Pittnapped

YouTube is great. Quality could be better, but there is a lot of good stuff on there if you search around. Here's Brad Pitt getting kidnapped on an episode of Jackass. So THAT'S how Angelina got a hold of him.

Abu Ghraib

Fall is on its way; it was sunny today but there was a definite chill in the air. Went to the beach anyway and did some reading. Bought a GQ magazine, which I don't usually buy - I mean I don't really need to know how to buy a suit or care what Kevin Federline is doing when he's not putting buns in Britney's oven. I guess I just wanted to look a little more manly down at the beach. I do live in the West End of Vancouver you know ...
They did have a good article about Joe Darby, the guy who exposed all of those photos and stories of abuse at Abu Ghraib. I found it pretty interesting that he had been promised anonymity and then all of a sudden Donald Rumsfeld mentioned his name on national television during the congressional hearings. At the time, Darby was sitting in a dining facility in Iraq with 400 other soldiers! Pretty unbelievable. The whole article is online here.

Amanda Church

Was tired of relaxing (is that possible?) and taking care of my aching back so decided to take the bus to Kits and visit the Bjornson Kajiwara gallery on West 3rd. I'm walking better than I was last week - not shuffling around like Frankenstein's monster like I was before. The crowd of villagers chasing me with pitchforks and torches was starting to become embarrassing.
I read about an exhibition by Amanda Church last weekend so thought I would check it out. Much of the exhibition was made up of paintings done on ceramic tile. Some looked like pages from a graphic novel, others like illustrations from books for disturbed children. She also had some very cool drawings that were collaged to give a very subtle 3d effect. I'm definitely going to have to visit galleries more often; there are so many talented artists and designers in Vancouver.
Anyway, it was nice to get out of my neighbourhood for the afternoon. I wandered down West 4th for a while, had a sandwich at Capers and watched the world go by.

Some good advice

'A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.'
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Author and Aviator

*Good advice eh? And no, I've never heard of him either ...

Little Wing

Not many posts recently, since I put my back out last week (just one of those freak-3-year-old-nephew-lifting accidents). One day I was a strapping young(ish) lad, and the next, a 90 year old man. Oh well, these things happen. On the plus side, I do have ten days off work and I'm getting a LOT of reading done.
In any case, here's an illustration that I did for myself earlier this year, Photoshopping one of my old photographs. I figured that it was about time that I had some of my own artwork hanging on my apartment walls. I also turned it into a nice Mother's Day card.

A couple more quotations ... (Beating around the Bush)

'It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.'
- Voltaire, Philosopher

'Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.'
- George W. Bush, Idiot

Entourage

Here's a show that came out on HBO a couple of years ago that I've only just discovered on DVD. It's about a young up-and-coming actor who's just become famous, and his group of friends who are along for the ride. I've only seen Season One so far, but I'm already hooked. There's a lot of smug, self-referential humour here about the whole business of Hollywood, plus some really funny performances from the cast. I really like the Ari Gold character - the sleazy agent played by Jeremy Piven (he has the great line - "Let's hug it out, bitch!"). Kevin Dillon (brother of Matt) is also good as the less successful, paranoid brother of the young star (wonder where he got the motivation for THAT?). There's also an impressive lineup of cameos from some Hollywood stars, my favorite being Val Kilmer as the pot-dealing sherpa. Basically he's just rechanneling Jim Morrison with long grey hair and a beard, but it's hilarious to watch.
It used to be that TV shows were dumb and movies were more intelligent and well made, but lately there's been a switcheroo. I mean I'd much rather watch an episode of 24 than the latest Bruce Willis or Harrison Ford action flick. But that's just me.
... of course I'll still probably see a Snakes on a Plane

Chinese Cinema

Here's an ad I designed for channel m Chinese Cinema. I wanted to give it a bold movie poster kind of feel, tying in with a great promo that one of our other designers recently designed. Since working at channel m, I've developed a great appreciation for Chinese cinema. One of the best I've seen recently is a Infernal Affairs - a slick, stylish action movie with Andy Lau and Tony Leung, about the rivalry between an undercover cop and a mole (moley, moley, moley...) in the police department. It's just been remade by Martin Scorsese as The Departed with Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson. You can check out the trailer here. As much as I'm sure that Scorsese is going to do a great job with the remake, you should really check out the original if you get a chance.

A couple of quotations ... (The Dark Side of Thoreau)

'Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.'
- Henry David Thoreau

'Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.'
- Pink Floyd

Karen Ingram

Karen Ingram is a multi-talented designer living in Brooklyn, New York. She has a wonderful collage-based illustration style that I love. I got this free limited edition postcard from her (in addition to 5 others) by visiting her site and emailing her my address. It's always a nice change to receive something other than bills in the mail. You can see more of her work at www.kareningram.com.

Camilla d'Errico

Here's a print I bought recently from the Ayden Gallery in Tinseltown, about a block or two from where I work at channel m. I love going in there on my breaks; there's always a nice mix of prints, paintings, clothing and sculptures to keep me inspired. Camilla d'Errico had a few prints for sale there so I grabbed this one for my bedroom. You can check out some more artwork by her at her website.

Peeping Tom

This is definitely one of the best CDs I've bought lately. My sister Melanie recommended it to me - thanks Mel! Peeping Tom is basically Mike Patton from Faith No More collaberating with a weird and wonderful mix of other artists like Amon Tobin, Bebel Gilberto, Massive Attack and Norah Jones. I've always loved Faith No More - Patton's got one of those killer operatic voices that are always great to listen too. He has a knack for writing quirky epic songs. One of my faves on this CD is 'Kill the DJ' with Massive Attack; builds up nice and slowly to a great chorus of 'play meeeeeeeee' over and over again with those Massive Attack thumps and scratches bubbling below the surface. I also love 'Sucker' with Norah Jones; not the kind of lyrics you usually hear her sing.
Cool CD cover too!

Unartisan Design House

Christine Kuo, a former colleague of mine from THE media recently launched a series of silkscreen T-shirts celebrating the left-brain thinkers of the world. Check out her designs at her website Unartisan Design House. Very nice!

Bullitt T-Shirt

Here's a design that I did for a T-shirt transfer a couple of months back. I'm pretty happy with the design even though the transfer didn't work out too well (ended up bubbly and peeling ... oh well). T-shirts designs seemed to have been enjoy a bit of a renaissance over the last couple of years. I hope to master the art of silkscreening someday (someday ... someday). I always thought that Bullitt was cool - I mean does it get any cooler than Steve McQueen? No, I didn't think so. The font I used was Chalet by House Industries - very cool, chic and classic.