes Young Lions competition.

Wish me luck :)

Dragons Den Here I Come

So now that the weather is abnormally warm and our office air-conditioner won't be on until May, I've been hitting my 2pm wall like a fly on a windshield. Luckily I had this idea to freeze an energy drink into a wonderfully cool and refreshing mid-day treat. I have dubbed these treats "The Cold Force." Today I did a trial run using a green Monster drink and the results were quite tasty. It doesn't make you feel all jittery too because its only 1/8th of the can. Here is my recipe:

1. 1 can of monster
2. popsicle containers or ice-cube tray
3. time

(me enjoying some cold force)

Enjoy!

Dazzling Dalser

It’s no secret that I have a love for movies, and really enjoy being on top of the trailers when they come out. I stumbled across this trailer recently. This isn’t ground breaking news, this film was in the Toronto film festival in September but it passed by my radar. Its called Vincere and it’s a gripping story about Mussolini’s first wife, Ida Dalser. Once Mussolini was in power their relationship was hidden from all records and kept a secret eventually resulting in Ida being forced into a psychiatric hospital. Poor woman was then shipped off to an island in Venice, where she died in 1937. Mussolini was such an asshole.

Anyways… I did a bit of research on Ida Dalser and am really excited to get my eyes on this movie. Take a look at the trailer and see for yourself. Happy Viewing.

Big Tease

So I am one of the millions of GTA dwellers that takes the TTC everyday. And what a glorious system that is. Am I right? The passengers are so generous, if they are not sharing whatever virus has plagued them that day then they are graciously taking up as many seats and poles as possible with their bags and bodies so that you can get some exercise surfing the subway. How sweet. And the Toronto Transit Commission has made the fare $3 so that you don't waste any of your extra hard earned money on something you may regret later. Anyways, complaining aside...

Sometimes, if I'm lucky, while riding the rocket I'll see an ad of some merit and interest. Its hard not to appreciate a great ad on the subway, its the only thing to look at other than all the other people excited about their morning commute. A coworker of mine told me to look out for these "Unlimited ads" and we couldn't figure out what they were for. Teaser ads, as annoying as they can be, are really fun to investigate and definitely start conversations. This one bothered me because I couldn't figure out what it was for. The photography is great and the simple layout and concept is so attractive. I googled them and found out they are for a new cell phone provider called Public Mobile who offers talk and text plans for $40 a month. The catch is they don't have the greatest coverage. Its only located in the GTA and Quebec. But for a newcomer I think they are at least exposing themselves well. They got my attention. Glad I could put my mind to rest on the subject.

Happy St. Patricks Day!

If a man who cannot count finds a four-leaf clover, is he lucky?

- Stanislaw J. Lec

Top of the mornin' to ya. Hope this beautiful 17˚ day has given everyone their appropriate vitamin D so that they can piss it all away later in a green-beer induced stupor. Just that time of year :)

(love this: chickens, hulk, St. Pats)

Couldn't Put the Dome Down

Last night, I lost a friend. For the last month I’ve gotten to know about 40 people from a small town called Chester’s Mill and last night although all feelings were appropriately resolved, they left me forever. Stephen King’s new book Under the Dome is fantastic. From the beginning you are drawn into the lives of these seemingly simple little townspeople and then the energy, horror and humour of King’s writing keeps your attention at its peak for all 1074 pages.

Under the Dome is about an invisible Dome appearing over a small town in Maine separating it from the outside world. No one, either inside or outside the dome knows what it is made of, how it got there or how to get rid of it. The dome seems indestructible and the townspeople take the reader through their grief, panic, anger and fear. It’s very interesting to see a person’s view of how people would behave if they were cut off from society.

There is a strong morality in this book. It discusses a lot about the human capacity for good and evil. Especially how we as humans need to think about the affects of our own actions and how they may leave an impression on others. I definitely will never look at anthills the same way again. There are also political and ecological themes within the book. King was strongly opposed to the war in Iraq and he used the Bush-Cheney dynamic for the leaders of Chester’s Mill. Also, King is very serious about our ecological problems. He said, “From the very beginning, I saw it as a chance to write about the serious ecological problems that we face in the world today. The fact is we all live under the dome.”

Anyways, without giving any important plot points or hints on the ending I strongly recommend this book. I began this book without knowing very much about it and loved the journey it took me on. I give it 4 mutant monster thumbs up.

If you do read it, say hi to my friends for me.