Friday, December 19, 2008

Seasonal Greetings from Circle...


For a number of years now, Circle has sent out inspirational quotes/seasonal thoughts as part of our holiday e-greetings (past cards drew from Chinese proverbs, ancient rune translations, etc.).

May your holiday season be blessed with peace, love and happiness! Cheers!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Thanks Blogger Team!


MUHSASHUM was the Blogger Team's Blog of Note for Wednesday, December 17th, 2008. Thanks for taking the time to peruse my blog! I've definitely seen a spike in traffic, new blog followers and comments... ;) Cheers!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

COOL! Optical Illusions...


Out of complete randomness while surfing the internet, I came across this cool site filled with neat optical illusions... view at your own risk of seizure/nausea/headache.


I think most of the optical illusions are self explanatory... check it out for yourself (if you're interested), here - enjoy!


Looking for a challenge? Count the black dots in the image above... ;)

*Note: The original website link stopped working, so I've replaced it with another one...

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

GDC Manitoba - The Art of the Storyboard...


Last week Tuesday (November 25), Doug Coates (MGDC) and James Gillespie presented, The Art of the Storyboard as part of GDC Manitoba's Lunch Talk series. Doug and James discussed the processes involved with storyboarding, showing examples of storyboards they've done, as well as the end result.


James touched briefly on how evolutions in digital technology are changing the process... it seems there are lots of exciting things on the horizon.


If you'd like to learn more about the art of the storyboard, Doug and James recommend you check out the book, Storyboard Design Course by Giuseppe Cristiano. Thanks again to Doug and James for their highly informative presentation - cheers!

Pictures from Doug and James' The Art of the Storyboard lunch talk can be found on my Flickr, as well as on the GDC Manitoba Flickr Group Pool, here - enjoy!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Recommended Viewing | Dinosaur Dynasty...


This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit the Manitoba Museum to check out the Dinosaur Dynasty exhibit. Excerpt from the Manitoba Museum website:

Get ready for a Jurassic experience when Dinosaur Dynasty: Discoveries from China opens on November 20th. This immense, large-scale exhibit from China features over 20 full size dinosaur skeletons, fossil dinosaur eggs that are millions of years old, and a dino dig pit for kids. Dinosaur Dynasty is open during regular Museum hours.


I found the exhibit to be quite interesting... the scale of some of the dinosaur skeletons was rather surprising...


...ranging from poodle size...


...to the size of a small building.


The velociraptor was quite a bit smaller than I expected... though I still wouldn't want to be chained to a bunkbed with one. ;)

It's great to be able to see such a diverse range of dinosaur skeletons/fossils on display in the city and I applaud the Manitoba Museum for doing so! I highly recommend that you check it out while you can... visit the Manitoba Museum online to learn more, here - cheers!


Images from my visit to Dinosaur Dynasty can be found on my Flickr account in my Zoos, Museums, Aquariums, more... set, here - enjoy!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Recommended Viewing | LIFE Photo Archive hosted by Google...


An awesome link to share today... excerpt from the website: search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive , stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google.

To awesome for words to describe. You have to check it out for yourself! Goto http://images.google.com/hosted/life - enjoy!

Thanks to Dean McNeil, MGDC for posting the link to the GDC Listserve - cheers!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

COOL! Hot Toys Joker...


About a week back I received a parcel in the mail from my sister in Hong Kong. Inside was the Hot Toys 1/6th scale Joker figure from the Dark Knight Batman movie... needless to say I was blown away! I've finally had the opportunity to open it...


The attention to detail on this figure, and it's accessories is second to none... sadly, I don't think my pics can do the real thing justice. It's truly one quality piece!


Why so serious?... ;)


I've uploaded pics from the un-boxing to my Flickr account. If you're interested you can see them, here - enjoy!

Thanks Sis!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A Series of Congratulations...


A series of congratulations is in order... first to my friend, local designer, photographer and blogger, Doug Fedrau for his 90+ days of being smoke-free! A huge thanks to Doug, his brother Jeff and Raelene, they were all on hand at the 2008 Guardian Challenge (this past weekend), they spent hours taking thousands of photos and hours of video! Cheers!

Congratulations to all of my Sempais and Kohais who fought in the tournament! Osu! A huge thank you to Sensei Diego Beltrán, all the volunteers, and to the organizing committee, for making this event a huge success! Osu!

Image: Fubuki Daiko (blizzard drums) performing on the tatami, inspiring the fighters, during the half-time show at the 2008 Guardian Challenge Kyokushin Karate Tournament.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

COOL! Car Logos Quiz...


A great little bit of fun, Car Logos Quiz... guess the automotive logo with just a part of it showing. Try it out for yourself, here.


I ended up with 45/50, and I totally guessed on a few of them. ;)

Thanks to Marie-Aline Oliver for posting the link to the GDC Listserve - cheers!

Friday, November 7, 2008

GDC Manitoba Button Swap 2008...


The call for registration for this year's GDC Manitoba Button Swap should be going out shortly... in case you haven't checked it out yet, the GDC Store is now open on the gdc.net website! This year's button swap is open to GDC Manitoba members only (savvy non-members can participate through a member friend).

Registration and payment is online, at the GDC Store, deadline for registration is November 28th and the artwork submission deadline is December 4th... for more information visit the online store at www.gdc.net - cheers!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Operation Red Bull...


This past Tuesday, GDC Manitoba's highly successful, on-going, professional development Lunch Talk series saw Oliver Oike (MGDC, Vice President and National Representative for GDC Manitoba) along with the Manlab team present 'Operation Red Bull'.

This was a light-hearted lunch talk, where Oliver (and the Manlab team), shared their process for Red Bull's Flugtag, from early brainstorming, the development of a microsite (and mini-games to support their entry), engineering and transportation challenges, and finally the event itself – all to push a "human-powered flying machine" into the Ottawa River in front of 50,000 people...

Red Bull Girls were on-hand at the door, handing out Red Bull to attendees! In case you missed it, I've posted the pictures I took from the presentation to the GDC Manitoba Flickr group pool. You can check them out on Flickr, here - enjoy!

Thanks again to Oliver Oike and the Manlab team for sharing their experience - cheers!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Wicked! Poladroid...


A really neat link to share today, via Tina Roth Eisenberg over at swissmiss, from her blog post:

Poladroid - a polaroid image maker:
1. Download the free POLADROID application and launch it
2. Drag & Drop your photos
3. Wait... wait.... wait again... or shake the picture. Then look at or print your POLADROID picture.


It's an awesome little application IMO. You can even save the image in the various stages of 'poladroid' development. I've embedded the official demonstration video below. Go check it out for yourself at http://www.poladroid.net/ - enjoy!



Thanks for the link Tina! My first few 'Poladroid' attempts have been collected in a new set called My Poladroids... on my Flickr account. Check out what other people are doing via the be Poladroid! group pool on Flickr, here - cheers!

Image: 'Messing around with the Godfather', created from a picture taken at Madame Tussauds Interactive Wax Museum in Las Vegas... me thinks I'm going to have lots of fun with 'Poladroid'.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Girl Effect...


A nice website link and typographic intro video (embedded above) to share with you all today. When you have a moment, go take a look at http://www.girleffect.org/ - a link posted to the GDC Listserve by designer, Danielle Autran. I think it's quite nicely done... a good use of typography, music and Flash(?) IMO, what do you think?

Thanks for posting the link Danielle - cheers!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Recommended Viewing | www.wulffmorgenthaler.com

Wulffmorgenthaler.com
Last week at Circle, we had the pleasure of having Lana Wagner Plant working with us—Lana was a visiting Danish designer from Krogh&Co in Copenhagen. Lana, who just recently returned to Denmark, sent me a link to www.wulffmorgenthaler.com - online since 2002, described as a commentary on life: politics, news, entertainment, technology, culture and weirdo beavers... (Lana says, "just for a bit of a laugh - Danish humour").

Wulffmorgenthaler.com
There are some real gems in here... ;) and there's a lot to browse through, being a daily strip and all...

Wulffmorgenthaler.com
Thanks for sending me the link Lana! Check out the site for yourself at www.wulffmorgenthaler.com - enjoy!

Visit c!rcular online to read more about Lana's visit and other Circle related news - cheers!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Viva Las Vegas...


For anyone who may be interested, I've uploaded pictures from my recent trip to Las Vegas, Nevada to my Flickr account. Vegas is one crazy place... from the vastness of the hotels and attached shops, to the crazy variety of shows, casinos and entertainment for all. I'd recommend visiting at least once in a lifetime... ;)


Highlights from the trip for me, aside from checking out the vast variety of shops inside the casino/hotel resorts included (above image: The giant wooden 'Trojan' horse at the entrance to F.A.O. Schwartz toy store inside the Caesars Palace shops):


The Shark Reef exhibit at the Mandalay Bay...


...where we saw all types of cool sharks and aquatic/marine life.


Visiting Madame Tussauds Interactive Wax Museum, which was a total blast! ;)


While we were there, we also had the opportunity to see Ka: Cirque du Soleil (at MGM Grand), which was awesome and the Bodies Exhibition (at the Luxor). It was quite an experience to say the least! My only complaint (if any), all the second-hand smoke... ugh.

View my Viva Las Vegas photo set on my Flickr account, here - enjoy!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Neat! 'Beached' Video on Vimeo...


Beached from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Came across this cool little video (created by Keith Loutit) the other day... it employs an effect which makes the people seem like little ants. It reminds me of the 'diorama model' photo effect tutorial that I blogged about a while back, here. Anyhow, you can watch the video embedded above or via Vimeo, here.

If you liked Keith's 'Beached' video, be sure to check out his other videos on Vimeo, which are done in a similar style: 'The North Wind Blew South', 'Bathtub II', and 'Bathtub III' - enjoy!

Hope all my fellow Canucks had a nice Thanksgiving Long-weekend! Cheers!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Recommended Viewing | Designing Minds: Marian Bantjes...

Designing Minds has posted a video of Marian Bantjes (friend, renowned designer, illustrator and typographer extraordinaire) from her appearance at the Design Matters Live event presented by Adobe and the AIGA. From the Designing Minds description:

A portrait of world-renowned designer, illustrator and typographer Marian Bantjes sharing her love for the design community and the importance of staying connected, even while working from her idyllic rural home studio. She speaks about her transition from a more traditional design career path to a much more personally fulfilling mix of work. Marian has an obvious love for what she does, sharing some of the inspiration for her recent projects as diverse as hand-drawn valentines to the type treatment for the "Want It!" campaign at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Marian's insights in this portrait are important for anyone who cares passionately about design and respects the craft of the artist.




Credits:

Producer:
Rachel Talbot
Associate Producer and Sound Engineer: Matthew Hendershot
Editor: Lance Edmands
Assistant Editing: Hei-Man (Anita) Yu
Camera: Michael Coleman
Additional Camera: Michael Tucker, Rachel Talbot
Animation: Colin Yu
Design Matters Live poster: Marion Bantjes
Music: Music Box
Design Matters theme music: RJD2

You can watch the video embedded above or via Zoom In, here. Read my previous posts about the über-talented Marian Bantjes, here - enjoy! Go Marian Go!

Via Type for you.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Graymatter Graffitti – Reading and Signing at McNally Robinson, Grant Park


Yesterday evening saw the talented poet, Sam W. Reimer in-town to launch his book, Gray Matter Graffitti (designed by Circle), with a reading and signing at the Prairie Ink Restaurant in McNally Robinson – Grant Park (Winnipeg, MB).

Gray Matter Graffitti is a compilation of some 200 poems written by Sam W. Reimer, and edited by Robert L. Peters. I've blogged about it previously, here.


Sam read a number of poems from the various chapters within the book...


...which followed with a book signing.


In case you missed out, you can watch the embedded video of the poet reading 'The Relay' (from Backroads Magic) above, or on YouTube, here - enjoy!

FYI, Sam will be touring Manitoba for a short visit, with readings/signings in Morden and Steinbach to follow later this week. For more information visit www.samwreimer.com - cheers! Go Sam!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

International Day of Non-Violence...
(Happy Birthday Gandhi!)


Today marks the first official International Day of Non-Violence, it coincides with Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. Excerpt from Wikipedia:

On 15 June 2007 the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish 2 October as the International Day of Non-Violence. The resolution by the General Assembly asks all members of the UN system to commemorate 2 October in "an appropriate manner and disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness."

So remember, be at peace with yourself and others today (and everyday for that matter)! As a wise man once said, "Nor an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, for him who counts no man his enemy, but all his neighbors, and therefore can never stretch out his hand for vengeance." (St. Irenaeus) - cheers!

Via Robert L. Peters' blog (read his original post here) - enjoy.
Image: Statue of Mahatma Gandhi taken in Saskatoon, SK while attending the GDC National AGM.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

GDC MB Lunch Talk w/ Tétro Design...


Yesterday, we had the first GDC Manitoba Lunch Talk for the Fall season, "Designing the GDC National Website." This lunch talk was presented by Paul and Andrea Tétrault (Tétro Design), and focused on the design of the 'front-end' of the new GDC National Website (CMS/'back-end' coding powered by SmallBox Software).


The presentation was well attended, informative and enlightening... I think Tétro has done a great job, and deserve applause/thanks from all the GDC. You can see more pictures from Paul and Andrea's presentation on my Flickr, or via the GDC Manitoba/GDC National Flickr Pools - enjoy! Thanks again to Tétro, for a job well done!

The GDC Manitoba Lunch Talks, are part of the Manitoba Chapters' ongoing professional development activities... as the current Activities Chair for the GDC Manitoba Chapter, I'm looking forward to the lunch talks and activities we've got planned down the road! Look for more information to come... visit the GDC Manitoba Chapter website often, for more information and updates as they become available - cheers!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Cursive...


This past weekend I was in Brandon, Manitoba (with my brother) to attend the Battle in Brandon, a kickboxing/muay thai event (held at the Wheat City Golf Course/Curling Rink) where Guardian Dojo members, Sean Devlin and Rox Lui competed. Anyhow, while having dinner with my brother, we couldn't help but notice the diversity of the handwriting on the wall (signatures on charity donation cards)... it was interesting to see the variety, which brings us to the topic of today's post. When was the last time that you wrote/used cursive handwriting?

Now, I handwrite on a daily basis but, it's definitely not in the traditional cursive style (as seen in the above image)... I don't even recall the last time I wrote in true cursive. I wonder how many people today, can write the cursive alphabet without reference (do they even teach this in school anymore?). We tried while waiting for our dinner and both of us failed miserably... sad.

Give it a whirl! Don't look at the image above! See how well you recall your cursive - cheers!

Image via Wikipedia

Friday, September 26, 2008

National Digital Media Day – Inaugural Celebration at Pastry Castle...


Yesterday evening marked the inaugural debut of National Digital Media Day, which saw members of New Media Manitoba, the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (Manitoba Chapter), Flash in the Peg, and the International Game Developers Association band together to celebrate at the Pastry Castle in the Exchange.


Kevin Hnatiuk of New Media Manitoba was on-hand to welcome all the guests who turned out to the event. Kevin, along with his volunteers played a huge role in organizing the event.


The Honourable Jim Rondeau (Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mines), made a brief presentation, welcomed the enthusiastic crowd, and introduced the keynote speaker, Robert L. Peters. The event wouldn't have been possible without the Ministries' support so, many thanks!


The keynote presentation, by Robert L. Peters, FGDC was entitled Do the Thing Right.



Rob's quote-filled, Do the Thing Right keynote presentation was very well-received (you can see more random images from Rob's keynote via the GDC Manitoba Flickr Group, here).

People stayed afterwards, had a few beverages, mingled and chatted on the patio (all the while, enjoying the beautiful Fall evening)... a good time was had by all. You can see more images from the event via the GDC Manitoba Flickr Group, here - cheers!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Tickets in Hand...


Tickets! I've got tickets!!! The tickets for this year's 2008 Guardian Challenge – Kyokushin Karate Knockdown Tournament have been printed, and distribution has begun! If you're a fan of martial arts, MMA, UFC, contact sports, etc., you'll definitely want to come and watch this day-long event.


Here's the poster I created for this year's event which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 15th at the St. Vital EMC, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Interested in watching the event? Get in touch with me, and I'll see how best to get you the tickets.

Tickets will also be available shortly at Miyabi in Osborne Village, as well as from other members of the Guardian Dojo, and at the Dojo during regular class hours. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door (a serious bargain). Until then, you can watch footage from the previous tournament on YouTube - enjoy!