individual illumination untangles

Facebook and Instagram

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:32:00 +0000

I've been using Instagram since the end of March. It's my favourite thing at the moment. It's the first thing I check in the morning and the last app I close down at night. During the day, I check in regularly during the day via my phone and a myriad of Instagram viewers out there such as Statigram, inkstagram, and Webstagram. It takes up an amazing amount of time but I love it because it brings little sips of beauty into my life every day. Plus, it allows me a little space and time to be creative. A few days ago, there was a flutter in the news about Facebook trying to buy Instagram. Clearly the folks at FB had recognized the competition. Instagram has a huge number of users I used to share photos on FB, and still do on occasion. But now I post to Instagram first and elsewhere later, if at all. Facebook is a closed space. I have set my privacy settings so that only my friends see my photos. This is where I interact with my friends and share moments of life - posting status updates, responding to invites, sharing news and photos. Facebook is incredibly good for this sort of thing. However, I use Instagram in a completely different way. While Instagram is an open space (I can't really restrict who sees my photostream if they happen to trip across my feed, unless I become a private user), its audience is interested in photography. Well, most of them are. Some are interested in that popular social media past-time - amassing followers. I guess some are more interested in quantity rather than quality. Of my 142 followers, I know fewer than 8 personally. And really only two of my real-life friends on Instragram are into photography and post regularly. Instagram is where I go to be with other fans of photography. Some post pics of their family and lives, others post images of landscapes, cityscapes or studies of objects or people. Whatever the subject matter, it is always presented through a lens of composition, colour and line. That's why when I want a fix of good photographic imagery, I go to Instagram. But when I want to know what my friends are up to, I go to Facebook. Of course, how Google + fits into the mix remains to be seen. I'll have to play about with that before I decide how it fits into the mix.

The Allure of Instagram

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:23:00 +0000

According to Statigr.am, I made my first post on Instagram on March 27, 2011.

In case you don't know, Instagram is a photosharing social network. It's like Flickr crossed with Twitter and Facebook, and it's my absolutely favourite app on my iPhone.

Instagram allows you to take a pic and post it immediately or pull an old image from your photo library. Like another photography app, Hipstamatic, has an assortment of filters that can be applied to your photo. But there are any number of filter apps you can use to process your images before posting on Instagram.

Not only is it exciting to see the support and feedback I've received from other Instagramers (IGers), some of whom are existing friends, many are now new ones, it feeds my soul and imagination to be awash in a sea of beautiful and engaging imagery every morning.

You know when something has taken a serious hold on you when you eschew checking email first thing in the morning to see what @msuze, @mordafoca, @imagraphicartist or @mariannehope have posted. In fact, I spend a good 20 mins every morning reviewing the IG feed (liking and commenting on awesome imagery) and checking on the likes and comments left for me. And every now and then, I get a notice that someone is following me. It's always a treat to find someone new is following but the best is to receive questions and comments.

Like other social media experiences, participants fall into different camps. There are the professionals, serious photographers and designers who have large followings. I'm sure their great posts on IG get them other work. At the very least it's a great marketing channel for them. There are folks who are only interested in having a large number of followers, but to get there, they have to follow thousands of people and pester people about looking at their photos.

There are people who are sharing details of their personal lives - their cats and dogs, kids and spouses, their neighbourhoods and travel destinations. Others are more interested in studying people, still others take pictures of architecture. A large group appear to be fascinated by sunsets and I have to admit I fall into that category sometimes.

The most curious group to me are the bigwigs on other social media platforms who've decided to join IG. Some like @scobleizer, @johnperrybarlow, @mathewi and @waynesutton give us glimpses of their lives hobnobbing with VCs, tech and internet giants. Some are clearly interested in photography. For others, it's a window into their personal lives. It's fun to see this side of them after having followed their Google+, Twitter and blog lives for a few years.

I am continually and pleasantly surprised by the talent out there, especially from folks who don't have backgrounds in art and design. It reinforces for me a belief I've long held that creative acts are not the sole domain of so-called artists and designer. If you want to take pictures, dance, paint, design handbags, what have you, just go out and do it. Enjoy the process and don't get fixated on the outcome.

Here's a sample of my IG posts:

If you'd like to follow me you can find me on Instagram at @zanipooh

Film Festivals: The new distributors?

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:54:00 +0000

Last summer two of my Strategic Foresight and Innovation classmates and I spent a few months thinking about the future of film festivals, especially those with an international reputation and reach.

We were focussing on potential new business models. We explored many ideas One of our ideas was for festivals to get into distribution. After all they are responsible for finding the best films of the year and have strong brands that will resonate with film fans. Not long ago, a New York Times article revealed that Sundance and Tribeca film festivals were getting into that same business.

Getting back into photography

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 03:07:00 +0000

Once upon a time, I was an avid photographer!

The year that I lived in Australia the TV was so bad (to me) that I started to paint and take photographs. Being in a new location is great for capturing images - lots of new sights to experience. Sydney was great for the juxtaposition of British colonial sandstone buildings with new glass office building, beaches and the beautiful harbour that fed my desire to capture images of water.

By the time I left Australia I knew I had to go to art school. So when I got back to Toronto, I studied film and photography. For four years I travelled with a film camera (8mm and 16mm), video (super-8 or digital) and my single lens reflex stills camera. Spurred on by the water images I collected in Australia, I continue to collect watery footage and photos in Barbados, England, Ireland, France, Greece, New Zealand and the US. Clearly, I am complelled to do this. I have yet to discover to what end.

In the spirit of watery images, here are a few from my trip to Vancouver Island. I travel a lot lighter these days - a point and shoot digital and my iPhone (with a couple of nifty photo apps).

Marketing and distributing film and TV

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:52:00 +0000

My masters program is drawing to a close. We're in the final semester of courses and developing our proposals for our Major Projects. This is the point where we are supposed to leverage all we've learned over the course of the program, frame a problem or an opportunity and propose an innovation to respond to the situation.

For years, I've been fascinated by marketing and distribution issues as they related to film and TV. My past work has been in support of feature film production in Canada, so naturally I've thought a lot about Canadian film issues, of which there are many. Notwithstanding the huge issues around getting Canadian films made, once they are, the biggest hurdle seems to be getting people to find them and watch them. Sure that's not so much of an issues for Quebec (congrats and continued success by the way, you guys), but the folks who are part of the English-language market see themselves as competing with Hollywood. Now whether that's the right attitude or not depends on who you are and what you do. Once upon a time, I'd have said that it's indie American cinema that was our real competition because no one competes against the juggernaut that is Hollywood.

Today, with the internet and so many other distractions, the competition for Canadian film runs the gamut from silly cat videos on YouTube, to Bioshock, hipstamatic app on the iPhone, solitaire, video on demand and World of Warcraft. Yeah, all that and a good latte in the presence of friends.

Despite all the other things you could spend your time doing, I still think that people are interested in experiencing a great story, being transform, being transported and or even having their minds blasted by ear-popping audio and special effects that do little to advance the plot - perhaps not all are necessary at once. And, naive as it may be, I still think that there is an audience for the works of Canadian filmmakers.

Some may be screaming that Hollywood is dying. That doesn't mean the end of a good story in a time-based medium. But in the age of the internet, where the big screen caters to little but studio productions, how are niche and indie filmmakers finding audiences for their work?

This is kinda the subject of my major project. I see marketing and distribution as key to the future of film and TV type content. Forgive me for such lazy terminology. While I don't want to perpetuate 20th century labels that are clearly challenged and increasingly inadequate, I'm not sure sure yet what terms to use for the story-based moving images that we see on mobile, bigger and even bigger screens. What is film today? A medium, a style of production, a way of presenting a story? What is TV? A broadcast medium, a box in the corner of the room? What happens if you're like me and you watch your TV, films and other video on your iPad or computer? And I haven't even started to think about other forms that are related - interactive, transmedia etc.

So, my starting point is to look at marketing and distribution because these have been changed by digital technologies and globally distributed networks. The smart folks will forgo duplicating old strategies in the new medium and seek to understand what behaviours are natural to this new space and develop strategies the leverage those natural behaviours. So my research is looking at the folks who are doing something new and fresh - finding their audiences in new places and spaces, embarking on relationships beyond the producer-consumer paradigm. These folks may be making a profit or making a mark. Not matter, I'm all down for new definitions of success.

As a final product, I am supposed to come up with an innovation. Something that will serve an unmet need. Since I'm following the design thinking process in developing my major project I can't say yet what that final product will be. Because I'm not that that stage yet and don't know what shape it will take. Ask me in June or July? I should know better then, or I'll be in deep doo-doo.

Values and Vision

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:47:00 +0000

Shhhh, don't tell anyone, but I admit I have had moments of great dissatisfaction in my working career. In the last few years, as I have embraced some new adventures, I have had the opportunity to examine what has worked and what hasn't since I left university . . . the first time, and the second time.

I've taught Romanian engineers to sound less Romanian and more Canadian. Okay, I tried to teach them to sound more Canadian. At that time, I had some difficulties of my own with certain Canadian vowels as I'd only been on this side of the Atlantic a few years. But I maintain that I would never have perfected them if I hadn't had to teach someone else how to produce them. After almost 30 years here, I hardly ever trip over them now.

My working career to date has not be what you'd imagine for someone with degrees in Linguistics, French and Film (soon to be joined by Foresight and Innovation). Over the years, it's touched film production, Artist-Run Centres, an Arts Council, research, internet strategy and government policy. Yeah, and cat/house sitting. I've been a sole proprietor and one of thousands of employees.

I've worked with some wonderful people, imbued with passion for humanity and their work. And I've worked with folks who are bored, angry and resentful. I've worked with folks who have found their niche and others who are still looking. Myself, I've run the gamut, from wildly passionate about my work to pulling my hair out with frustration ("no, I will not write version 27 of this bloody document until you have at least read version 15!!!")

At some point in 2006, I decided to think differently about my future work-life. I decided I wanted to shape it rather than just trip across it. Admittedly, the tripping tactic had been very successful to date, so I won't knock it, too hard. But, I'm seduced by the idea of shaping your future. In order to do that, you need to know who you are and what you want. Not such an easy task, for some.

Since I started that journey, I've met two remarkable individuals who have had rare insight into knowing yourself, your wants and desires and finding your true career passion. They've taught me to critically examine my values, my skills and experience in ways that were not immediately obvious to me. This exploration has been further supplemented by some of the discussions/readings from my leadership and strategic communications courses and on-going conversations with friends who are asking the same questions about their current work situations.

I've been thinking a bit about values. Personal values, organizational values. What are your values? The guiding principles in your life? How do they mesh with the values of your employer? I don't mean the ones your employer espouses but the actual ones you see lived in the culture of the organization. I have it under good authority that if your values and those of your organization don't correspond much, then you are likely to be less than exuberant about your work. Go figure!

Reading about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, it's easy to recognize that most of my friends have their basic needs. It's not enough for basic physical needs (food, shelter) to be met. To be happy and fulfilled, we the need to be self-actualized and for there to be strong correspondence between organizational and personal values. But in order to make a change . . . you've got to be fed up enough about a bunch of factors. Until that happens, change won't happen. In the leadership/change-making class on Friday, the prof showed us a formula for organizational change and I think with a modification it works for individuals too.

Formula for Change
The formula proposes that the combination of organizational dissatisfaction, vision for the future and the possibility of immediate, tactical action must be stronger than the resistance within the organization in order for meaningful change to occur.

Or in other words . . .
Formula for Change/Action
The formula proposes that the combination of dissatisfaction with the organization, (your having) a vision for the future, and the possibility of immediate, tactical action must be stronger than (your) personal levels of risk aversion in order for meaningful change to occur.

It's all relative to an individual's experience and personality. Me, I can tolerate high levels of risk. I don't even have to have a clear vision for the future. I just have to be sure that it's not like the past. In that respect, I'm an eternal optimist, I guess. I enter every new work experience with the belief that it's going to be great. After I have learned the ropes and have seen how things really work, or don't, the frustration sets in. Eventually, I need an attitude adjustment where I convince myself that I'm just not applying myself well or am losing focus (on the main prize). Finally, after much mental self flagellation, I decide that it's time to do something. Thus, while I have discovered that my "dissatisfaction with an organization" threshold is pretty low, I have a high threshold for frustration. Hmm, I guess that's true about a lot of aspects of my life.

Armed with this new insight, I have resolved to end this vicious cycle and embark on a more virtuous one. Thus from now on, I will play closer attention to an organization's culture and see how it's lived values correspond to mine. I'll also stop putting myself up for jobs I can do and focus on work I want to do.

Baby It's Cold Outside

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 17:51:00 +0000

It's bloody cold out there. Of course, I can hear my Ottawa friends snorting as I say this. "Yeah, that's a typical Ottawa winter day, you Toronto Softy".

So, it's -12 degrees Celsius with a wind chill factor of -22. Winds are northwesterly at about 30 clicks, bbbrrrr. Thank goodness ten years in Ottawa have taught me how to dress appropriately for this kind of weather. Off now to see an Ottawa friend who's in town.

It's only natural that cold weather is making me think about warmer days gone past. Here are some images that make me smile.

Staying in the Now

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:42:00 +0000

The fall has been the most difficult time of my life. Any other trials and tribulations I have ever complained about pale so miserably in comparison. I've been busy. I've been stressed. I have been worried. But to have that all fall on you at one time isn't fun in the slightest. Don't they say that what doesn't break you, makes you stronger. Yeah, I guess so.

Mum appeared to be improving on the road to her recovery and then we hit a series of road bumps. First, slow improvement and the doctors don't exactly know why. Lots of possibilities thrown out there, none of them nice ones. So we try a drug know to help kids with ADHD. It seems to help somewhat. She's more focussed and has reached the highest level of functioning since the initial surgery.

Then, an episode and a visit to emergency. Funnily enough, this is the day she is most lucid, responsive. Seizures are common for folks with brain injuries but the doctors at emergency can't agree with the doctors at the rehab hospital who think the collapses might be heart related. Battery of tests later and nothing much is proven. Unless an event happens to be witnessed or takes place during a scan, it's hard to prove anything. What it means is she's off the drug that helped her focus and now on something to stop possible seizures. No seizures but also less energy and reduced ability to focus.

This is when the social worker starts to talk to about long term care. WTF!! What do you mean she might not come home after the rehab is over. We can't deal with that idea, but we visit the homes and make our choices, hoping it won't ever be necessary.

At a follow up appt with her surgeon, we are told she has "water on the brain" and needs another operation. Heart plunges. But this accounts for why she's talking less and is less and less able to walk, even with help. I'm checking out lots of videos on Ventriculostomies and Hydrocephalus.

Surgery takes place the following week. We are expecting fast recovery. Nope. Mum's back at level one - just like after the first surgery. All the progress she's made over the summer and fall is gone. She isn't speaking at all, needs help to be fed and has no energy. Then, another episode. No need for emerg this time, thank goodness. And then, the offer arrives from a nursing home near us. You have to take the first offer just to get into the system. Then if a space becomes available at a facility you prefer you can move.

We move her into the home and watch her slowly gain strength and dexterity. She's still not able to speak more than a few words a week. Sometimes we get to hear them. Sometimes it's some stranger who witnesses this little miracle. Progress is incremental - not the exponential we are hoping for. But, after several weeks, she is speaking more (few times a day now), is regaining strength, eating well (if slowly) and looking brighter and brighter. An MRI shows that the procedure is working and the water in her ventricles are draining, but at what rate of flow, we can't quite tell yet. But something must be working because she is bright, alert and getting back to what she was like in the later summer/early fall.

Ever since my mum's second brain injury in July, people have been counselling me not to project too far in the future but to stay in the now. It's a nice concept but it's difficult to practice. How do you not hope and wish that things will improve without imagining it improving? Without looking for progress markers, crossing them off when you meet one and throwing another one out there ahead of you. I remind myself that I can't go back into the past and change things and I can't know the future. The only thing I can do is deal with the situation in front of me now. Who is my mother today? What does she need from me today? How can I love her best today?

I'm trying to stay in the now but sometimes I can't help taking a bit of a mental vacation into the past or project a tiny bit into the future.

Social Systems

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:27:00 +0000

My other class this semester at OCAD U's Masters of Design: Strategic Foresight and Innovation is on social systems. It follows a course on systems thinking this spring that was very interesting. While the introductory course was a broad introduction of systems, be they technological or biological, this term is all about systems of people. It has proven very difficult to define social systems. We heard varied definitions. Some were easy to understand and others were examples of the English language that are incomprehensible to regular English speakers.

The one that makes sense to me is this:

"A social system is defined as a set of interrelated units that are engaged in joint problem solving to accomplish a common goal" Rogers, Everett M. (1983). Diffusion of Innovations. Keeping this definition in mind, it's not too hard to recognize schools, companies, social networks like Facebook or Flickr, and much much more, as social systems.

For the class assignments, we are asked to identify a social system, study it and then propose some redesign of the system or part thereof. Social system redesign is a lot like making cultural change, at least from our readings. I have a strong desire to pick my former work environment and totally redesign it (in my mind, unfortunately) but there is nowhere near enough time to tackle that task.

I'm really drawn to looking that the system that distributes audiovisual content (film, TV etc) but that's more of a socio-technical system that a pure social system. But closer examination of some of the factors affecting distribution in Canada (cultural sovereignty, Canadian content rules, the reputation and perceived quality of Canadian content) might lead me closer to the "social" aspect of the system. Plus, I've been chomping at the bit to redesign this system. Of only someone would give the the chance.

Looking at the future of kids entertainment

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:59:00 +0000

Back at school again. Second to last semester before tackling the Major Project. Courses this time around are: Foresight and Innovation Studio, and Social Systems.

Foresight and Innovation Studio is hands on. In addition to book learning we also get to do some. Woohoo! Still trying to pin down a good definition of foresight - there are lots around but here's one that works.

Foresight is a systematic, participatory, future intelligence gathering and medium-to-long-term vision-building process aimed at present-day decisions and mobilising joint actions - EC funded FOREN project

What are the aims of foresight?
"[Making] better, more informed decision in the present . . . exploring new markets, products, ad services . . .navigating the rapids of today's constantly shifting, increasingly complex global environment - Hinds and Bishops, 2006.

So my group and I are looking at the future of kids entertainment with a horizon of 10-20 years down the road. This will be a mini run-through of the steps we would likely take for our major projects. And for me, since I will probably look at some aspect of the intersection of the internet, TV, Film and Interactive Digital Media, this will be a good dry run.

We are working with a large media production company in Canada. They are our ambassadors into this domain. We are mapping out the systems that interplay in the kids entertainment domain: broadcasting, merchandising, broadcast regulatory, Cdn cultural policy, political, etc; the stakeholders: kids, parents, advertisers, policy makers, toy manufacturers etc; the blurring of boundaries between domestic and international markets; and the trends and drivers of change that may have an impact on possible futures for kids entertainment.

It's a group project, and like good foresighting, reflects different perspectives and backgrounds. While there are challenges in working in groups the benefits are great. As I have realized so far in the program, I'm not really a finisher. I'm great getting started, figuring out the issues (the real ones and not just the perceived ones), the patterns, possible routes to follow for fruitful solutions,
I am not as strong at the convergent thinking part - narrowing down on one key solution and then implementing it. Here, I need help from people who are good at this. Thankfully, some of my group mates are good at this.

First assignment is to discover and explore key trends. I've done a bit of this already working as a graduate research assistant on the 2020 Media Futures foresight projects underway at OCAD University's sLab. But it's still tough to find the right angle and make sure to be articulating significant implications for the industry. After we finish this task, we will be tackling scenarios. Should be interesting.

A Long Absence - Again

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:58:00 +0000

Summer was cut short in some respects by my mother's brain surgery. A brain bleed caused her to collapse and she starts the long journey of recovery. We are gutted but carry on, giving her the support and love she needs to find a way back to us.

I've been learning a hell of a lot about brain injury and the implications for her (and us) in particular. Eleven weeks after the surgery, she has completed three weeks in rehab at the very facility where she used to work. As the manager of human resources, she hired some of the folks who are now tending to her. We are seeing small improvements as she becomes stronger, and more aware of what's happening. The nursing staff have been amazing, both at the hospital and in rehab. Can't say the same for the doctors, unfortutately. Well, we haven't seen much of them. Then again, why are we troubled by that? Only because we believe that they are more important the the nurses, which, speaking from experience, is exactly true. Not that they are useless, far from it! But we undervalue the amazing work of nursing staff who tend to their patients with love, affection and genuine care for their well being. I cannot extol their virtues highly enough.

The brain is a marvelous thing - so complex even the experts don't understand the half of it. I have been reading Norman Doidge's book The Brain That Changes Itself. Who knew that Neuroplasticity would be so interesting? The brain "is a plastic, living organ that can actually change its own structure and function, even into old age."

Postscript: School has started again but, while often very interesting and rewarding, it sometimes seems rather incidental.

Still very much enjoying being back in Toronto

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 02:17:00 +0000

Now that's the temperature I was dreaming about

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 01:16:00 +0000

Seeing as our January trip to Cuba was underscored by cold temperatures, Sandy and I decided to return to Cuba. This time we went to Cayo Guillermo and had absolutely glorious temperatures. Not one day under 30 degrees - heaven.

We spend almost every waking hour in or on the sea. It was bliss. As usual, the Cuban people were lovely. Our fellow visitor were mainly Brits from the northwest of England. And if you extrapolated from this group you'd think all English men had shaved heads and lots of tattoos. And they had a penchant for older wives. Hmm.

Expert interviews

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Tue, 25 May 2010 00:55:00 +0000

Final assignment for research methods studio - expert interviews. I decided to follow up on research I did last summer. Last summer, a colleague and I conducted research into the performance of Canadian films on the international film festival circuit. We looked at the number of films screened and awards won at 14 festivals around the world and compared that to how a bunch of other countries did.

As we conducted the research we couldn't help but notice how the quantitative analysis gives an impression of how Canada has fared but don't get to the important of participating in film festivals in the first place. A qualitative analysis was needed. So I did a small pilot project to get some insights on what might become future research. I conducted expert interviews with a handful of film professionals (including producers, directors and distributors). It was a great learning experience and enabled me to get deeper insight into the different perspectives of these professionals. While I have worked in the film industry as a funder, policy maker, festival employee and film makers, I didn't' want to assume that I knew it all (not that I would).

Back up your computer

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:48:00 +0000

My hard drive crashed and burned as I was trying to upgrade to Tiger! Argh!!!!!!

Luckily, I had automatically backed up my files with Carbonite. So I didn't lose any data but I maxed out my bandwidth allowance restoring backed up files.

To my utter surprise I was still covered by AppleCare - woo hoo!!! And they upgraded me to Snow Leopard with the new hard drive. I got Mobile Me too, which I love. It's amazing how I survived before. Enter a new item in the computer's iCal and it shows up on the iPhone. Add a new contact, and it appears everywhere. It's perfect for an addled mind like mine.

I just love technology!

Challenge the way you think!

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:18:00 +0000

This term we are studying research methods (who know there were so many) and systems thinking. Both very interesting areas that have changed the way I think about my work. I never considered myself a researcher. I always imagined that role as something that only resides in an academic setting. Someone with a doctorate in something obscure who never left their office.

In fact, the researchers I have met in the last couple of years are nothing at all like that. Not that they aren't rigorous or well educated. No, I have come to understand that there's a whole host of people who do applied research. Research that has a direct impact on something or a direct output. Designers do a lot of research before designing something - that's just as true for product designers as it is for policy makers.

To be honest more of the research we are looking at this is design research, therefore more applied. That's way more fun than literature reviews.

The other course is an intro to systems thinking. Fascinating, really. And something everyone should study at some level. Definitely something my public servant friends should know more about.

Chilly Cuba

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 02:08:00 +0000

My friend Sandy and I spent a week in Cuba, where we met up with our friend Melinda. While it was warmer than Toronto, the temperature in Varadero and Havana was downright chilly. Thank goodness we remembered to pack sweatshirts and long shorts.

Grad School

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:11:00 +0000

They say the third time's a charm, and I have to agree.

Three times I have been accepted into grad school and finally I decided to take the plunge. The first was to do a Masters in Linguistics at Ottawa U. Ottawa seemed so far away and so small town, and I wasn't sure what I would do with a graduate degree in the syntactic acrobatics of the bilingual communities of Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. Frankly, I fancied making a bit of money after 5 years in undergrad. I went to Australia instead.

Sometime later, after having explored film and video at Ryerson, I got accepted to York to study Anthropology. Visual anthropology was what I was really interested in. I didn't fancy wading through the first year intro before getting to the juicy stuff. And besides, what was I going to do with a Masters in Anthro? Lacking foresight, I decided to get a job . . . in the film industry!

Some more time later, after having ascertained that the misogyny and hierarchy of film sets weren't to my liking (nor working outside in the middle of winter), I decided the federal government was my home. Clearly, I had no idea what the terms misogyny or hierarchy actually meant.

Who knew that a degree in Linguistics and film would lead to a job in film policy. And a home in Ottawa for almost 10 years. Since Masters degrees in linguistics and anthropology were clearly too vague for me to pin a future career on, I decided to study something I'd never heard of before - Strategic Foresight and Innovation. Okay, people have heard of innovation, but what the heck's strategic foresight?

By the end of the program, I hope to be able to answer that question.

Design Thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:58:00 +0000

I've been thinking a lot about design lately. My grad program is a Masters of Design, after all! We won't graduate as "designers", like my interior-, environmental-, graphic-, etc design friends. We'll be the sorts of people who apply design principles to non-traditional design situations. Like what, I hear you ask? Like, policy, business processes, business models. Yeah, stuff like that.

I entered the program with a grand view of crafting a new cultural policy for the 21st century. Lofty eh? It didn't take me long to figure out that I could very well design a cultural policy for my own little island, but that was not likely to happen here in Canada. Kinda reminds me when we were trying to craft an arts policy for Canada and ended up with an arts policy for a Branch, okay, a sector, if you really want to split hairs.

One of our first assignments was a design thinking challenge. Design thinking is what designers do naturally. Rather than seeing a problem and figuring out how to fix it, you seek to understand the context, figure out what's going on and what the problem actually is (coz it's not always what you thought it was) and then you come up with a whack of possible ways to solve it. Finally you work with the best solution that fits the circumstances. Our assignment was to find an innovation in the context of the H1N1 pandemic. So we had to understand the context (what is H1N1 and its implications for Toronto?), find a problem waiting for a solution, explore a whole bunch of ways to solve that problem and pick the best one. Finally, we had to prove how it would either save lives, save money or make money.

Fast Company has a nice article on design thinking.

It was a challenge but a good one. We were a group of people who'd never worked together before and didn't know each other at all. We had our bumps along the way. What do you expect from a group of strangers grappling with a working process that was new to most of us and counter-intuitive to some?

Apart from teaching us about design thinking, the assignment taught us a lot about our classmates: how they think, problem solve and collaborate.

Hiatus Over

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:07:00 +0000

It's been far too long since I last posted. And the last few posts were about not posting. What does this tell me? I'm not very good at keeping a blog going!

So, here's my promise to do a better job in what's left of 2009. Not for your benefit, but for my practice.

Over and out!

I really am quite inconstitent about posting, aren't I

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:43:00 +0000

Well, it's been a while since my last post (again). In fact, a whole season has come and gone since the last time I wrote anything.

It's been a busy 6 months. I've survived a parent with brain injury, three weeks in a Cuban hospital (not a bad experience at all), a whirlwind trip to Greece, Turkey and Spain, a research project that just wouldn't end and the beginning of grad school. All that after selling my house and moving to another city. When you look at it that way, I can't say I have been too lazy.

175 cool experiences in Toronto update - Item 30 - Scarborough Bluffs

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 06:37:00 +0000

I love the water.

I love great views.

I love great views of the water.

Scarborough Bluffs!

http://picasaweb.google.com/zanipooh/EarthHourToronto2009?pli=1#

Earth Hour 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:32:00 +0000

I find all the commotion around Earth Hour 2009 to have been quite amazing. It was great to see so many people and businesses supporting the idea. Sure it's only one hour, but it's a symbolic hour. With a bit of effort we reduced our power consumption in the city by about 15% and a whole lot of people had some fun.

This year, I decided to stroll around downtown Toronto to see which buildings were dark and which ones were brightly lit up. We headed down to Queen and could see the crowds amassing before we got to Yonge street. We popped into Nathan Philips Square for a bit, in time to ring in the hour, them we headed down Bay. I wanted to see what the folks in the business district were doing. Normally, the lights are on on most of the floor. This time many buildings were almost completely dark or very close to it. Very impressive.

There were a few glaring exceptions on my Bay, King, University, Dundas stroll. The Scotiabank branch on Bay and Richmond was very bright. As if there was a deliberate attempt to buck the trend. So too was the Second Cup at University and Adelaide. Bright, bright, bright.

We were not the only ones checking out the situation. We encountered lots of people strolling the city. Couples, family, gaggles of girls, etc. While it's more likely that this had something to do with the fact that it was a Saturday night, I like to think that they were partying in the spirit (or spirits) of Earth Hour.

All in all a fun evening, despite the fact that we realized, once we were out, that we'd stupidly left some lights on at home. Doh!!

Some photos of the night:
http://picasaweb.google.com/zanipooh/EarthHourToronto2009#

175 Years of Toronto

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:33:00 +0000

In 1934, on March 6th to be exact, the City of Toronto was incorporated. At the time the population was about 9,000 people. Today, it's more like 2.6 million. Obviously a lot can happen in 175 years.

In honour of this important anniversary, and my return to this great city, I have decided to explore the great things about Toronto. So over the next 9 months, I want to experience 175 things in, about, of or in this city. And I will report back on how things are going.

Here are a few ideas that already come to mind, in no particular order.

1. Take a walk through Allen Gardens
2. Stroll on the Beaches boardwalk
3. Enjoy a Mojito at Julie's
4. See an IMAX film (can you believe I haven't seen one since Ontario Place in the early 1980s)
5. Read a Jane Jacobs book - She called this city home
6. Buy a book at a local indie bookstore - okay I know that's not really a challenge for me
7. Rediscover old haunts and neighbourhoods
8. Stroll by the spring gardens on Euclid Avenue
9. Catch lots of live music at Harbourfront
10. Visit the Power Plant
11. Visit the MOCCA
12. Visit the new AGO, at a more leisurely pace this time
13. Visit the ROM
14. Cycle the bike paths on the islands
15. Cycle the Martin Goodman trail from the beaches in the east to the Humber River in the west.
16. Go sailing on lake Ontario
17. Take an architectural tour of the city
18. Taste the Mayan chocolate at Soma in the Distillery District
19. Jump up, just a little bit, at Caribana
20. Try a zumba class
21. Follow Mayer Miller on Twitter
22. See a bunch of films at Cinemateque Ontario

That's a good start.

Suggestions are also always welcome.

Update: I've started a list and you can add to it here -

Ottawa Bus Strike - Day 50

noreply@blogger.com (Zanipooh) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:17:00 +0000

50 days and counting since the buses were last running in Ottawa.

My friends back in Ottawa have been have been pretty dignified about the whole strike thing. I'm impressed. They've taken to walking, car pooling and sharing taxis. For the most part, they live relatively close to their offices so the going is pretty easy. But they remind me of the hundreds of thousands who don't. Those poor souls who used to spend an hour on the bus and now are losing jobs or lots of sleep walking for hours in frigid temperatures.

I feel for them. But I can't help feeling glad I am back in Toronto. Of course, Toronto has been known to have the odd bus strike too. So I won't be too smug about being here and not there.

Check out this video from comedian Rick Currie. His reworking of a Johnny Cash song is inspired.