December 2007 Archives
When The Porktrashers (obligatory link included) were mastering our CD, the studio had this book, called Recording The Beatles, there to look through while you waited.
It's the most amazing book of its kind I've ever seen: a definitive documenting of all the studio equipment The Beatles used, including how it was set up and who ran it. Apparently it took years to compile, and even the quickest flip through it confirms why.
I'm not an obsessive personality, but I love the work of those who are.
It's the most amazing book of its kind I've ever seen: a definitive documenting of all the studio equipment The Beatles used, including how it was set up and who ran it. Apparently it took years to compile, and even the quickest flip through it confirms why.
I'm not an obsessive personality, but I love the work of those who are.
This has been making the rounds, (updated link) so it might be old news, but still made me laugh.
Interestingly, at work someone took great offense to it, basically equating it to bashing gays, Asians or "coloured people". My response was that I found it funny because while I will never be gay (no, the earring doesn't mean that anymore!), Asian, or uh, coloured, I was certainly going to be -- and well on my way to being -- old.
And besides, I totally agree with Vera's status entry: Where is the melody in modern music? Where!?
PS The somewhat uptight offended party later issued an apology for referring to "coloured people" (I think, he wasn't clear), which I guess isn't PC anymore. Poor guy. It was a rough day.
Interestingly, at work someone took great offense to it, basically equating it to bashing gays, Asians or "coloured people". My response was that I found it funny because while I will never be gay (no, the earring doesn't mean that anymore!), Asian, or uh, coloured, I was certainly going to be -- and well on my way to being -- old.
And besides, I totally agree with Vera's status entry: Where is the melody in modern music? Where!?
PS The somewhat uptight offended party later issued an apology for referring to "coloured people" (I think, he wasn't clear), which I guess isn't PC anymore. Poor guy. It was a rough day.
As I consider whether or not to upgrade to Apple's new OS Leopard (and I really think I might do it, as it looks pretty solid for a change) I was sent this amusing article about upgrading to Windows XP. It does sound impressive.
(And here I chuckly smugly, as Mac users are shown how to do in the training video that comes with the computer, and then hope to hell that Leopard really is faster and more stable...)
(And here I chuckly smugly, as Mac users are shown how to do in the training video that comes with the computer, and then hope to hell that Leopard really is faster and more stable...)
Most people have had a teacher in their lives who made a big difference to them — and I'm lucky enough to count at least a few — so it's with sadness that I heard today that one of my most inspiring teachers passed away recently.
Bill West taught scenography for the UVic Theatre Program, back in the '80's when I was there as an acting student. I had to take some elective courses, and as I quite liked drawing, I thought I'd take some scenography courses as electives. That changed everything. Bill was a gentle soul who never stopped thinking and drawing and building. And best of all, he loved students who aspired to the same thing and was incredibly generous with his time and spirit. He was wonderful to me, a real mentor who recognized (maybe before I did) that my heart was in designing. Even though I still pursued acting for a number of years afterwards, he planted the seeds for my career as a graphic designer, and the principles I learned from Bill still guide me 20 years later.
Here's some stuff I learned from Bill West:
Bill, wherever you are, I hope you brought something to sketch with. Normally one says "rest in peace", but I think Bill's idea of heaven would be to be busy. So be it.
Here's a bio of Bill.
Bill West taught scenography for the UVic Theatre Program, back in the '80's when I was there as an acting student. I had to take some elective courses, and as I quite liked drawing, I thought I'd take some scenography courses as electives. That changed everything. Bill was a gentle soul who never stopped thinking and drawing and building. And best of all, he loved students who aspired to the same thing and was incredibly generous with his time and spirit. He was wonderful to me, a real mentor who recognized (maybe before I did) that my heart was in designing. Even though I still pursued acting for a number of years afterwards, he planted the seeds for my career as a graphic designer, and the principles I learned from Bill still guide me 20 years later.
Here's some stuff I learned from Bill West:
1) You can be talented and creative without being pretentious or difficult. Nice guys can finish first.Aside from lesson six (which I think of every time I pick up a circular saw around the house) I think the best lesson of all was number two, and it's probably the one that guides me most even today. Right now at work, I'm designing outdoor signage for our new offices. Never done it before, but hey, how hard can it be? I'll figure it out.
2) If you're a designer, the whole world is your studio. You've never designed a chair? Who cares? Give it a shot -- to be a designer is to be an explorer.
3 A good designer takes responsibility for all aspects of his design. In other words, if you design that chair, it's your responsibility to make sure the legs stay on (assuming you give it legs), not an engineer's.
4) Design is about negotiation, and often compromise. When that's driving you crazy, then stop and do something creative for yourself and get it out of your system.
5) A love of exploration is at the heart of any creative endeavour.
6) Don't use power tools if it's late and you're kind of tired. (At this point, he would hold up his hand to show you the potential result)
Bill, wherever you are, I hope you brought something to sketch with. Normally one says "rest in peace", but I think Bill's idea of heaven would be to be busy. So be it.
Here's a bio of Bill.
