And now, the end is near...

For the past three weeks, I’ve had the good fortune of interning at a branding agency in Winnipeg called, Blacksheep Strategy. I first heard of Blacksheep through my wife. Her coworker has a close friend who works at the agency, and to her, it sounded like a very good environment for me to share in. Once I did a little research into Blacksheep, I had to agree, and my advisor, Kenton Larsen, arranged the placement for me.

Blacksheep Strategy works in an interesting environment. A separate asset within these walls is the agency, Coupland Jeffrey. Coupland Jeffrey, “is the only national advertising agency in Canada focused exclusively on agriculture.” The two principals, Derrick Coupland and Russell Jeffrey, run a very friendly environment for their employees to work in. They’ve found a great group of people to meet their stated goal of helping their clients, "solve their branding problems." I've really enjoyed my time with them, and I hope I made a helpful contribution in Blacksheep's day-to-day activities. I've assisted in projects with large companies such as Monsanto, DEKALB, and Viterra. I was fascinated with what I learned in the research about these companies and how they represent their products. Their similar mission of increasing the quality and quantity of the world's food supply is admirable, and the science that is involved in much of this is simply amazing.

Today marks the end of my internship with the people at Blacksheep, but it also represents the final checkmark to my college curriculum. It’s hard to believe that two years have come and gone and that in a few weeks I will hold my college diploma in my hands. It has been tough going at times, but with the support of the people around me – family, friends, and peers – I was able to meet my academic and personal goals.

I am excited for what my future will bring and the people in my life with which I will share it.

Pair Vote for a Fair Vote?

A certain Canadian political party decided about eight years ago to drop the word "progressive" from its party name. In my opinion, a group of voters is now claiming the word for themselves, at least figuratively.

Pair Vote has a radical philosophy: make your vote count. The group is unapologetic in its stated first objective that it does not want Stephen Harper to obtain a majority government:

"Prevent a false majority by the Conservatives by swapping non-Conservative votes in swing ridings where Conservative party may win – this party is the least motivated to reform anything, and the only majority threat."

So how does Pair Vote hope to make a difference? Its creator's idea is simple, but it requires a leap of faith; if I vote for your political party in my riding, you must vote for my choice in yours.

The agreement has the ability to elect MP's who have historically had a large proportion of the vote, but no representation in the House of Commons. The demarcation lines of voter ridings (which seem to be redrawn at will by the ruling party) will begin to mean a whole lot less, and predictability will go out the proverbial window. It's a good first step toward proportional representation which has been the goal of many disaffected voters for years.

What Stephen Harper has said from the outset about this latest trip to the polls is likely true for many Canadians, "This is an election that no one wants." Given that Canadians haven't had a majority government since 2004, what exactly might this pattern represent?

There is always the tried and true answer of, not enough Canadians motivated to vote. This can manifest in several ways: the disaffected voter, the uninterested voter, uninspired politicians, or election timing, to name a few. With an inspired system such as Pair Vote and others that offer a choice for many who feel their individual vote won't change anything, Canadians are being asked to reassess the ways their vote can make a difference.

I am excited to see where this idea will go in the years to come.

The Limits of Time and Space

I am Canadian. No, I am not revisiting a popular slogan for a brand of beer, but many common things come to mind when my country is referenced.

A small sampling:

-friendly people

-free health care

-abundant fresh water

-hockey

-snow

-lots of open spaces

Unless you are a total urbanite, you're likely aware of the amount of elbow room many Candians have in comparison to other parts of the world. If you were born on the Prairies like myself, it's easy to take for granted how much space we have to live. I haven't been outside of my country much at all – a few trips to the U.S. , a honeymoon in Cuba – so I am amazed to see how people adapt to their surroundings in less-developed parts of the world compared to my own.

It was much to my amazement then when I came across this video from a Bangkok, Thailand food market. I couldn't have thought of a better title to introduce it.

The next time I feel claustrophobic in the grocery aisle, I'll have to remember how easy it is for me to buy "my daily bread" without the threat of being dismembered.

Fini.

That day has come. My final class in Creative Communications ended yesterday at 4 p.m. Two years have come and gone in what at times has felt like a blink of an eye, but in the next moment felt like an anchor that threatened to pull me under. Red River College as an anchor had a second purpose. It gave me firm station in those same turbulent waters so I couldn't drift off into the unknown.

In the past few weeks I've had the pleasure of working on one of my last major assignments, Festive Al. I made the final corrections to my documentary yesterday afternoon and submitted it to our creative arts award ceremony called the CCMA's. There are so many talented people in my class I can't honestly predict what my chances are in winning (probably slim), but a nomination would make me just as happy.

While I have enjoyed many of my assignments in these past two years, the work I did on Festive Al was a great way to wind up this last week of classes. I probably spent at least 40 hours logging footage, editing, and converting files – not to mention all the field work I did with my subject, Al Simmons. As entertainers go, Al was a fantastic person to work with. His professionalism, attention to detail, and sense of humour were a great source of inspiration for my documentary, and for me personally. His passion for laughter and his creative genius could be written about extensively. He has so many wonderful stories from his 40+ year career that someone should propose to write his biography. Future IPP anyone???

Above are a few screen-shots from my documentary. Festive Al was a labour of love. I had five hours of footage to create what needed to be at a minimum of eight minutes in length. Festive Al is fourteen minutes long, and it could have easily been extended. All told, it shows all that it needed to show; one man learning Canada's second official language for his upcoming performances at Festival du Voyageur.

Shutterbug Inspiration

Whether it's an opinion, strategy, or frame-of-mind, perspective is everything. This is probably why I enjoy the photography class I have been in since January. As I've viewed my surroundings through the lens, I've been able to choose what the eye of the beholder sees.

I couldn't resist buying my own DSLR once I began to appreciate the difference that a good quality camera can make, and the results I've had so far are amazing. Sure, there are higher quality cameras out there, but for a novice shooter like myself, my Rebel T1i is light years ahead of my five-year-old Canon PowerShot. It's still a good little camera though.

Our class has the opportunity of using a controlled studio space as well. Here, our instructor shows us the finer points of light direction and controlling the amount of flash that appears as we take our shots. I can't believe how much I've learned about aperture setting, shutter-speed, and focal length in the past few months. These are terms I've heard in passing, but now I actually understand what they mean.

All of this led me to create my very own Flickr account a few weeks ago. I realized I have a lot of pictures to share and there is such a large community of photographers on the web. So far, I've just posted a few shots from various travels I've made. The photos were taken with my trusty little PowerShot, but soon I will post new photos taken with my DSLR.

I hope you enjoy them!