GDC Manitoba - Pecha Kucha Night Vol.11...

PechaKucha11_Wpg_101, originally uploaded by Adrian J.K. Shum, CGD.

GDC Manitoba proudly presents the third Pecha Kucha night (Vol.11) for 2012 in Winnipeg, next week Thursday, September, 20th at the Park Theater on South Osborne.

For more information about the event, speakers and more, visit GDC Manitoba online at http://www.gdc.net/chapters/manitoba.htm. To learn more about the PK movement, visit Pecha Kucha online at http://www.pecha-kucha.org/.

Additional information can be found via Twitter and on Facebook. You won't want to miss this Pecha Kucha Night... hope to see you there! Cheers!

GDC Manitoba - Pecha Kucha Night Vol.9...

PechaKucha9_Wpg_101, originally uploaded by Adrian J.K. Shum, CGD.

GDC Manitoba proudly presents the first Pecha Kucha night (Vol.9) for 2012 in Winnipeg, next week Thursday, February, 23rd at the Park Theater on South Osborne.

For more information about the event, speakers and more, visit GDC Manitoba online at http://www.gdc.net/chapters/manitoba.htm. To learn more about the PK movement, visit Pecha Kucha online at http://www.pecha-kucha.org/.

Additional information can be found via Twitter and on Facebook. You won't want to miss this premiere event for 2012... hope to see you there! Cheers!

Well Grown... Movember 2011 Ends.

Well Grown..., originally uploaded by Adrian J.K. Shum, CGD.

...and so ends the moustache growing for 2011. Serious props to my fellow Canuck Mo'bros and Mo'sistas!!! Go Team Canada!!! For those of you who care to witness the horror* of my Movember Mo' feel free to check out my end of Movember photo on my Flickr account, here.

*Don't say I didn't warn you. Cheers!

GDC Manitoba - Pecha Kucha Night Vol.8...

PechaKucha8_Wpg_101, originally uploaded by Adrian J.K. Shum, CGD.

GDC Manitoba proudly presents the fourth and final Pecha Kucha night (Vol.8) for 2011 in Winnipeg on Thursday, 10 November at the Park Theater on South Osborne.

For more information about the event, speakers and more, visit GDC Manitoba online at http://www.gdc.net/chapters/manitoba.htm. To learn more about the PK movement, visit Pecha Kucha online at http://www.pecha-kucha.org/.

Additional information can be found via Twitter and on Facebook. You won't want to miss this final event for 2011... hope to see you there! Cheers!

In Support of Movember 2011...

Movember2011, originally uploaded by Adrian J.K. Shum, CGD.

I've decided to participate in this year's Movember movement in support of prostate cancer initiatives... it's gonna be interesting.

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in Canada and around the world. With their “Mo’s”, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer.

On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face. For the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.

Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November. Through their actions and words, they raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.

At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember.

You can support my Mo-growing efforts by donating to the cause: http://mobro.co/AdrianShum - thanks for your support!!!

GDC Manitoba - Pecha Kucha Night Vol.7...

PechaKucha7_Wpg_101, originally uploaded by Adrian J.K. Shum, CGD.

GDC Manitoba proudly presents the third installment for 2011 of Pecha Kucha night (Vol.7) in Winnipeg on Thursday, 15 September at the Park Theater on South Osborne.

For more information about the event, speakers and more, visit GDC MB online at http://www.gdc.net/chapters/manitoba.htm. To learn more about the PK movement, visit Pecha Kucha online at http://www.pecha-kucha.org/.

Additional information can be found via Twitter and on Facebook. If you've never been to a PKN event before, you definitely won't want to miss this one (we've got quite an amazing line-up of presenters)... hope to see you there! Cheers!

GDC Manitoba - Pecha Kucha Night Vol.6...

PechaKucha6_Wpg_101, originally uploaded by Adrian J.K. Shum, CGD.

GDC Manitoba proudly presents the second installment for 2011 of Pecha Kucha night (Vol.6) in Winnipeg on Thursday, 9 June at the Park Theater on South Osborne. Join us as we've got an amazing line-up of speakers who will entertain/enlighten us with their crafts.

For more information about the event, speakers and more, visit GDC MB online at http://www.gdc.net/chapters/manitoba.htm. To learn more about the PK movement, visit Pecha Kucha online at http://www.pecha-kucha.org/.

Additional information can be found via Twitter and on Facebook. If you've never been to a PKN event before, you definitely won't want to miss this one... hope to see you there! Cheers!

Recommended Viewing | David Thorne's 27b/6 Website...

David Thorne is an Australian humorist, satirist, internet personality and author. I was recently introduced to his work via a link my brother sent me... where he came across it, I'm not sure. 27b/6 is his website, which you can read more about on Wikipedia...


Anyhow, the link my brother sent me was to a recent post on 27b/6, which seemed to address the issue of spec work (visit http://www.no-spec.com/).

I couldn't help but laugh after reading this. If you're a designer, or in the creative field, I'm sure that you've been asked (at least once) to do work on spec... most of us just say no, although I'm sure that we've been tempted to say more. ;)

Thanks for the link bro! Visit 27b/6 and read the post yourself... enjoy!

COOL! Comic Covers Covered...

Sifting through my desktop's 2B_Blogged folder, I came across this link to an article that was posted on Boing Boing a while back. The post introduced me to a blog site called Covered, where cartoonists redraw comic covers in their own style.

The results are quite interesting... definitely worth a visit! Go and check it out at http://coveredblog.blogspot.com/ - enjoy! Perhaps you'll be inspired to attempt your own 'cover of a cover'? ;)

Recommended Viewing | Sheeeit... An Excremental Exegesis (a Short Guide to Comparative Religions)

A while back, I was involved in creating this little gem... with tongue planted firmly in cheek (of course). Read more, here. Enjoy! ;)

Recommended Viewing | The Longest Way 1.0...

This video found on Youtube - The Longest Way 1.0 follows the ambitious, year-long, on-foot journey of a traveler as he attempts to walk (and grow a beard) from China to Germany. It's an enjoyable video to watch... check it out on Youtube, here - enjoy!

Learn more about this traveler's ambitious journey at http://www.thelongestway.com/ - cheers!

COOL! Rorschach Inkblots...

A recent article over on the Globe and Mail, brought to my attention the existence of Rorschach's original inkblot images on Wikipedia. These inkblots of the Rorschach test were printed in Rorschach's Rorschach Test - Psychodiagnostic Plates (Hogrefe, 1927, ISBN: 3-456-82605-2). They've been in the public domain in Hermann Rorschach's native Switzerland, since at least 1992 (70 years after his death), according to Swiss copyright law. They're also in the public domain under United States copyright law (based on when they were first created and published - before 1923).


The images were scanned and posted to Wikipedia along with the most frequent responses for either the whole image or the most prominent detail (according to Samuel Beck). This, as the article in the Globe and Mail details, has prompted some interesting response (like numerous websites/blogs now hosting the images + common responses) and protest... read the article over at the Globe and Mail - here.


What do you think? Was the poster of the images 'in the wrong' or should the protesters just deal with it? ;)

In any case, I think the inkblots are cool, and recommend that you check them out if you've never seen them before, visit the posting on Wikipedia, or check them out on my Flickr (Rorschach Inkblots set) - enjoy!

Things That Make You Go Hmmm... (Part 3)

Another highlight from this past weekend, found on the bottom of baby August's, Buster Brown sandals... 'PLACE HELL HERE'.

...an oversight at QC? An honest, unintentional typo? Another example of 'Chinglish'? Hmmm... IMO, this definitely qualifies as one of those things that make you go hmmm... ;) What do you think?

Thoughts and comments (when relevant) are always appreciated... cheers!

WICKED! Post-It-Note Animation...

You have to see this crazy animation to believe it... do you think they really stuck all those 'sticky-notes' up by hand or is this fancy CGI? Any thoughts? Watch the embedded video above or via Today's Big Thing - enjoy!

Happy 25th Birthday Tetris!

This Saturday, Tetris the world famous falling brick/puzzle game turns 25! Excerpt from CNET news:

...created by Russian programmer Alexey Pajitnov in June 1984, Alexy had an immense love for puzzles, and felt compelled to create a game that allowed players to arrange distinctive puzzle pieces along the bottom of a field or "matrix." Pajitnov chose the name Tetris by combining the words "tetromino" and "tennis." The game was first made available on the IBM computer.

It quickly enjoyed popularity and was ported to a variety of other platforms. In 1987, it became a major hit in the United States. But it wasn't until Nintendo released its version of Tetris for the Game Boy in 1989 that Tetris reached critical mass. According to The Tetris Co., the Game Boy version of Tetris sold more than 35 million copies.

I have fond memories of playing Tetris on my original Game Boy (back in the day)... video games and technology has come a long way in 25 years. In celebration of this historic occasion, I offer you Human Tetris, watch the video embedded above or on YouTube, here - enjoy!

Euro-English...

The following news release (j/k) arrived in my inbox this morning...

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The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy.

The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.

If zis mad you smil, pleas pas on to oza pepl.

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Thanks to Doug Fedrau (The Orange Kid) for sending this to me - cheers!

Recommended Viewing | 99DS.net

From the website:

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99DS.net is a collaborative exhibition featuring artwork digitally illustrated on the Nintendo DS handheld game console by local Wellingtonian artists Greg Broadmore and Christian Pearce. A shared, public exhibition showcasing the first two completed collections is scheduled for the 1st of February 2009. Each collection exhibits a series of full-colour digital sketch artwork - as prints, in books and on screen. Animated reels revealing the illustrative process behind each piece will be on looped playback throughout the exhibition. Housed in custom-made containers in Wellington's Civic Square, 99DS aims to show a fun and frivolous way art can be created on the digital media available to us today, free of symbolism, metaphor and manure...

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All the artwork was created using Colors! (a digital sketching/painting program) on the Nintendo DS! If you're familiar with the DS, these pieces are amazing to say the least... go and check 'em out for yourself!


99 Dodgy Slips by Greg Broadmore...


99 Deadly Sleds by Christian Pearce...

Very cool stuff indeed! If you're curious to see what some other artists have been creating using Colors!, go and check out the gallery over at the Colors! website. Thanks to my good friend, local designer/illustrator, and fellow Guardian Dojo Karate-ka, James Gillespie (KALAMAFRAZ) for the heads-up on this one! Cheers!

Recommended Viewing | How to Destroy Civilization with Nanotechnology...

How to Destroy Civilization with Nanotechnology.

Slowly-but-surely, I'm starting to make a dent in my '2B_Blogged' folder residing on my desktop. ;)

This little gem of an animation was sent to me a while back by my friend, Paul Kletke... I thought it was quite well done. Watch the embedded video above or check it out on http://www.5min.com/ - enjoy!

Thanks Paul for sending me the link! Cheers!

May the 4th Be With You - Happy Star Wars Day...

(WARNING: Video may not be suitable for minors and is potentially NSFW - view at your own discretion)

Apparently, today is Star Wars Day... or, one of many Star Wars days/events which honours the epic Star Wars franchise. Well, in light of that fact, I offer you the above Youtube video, originally seen on Gizmodo.

May the 4th be with you... ;) Cheers!

Happy World Graphics Day!

Today is World Graphics Day. From Wikipedia:

World Graphic Design Day is celebrated on April 27, the anniversary of the founding of Icograda, the world body for graphic design, in 1963. It is a day to celebrate the profession of graphic and communication design. The day has been celebrated since 1995. On this occasion, designers reflect and hope that an international network can contribute to a greater understanding between people and can help to build bridges where divides and inequities exist.


As you should be aware, I (along with other Manitoba Chapter delegates and representatives) attended the GDC National AGM (held in Winnipeg) from 23 April to 25 April. Lively debate, discussions and passion was evident around the AGM table, with much fun to be had in the evening, as the photographic evidence shows in the GDC National 2009 AGM Flickr Group Pool... ;)

Above is a group snapshot of the GDC National Council which I took on the front steps on the Fort Garry Hotel. Thank you to all the National Executives, Chapter Delegates and representatives from affiliated associations who made this AGM, one to remember. I hope you enjoyed your visit to Winnipeg.


Much was accomplished at this year's AGM. One of the most important (IMO), and in celebration of World Graphics Day, the GDC adopts 'Sustainability Principals'... read the full story on http://www.gdc.net/ - cheers!