Rik Abel

Rotary Cooling

Rotary Cooling is a new blog from Ken Bryant, Adrienne's old supervisor at UBC, with a sea kayaking focus. Lots of beautiful photos and good, funny writing. You can't beat blogs about niche subjects written by authors who know a huge amount about said niche. He said eloquently.

New Job!

I'm very happy to announce that I have a new job. Starting Monday, I will be working as an "interface designer" for imason, a Toronto company who make web applications, and have a very cool logo. I'm really excited about this, since it is exactly the area I would like to specialise in, and they seem like very nice people who know exactly what they are doing. Also, the office is beautiful.

Wish me luck!

Val Kilmer

  valkilmer 
  Originally uploaded by Rik Abel.

Val Kilmer's name has been popping up in graffiti tags all over Toronto for a while now, but this recently his photoshopped-head has started appearing as well. I have no idea why, but nevertheless I am of the opinion that it is a good thing.

Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD)

ocad
Originally uploaded by Rik Abel.

This is the latest building by brilliant/bonkers UK architect Will Alsop. I love it. Although once winter kicks in and icicles start to grow on the underside I'm not sure how safe it will be. I've spoken to lots of OCAD students while selling them Powerbooks, and they all seem to love it, too. Very cool place to go to school. In the background is the Space Needle, or something...

Stankass

stankass
Originally uploaded by Rik Abel.

No, say what you really mean.

If You Secretly Like Michael Bolton, We'll Know

Our friend (and proud nerd) Jennifer Kahn has a great article in Wired this month about the 'bogus science of cool'. If You Secretly Like Michael Bolton, We'll Know. Yes, I know someone who writes great articles for Wired. Who wants to touch me? ;-)

Resfest!

Woo-hoo! I have booked my season pass for the Toronto leg of the Resfest Digital Film Festival this coming weekend. Should be a fun, eye-candy filled few days. I'm particularly looking forward to the showcase of Shynola rarities. Maybe, just maybe, it will inspire me to get up off my fat metaphorical butt and learn me some After Effects motion graphics mad skillz, like I've been meaning to for the last, oh, three years…

I might swing by the swanky "Motion Lounge" to check out Apple's amazing-looking Motion.

"Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm "Tipping Point" Gladwell has a new book out in January, entitled Blink: The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking, which looks fascinating. In it, he investigates the power of the adaptive unconscious, the cognitive facility behind our ability to make snap decisions or quick judgments. As a huge fan of The Tipping Point I'm highly keen to check it out.

The book is based on his 2002 New Yorker article The Naked Face in which he asks "can you read people's thoughts just by looking at them?" and refers extensively to the work of psychologist Paul Ekman, whose book Emotions Revealed I really should get around to finishing.

Also, Gladwell has written a great article on Ketchup. Yes, ketchup.

Dear Limey Assholes...

I (heart) the Guardian. What an hilarious wheeze to send letters to residents of Palookaville, Ohio (or somewhere) urging them to vote Kerry in the upcoming election. You can probably imagine the entirely predictable results. Dear Limey Assholes...

Ah, I love our great, rotting-toothed, tea-drinking, Nation. Particularly the castles.

Nick and Neil

Neil Young cooked dinner at Nick Nolte's house last night. Nick tried cooking broccoli, but it didn't turn out too well. How do I know this? Nick Nolte has a blog. He seems to be quite a strange man. While he was at the Toronto Film Festival a while back he apparently make himself very welcome in the city's bars, and was nearly run over by a taxi while staggering into a road, blind drunk. Bless him. What a star.