Marketing can be so difficult

This was my concept for a talent search poster for my radio show/podcast.

Seems this was misunderstood by one of the cast members, who thought it was a general poster for the show, and said:

"Don't wish to appear overly straight-laced but I don't think this type of image is to our advantage or our credit when trying to get new listeners on board."

Interesting...he goes on:

"I prefer the old-style B&W drawings in terms of style. Their images were a reasonable visual representation of important aspects of the show, something I think we ought to look at maintaining."

You mean a poster, like this one?



anyway, another concept...



...elicited this response from another cast memeber:

"I hate to quibble, but if I was going to slash someone up with a kitchen knife, I'd hold it the other way. If that girl tries for a stab and hits a rib, she will wind up slicing her own fingers open.

Safety in the workplace. Not just for normal people."

Such is the clay I have to work with in building a world media empire...

btw, the tagline is "you too may be a psychotic"

Believe nothing you see

Ever

Glenn Feron - The Art of Retouching

Bigger butts I say, bigger!

Flag?

Cool, a Flag button for objectionable content.

What does this mean?

Can I now complain about too many baby pictures?

I can't write better material than this stuff

Televangelist Calls for Chavez' Death
Yes, the loving and caring Pat Robertson is at it again.

Archeologists Find 1.8 Million Years-Old Skull
Thank God some people still practice real science.

Monday Monday

Though I will be watching, HBO's latest offering "Rome", it may be awful. They sure are pushing it.

The Stones are on tour, again.

Is Catholicism in Germany on the brink of a renaissance?

What seems to be an alarming fake. Or not.

10 points to the Italians for annoying the Americans (yes I know, it is not that hard to do).

Designer's Nightmare

Besides being called "developer" that is.

Study: Web site's appearance matters

"British researchers suggest it's not just a Web site's subject or function that determines whether it will draw more men or women. The appearance of the site also might play a subtle role."

A subtle role! This is the kind of thinking we run across all the time.

"Women seemed to like pages with more color in the background and typeface. Women also favored informal rather than posed pictures.

Men responded better to dark colors and straight, horizontal lines across a page. They also were more pleased by a three-dimensional look and images of "self-propelling" rather than stationary objects."

Self-propelling. "Leaping and Jumping" is the technical term.

"So should Web sites consider having two faces, one for male users and another for female visitors? Moss said more research is needed.

"At the very least," she said, "we think there ought to be a combination of aesthetics.""

Glad to know science is there to show us the way.

Alexander didn't seem to like Bush

I saw the director's cut of "Alexander" over the weekend. It is a film I wanted to like, but can't recommend.

There is a scene or two though that seems to have a not too subtle message for us today.

Listen to this scene, and decide for yourself if it doesn't target a certain country and political party out for criticism.

Required viewing

Two historical series have been airing here recently. Neither of them is strictly brand spanking new (it takes time for them to get to the colonies don't you know)

The first is "A History of Britain" hosted by Simon Schama. Mr. Schama, a renowned professor of art and history is a joy to listen to.

The second is "Battlefield Britain" hosted by Peter and Dan Snow, a father and son team. Here they visit the actual battle sites, and recreate them through narration, actors and CGI.

Check them out if you can.

Post Star Trek

So what is a geek to do these days, now that Star Trek (and that other late comer, Star Wars) have disappeared from our big and small screens?

Battlestar Galactica. God no. Some of the most depressing television every produced. Great action sequences though.

So, I recently watched episodes 18-20 for season 1, and ep. 1 of second 2 of Stargate: Altantis. While the story moves along for the most part, and the characters much more interesting than any late Trek offering, where are the ideas?

The 3 hour and 20 minutes consisted of nonstop bickering, arguing and fighting. Fighting among themselves, fighting with the Marines, fighting with aliens that resemble Johnny Winter.

And then the guy from the X-Files shows up.

This kind of sci-fi seems to be the norm now, with species endless arguing about anything that comes to mind.

Wonder where they get their ideas?

Do I watch? Yup, here and there. Drop in a desert.

Mindless Thugs

I liked the movie "Bowling for Columbine", but in it Mr. Moore made a great point of saying how safe Canada was, how we in Toronto sleep with our doors unlocked.

Nonsense.

When I first arrived here six years ago from Montreal, one of the first things I noticed was the level of violence reported each and every night on the local news shows. Beatings, robberies, shootings.

Once you've been here awhile, it all fades into the background noise.

Except for last night. A four year old boy was shot, apparently just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Luckily the boy will recover.

Mindless thugs. Whither it be gang related violence, or Ayman al-Zawahiri posing with his gun.

Unfortunately these are the kind of people you would never take seriously except if they wave a gun in your face. And they know it.

Only in Canada

Journalist Michaëlle Jean will be Canada's next governor general, replacing Adrienne Clarkson after five years, on September 27.

It's a Canadian thing, this Governor General stuff, but we seem to do it right.

Oh way down south...

in the U.S.A. that is.

WTF is happening down there? Potential traitors in high office, White House officials treating the press as children, religious repression on the march once again, rights of citizens stamped upon or reversed all together, a nation taken to war backed by lies...

It's business as usual.

If true, we shoud be very concerned

Treaty gives CIA powers over Irish citizens

Not sure why this is not the top news story across the Western world.

That, and the fact that random bag searches have begun on the N.Y. subway system.

'[Police Commissioner Raymond] Kelly said that, in general, every 10th rider - or some other set interval - would be stopped before they hit the turnstiles and asked to open their bags or boxes for inspection. If illegal contraband is found in the process, riders will face arrest. If not, they'll be free to go."

Gee, I wonder what types of people will be "asked to open their bags" the most often.

Update

Ha!

House approves renewal of Patriot Act.

The final vote was 257-171. The bill makes permanent 14 of 16 provisions in the act set to expire next year and extends two others for another 10 years.

That's it then. The Americans are stuck with it forever, like income tax.

Glass Houses

Bill O'Reilly called the CBC and all Canadians "far left".

Ok, granted, the CBC is filled with hippies and journalists who jack-off'd their way through university, and our views are "relaxed" (to quote CNN), but to have the obvious distaste of Mr. O'Reilly made my day.

Until this...to have attracted the attention of the far right in the U.S. and the Vatican all in one day is something to be proud of.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican newspaper on Thursday attacked Canada's legalization of gay marriage, calling it a distortion of God's plan for the family.

Though the Catholic church has done a great deal of good in the West, it's entire record would not hold up to too close a scrutiny.

I mean, would anyone's?

Hitlerjugend indeed.

He's everywhere

A poster I designed is up all over Toronto, and it is very strange to see it there.

Here it is on Yonge St.

Rock Around the Clock

That song was #1 50 years ago this weekend.



I took that photo in Atlantic City in 1977.

Though the sign says "Bill Haley's Comets", I've always wondered if the man himself was there that night.

Canada approves same-sex marriage

Oh now we've gone and done it. Scott Thompson's show will never go away.

I love the way CNN describes it:

"Canada's relaxed stance on gay marriage, and on other social issues, stands in contrast to that of the United States, where President George W. Bush wants Congress to back a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages."

Not sure about that word "relaxed". Maybe "advanced", "more civilized", "caring" or even (shudder) "Liberal"

Take that George.

Update

Lol. Fox News, true to form, strikes a slightly more ominous tone:

Charles McVety, a spokesman for Defend Marriage Canada and president of Canada Christian College, called the vote an "onerous breach of trust and the deconstruction of so much that is dear to our hearts."

Flanked by clergymen, McVety vowed his group would work to vote out lawmakers who supported the legislation in the next general elections.

"This is the beginning of the formal fight against the redefinition of marriage," McVety said. "We will, in the next election, be able to correct this incredible democratic deficit before us today."

Flanked by clergymen. Cool.

I want a t-shirt with "Incredible Democratic Deficit" emblazoned across it.

Fuck you Microsoft

and Yahoo, and any other corporations aiding repression around the world.

From the BBC:

"Chinese bloggers posting their thoughts via Microsoft's net service face restrictions on what they can write.

Weblog entries on some parts of Microsoft's MSN site in China using words such as "freedom", "democracy" and "demonstration" are being blocked."

Also being restricted on the free parts of the site are journal entries that mention "human rights" and "Taiwan independence".

...are those words still here? Is this page still online? Is Microsoft still allowing me to write what I want?

Talent Needed for Media Empire

As I've mentioned earlier, my radio show/podcast is in the early stages of recording new shows.

So the search for new writers and voice talent has begun. I've spoken to voice talent here in Toronto, and the other Psychotics have begun to work, but..

Visit The Psychotic Hour. You too may be a psychotic.

Marketing Bullshit

No no, it's not from Apple this time.

"'Pink Panther' delayed to 2006"

Hahahahahaha. A film nobody wanted remade has been pushed until February 2006 because "With the recent acquisition of MGM, we wanted to give our marketing department the time and opportunity to launch this very important franchise," Sony Pictures Releasing president Rory Bruer said. "We've seen the movie, and we really love this film. It's a franchise we believe in and are really excited about, and Steve Martin is great as Clouseau."

Liars! Films that suck are released in February. Films the studio would rather you not know about are released in February.

"Other pictures scheduled for release February 10 are New Line Cinema's "Just Friends," a romantic comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart, and Universal's "Curious George," an animated film version of the perennial children's classic starring Will Ferrell and Drew Barrymore."

I rest my case.