Don't ask me

This time of year I get all sorts of emails and phone calls, "which camera should I get this Xmas?" hmmm what day is it, Wenesday? Well that means ALL the cameras have upgraded and changed, so I don't have a clue. Cameras change now as fast as cell phones in terms of features and models. The link takes you to the Flickr page that tracks which cameras were used the most by Flickr users. sigh, Canon wins over Nikon hands down, but still its neat to see which Point and shoot models and which SLR's are actaully been used. So go there, millions of Flickr users can't be wrong.

Cool shot from Flickr

busy airport
Originally uploaded by superlocal.

This one's for the plane freaks, (do they have a name for plane freaks?) in the crowd. Doug, enjoy. You should do the same thing here, but in -30C :-)

Portrait of an artist

Portrait of an artist
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

From a shoot for the Wpg Fdn. Shot at the Graffitti Gallery.

WebDesktop

WebDesktop layers a web browser over your Mac OS X desktop.

Any standard web page can be displayed. WebDesktop uses WebKit, Apple's HTML rendering engine from Safari, so web pages should appear exactly as they do in Safari, including such advanced features as CSS and Flash. But on your desktop.COOL!

49UP

49Up was on CBC Newsworld. The link goes to the wikipedia that explains the premise of the documentaries. All the films are amazing to watch. But this one with the subjects at now at 49, you can see the arc of their lives revealed. Now we are introduced to the grandkids, and some of the subject can look ahead to retirement. They also can recount some of the effects of being involved with the series has had on their lives.

Rodger Ebert calls this series one of his top ten of all time. He interviewed Michael Apted, the director, here

Shop till you drop

the latest shopping guide Shop Till You Drop is hitting the streets.

Dragon's Den

A CBC show worth searching out for! It's over for the season but i am sure they will replay it over the year to hype up the next season.

Weird Al's Canadian Idiot

The link goes to one kid's version with subtitles on the lyrics. Funny suff. For those of you who don't know the song it's a rip of Green Day's American Idiot.

YouTubers take a shine to 'Canadian Idiot'

Canadian Press

TORONTO — The stereotype of the Canadian as a beer swillin' hockey nut is alive and well on the Internet, thanks to the computer prowess of a bunch of teenage Americans.

Young fans of the parody song Canadian Idiot by Weird Al Yankovic have supplied the Net with cheeky homemade music videos about the Great White North's “Monopoly money” and “silly accent.”

The offerings, on YouTube.com, range from a simple animated video by 16-year-old Danielle Burke of Burlington, Vt., to the more elaborate lip-synching performance of 17-year-old Stephen Georg, of Myrtle Beach, S.C.

All, however, revel in the ludicrous Canuck images featured in Weird Al's song — a spoof of the Green Day hit American Idiot.
Related to this article

Several of the video creators admit that many Americans know little about their northern neighbours.

“Canada isn't really a place I often think about — but when I do think about it, I often think of maple syrup, Mounties, Celine Dion and Jim Carrey,” says Georg, a high school senior who dons makeup and black clothing for his video.

“I imagine Canadians wear a lot of red flannel shirts for some reason,” says Burke, a novice filmmaker who says she spent several hours on the computer project.

Weird Al has described “Canadian Idiot” as written from the perspective of an ignorant American and calls his song “a love letter to Canada.”

The ditty makes light of all things typically associated with Canada, for better or worse: “They all live on doughnuts and moose meat,” Weird Al croons.

“And they leave the house without packing heat, “Never even bring their guns to the ma-a-alllll.”

Monk-E-Mail

Funny software that allows you to send taking monkeys in email. You can go text to speech but it's far funnier if you use the phone option, and call your message in!

'merican Thanksgiving!

This Friday is the begining of the holiday season.

Turntable Lab

This site just sent me the link to their holiday gift guide. Full of books, music, clothing and Dj stuff that are all very cool. You wonder where those 20-somethings find stuff to act cooler than you? This is one of those places.

Family potrait, the hard way

sundanese.jpg
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

A portrait of a recently immigrated family from the Sudan. This is one of those shots that don't even hint at the work involved to get something like this. The youngest son, who looks so cool,and confident was in fact the hardest person to pose! Between the language barier, and everyone not really thrilled with smiling, it was a challenge. But everyone had fun with it and we were all smiling at the end. A lot of fun!

Just say NO to Windows

Article about a guy who decide he didn't need Windows on his new Dell laptop. He declined the software agreement, installed Linux and got $80 back from Dell for the unused installation!

Meet me at the Apple Store

Having been in three different stores, I have to attest, they are very cool spaces to "hang out" in. Even non-Mac peeps go to play there. Link goes to entire article...

Meet me at the Apple Store

More than just retail space, it's a place where geeks and techno-teens mingle in harmony

Sunday, November 19, 2006

By MELISSA ANELLI

STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

Walk by the Staten Island Mall's Apple Store on any given night, and the scene is similar: inside are just as many young teens mugging for the digital cameras as hip elders learning how to edit their own movies and cut their own podcasts. The toughs in baggy jeans futz with iPods and try to lay hip-hop tracks on the digital synthesizers (with, often, the computer belching their discordant notes back at them through high-fidelity speakers). And the computer brainiac workers recognizable by their shirts emblazoned with the word "genius" are the most sought-after people in the place.

It's a place where computer geeks and the tech-savvy download, surf and shop in harmony

The customers say they love it

Babykeeper

Dunno where to put your kid while you stop to pee at the mall? Presumably you get one of these, and hang em on the wall! It looks a bit cruel to me, but hey beats sitting on the floor, I guess. Link goes to Babygadget, a website full of weird things to buy for your kid.

Ms Dewey

If your idea of having fun is being talked down to by a beautiful woman who is a search engine, then hit the link. Interesting for about 3mins.
(Rob, it will slow to a crawl under dial-up! :-) In fact type "Dial up" in the search engine and have HER give you heck for not moving to highspeed!)

Hockney yer snaps!

Hockney yer snaps!
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

Go to http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/ for some fun toys, inclduing this one which allows you to make your snaps look like a david hackeny collage. You can uplaod direct to flickr from the site

One Laptop Per Child

The project to bring affordable computing to the world's children is plugging along. Prototypes are being built. Read more about WHY the world needs a $100 laptop at the link.
It looks cool to me! Runs Red Hat linux, has Wifi, and reminds me of my late departed Blueberry iBook, which goes for about $100 on ebay!

Stranger Than Fiction

Went in ready to watch the comedy that was marketed on the trailers, commercial, etc. Sure all the funny bits you saw in the trailer were there, but they were around a more poignant movie, full of great characters. Subtle in delivery, it will probably bore the teenage crowd who came to see the silly version of Will Ferrell, who wasn't silly at all. Some amazing moments of acting, some wonderfully bizzare bits, and a story that makes you wonder about your life. I can't ask for much more from a movie.

Businessbib.net

Last Roll - 01.jpg
Originally uploaded by businessbib.

Now that every Mac being sold includes a built in isight, and with the grow of ichat, Skype and other IM softweare featuring video, you need to look professional. Even if you are runninga home base business and you can lounge around in your tighty whities, you gonna look pro! So this company is making half suits you wear on the top while video conferencing. Silly as it sounds, I can see people buying them!

http://www.businessbib.net/

the New Bond

I have to say I like what they did with this. There was no way they could keep going the way they did with the last few films. This new Bond is all about personal politics, rather than the big stuff. Fighting terrorism one thug at a time rather than disabling the laser pointing at Earth from space! Inbetween you see flashes of humanity and the inner turmoil he goes through. If you like James Bond, you need to see this one!

Husky car winner!

Husky car winner!
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

A summer promotion for Husky, a 2006 Mustang GT the grandprize This couple entered probably 12 entries, the same store someone enetred over 300! You only need one to win!

Needless to say they were VERY excited!

Classic Video Game Scarfs

The Xmas wish list starts NOW!

UPDATE: Fuhgetaboutit, I can't count on you for the holidays, I ordered it myself :-)

Jean-Michel Jarre Zoolook

here's a blast from the past. Amazing back in 1984. You've heard some of his other work from the late 70's, you just don't know it. I think Gillam sound used one of his songs for years in a TV comercial. Link goes to a YouTube video of the song

Zoolook is the fifth mainstream album by Jean-Michel Jarre, and released in 1984 on Disques Dreyfus. It makes extensive use of digital recording techniques and sampling. It is considered by many fans to be Jean-Michel Jarre's most experimental album to date. Much of the music is built up from song and speech from over thirty different languages, together with other synthesizers, as well as more traditional instruments. Much of the tone of the album appears to be influenced by elements of musique concrète and by his time as a student of Pierre Schaeffer.

Watching the World Change

I saw the author interviewed on Charlie Rose, and immediately wanted to read this. Not a picture book but more a study of the images of the event. It covers all types of photography before during and after the attack, and that imagery shapes who we are, more now than ever. It's been 5 years, but in those 5 years, digital photography has already change so much.

Though many aspects of this book were fascinating, the last chapter was probably the most disheartening. It told the entire story behind the most famous picture from 9/11, the "Imo Jima" shot of the three firemen raising a flag. The way that one image changed every one's lives for better and for worse, stands as a cautionary end to a great book

Good news for the 6 of you who still use it!

November 14, 2006 PRESS RELEASE

FUJIFILM TO RE-INTRODUCE FUJICHROME VELVIA


Valhalla, NY, November 14, 2006--FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. is pleased to announce plans to re-introduce an ISO 50 Fujichrome Velvia professional film, tentatively named Velvia II. Fujichrome Velvia (RVP 50) was the first high color saturation, high contrast transparency E-6 compatible film when it was introduced in 1990 and was a favorite among photographers. Its discontinuation was announced last year due to difficulties in procuring some of the raw materials used to produce the emulsion.

"Since we announced the discontinuation of Velvia 50, we have been inundated with requests from photographers worldwide to continue production,"said Christian Fridholm, Director of Marketing, Picture Taking, Imaging Division, Fujifilm USA. "They had used Velvia for many years and consider it unmatched in terms of quality and character. One of Fujifilm’s main priorities is to nurture the culture of photography, so we took those requests very seriously."

As a result, Fujifilm research and development teams have developed substitute raw materials and new manufacturing technologies that enable the company to restart production. The new film is expected to be available in late spring 2007. The characteristics of the new emulsion will mirror that of the previous product.

"We are pleased to, once again, demonstrate our commitment to photographic film and to our photographer customers,"concluded Fridholm. Specific details, including naming, pricing and shipment dates will be announced when they become available.

VHS RIP

Posted: Tue., Nov. 14, 2006, 8:00pm PT VHS, 30, dies of loneliness The home-entertainment format lived a fruitful life By DIANE GARRETT

After a long illness, the groundbreaking home-entertainment format VHS has died of natural causes in the United States. The format was 30 years old.

No services are planned.

The format had been expected to survive until January, but high-def formats and next-generation vidgame consoles hastened its final decline. "It's pretty much over," concurred Buena Vista Home Entertainment general manager North America Lori MacPherson on Tuesday.

VHS is survived by a child, DVD, and by Tivo, VOD and DirecTV. It was preceded in death by Betamax, Divx, mini-discs and laserdiscs. Although it had been ailing, the format's death became official in this, the video biz's all-important fourth quarter. Retailers decided to pull the plug, saying there was no longer shelf space.

As a tribute to the late, great VHS, Toys 'R' Us will continue to carry a few titles like "Barney," and some dollar video chains will still handle cassettes for those who cannot deal with the death of the format.

Born Vertical Helical Scan to parent JVC of Japan, the tape had a difficult childhood as it was forced to compete with Sony's Betamax format. After its youthful Betamax battles, the longer-playing VHS tapes eventually became the format of choice for millions of consumers. VHS enjoyed a lucrative career, transforming the way people watched movies and changing the economics of the film biz. VHS hit its peak with "The Lion King," which sold more than 30 million vidcassettes Stateside.

The format flourished until DVDs launched in 1997. After a fruitful career, VHS tapes started to retire from center stage in 2003 when DVDs became more popular for the first time.

Since their retirement, VHS tapes have made occasional appearances in children's entertainment and as a format for collectors seeking titles not released on DVD. VHS continued to make as much as $300 million a year until this year, when studios stopped manufacturing the tapes.

Read the full article at:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117953955.html

more Oxford House scenery

more Oxford House scenery
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

Oxford House scenery

Oxford House scenery
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

Pandora's Box The Criterion Collection

Finally! This classic silent film is finally available on DVD and the wait was worth it. Criterion is in charge and the package includes a ton of extras. See the link for details. This film from 1929 is considered to be Louise Brook's defining role. I pre-ordered this DVD and anxiously await it's release at the end of the month.

One of the masters of early German cinema, G. W. Pabst had an innate talent for discovering actresses (including Greta Garbo). And perhaps none of his female stars shone brighter than Kansas native and onetime Ziegfeld girl Louise Brooks, whose legendary persona was defined by Pabst's lurid, controversial melodrama Pandora's Box. Sensationally modern, the film follows the downward spiral of the fiery, brash, yet innocent showgirl Lulu, whose sexual vivacity has a devastating effect on everyone she comes in contact with. Daring and stylish, Pandora's Box is one of silent cinema's great masterworks and a testament to Brooks's dazzling individuality.

OMD Architecture & Morality

One of those life changing albums that one is able to rediscover through the net. Seems I am not the only one who counts this as a classic. Link goes the Amazon listing with the raves. Though I have downloaded it, I just purchased it as the remastered version has b-sides etc.

I'm Mac in Japan now

Cult of Mac talks about the Japanese versions of these funny ads for Apple. The translations help!.

Room full of Chefs

Chefs
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

Mostly all the great chefs in Winnipeg, in one room... for Ciao Magazine

APTN mask as the scream

_IAN0330, originally uploaded by ianmcc.

reminds me of the painting, The Scream

More APTN

_IAN0349, originally uploaded by ianmcc.

I like this mask

APTN

_IAN0552, originally uploaded by ianmcc.

A series shot for APTN. Based on the theme "Our viewers Unmasked"

I'll upload some of the unmasked versions later on, for now you can imagien what they look like!

Oxford House Bad Boy shot

Oxford House Bad Boy shot, originally uploaded by ianmcc.

As tough as these guys look, they were actually very nice and polite!

For those who haven't heard the whole trip it was full of the following things: wild dogs, plenty of kids, scabies,cranberry juice,TB, ankle deep snow, rusting out cars, freezing rain, tacos, crowded air terminals, fried chicken, shy smiles, mud, waiting for the plane, taco salad, friendly jokers, taco leftovers, and lots of really nice people.

Line Rider

Not enuff snow to go tobogganing, so I offer a link to Line Rider. Addictive toy where you make a line for the lil guy to ride. Don't make him wipe out!

Skype 2.0 for Mac, and free calls in N America

Skype is always looking for ways to make your life easier. And now we made calls to landlines and mobile phones within the US and Canada free until the end of the year. Yep, you read that right: Free calls.

There’s no catch

That’s right, you can simply make free calls to landlines and mobiles within the US and Canada for free.

To benefit from free calls to any phone, the call must be made from within the US or Canada and be received by a landline or mobile phone located within the US and Canada. Have a look at our terms of service regarding usage.

eno's latest work profiled at Apple

Cover Browser

Just the covers of many comics, very cool to waste some time....

Syriana

Watched this one last night. From the same guy who made Traffic, and it shows, it's very well done. The multi-narrative story with an ensemble cast, like George Clooney says in the extras, the star of the show is the screenplay. At time bewilderingly confusing, the story does make one thing very clear, in the shadowy world where business and politics meet, it's all designed to confuse who's right and who's wrong.

Blogger Beta move

I've switched to the "beta" version of the new and improved Blogger. If you're having trouble commenting or seeing anything, make sure you hit reload on your browser to allow it to reload the blog with all the new links.

Ambrosia Software, Inc. -- utilities/dragster

Very cool, very simple FTP program. Transmit is my all time fave but this beats droplets and widgets all to heck. Utilizes the contextual menu with the Dock, somthing that I think is under utilized in some apps. Watch the 6 slide how-to on the front page, very well done!

J G Ballard review in the Globe & Mail:Mall of menace

The Globe's review of J G Ballard's Kingdom Come. I would recomend this one, very well done, less gimmicky that the last one.

Oxford House

Oxfordhouse2
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

Oxford House

Oxfordhouse4
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

Oxford House

Oxford House2
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

Oxxford House Snaps

oxfordhouse5
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

Better ROI From YouTube Video Than Super Bowl Spot

An article about the movie I posted about a few weeks back. It really took off, as blogs like mine added fuel to the fire. I saw it on the news several times.

CINCINNATI (AdAge.com) -- Think dove's 'campaign for Real Beauty' generated a ton of buzz for relatively little expense? You haven't seen anything yet.

Traffic spike
With not a penny of paid media and in less than a month, 'Dove Evolution,' a 75-second viral film created by Ogilvy & Mather, Toronto, for the Unilever brand has reaped more than 1.7 million views on YouTube and has gotten significant play on TV talk shows 'Ellen' and 'The View' as well as on 'Entertainment Tonight.' It's also brought the biggest-ever traffic spike to CampaignForRealBeauty.com, three times more than Dove's Super Bowl ad and resulting publicity last year, according to Alexa.com.

By those measures, 'Evolution' is the biggest online-buzz generator in the U.S. personal-care and beauty industries, topping this year's effort from Omnicom Group's Tribal DDB on behalf of the Philips Norelco Bodygroom shaver. And that's before the campaign began rolling out to 10 additional countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America last week.

CanadaDrugscollage.jpg

CanadaDrugscollage.jpg
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

Part of a series of headshot of the emploees of CanadaDrugs.com. They are to be used in a calendar sent to customoers. Customers enjoyed seeing the faces behind the names of the people at the call centre.

They got the guy...

shocknife.jpg
Originally uploaded by ianmcc.

yeah, I wish... Sadly this isn't me documenting the police capturing the guy who busted into my studio. It's simply part of a training mannual for Shocknife. http://www.shocknife.com/index.html

Oxford House

I was going to blog about how next week I will be in Oxford House for the NWC. Instead I offer this story as a glimpse of where I will be. Nice doggy, Nice doggy...

"Police in Oxford House shoot, kill five loose dogs

Fri Nov 3 2006

By Bartley Kives
POLICE killed five stray dogs in Oxford House on Thursday after two children and an elder were surrounded and threatened by the feral animals.

Roving packs of aggressive dogs have become such a problem in the remote Cree community that RCMP issued a warning to residents that any dog found roaming the streets will be destroyed.

'If the animals are not on leashes or inside homes, they will be put down,' RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve Saunders said Thursday, after his colleagues in Oxford House destroyed five animals.

'They've had many issues with stray dogs being aggressive and threatening people. The public has been warned.'

Saunders said there are at least 40 stray dogs in Oxford House, which has experienced problems with the wild canines since the summer.

But there have been three recent incidents: An elder was surrounded by a pack of dogs and had to be saved by a group of children, a young girl of unspecified age was also surrounded, and on Thursday, an eight-year-old boy was prevented from approaching his home, Saunders said.
Click here to find out more!
As well, a pack of dogs also turned on one of its own and 'literally tore a 70-pound animal apart,' Saunders said.

Residents received warning letters from the RCMP to keep their pets on leashes or indoors on Wednesday. One resident called the Free Press to complain, claiming shooting strays is inhumane.

Saunders defended the practice, noting families on two other First Nations communities suffered the pain of fatal dog attacks this year.

In July, two dogs killed a two-year-old boy in Hollow Water First Nation, while a toddler was killed by a loose pet dog in Tadoule Lake in June.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca
"

Apple - Aperture - Free Trial

yes that's right. If your hardware can support it, you can now try Aperture for 30 days, free. I highly encourage you to try it, if only of you can get a feel for what else is out there. I DO find the UI easy to customize in a hurry, which is nice when a client is breathing down your neck.

Scratch

Finally got to see this 2002 film on the history of scratching and turntablism. If anything it hi-lighted Q-bert's infulence. Kev and I stood in line for awhile, last trip to San fran to meet the man and now that I know more about him I am even more impressed. Turns out just about everyone who started the scratching scene cites Herbie Hancock's Rockit and specificially the performance at the 1985 Grammy's as the moment that inspired them all.I know the feeling, I had Rockit on a 45 and wrecked a needle on my family record player trying to scratch. Talkin's OLD school Yo!

Dragons Den - Wednesdays at 8pm on CBC

Hopefully this new CBC show lives past the first season. Great fun to watch people pitch their business ideas to a panel of "Dragons". Kevin O' Leary of ROB TV is the Simon Cowell of the bunch and the rest are established Cdn biz people. Fun stuff to watch!

How to Save a Wet Cell Phone - WikiHow

This is one for anyone who's ever dropped their phone in my toilet at the studio. Not that it's ever happened,... more than once,... by someone who will remain nameless.

Ever dropped your cell phone in the sink, or even worse the toilet? Did you ever leave it in your pocket and run it through the washer? It usually means you have to replace your phone, but sometimes if you're fast you can save the phone."