I’m going to get a Nikon D40 sometime today. Being able to take decent photographs with SLRs would be something very useful to understand but I don’t think it’s my creative outlet. I’m probably going to try to learn as many technical things as possible (by self, maybe a workshop? Not sure!). It’ll be very useful for creating “rough” mock-ups of concepts (that require photographs), my blogs (especially for my Queen West Love Blog) and more!

After reading reviews about the Nikon D40 and Nikon D60, apparently the differences between the two are not significantly enough to pay more money for the latest Nikon version… Some reviews even state that the D60 is a downgrade from the D40! I really don’t know a lot about SLRs so hopefully my choice is okay..

I just completed the blog design for my new Queen West Love Project:

It looks really plain, but the point of the layout is to keep it simplistic enough for the photographs to stand out.

I have so many things to add to this blog which I will this week (polaroids, photos, etc, etc)

What have I been busy with?

My art & design blog. My goal is to update it around 3 times every day or so. This is one of my art & design blogs that I will be starting up for my social media network. There’s another one I started but it’s too new to post about ;).I am also starting a Queen West blog next week, which will have a unique concept I’ll post about it once everything has been settled down. I’ll need to visit Queen West with a camera… a camera.. yes..

From the illustrator: Yoshi Tajima

I’ll upload some of my polaroid concepts from my Winnipeg trip very soon

This is an odd coincidence: my fortune cookie from weeks ago said: “Be careful what you wish for because it might come true.” So I thought to myself, pshhhhh lies.

Now, little did I know that I “wished” for, or rather: really wanted was my business to flourish more than it already had (greed). SO IT DID, this week, overwhelmingly, more than I could ever imagine, more than I could ever thought it could reach: it did. The worst part is that I’m not really content about it, my mind cannot stop thinking about it - generally, dead, robotic and unhappy. My relationships: feeling nonexistent because I am not thinking about them. I was content/happy about life before…

I’m falling into the short story about the Monkey Traps. A short summary: Money traps are made with an empty coconut shell. Hunters cut a hole large enough for the monkey’s hand to fit in. They fill the coconut shell with rice (food) so that when the monkey will see it and place it’s hands in the coconut shell, grab the rice and get stuck. The monkey’s hands gets stuck because it is in a fist, which is too big to get out of the hole. The monkey eventually dies.

THE MORAL: The monkey dies from greed, it has the choice to get out of the trap if he just lets go of the rice. However, the monkey does not do that because he’s so blinded by greed and does not realize that it he already happy (and has enough food) around him, and just wants more.

BLAH!

My girlfriend made me this super cute polaroid case for the camera that she got me

( I love the moustache)

I’m going to get back into mixing (and maybe remixing) tracks. I haven’t done it since highschool! The plan: produce electronica tracks, compose piano pieces and my own beats. Inspiration will determine how long everything will take!

Anyways, here are a couple of tips that I picked up if you’re new to producing your own music:

Before you start: set up the BPM (beats per minute)

• Dance tracks: the standard is 140 BPM (you can deviate a bit faster or slower if you want)
• Other tracks: if you don’t know, 120 is the safest

Using Loops: If you’re going to use ready made music loops (shame on you!)

• Make sure all of the loops are at the same BPM, making them too fast or too slow from the original BPM will distort the sound
• As a standard, make sure all of your loops are at the same minor or major (if you mix up scales, the sounds will clash together)
• If you want to chop up different layers, what I try to do is have the same sample in 2 layers, overlap the chopped over the other and fade it out (or else you’ll get the obvious “cutting” in your track).

Mastering the final track: I’m not a sound engineer, but if you want to make your final track sound less “flat” follow these tips:

• USE panning: panning simply means certain layers (instruments) are more louder on the left or right ear than another. If you have different panning for each layer, it’ll sound less flat. (Example: If you have a guitarist on the right, make sure that guitar layer is louder on the right, guitarist on the left, louder on the left speaker and so on)
• USE your equalizer: make some samples have more bass, less bass, more/less treb to lessen the flat sound. Note: do not add in too much bass or treb or else the sample will distort in sound.

USE a good program to mix your tracks that actually producers from record labels use such as:

1. Reason
2. Logic
3. Acid Pro

The Vines: their logo, graphics & album covers Hot Chip - The Warning, The Beatle’s - Revolver

Peanuts Vintage Comic Books (the only ones I could find).
(There’s a huge antique store at the basement of Johnson’s Terminal, the largest one in the city)
Some handmade coffee set for mother.
(From a store at the forks (2nd level), there’s a souvenir store filled with crafts, souvenirs handmade by locals)
Tea from the maple tree
(From the same store)

A photograph of Thomspon, Manitoba by Harv Sawatzky
(Same store)