The Official Website & Blog of Paxton Allewell. Communications Specialist, Educator, Writer and Designer.
Video
Parlez-Vous Français?
Feb 20th
I’m currently taking French classes at College Boreal in Niagara and it’s been great so far. Winter is a fantastic time to take a class…it definitely helps with the winter blahs.
So it’s been about three months now that I’ve come to a place in my life where I’m finally committed to becoming Bilangual. I grew up in Ottawa and went to French immersion school as a kid, and on a recent trip back to Ottawa I had an “Aha!” moment. I was hearing French basically just as much as English and it was like finding an oasis for me. I loved it, and I missed it. So, it’s been back to school for me and I was happy to find a good place to study in Niagara…
I was watching some videos on YouTube the other day and this Google ad below played on one of them. It’s called “Parisian Love” and it really connected with me. It’s not only a clever ad using google search to tell a story, but also speaks to my efforts to learn French. I know i’ll be using Google quite a bit through this learning process and already have. So I guess I should say “Merci Google!”
My Winter Homecation
Feb 17th
My parents took off last week on their annual getaway south and here I am stuck in winter. Fortunately the last couple days have been unusually warm, but let’s not kid ourselves it will get cold again very soon.
If, like me, you don’t have a warm winter getaway planned, then you might want to consider the gold ol’ ‘homecation’ option.
Homecation: “With the high cost of travel, people are opting to stay at home. In many cases, they are transforming their homes into a resort, which entertains their local family and friends in the comfort and security of their “personal resort”. (source: Urban Dictionary)
I’ve compiled a couple videos below that have helped me with my winter blahs, hopefully they might help you too.
It was great the other day. My room has a nice big window facing a park and the sun was out and super bright so I took off my shirt, grabbed a comfy seat, put my feet up and soaked in the rays while listening to the sounds of the ocean from these videos. Try it sometime 
The first video is a ‘BEST FLORIDA BEACHES’ video from a dvd company “Relax Now”. I like this one because it reminds me of vacations past, and it holds the shot for a few minutes adding to the effect of actually feeling ‘there’. The first shot with the seagulls in this video isn’t the best one by any means, so wait it out, it’s worth it. If this video isn’t for you, they also have these same type of videos from beaches of Hawaii, Bahamas, Carribean and California and more….just youtube “Best Beaches” and you’ll find them…they’re awesome!
The second video has some beautiful pictures of the ocean, especially the sunset shots, and it also has a soundtrack, which the first video doesn’t.
Cheers to homecations!
The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition – Diet Coke Commercial song
Dec 9th
I was watching some clips on Conan O’brien’s new show’s website teamcoco.com (conan rocks!) and noticed that Diet Coke was a major sponsor. Diet Coke’s intro commercial on one of the videos featured a clip of a song that sounded really cool. I took a second to look it up on google and found that the band “The Temper Trap” not only had a great song, but a sweet video too….I love the triangles spinning and the galaxy feel in this video. Enjoy!
Niagara goes Viral…
Dec 8th
You’ve probably seen the “Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujuah Chorus” YouTube video sensation which now has close to 15 million views. If you didn’t know, it was actually filmed at Seaway Mall in Welland, Niagara.
Congrats to Chorus Niagara and the video production team for hitting the big time on YouTube. Marketers literally dream of making a viral video like this. In fact, a guy I know who’s tried to create viral videos told me he was really jealous.
I met one of the members of Chorus Niagara by chance just about two weeks before this video project happened. And I bumped into him recently at the Pen Centre mall in St. Catharines after the video had gone viral and he told me they were going to be on Canada AM and have been getting a lot of requests to sing.
Today, they were in fact on Canada AM. You can see their live (recorded) performance on http://www.ctv.ca/canadaam. I found it fun to see them all in their normal clothing and dressed up a bit. Some look a lot different (haircut, no glasses, shaven, etc.) from the original viral video too.
Here’s also some great coverage from CogecoTV of today’s Canada AM filming at the Seaway Mall…
The Official Video:
Allan Greg Anniversary Special – full show
Oct 17th
I enjoy watching Allan Gregg’s show, and as I like to usually do on the weekends, today I went to tvo.org to see what new videos they might have up. I came across this great anniversary special and I thought I’d share it – because I can.
“Allan Gregg looks back at highlights from the past 16 years of Allan Gregg shows; in celebration of TVO’s 40th anniversary.” from tvo.org
Douglas Coupland is Everywhere!
Oct 15th
He even has a new Roots signature clothing line…
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I keep coming across his name. I read his Biography on Marshall Mcluhan in the spring. I caught an interview of him on tvo.org in the past month or so; just last week he was in the Globe and Mail where he wrote a huge spread called “A radical pessimist’s guide to the next 10 years” with 45 tips and more. Then two nights ago I was at the Pen Center in St. Catharines and noticed a new Roots store opened up. I began scouting out the store and I noticed the name again. Douglas Coupland. This time it was Coupland’s clothing line called “RootsXDouglasCoupland”, a first ever for Roots and Coupland. I could hardly believe it.
Douglas Coupland, as you may know, is a Canadian author, visual artist and now clothing designer. He’s done a few public sculptures in Toronto and Vancouver that I know of, and perhaps he’s most famous for his book Generation X. (coupland.com)
The Coupland clothes that I saw were pretty unique and a refreshing change from what you’ve come to expect from Roots. I ended up buying a t-shirt with a graphical beaver on the front of it. I really do like Roots and was proud to host a couple iYellow Wine Club events at their Flagship Toronto store a couple years back.
I have to give Coupland credit. He’s got a great gig. It’s nice to see opportunities keep coming his way and that he takes them. I have to say that he’s been an inspiration for me, and I really like the diversity and number of things he’s been able to accomplish. I like to see creativity, like his, being rewarded. His stuff is real art, and it’s Canadian to boot. It stands out and is different. Kudoos to him. I look forward to what he does next…. I’m not worried to find out what, I’m sure I’ll read about it, or see it in a store somewhere.
Here’s a couple official videos on Coupland’s new clothing line. I like the second one quite a bit. Enjoy!
The Art of Life Management
Oct 3rd
Join Jesse Jacobs and his “good friends, and role models Leo Babauta, author of the awsome blog Zen Habits, Four Hour Workweek author Tim Ferriss, and VP of the San Francisco Zen Center, Susan O’Connell as [they] have tea, and connect on the meaning of life, zen, and how to live with joy in a world full of technology and distraction.
Topics Include…
- What is Zen?
- How to meditate
- How these people manage their lives
- How to live with meaning
- How to use the technology and the tools of our times”
Quoted from Jesse Jacobs’ vimeo page.
This is a great topic and I think we need more of this type of interviewing, especially from good society role models. I find it interesting and useful to learn how “successful” people live their lives and choose their everyday routines and strategies. Sometimes it reaffirms my choices and actions, and sometimes it can open my eyes and mind to new opportunities and approaches. Enjoy!
Good Morning, And Good Luck: On TV’s early days…
Oct 3rd
On ‘Good Night, And Good Luck’
& Meet The Press’ 50th Anniversary of the Great Debates
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It’s Sunday morning as I write this, and I’m one of those types who really enjoys my Sunday mornings. I enjoy watching the political shows or arts shows such as Meet The Press, CTV’s Question Period, Bravo’s Arts & Minds…I like being able to lounge around but feel intellectually stimulated at the same time.
Last night I watched the movie “Good Night, and Good Luck.” Perhaps you’ve seen it? It’s by no means a new release (I think 2006), but this time around it stood out on the Library DVD shelf so I grabbed it.
The movie is based on a true story as you may know. I don’t know the whole history, but it’s essentially the story of the first ever investigative Television journalism, and how it came up against conflict because of threats to sponsorship being pulled etc. In the 1950′s – when Television was still an infant – CBS Anchor Edward R. Murrow and his crew’s investigated Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee, who was on an unethical ‘witch-hunt’ for communists in America. The news team helped bring light to the issues of the committee and address the wave of fear that was sweeping the country.
The movie is a film buff’s type of film as it’s all in black and white with fancy lighting and sophisticated subject matter. Being that I have a Communications degree, this is exactly the type of thing we studied at school so I couldn’t help but enjoy it. The movie explores the influence of media on society, the impact of new media on old media, and also the impact of business and power on the media (messages) themselves.
The movie has some of the appeal of the TV show Mad Men. Of course everyone is smoking, like Mad Men, but it also paints a picture of what the world was like back in the 50′s, and puts you in a context where TV was new.
As we spend more and more time on the internet these days, I think this type of movie is good for us. It reminds us that we are in the early days of the Internet. It reminds us that society has undergone a significant change in the past few years because of this new communications technology, just as TV did.
I’ve embedded the final clip of the “Good Night, And Good Luck” movie below which I think summarizes the whole film and calls people to use TV/Media in a better way. Also, funnily enough, I went online this morning to see if I could get some clips from Meet The Press on their website and I came across a clip of a 50th anniversary panel discussion discussing the first ever (infamous) televised Presidential debate between John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon. It was almost perfect timing after seeing the movie last night. The Meet The Press clip examines another TV first, and watching the movie last night before hand helped put this time of history in context.
Since it’s in the morning that I’m writing this, I’ll sign off by saying Good Morning, And Good Luck!