Here be Dragons….
This was posted to the Facebook page for Miss World Canada. What do you think? Is this sort of pose ok, really? Why is Miss World Canada lying down on the job? What is she selling? Why does a young woman pose like this outside of car, lingerie and adult sex media?
Although the site which generated this link is about SunMedia in particular, I would like to see more Canadian TV in general. All the TV channels, the entertainers and media should be Canadian on Canadian TV. It should be the odd time we see US entertainment, not the everyday. This is only aggravated at this time of year when we have the US Oscars shoved down our throat. In the Canadian newspapers, the Canadian magazines, the Canadian news – every facet of the Canadian media online and offline is focused on yapping about the US award show. I’m sick of it long before the thing ever shows up on the actual night it airs.
I am Canadian. So why is it I know names of US entertainers I have never even seen in a movie or TV show and yet I do not know the name of the actor I watched in a Canadian movie last night? Without waiting for the credits, I did not know the name of this man who I have watched in several movies and TV shows over the years. If this were a US entertainer I’d know his name and a lot more.
Why does the Canadian media play into promoting US entertainers and media over our very own entertainers and media? Why can’t Canadians have Canadian TV?
I took this photo (below) this morning. This is the local Barrie, Ontario newspaper. The Entertainment section is just two pages. Other than a couple of ads for local movie theatres (showing US movies, of course) the only content on those two pages is about the US Oscars and entertainers. As a Canadian reading this newspaper I was annoyed to see the US media given two pages and no Canadian content at all. Pick up a local US newspaper and see if you can find a mention of the Canadian media, at all. Likely not.
I don’t think they even know what gay or bisexual mean any more. The media has turned gay into a fashion statement, they forget it’s about your choice of sex partners. Why are 12 and 8 year old kids even thinking about their sexuality enough to claim they are gay or bisexual? Why can’t they just enjoy being kids while they’re still young enough to be kids?
From something forwarded to me in email this morning:
Recently, in a large city in Australia, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said, “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”
A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.
To Whom It May Concern,
Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.) They have an active sex life, get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing wonderful places like Patagonia, the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia. Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs. They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the world.Mermaids don’t exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity crisis. Fish or human? They don’t have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex? Just look at them … where is IT? Therefore, they don’t have kids either. Not to mention, who wants to get close to a girl who smells like a fish store?
The choice is perfectly clear to me: I want to be a whale.
P..S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a piece of chocolate with my friends.
With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren’t heavy, we are enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, ¨Good grief, look how smart I am!¨
Hand Drawn Web Design – Making a list of sites I have found regarding hand drawn web site templates.
Flickr: Hand Written Blogs – Not just the template but the whole blog.
Tutorials :
We are Not Freelancers has a video tutorial: Technique for creating a hand drawn website.
Talk Mania created a hand drawn template and has a guide to what they did to get there.
Web Designer Wall also shows their process in making the current hand drawn template.
Go Media Zine shows how to turn a hand drawn sketch into a vector illustration.
Resources : (Most are geared to using PhotoShop).
Webitect has links to resources and a few tips for designing.
1st Web Designer has resources for using PhotoShop as well as fonts anyone can use.
My Ink Blog has examples of templates and resources for making your own.
Design M.ag has template examples and resources.
Design Reviver has doodling and other resources for making hand drawn templates.
Snap 2 Objects has sketches, doodles and other hand drawn elements.
Hongkiat has 40 hand drawn fonts.
Examples :
Smashing Magazine writes about the trend to hand drawn websites and shows their top picks.
Hongkiat has 50 hand drawn template designs picked out as favourites.
Outlaw Design Blog showcases 30+ hand drawn websites.
Blog Spoon Graphics has 50 Inspiring Illustrations in Web Design.
Create Who You Are Blog has a few more designs reviewed.
I’ve signed the petitions for the local TV stations to get paid through the cable companies . I know this will mean another increase to my bill from Bell TV. I am even willing to pay another dollar or so per channel to keep watching A channel, CBC , CTV and etc.
Ideally, this would mean the local channels could stop running ads. If I’m paying for the service I’d like to stop having the ads (ideally). I know this will not happen and I’m not even writing to ask for that.
What I am asking for however, is for CTV , the A Channel and all the others to cease and desist with the practice of turning the sound up when commercials are running. Then turning the sound down again when the programming starts. This is something which has really ticked me off from the very beginning. I have completely stopped watching some channels, like YTV , over this.
As a consumer who will be soon paying for the local channels I do not think it is too much to ask for CTV, the A channel and the others to treat us (the paying customer) with a little courtesy and respect.
I will also send this to Patrick Brown , our local MPP here in Barrie. Maybe my request will just be ignored but I really do think this is little enough to ask for in return for paying for the service.