America's Stonehenge

I'm a fairly patient guy. So much so that I've waited to get to a backlog of magazines that have been collecting in a pile for more than a year now; interesting magazines like Adbusters, Discover, and my favourite, Wired.

In reading Wired's May 2009 issue (yep, eek!) last night I came across an incredibly interesting and weird (that's "weird" not "wired") article. The issue's theme was focused on magic, puzzles, and some of the strange places found on Earth. Near the back of the issue, I came across an article dedicated to one of America's least possibly heard of attractions. I'm not a world traveller by any means, so I guess it's not unusual that I've never heard of this mysterious structure. Its name: the Georgia Guidestones.

To look at them, they appear to be a backyard version of Stonehenge. While their appeal is likely limited, the messages that are inscribed upon them are meant to be a guide map for after the apocalypse. The ten "rules" for re-establishing world order are even written in seven major languages to assist whoever might still be around to read the inscriptions.

Due to its controversial message, and the fact that the Guidestones are situated in America's Bible Belt, the stones have seen their share of misfortune. There have been calls to destroy the stones as some feel they are tied to the Antichrist, and there has been at least one attempt to pull them down. To date, graffiti has damaged the site the most and the County has tried lighting the site to avoid further damage (Technically, the site is owned by Elbert County where the stones are situated. The identity of the man who financed and arranged to have the stones erected was known by only one man; the lawyer who handled the legal necessities and immediately transferred ownership of the small parcel of land to the County after the unidentified man paid for it).

The most controversial of the stone's messages are the first three. Do I believe they should be pursued? Absolutely not. We can't snap our fingers and turn back to the clock to a time when Earth's population was more manageable. But I find it fascinating (and spooky) that there are people who take any of this seriously. As to the identity of the man who commissioned its construction? That's just good publicity. No single, largely unknown, assembly of stones are bound to upset life as we know it. For the most part, the recommendations on the Guidestones seem pretty rational. Countless structures that convey their own messages have been erected in cities, townships, and villages all over the world. They're called churches, mosques, temples, or any other variant of places of worship. If you hold your own beliefs to be true, it should matter little as to what another person believes. If no one is inciting hatred or being harmed, let it be.

Were the Guidestone's in my hometown, I certainly wouldn't sweat it.

And now, the time is near, and so I face...

...the end of Semester 3. Yay!

I don't know if I've ever had a late post (oops), but I'm happy to say that I've completed my last assignment for this semester. I've been working on building a four-page website for the past seven hours at the college. It's my last task for Image Editing, and now that it's done I can say that it looks great. If only the actual business that the idea is framed around existed, I would have it hosted and displayed on the web. I feel as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders as I was concerned about my competency going into this assignment, but I feel I have done a decent job. All that I have remaining is an exam in Canadian Literature and then I am done.

I look forward to my fourth semester at Red River College, but I'm looking forward to resting even more. There's at least a couple of things I've had to put on the back-burner at home the past few months; not the least of which will be installing two chandelier light fixtures in our home before Christmas arrives.

My life is wayyyyyyy too much fun.

Filming

A few weeks ago, myself and two classmates began an assignment for TV class that would see us visiting an industry professional's workplace, and asking them questions about their job. As luck would have it, the two classmates I joined for this assignment had located a person to interview, and they were okay with me joining them for the project.

A few days before the shoot, I went to the location where we would be filming. The woman we were interviewing was Deborah Zanke. Deborah is the owner of her own business called Message Communications. She manages her business from a very spacious, contemporary home. I couldn't wait to tell my group-mates about the great location we would be shooting in.

We spent almost two hours filming our interview with Deborah and getting the required "b-roll" to fill in any gaps in the editing room. All told, we spent about five hours editing what would become a three minute, twenty-four second video. I offered to give Deborah a copy of our assignment once it was complete, and upon viewing it, she commented on how "professional" the final product looked.

I think Deborah's video is the best work I've been involved with to date, but I'm still a student so I won't let it go to my head.

As with many of our assignments, there is always room for improvement. Overall, I feel there are some particularly good shots and advice from Deborah. We really appreciated the fact that she agreed to be our subject and allowed us to shoot in her home. Thanks again.

In tomorrow's class, we are watching all the groups' work from this assignment, and getting tips from our instructor, Dean Cooper, about the good, and the bad, and sometimes ugly. :)

I was surprised about how much I enjoyed this assignment. As I sat in the editing room, I really enjoyed all the piecing together and the patchwork quality to creating a film, as short in duration as it was. I look forward to our next challenge.

"Don't Fear the Dreamweaver"

The pace of learning software can be a bit stressful at times, but it's important to remember that there are always resources outside the classroom to help you if you need them. When learning something as formidable as website design, never forget to search the Internet, that repository of which you ultimately plan to build for.

There are scores of websites on the Internet that offer free advice, techniques, and tips on the basics of Adobe's Dreamweaver. Here are a few of them:

1. Best Web Designz

2. Adobe TV

3. Tutorial Lounge

4. Killersites.com

5. vtc.com

There is another site called lynda.com that provides some free tuorials, but this is a fairly established site and it is primarily a pay-for-use service. I hope at least one of these sites turns out to be useful for you in the Dreamweaver learning process.

The New Professionals

Today, me and some of my CreComm peers held a mock news conference at Red River College. I can't disclose any details of our announcement for fear of anyone reading this may misunderstand and actually think the content of our announcement was something that was actually taking place. Needless to say, it was a very fun event that put our institution in a very positive light.

The Public Relations majors (of which I am a part of) all did exceedingly well in their preparations, and designed two exceptional media kits. A lot of work went into both of them and it showed. The Media Production majors handled their camera equipment very well, and did a fine job of setting up in the limited amount of time they had. Last, but not least, the Journalism majors stepped up to the plate and asked very thoughtful questions. They are bound to write great stories using the quotes provided to them by "our representatives" of the College who stood in for their real-life counterparts today.

Cheers! to everyone who had a hand in making this "event" run smoothly today, and for CreComm existing in the first place to make our communications training possible.

PR Newsonline: All the News That's Fit to Post

Not a day goes by when I don't sit back and wonder at the awesomeness (not a word I use often) of the Internet; particularly, search engines.

In a few short weeks I will be conducting a presentation for my classmates and awesome instructor she's entitled, "PR In the News." In this assignment, students take a current events topic from the news that relates to Public Relations in some way and discuss it in front of the class–complete with a slideshow. As my presentation date draws nearer (Dec. 6), for fun I typed "pr news" into my Google search engine. Lo and behold, what appears before me at the top of the list?

PR Newsonline.

Why it had never occurred to me to type these two short words into Google I'll never know, but it appears I've discovered a great resource. PR Newsonline is the online version of PR News' print version. Articles on Public Relations abound and there is even a video window called PR News TV where professionals in the industry give short interviews about their profession or area of interest.

You can gain access to PR Newsonline's content via a simple exchange of your name, address, and email.

This is a site I'll be returning to on a regular basis.

The Potash Party Hangover

transplant v 1 transfer, move, remove, shift, relocate

Saskatchewanian n 1 an individual who resides in the Province of Saskatchewan in Canada

The above is meant as a reference for the disclosure I am about to make. Are you ready?

I, Greg Berg, am a transplanted Saskatchewanian living in Manitoba.

Whew, I'm glad I got that off my chest. Now that we've recovered, and I've stated my bias, please allow me to continue.

I share my birthplace of Esterhazy with acclaimed Canadian author, Guy Vanderhaeghe. My hometown is a simple, quiet place. The people who live there are cut from good cloth: they are friendly, supportive, act with good intention, and live within optimistic norms. Other than the farmers whose agricultural endeavours stretch as far as the eye can see, there is another staple of business that contributes by and large to keep the community afloat. Esterhazy practically sits on top of one of the largest potash deposits in the world. Esterhazy is a mining town.

The potash business in Saskatchewan has been a focus in the news lately and I had to weigh in. I grew up within a stones throw of this impressive mineral deposit, and I've seen the tailings mound grow higher year after year. The potash business is booming, and for a good reason. Our agricultural system is expected to do more with less. Fertilizers are replacing nutrients in the soil that would naturally be replaced over time. We need our arable land to recover faster in order to get the next crop in the ground. Land and soil have basically become a medium to shore up a plant's root system; chemicals do the rest. So far, demand has yet to outstrip supply. But one thing is for sure, potash is big business.

At issue is the Canadian Governnment's recent decision to halt the takeover bid by BHP Billiton of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (see History 1989). At first I thought it was all about keeping a company "Canadian," until you can see that PCS had once been a Crown Corporation. As Potash Corp is now publicly traded, one can't even say this company is Canadian owned even if its headquarters are in Saskatoon.

Now, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is preparing talk of revisiting the Investment Canada Act. I find this interesting as this document was written in 1985 during a period when the Progressive Conservative's (a precursor to the Conservative Party of Canada) were leading the country under former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; Canada appeared to be "open for business" in 1988. Could it be that the Investment Canada Act was tidily written to allow easy progression of NAFTA? If so, I guess it was just a matter of time before another country other than the U.S. stood up and took notice.

Being as fertilizer is such an integral part of modern agriculture, I guess the time is now. There will be a lot of debate that will come out of this decision – its merits and demerits – but history will be the ultimate decider.

Of Ducks and Death

Just when a decision was made finding Syncrude responsible for the deaths of approximately 1,600 ducks in April 2008, the company finds itself under the lens once again only five days after the decision was handed down. On October 27, another Syncrude tailings pond dealt a death blow to 230 ducks in the Athabasca oil-sands production area of Alberta.

This is a shameful event, and in the least, incredibly bad timing for Syncrude.

From a Public Relations POV, Syncrude's CEO, Scott Sullivan, has reacted by holding a news conference and issuing a statement regarding the tragedy. He also revealed the unfortunate news that the death toll would likely rise, (as he himself updated the number of birds euthanized to 330) saying, "I think we need to engage the scientific community and we need to understand what role weather played in this event, and any other factors that made this different." – Syncrude has claimed that an occurrence of freezing rain in the area forced the ducks to land in order to avoid the poor flying conditions.

Sullivan's admission that there is a need to engage the scientific community so events like this are not repeated is appropriate, but I would like to know the level of involvement science played in determining Syncrude's existing barriers. Other companies have had success in preventing this from happening. The question now for Syncrude is whether or not its deterrent methods were being properly deployed.

If Sullivan is going to be as forthcoming as he says he will be about revealing where Syncrude can improve, maybe ducks won't need to die such horrible deaths in the future. Due to society's thirst for fuel, it's an unfortunate reality that oil sand extraction in Alberta isn't leaving any time soon.

Pardon me whilst I run past you naked...

I really wanted to write a clever title like, "Streakers In Sneakers" for this blog post, but alas, in many cases the folks I saw in the photos I collected (most of which by Getty Images and Associated Press) were not wearing any. But, I'm sure the above title grabbed your attention just the same.

Now, I'm no prude, but I have to say the people above known as, "streakers," are a hard group to peg. Clearly they are trying to draw attention to a movement, idea, company--or maybe just themselves--and nudity always grabs a headline, but what does that say about us? Okay, maybe I am a prude.

This subject came to the forefront of my attention because a man in the U.S. decided to streak a Democratic Party rally where President Barack Obama was speaking. Juan Rodriguez took up a challenge by a web company, BattleCam.com, that offered to pay $1,000,000 to anyone who would streak the U.S. President with its website written across his or her chest. He or she also had to yell out the website's name a half-dozen times.

Truly we are witnessing desperate measures in a depressed American economy.

Now, a person can easily counter with, "People are talking about BattleCam.com now, right? There is truth in this, but I question the level of dialogue that will surround this company in the long run. I liken it to fireworks going off in the middle of the afternoon. A limited number of people will witness it, and the timing will (hopefully) be seen as inappropriate.

There will always be an audience for the goofy and absurd, but I worry that this mindset is entering areas where respect and decorum used to exist.

Triumph In the Jungle

I first heard about Ingrid Betancourt in a 2004 documentary on CBC's The Passionate Eye called, The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt. Her story saddened me in that there was no resolution at the end of the story. At the time CBC aired the production, two years after she had been kidnapped in 2002, Betancourt was still being held captive by the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia) Many believe it was her progressive views, and her running as the OXYGEN- Green Party candidate during the presidential campaign, that led to her disappearance three months before the Columbian elections were held.

Betancourt was freed this past July in a daring move to release her and 14 other hostages that were still being held captive. She had now been missing for over six years. When I heard of her freedom in the news, my memory brought me back to how I had felt after watching The Passionate Eye documentary. Her story finally had a positive conclusion.

Betancourt has written a book about her ordeal called, Even Silence Has An End. My one complaint is that the book's release has come when I cannot dedicate the time I would need to delve into its 544 pages. Red River College is my mistress at present. There are simply too many assignments to do, and assigned books to read, that a pleasure read (if this book could even be so called) is not possible. I will buy it, but the book will have to patiently wait.

The fact that Betancourt has beaten the odds and came out alive in this horror story is a testament of her determination to live. A happy ending to this story shouldn't have taken six years to be written, but I'm glad it has finally come.

Newsweek Is Weak

I'm not a die-hard political follower, but there is one publication that I like to digest on a regular basis. Weekly, even. I've tried Macleans magazine this past year, but for some reason it never really grabbed my attention. One magazine that has been able to overcome my erratic attention span is Newsweek.

Newsweek was launched in 1933 by a group of U.S. stockholders. In 1961, The Washington Post Company purchased Newsweek and has held onto it for the past 49 years.

Until the Post revealed last week that it sold Newsweek for $1 this past summer.

Newsweek's total liabilities were in excess of $47 million, so don't run out with your bag o' loonies trying to source out a deal. This venerable magazine is worth a lot more in my opinion as at least an introduction for many people into the larger issues facing our world. American politics can be very entertaining as well. I only wish their influence was curbed a little bit more so the rest of the world didn't have to worry about the possibility of an ex-Alaskan governor controlling arguably the most powerful nation on the planet.

I hope Newsweek can sort out its financial troubles in order to stay afloat. There's no real enemy here, it's just the state of the magazine market in 2010. Until the day comes when we are comfortable enough to read everything online (or magazines become solely a subscription market), a magazine's publication costs will always threaten its bottom line. Newsweek's $5.95 per issue cost doesn't help its situation either and the reason why I've been a subscriber for the past three years. When you're trying to print a quality magazine every week in a declining ad market, I guess you can sometimes shoot yourself in the foot. I suppose the commentary of contributors Fareed Zakaria, Jonathan Alter, and George F. Will don't come cheap; nor should they. They are worthwhile investments to their institution, journalism. Jon Meacham, Newsweek's editor, has left the magazine to pursue other interests, leaving behind some large shoes to fill. His insight into the week's events were always thoughtful and intelligent.

There is still hope though I guess. Journalistic opinion need not lie in publications on the newsstand. There are always the likes of small "r" Republicans to fill in the gaps left behind.

So, what's so great about The Event?

Even though I'm considered a target market, I still feel I'm a tough nut to sell. Every once in a while though I wait with anticipation (not "Glee") when a television program makes a decent attempt to get my attention. So it was with said expectation that I parked myself on the couch to watch, wait for it (feigned suspense), The Event.

The Event had all the good trademarks of a television premiere; commercial build-up, suspense, secrecy, mystery, believable characters, extra-terrestrials, but it feels too familiar. From what I've seen so far, The Event is Lost meets the X-Files. Should I feel guilty that I'm not impressed? Many consider imitation as the highest form of flattery, but I think NBC may have bought into a self-flattering dud. It's too bad, I like Jason Ritter's character, Sean Walker. The fact that Ritter's real-life dad was none other than Jack Tripper helps a lot too.

It may be too early for me to make a prognosis, but I have a nagging feeling The Event will prove "uneventful." I may not be alone in my prediction. According to Media Life Magazine, ratings for The Event fell off considerably after its second episode, down 19 per cent from its premiere. To top it off, rumour has it that NBC has a script long enough to run five seasons of The Event.

That's a shame.

The show's production values look pretty well done, so The Event couldn't have been cheap to produce. Any decision made by NBC I'm sure will be quick like a guillotine if this show doesn't improve and fast. Maybe they can air The Cape. Until writing this post, I had not heard about this show at all, but I have to say it looks ultra-cool. We could use a prime-time Batman, no?

So, what might the future hold for The Event? Only the network execs can say for sure, but I think their event needs a phenomenon.

Myths, tiffs, and My iPhone 4

I have to admit I'm not much of a gadget-head, but I was really excited when the iPhone 4 was released in Canada. So much so that last August I waited in line for eight hours to buy one at the Apple Store in nearby Winnipeg.

Yeah, you read that right. Eight hours.

I needed an upgrade anyway, so I thought I would treat myself to the latest in technology. I had heard all the hype about the iPhone 4's dropped calls, signal interference, and unreliability, but I decided to risk it and drop the cash on an iPhone 4 just the same.

Now, there was a bit of a campaign against the iPhone 4 and Steve Jobs when the problems I mentioned entered the media spotlight. His competitors had a heyday saying that the iPhone 4 was useless at the one thing it should do easily; that is, being a phone. I watched the live online conference as Steve Jobs addressed all the purported issues with his latest toy. He played the situation very cool, talking sensibly about the problems his team had found and the seriousness of the claims. He said that the signal issue problem was one that other smart phone makers have too as everyone tries to fit all their parts into smaller designs. He played down the seriousness of the problem and made a good P.R. move by giving iPhone 4 owners a free case of their choice to correct the issue.

After having my iPhone 4 for over a month now, deliberately trying to drop a call by holding the phone in the so called "death grip", my iPhone 4 has yet to fail in its service to me. That's not to say anyone else did not have a legitimate issue with this device, but I am not one of them. The only time I've had a concern is once when my ear touched the "mute" button on the touchscreen, and the conversation became a one-way communication by accident.

Oops.

Just the same, I took advantage of Apple's free phone case. I downloaded the app for it and three weeks later a friendly Purolator delivery person dropped it off at my door. Why not, right? It's free, and if I happen to drop the phone, it has a better chance of surviving the fall unscathed. I could get into all of the iPhone 4 features and how much I enjoy using it, but all that kind of stuff you can find on Apple's website.

For now, the iPhone 4 can add me to the list as a happy customer.

When Brown Goes "Green"

Pet owners can be faced with numerous difficulties, none of which are insurmountable. Each challenge involves the same patience, understanding, (as best can be offered on a human/animal level anyway) and creativity you would likely use in any other area of your everyday life. But I am especially impressed when an individual takes on a challenge most people would steer clear of, or at least step over.

Enter Matthew Mazzotta , a conceptual artist from Cambridge, Massachusetts. His Project Park Spark, funded through MIT and partnered by the City of Cambridge, includes a special "methane digester" that converts poop to power. Well, methane to be exact.

If you're a responsible dog owner out for a walk and your dog does a "doo-doo", which it inevitably will, what do you do (no pun intended) with it? Public garbage containers are not always nearby, and once it's in a baggie you want to be rid of it as fast as possible. In Mazzottas model, the only special equipment a dog owner needs is a biodegradable baggie and a weak nose. Once you've done the right thing and picked up the offending matter off the ground, you toss it into his "methane digester" and you're finished. The container is air-tight so no need to worry about getting too close. Once inside, bacteria break down the organic bonanza into methane which is used to power a nearby lamp.

As a greenhouse gas, methane is far more worse than carbon dioxide. When animal waste enters a landfill, as is usually the case, it just sits there, breaks down, and rises into the atmosphere. As pet ownership becomes more popular, (in 2001 there was an estimated five million dogs in Canada) there are two obvious obvious side effects we are forced to deal with.

Mazzotta is leaving it up to the community to best decide how they would like to use his new method of energy capture. For now, he's lighting a path to a new way of thinking for the people of Cambridge.

Genius.

The GoodGuide App

Unless you've just come out of a thaw, it's very likely you've heard about something called an "app." Were it not for the communications program I'm enrolled in, I likely wouldn't be too aware myself. To be quite honest, it wasn't too long ago when I thought the word app was just a truncated way of talking about the Apple Store. :/

It would be my loss if this was the case.

The word "app" is actually an abbreviation of the word "application" and it's the little square link you would see on the face of a smartphone. Typical apps are links to YouTube, Facebook, Google Maps, local weather, internet browser, and so on; basically helpful little buttons that take you to a website or service. One app I've discovered is called GoodGuide. (logo pictured above)

GoodGuide helps consumers find healthy, green, and socially responsible products for their home. While out shopping, a consumer can scan the bar code of any product and see how the product rates; for better, or for worse. It has over 65,000 items listed in its database and is adding more all of the time. From toys, household cleaners, food, and deodorants, GoodGuide wants users to know the data it has developed is a great resource for consumers to make healthier and more responsible purchases.

So how do they gain this trust?

GoodGuide prides itself on the ratings system it has created and the scientific study that has gone into the assessment of each product. GoodGuide's founder, Dara O'Rourke, is one of the leading experts on global supply chains and tracking product life-cycles from cradle to grave. GoodGuide's Chief Scientist, Bill Please, is an expert in chemical risk assessment, environmental engineering, chemistry, nutrition, and sociology. GoodGuide considers itself a "for benefit" organization.

Why might a consumer use GoodGuide?

There are a lot of companies claiming their products are "green." Why should they be believed? If you're a consumer who is "green-minded" or "green-curious," GoodGuide is an easy place to start. The people who already consider themselves "green" can keep up to date with the latest on the GoodGuide blog and those new to the lifestyle can begin with an assessment of their current products to see where they might make change. The only thing you need to start is a few of your current products to see how each measures up, and to consider what GoodGuide recommends based on the results.

Would a consumer change their habits based on GoodGuide?

Consumers want to make the right choices when it comes to the products they buy. There is a place in the app to enter your current product to see how it rates. As product ratings are based on health, environment, and corporate resonsibility, these are factors everyone can relate to and feel good about making positive change. The "green" movement is not meant to be seen as an individual action, but millions of individual actions in combination to make a difference.

Will people understand what GoodGuide is all about?

GoodGuide sees itself as an agent of change. Its message is clear. There are three dominant factors that rate products: safety, health, and corporate responsibility. Most users of GoodGuide will know what these things represent. The information a user receives is instant and prices for products are given (whenever possible) if you're researching products from home.

The app phenomena will continue to grow as long as our devices, and we ourselves, stay portable. It's definitely the next big thing in web navigation as it drives people directly to a website. In combination with social media and word of mouth, apps will continue to dominate the face of the smartphone and beyond.

Already year two? Much to do, much to do...

A person really needs to enjoy any down-time he or she has as it always comes to an end. My relaxing summer is now over and I am back at Red River College with a full slate of assignments surely heading my way.

With new beginnings also brings a new look to my blog, 6' and Holding. The picture of my two dogs that would normally greet you when you visited this site has been put to rest. Rest assured, they are doing fine and at the moment are adjusting to a new cat in our home. I've redesigned the header to give it a professional look and replaced the background with something more appealing. The content will change as well. If you've followed my blog, I've tried to stay true to providing examples of juxtaposition that I've found around me or produced. It was a fun experiment, but I want to put it to rest to explore my more personal side.

6' and Holding will continue as opinions on issues in my life and the world from a distance. This will likely not stray too far from what many traditional bloggers write, but the aim is to provide insight into who I am and the man I aspire to be. I hope to keep your ear during this transition, but I will always stick to my first rule; keep the content interesting.

Always feel free to let me know if my aim stays true.

Oh Chicago, I hardly got to know ya...

First-year students of CreComm were blessed this past school year by being given the opportunity to join second-year PR and Advertising grads on their trip to Chicago, Illinois. There was room on the bus for more than a dozen of us "first years", and I was glad that I took the opportunity to go. Chicago is a beautiful city and I will briefly describe some of the photos I took of places I visited when I was there.

1. This is a view of Lake Michigan from the John Hancock Observatory on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. One side of the walkway was "open air" and was covered by a grille instead of glass. Very Breezy at 94 floors high and over a 1,000 feet.

2. This building is a fantastic remnant of old Chicago. It's called the Chicago Water Tower and it used to hold a column of water 138 feet high to help with firefighting and regulating the city's water pressure.

3. This structure is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park. It's stage hosts music, dance, and a variety of artistic performances. Stunning to look at and huge.

4. No, this is not a spaceship. This reflective artwork is called Cloud Gate by its designer, Anish Kapoor (but locals call it, "the bean") The Chicago skyline reflects magnificently on its surface.

5. This is a view of downtown Chicago from the Willis (Sears) Tower. I'm glad I went there at night to see how far Chicago extends out into the landscape.

6. This is a photo of my feet looking down 103 floors to the street below from The Ledge on the Willis Tower Skydeck. I'm not going to lie, it was a bit of a spooky experience. I saw a girl doing a handstand for a photo op. I don't have that kinda guts...

7. Egyptian sculptures from The Art Institute of Chicago. Inside are hundreds of pieces of stunning artwork and sculpture. If you go, prepare to spend a whole day. This place is endless.

8. Garrett Popcorn Shops on East Ontario Street near our hotel. The popcorn here is (as my wife would say) "to die for." I would seriously ponder my life for its tasty kernels. The CheeseCorn is habit forming and the Chicago Mix will upset your dentist. Mmmmmmm...yum.

9. Our class visit to Ketchum, a Public Relations firm headquartered in New York City. Very friendly and informative staff. I would love to work here. Just sayin'...

10. This is one of the exterior walls of the Chicago Tribune. Embedded in the walls are pieces of historic buildings: a piece of a roman building, a mosque, Sydney Opera House, and metal from the World Trade Center.

11. Our final piece of deep-dish pizza from Giordano's in our hotel room. Lotsa, lotsa cheese on this baby and yes, you will gain weight eating it. One of the top three pizza's I've eaten. Did I mention I make kick-ass homemade pizza?

12. Chicago's Navy Pier. Lots to see and do here and it even boasts its own amusement park. I walked around here for hours taking in the scenery, shops, and stained glass museum.

13. This four-mast tall ship, Windy, was docked at Navy Pier. She's in fine shape. Arrrrgghh... ; "think pirate sound."

14. The tulips in bloom on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. This street has also been named, The Magnificent Mile. (for good reason, the shops and scenery are "magnificent")

"I Heart Chicago", is the feeling I came away with after this trip. I also came away with the flu on the trip home, but you have to take the good with the bad. The vibe in Chicago is very friendly, though I do have to admit we were in mostly tourist friendly areas. That being said, if you ever happen to visit here, the places I've mentioned above are a good place to start.

I won't be returning to Red River College until August, so likely this blog will not be as regular as its been. I will try to sign in occasionally to let you know what's up from time to time in my six-foot world. Until then, take care!

Love is never having to tell the one you love...

My sweetheart and love o' my life arrived home from Grand Forks with some pretty sweet cargo. She and her mom went under the 49th to do some spring shopping and to take a mini- vacation. Though I don't expect it, each time she visits either Fargo or G.F., I am virtually guaranteed a handful of t-shirts to add to my growing collection (which she has pretty much single-handedly started) She outdid herself this time as you can see.

As Heidi showed me the ornaments, clothes, dog toys, books, and shoes (wow, a LOT of shoes) she had purchased for herself, I knew the moment was coming when she would peel open a bag of items she had bought for me. "I felt like texting you at some point to buy me a SpongeBob shirt if you came across one," I said as she rummaged through the plastic bags from Target, Kohl's, and Gordmans. Not long after I said this, Heidi reached into a bag and pulled out the first of many surprises she had in store for me. The first was:

- a Star Wars t-shirt followed by,

- a Spiderman t-shirt then,

- a SpongeBob t-shirt not to be outdone by,

- a Marvin the Martian t-shirt,

and, this last one blew my mind,

- a Kermit the Frog t-shirt

I couldn't help but feel I had just experienced Christmas in April. "How did you know?" I joked as I leaned over and gave her a kiss.

And that's just it, she just knows. We've been together long enough that when the time comes for a gift, simple or otherwise, we can pick up something and know if it will be something the other will like. I can never go wrong if I bring home flowers, bubble bath, cotton candy Jelly Belly's, or Dubble Bubble. That's just comes with the territory of sharing your life with the someone and getting to know what she appreciates (outside of a good "snuggle") To top it off she brought home several bags of Doritos, Lindt chocolate bars, and the best candy bar of all time, the Take 5 (a pretzel covered in caramel, peanut butter, peanuts, and covered in milk chocolate) If Hershey's is smart, only two people know the secret to making the Take 5 and they're not allowed to travel on the same plane together.

Yes, the Take 5 is that good.

As my school year has now wrapped up until fall, my one regret is that I can't hit the halls of Red River College on Monday to show off my new wardrobe; I'll just have to wait until August. Now, there are likely some people out there who may think it's juvenile for a 40 year-old man to be wearing what could be called kid's clothes. I'm okay with that, and so is my inner child. Once my professional life takes hold, there's little chance that I will enter a room for a meeting sporting Kermit on my chest, (though I have to admit, that type of work environment would be fantastic) so I'll make the best of the time I have left to sport my cartoon-ey fashion sense.

The best part of it is that Heidi accepts, encourages, and loves this part of my personality. If I'm lucky, once I've completed college I can work from home and continue to indulge in my taste for colourful tees.

Yes, I love tech-no-lo-gy...

Ahhh, one of my many favourite scenes from Napoleon Dynamite. Today Kip's lyrics serve a sarcastic purpose for me as I haven't been in love with technology the past 24 hours. My computer spent about eight hours trying to upload my video montage to YouTube last night. After this whole process was finally complete, the video portion of the montage didn't appear. The audio came through fine, but a black screen stared back at me.

In an attempt to solve the problem, I sought the help of YouTube proper.

File Size okay? (check)

File format okay? (check)

Greg's patience okay? (somewhat)

YouTube help is set up for more simple problems and there was no mention of my black screen issue. So, my next step was to seek out the help of others more knowledgeable than myself. This being, the Internet forum. I quickly discovered I wasn't alone in my confusion and despair in not having my upload appear as I had intended. Some users even commented that videos uploaded last year suddenly had their screens go black. They were all irked and sounding testy.

One contributor named "ebbixx" seemed to know what was going on and was very helpful to everyone's questions (I hope this guy is getting paid) Apparently YouTube changed something with their coding and he was confident that its engineers were trying to solve the problem. No one has an idea when this might be sorted out.

I've noticed at least one of my classmates from RRC has managed to get around this problem. Her video "Bruises" uploaded just fine. She did a really great job too. Congrats to her and I hope she gets a good grade for her effort!

Twitvid and its plucky little bird accepted the format of my video montage. It took a couple of hours to upload, but it kept chugging away until it got the job done. Thank you Twitvid, you rock! Click the link to check out my montage, "It's A Dog's Life."

Bye for now. I'm off to study for next week's exams. One more week until freedom!

What the heck am I going to do with all my free time? Hmmmm...

Oh yeah, right. My IPP. :/

Sir, would you please follow me...

In our last few P.R. classes before the end of this year, our instructor, Kenton Larsen, has been discussing media interviews with the class: the good, the bad, the other. We've seen the good; (a well-handled interview despite the obvious adversity), an interview with Bill O'Reilly and Jeremy Glick:

the bad; an interview with Tom Snyder and Johnny Rotten, singer of the Sex Pistols, appearing on the show to promote his new project PIL:

and the other, an interview that should have went very bad, but was handled very well considering the interviewee was the wrong person sitting in front of the camera. This clip is from a 2006 BBC interview with Guy Goma after he showed up for an accountant job interview and was mistaken for a commentator of internet music and the future of downloading. Goma's initial reaction as he is introduced is priceless, but he takes up the challenge and does very well considering he's in over his head.

One Year To Remember

I might be getting ahead of myself as the school year is not quite finished (three weeks to go), but this weekend marks a ceremony of a different sort. April 4, 2010, will mark one year of marriage for myself and Heidi.

The year has flown by so fast I should have been awarded Air Miles. Just a few weeks before I was accepted into Creative Communications, I asked Heidi to marry me. After four short months of marriage, I entered Red River College. I didn't know how much at odds these two things would be at times, and many times its felt like I've had to satisfy two partners (no, that's not meant to be a pun).

I've enjoyed myself immensely at the college (classmates and instructors; you're all awesome), but I'm glad that I will have more time for my "real marriage" and give back some of the time that is owed. I've done what I could to succeed in school, now my focus shall soon change to Heidi and my home life.

I love my wife and I hope the best for us in the future; for my next school year and for all the years we shall spend together to come.

Happy Anniversary sweetheart, it's you that I truly love.

It is, "A Dog's Life"

In one of the final projects for Broadcast Production, CreComm students have to complete a video montage set to a song of our choice before semester's end. I finished this project last night allowing me to enter our media award competition, the CCMA's.

This assignment was a joy to make even though it meant locking myself in a video edit suite at the college for many hours in order to piece all the clips together. I am pleased with the results. Many of my classmates are busily preparing their own montages (and maybe some are completed as well) and I wish them the best of luck and I hope they have as much fun as I did creating my short little video.

Below is one of the clips that didn't make the cut. All told, I logged and captured 348 clips to fit into a song that was a little over two and a half minutes long. I had plenty to choose from, but much of the footage was never used. I probably have enough clips to create two more videos without duplication. In making this video, I realize even more how much I enjoy the love of these two little dogs and how much I in turn love them. The cat too of course...

I'll upload the entire video to YouTube in about three weeks once the video has been marked by my instructor Dean Cooper, judged by the CCMA panel, and viewed by my peers.

Prepare to be tikkled

Mission Statement

Tikkle. For those who think young. Many people think that just because you grow up, you have to grow out of your toys. We disagree. There is always room for fun in your life.

This is the spirit in which tikkle. magazine was created. Myself and three other classmates were given the opportunity to create an original magazine complete with original advertising and articles of our choosing. We agreed very early in the process that a magazine about toys would be fun and interesting to produce. It's been a long process and this project has included using many different skills we've learned from our courses at Red River College.

We will launch tikkle. magazine at a magazine fair in the college atrium on April 1st. Twenty copies of tikkle. are being printed early next week and I couldn't be prouder of the effort put forward by each of my group members. We've created something special with tikkle. magazine and we should all be very happy with the result.

Come out and support all of the CreComm family on April 1st. There will be about fifteen magazines launched at noon on April 1st. The event will wrap up at 4 pm.

Come one, come all, and prepare to be tikkled!

Follow us on Twitter @ tikklemag

Mainstream Punk Is Here to Stay

Call me nostalgiac, but I was thinking about one of my favourite discs the other day - it might have something to do with the slow crawl towards summer and our daylight savings time changeover this weekend - and how iconic it is. Also, certain albums sound better with the car windows rolled down and the wind whipping around my ears.

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols was released in 1977 in the U.K. and soon after in the U.S. It would take 20 years before a copy of this album would end up in my hands. It's an album that I will never let go of and that I return to at least once a year. The words below the image of the Sex Pistols is from their song "Bodies" (just so you don't think I wrote this in the midst of a tangent) Incidentally, this song, though wildly profane, is largely about anti-abortion. The Sex Pistols never strayed from controversy and their exploits are legendary. In describing their short-lived career, they were a firecracker exploding compared with a slow-burning candle.

John Lydon aka 'Johnny Rotten' was easily the most outspoken of the group. He never shied away from speaking his mind and often ended interviews when he felt questions were boring or unintelligent. Bandmate, Sid Vicious, was arguably the most talked about due to his addictions and stage performances. Lydon was quoted as saying, "Everyone agreed he (Sid) had the look, but musical skill was another matter...the first rehearsals with Sid were hellish...Sid really tried and rehearsed a lot."

The infamy that found the Sex Pistols didn't agree with their personalities though. The public began to pay attention and the band became bogged down in their own punk status, releasing only the one full-length album during their career.

The Sex Pistols carved a path for modern bands who have strong messages of their own to deliver. Green Day was born in the late 80's and started out as a local punk band in California. With their major-label debut, Dookie, they achieved international success to go on to sell ten-million copies. The trios release was a fun album and the boys became the darlings of modern punk. As they've matured, so has their music.

Since the release of Warning in 2000, the band seems to have taken a more political bend in their songwriting. With titles like Blood, Sex, and Booze, Jackass, and Fashion Victim, the boys were making statements about the times they lived in and their dissatisfaction at what they were seeing. With American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, the band that has spanned over two decades has found a focus and is hitting their stride. Green Day is living in a faltering America. Their music aims to open this fact to the eyes of their audience and if not a 'call to action', they want their listeners to take notice.

It's not as aggressive a stance as the Sex Pistols made with God Save the Queen, but it needn't be. The Sex Pistols were pissed-off with the establishment for the sake of it, whereas Green Day has a more mature stance in my opinion. They're disappointed with the world and write songs to create awareness, the Pistols just 'screamed bloody f***ing mad,' and didn't aim to elicit change. Had they stuck around long enough and didn't self-destruct, maybe their social importance could have evolved.

They still made some damn fine music though.

Feel the Inspiration?

Three classmates and myself ventured far into northern Manitoba yesterday (actually less than 2o kms. from Winnipeg) to the town of Lockport for an assignment to open our eyes to what it has to offer. This trip was filled with many silly memories and a fun time was had by all (well, mostly, except for our driver's speeding ticket early that morning)

One of our stops within the small cluster of businesses in Lockport was to the Half Moon Drive In. (we were later corrected by a local resident that we were actually in Gonor) This little gem serves some of the best diner food in Manitoba; hot dogs, burgers, fries, poutine, onion rings, milkshakes, ice cream (you get the idea). The inside of this diner is decorated with antiques across ledges, wall hangings, and early 1950's memorabilia.

The standout for me at the diner was the front end of what looks to be a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. When cars like this come up in conversations with friends, there's most always agreement these cars are works of art. This leads me to think about the cars we make for the consumer today and how "plain Jane" they seem. Designers are setting the bar lower and lower in terms of imagination in design, opting for performance and aerodynamics. I suppose this is not entirely a bad thing in terms of energy efficiency, but it would be nice to see a nod to the artistic feel of our past generations of automobiles.

Screenwriting & Film

I like movies. They entertain, transport, inspire , induce laughter, and at times, their unpleasant cousin visits me as tears. Depending on the type of person you are, movies can effect you in a multiple of ways. What can make a movie a winner or a loser is the quality of its screenplay. They should be written with just enough information for a director to envision a scene and allow her "artistic licence" to take hold.

Earlier this week, Mark Boal won the Writers Guild of America award for best original screenplay for the film, The Hurt Locker. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awarded Boal the same achievement earlier this month. Boal appears to be on a roll as his screenplay has also been nominated for best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards next month.

It must have been hard for Boal to hold back in writing a list of detailed descriptions in his screenplay. Boal had been embedded with a bomb-disposal unit in Iraq and he's been quoted as saying there were, "many, many moments of real terror." To sum up this idea rapidly in the average person's mind, the term "hurt locker" is military slang for a bad and painful place. To the soldiers responsible for carrying out the actual work of defusing bombs, the term carries even more weight. If an IED explodes in front of you while trying to disarm it, the "hurt locker" is a white box draped with the U.S. flag shipped home full of military honors. Just try and limit your adjectives writing this screenplay. I'm guessing it wasn't easy.

James Cameron's Avatar, on the other hand, was probably a little easier screenplay to write. I say this only on the opinion of others as I have not seen Avatar, but it's fairly well known that it's claim to fame is visual excellence, not screenplay writing. It's absence from the Oscar nomination list in this category says enough. To be fair, Cameron is more about visual dialogue as even the most limited film buff would know. The Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss, True Lies, Dark Angel, and Titanic, all speak to the artistic vision buried in Cameron's mind that screams to be captured on film.

While Kathryn Bigelow's film career is not as extensive as Cameron's, her work is gaining well-deserved recognition in the film industry. She's received awards for directing and nominations for both the Golden Globes and the Oscars. Her film, The Hurt Locker, has been generating buzz for a while for now. Two of her more well-known films include Strange Days and Point Break.

It's interesting to know that two of these Oscar contenders, James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, were once married. What a dynamic movie-making duo they could have been had they stayed together. The pair have been heard to speak highly of each other's recent directing efforts which is just, well, plain nice. Who knows, had they stayed married and collaborated on more films (Cameron produced Bigelow's, Point Break), they probably would've driven each other nuts and ended up hating each other.

But, I digress...

I predict none of these three will go away empty-handed come Oscar night, March 7th.