Hey, it's ThatGuyLam at Alpha Canada.

Recreation of Adam

2012-01-27T15:04:00.001-08:00

AdamPullMyFingerV2.pdf Download this file

Posting an ad idea I had for the Alpha course.

Serves us a wee reminder for Alpha at our church: if you were thinking of attending, this coming Monday (Jan 30) is your last chance to "board the bus" otherwise we will be strongly advising you to take the next one in Sept. http://www.firstbc.org/alpha

my computer is predicting the future

2012-01-27T14:41:00.001-08:00

My computer's giving me the date for a file I just created as "tomorrow".

Really not sure what to make of that...

Our #HappyNewYear: Sasha's first steps on #NYE!

2012-01-05T15:22:00.001-08:00

p43.mov Watch on Posterous

p45.mov Watch on Posterous

Sasha started walking on New Year's Eve.
Technically these were her second and third steps, she surprised us all and none of us had our cameras ready the first time she walked. To Mommy.

That's our Sasha: saving it for a dramatic occasion to get us choked up even more, just like being born on Chinese New Years Eve.

God's Baby Steps: A Brand New New

2011-12-25T08:50:00.001-08:00

A BABY CHANGES EVERYTHING
We had a baby. Anyone seeing my Facebook must know that. And yes, I know I'm probly overdoing it with the baby pics.

Our lives have never been the same.

Some of those ways are really hard, and I still come to grips with how hard.

Some of those ways are a daily blast of radiant joy, of a quality that surprises me even tho just about everyone told me to be prepared. This too I'm still coming to grips with.

A BABY CHANGED EVERYTHING

The Christmas story is, in one sense, a baby story of such world-changing magnitude that it need a virgin birth.

Life itself was never the same.

The road for the parents was really hard. The baby's grown-up life was no cakewalk either.

The purpose for the hardness was a constant blast of radiant joy, of a quality I (and many others, like Sam and Charlie here) are still coming to grips with.

I'd thought of writing more, but I think I'm happy with leaving this short, and letting you get on this with this day.

May yours be merry & bright. Merry Christmas!

BBC News - What would Jesus do?: The rise of a slogan #WWJD #Occupy

2011-12-09T08:56:00.001-08:00

via bbc.co.uk

Interesting context for this slogan to creep up again, with the Occupy hubbub in London. I think u can click a link above for the article, which is quite BBC.

God's Baby Steps Pt 1: Anticipation

2011-11-26T23:05:00.001-08:00

NOTE: This ultrasound is of SASHA!
(A few friends are "working on" their second now that their first hasn't soured them on the experience. While we're pretty open to it, we don't have one of these for a 2nd round. Yet).

Advent is the fancy name many church people use for the month leading up to Christmas, the four Sundays before Christmas.

This year, I plan to write a short series matching up my experiences with a fresh new daughter with a certain other baby that lots of us celebrate in the coming month. At this point I'm not sure how many I'll do. Probably three or four.

I've been anticipating writing this first one, about anticipation.
Probably thinking about it most when I'm rocking to sleep the flesh-in-blood manifestation of this ultrasound, which is much cuter and drier and I never knew anything could be so soft or fun to hold.

The spirit of anticipation is one of many things that I believe unites us in this season when we celebrate the season once universally known as Christmas. Apparently in some church traditions, I'm not supposed to hit on anticipation till three or four weeks down the road. But I seriously couldn't wait. To me, it helped me put my Advent series into chronological order.

just before this picture was taken...
It was summer 2010. About a month before we knew for sure, we suspected Dana might be pregnant. At every other point in my life, this prospect was almost pure fear for me. However, at some point in that month before, it dawned on me that a child on the way didn't have to be just fear, that as much as there would be inevitable sacrifices and lifestyle change, I felt released & free to hope for this child and what the potential is for this human being. It was a gentle epiphany, a feeling that washed over me and assured me without connection to a big memorable event or anything. I just felt like things would be taken care of, that we'd be okay, and that now, and not a moment sooner, I was ready to be a Dad.

our life now vs. previous anticipations
One irony (of many) in my life: although "dreaming things up" is often part of my work responsibilities, I've never found myself to be a very specific dreamer. Having a baby was always a possibility but it wasn't the same make-or-break dream for Dana & me that I know it is for others. With that, the whole getting married-buying a home-having a baby set of somewhat universal human dreams... we got 'em, and it often feels like we lucked into them.

In recent rock-to-sleep sessions with Sasha, I've been taking a little mental stock of things I anticipated in the past, and how they measure up to the life I have now. At one point, I'd had hopes for an award-winning career in advertising. Secondary to this, but still strong, was a heart cry to not be alone.

I got the first. Technically. I haven't won huge awards or a huge amount of them. But early on in that life, the awards themselves became not such a big deal to me. Quite early on: at the award show with the biggest audience, I won the student award and missed the speech because I was in a great conversation!

I'll get to the secondary anticipation in a paragraph or two...

anticipations circa Jesus: holdin' out for a hero
Back in Jesus' day, Israel was under the Roman Empire's rule. This was after generations of being under the rule of a few other big-time empires of their day. They were a people itching for freedom, anticipating the promise from their sacred writings: Messiah, which we understand to be "saviour" and had the added connotation of a fighting liberator, probably like their new Moses freeing them from their new Egypt.

And they got... a baby?
One born from a virgin?
And then this guy who walked around healing people?
Their Moses, their Bruce Willis action hero, didn't come as they anticipated.

However, Mary's anticipation gets more positive airtime than those of her people, recorded in what's known as the Magnificat in Luke 1:46-56, a song that seems a direct result of fetal Jesus meeting fetal John The Baptist, who gives a big kick for his mother. The song includes these verses that expressly hint at the sweeping, upside-down reality this Messiah will usher in:

He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.

I'll get more into the nature of this saviour baby in later posts.

anticipation fulfilled
My life's secondary anticipation was much more fulfilled, ironically while I've just about always put more energy into career than family.

I don't wax poetic about my love life too much, period. Even in private. And yes, Dana has noticed... This seems like a great place to start putting my heart out there, as I start this Christmas writing: Dana, or more exactly, the life I've been blessed with which could not happen without Dana, that's been the biggest blessing in my life, more than sufficient for all my anticipations past. Again, I'll flesh things out in future posts, but as tough as some days are right now, Dana is at the crux of at least one moment of pure joy every day. I feel truly blessed.

Interesting sidenote: the company I now work for is award-winning, not for creativity per se but for being a quality workplace.

let's anticipate
So my takeaway in all this is to feel empowered to anticipate... and keep eyes & ears open to how our anticipation is fulfilled... often not as we anticipate. Occasionally, better.
What are you anticipating?
Time off?
Time with family?
Someone to share life with?
A child?
For your child(ren) to turn out okay?
For the 99% to get a bigger piece of the 1%'s pie?

an interesting albeit church-y summary thought
Bob Swann is one of Dana & my favourite pastors at our church, Vancouver's First Baptist. I like him so much that I "cheated" on our denomination's Advent devotionals for this year, skipping to Bob's that happens to be about Anticipation . For those in town, Bob's one of the instrumental figures in setting up the Tuesday night Shelter lineup outside our church. He encourages "expectancy of a blessed interruption", and to "hold on tight. It will be a great ride."

Our ride's been full of big & little surprises so far, and we're seeing why it's important to hold on...

Next post: a brand new new.

'sall part of my God's Baby Steps series for Advent 2011.

GOD'S WORD Translation. Anyone use it? Vehemently not use it? Pls discuss!...

2011-11-22T13:38:00.001-08:00

via godswordtranslation.org

Just wondering what the deal is with this translation. I'm so behind on my theolo-nerd-ing...

American Girl ® | Dolls, clothes, games, & gifts for girls

2011-11-22T10:48:00.001-08:00

via americangirl.com

My colleague @BillBonikowsky was telling me about these American Girl® dolls. Apparently it's a new part of his grandparently obligations. Should probably save up, it's quite likely that when Sasha starts asking for stuff, this is what she'll ask for and they're $119 a pop (for doll plus storybook and/or DVD).

Sasha w grandpa

2011-10-19T22:37:00.001-07:00

Testing to see if this channel is any more viable w new iPhone os.

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

@USAtoday: Obama [office] condemns Iran for pastor #Nadarkhani's death sentence

2011-09-29T12:22:00.001-07:00

The White House and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, are condemning Iran's plan to execute a pastor for refusing to renounce Christianity and re-join Islam.
The White House says the planned execution "crosses all bounds of decency, and breaches Iran's own international obligations."
Boehner said that, "while Iran's government claims to promote tolerance, it continues to imprison many of its people because of their faith. This goes beyond the law to an issue of fundamental respect for human dignity."
The White House statement (from press secretary Jay Carney, not President Obama):
The United States condemns the conviction of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. Pastor Nadarkhani has done nothing more than maintain his devout faith, which is a universal right for all people.
That the Iranian authorities would try to force him to renounce that faith violates the religious values they claim to defend, crosses all bounds of decency, and breaches Iran's own international obligations.
A decision to impose the death penalty would further demonstrate the Iranian authorities' utter disregard for religious freedom, and highlight Iran's continuing violation of the universal rights of its citizens.
We call upon the Iranian authorities to release Pastor Nadarkhani, and demonstrate a commitment to basic, universal human rights, including freedom of religion.
And here is Boehner's statement:
"Religious freedom is a universal human right.
The reports that Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani will be sentenced to death by the Iranian government unless he disavows his Christian faith are distressing for people of every country and creed.
While Iran's government claims to promote tolerance, it continues to imprison many of its people because of their faith. This goes beyond the law to an issue of fundamental respect for human dignity.
I urge Iran's leaders to abandon this dark path, spare Yousef Nadarkhani's life, and grant him a full and unconditional release."
Some background on the Nadarkhani case, from the AFP wire service:
Nadarkhani, now in his 30s, became a pastor of a small evangelical community called the Church of Iran after converting from Islam at the age of 19.
Iranian authorities arrested him for apostasy in 2009 and sentenced him to death under Islamic Sharia law.
The pastor was spared by a supreme court appeal ruling in July, his laywer told AFP, but was again condemned to death after the case was reheard at a court in his home town of Gilan, according to media reports.

See photos of: Barack Obama, Iran, John Boehner

TAGS:
Barack Obama Iran John Boehner

via content.usatoday.com

USA Today story on US response to pastor Nadarkhani's impending execution, for being a Christian pastor. You can email your response to the Iranian government here: http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=88&ea.campaign.id=12209

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

Posterousfolio: Look, Mom, I'm designing in Chinese!

2011-09-21T17:21:00.001-07:00

I'm designing in Chinese!

Definitely must give props to Wanda Ho, Chinese Initiative Director here at Alpha Canada, for correcting my Chinese. Really trusting her on this one but she has lots riding on it: if she gets stuff wrong, I can imagine the wrath she faces...

Also props to David Yu for Art Direction.

Also included the English here too, for reference and, as it happens, I'm a few months late for posting this to the Posterousfolio.
Enjoy!

2011Alpha_Poster_ChnSmp-form.pdf Download this file

2011Alpha_Poster_ChnTrad-form.pdf Download this file

2011AlphaInvite_Posterx.pdf Download this file

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

Foo Fighters - Keepin it Clean in KC - YouTube

2011-09-21T14:17:00.001-07:00

via youtube.com

Main point of this, to me: them Foo Fighters is funny. If I'm ever playing a stadium show and there's a large protest scheduled, this is how I'd like to respond. NOTE: sensitive friends, the language gets crude pretty fast.

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

How to Rule the Whole Freaking World | Copyblogger

2011-09-20T11:58:00.001-07:00

via copyblogger.com

Click on http://www.copyblogger.com/end-malaria/ or above for a very fun sell job on a really neat not-quite-product. I'd heard rumblings of the Seth Godin's Domino Project, now I see some fruit. Neat-o!

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

Oprahs-Bees.gif 300×169 pixels

2011-08-31T16:02:00.001-07:00

via lh4.googleusercontent.com

Kurtis Findlay RTed this (or whatever you call it on Google+. Strange yet somehow appealing. To me at least...

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

I'm #5! NASPA CrossTable from the #BCScrabbleChampionship this past weekend

2011-08-30T14:19:00.001-07:00

Back to monthly index

NASPA Cross-Table: Vancouver, BC, CAN, August 27-28, 2011

Vancouver, BC, CAN

August 27-28, 2011

Rating

Rank Name W–L Spread Old
Perf New
+/− Round-by-Round Results

1 James
Leong 12–2 +1153 1967
2201 1991
+24

W24

490
257

W6

514
262

L10

384
390

W14

430
361

W3

409
392

W21

427
355

W22

550
280

W2

383
359

W8

412
346

W13

430
410

W18

432
410

L3

368
560

W3

532
413

W3

502
315

2 Mark
Schellenberg 10–4 +1137 1763
1841 1776
+13

W28

508
305

W21

532
283

W11

571
382

W4

383
355

L22

437
444

W13

461
324

W14

416
351

L1

359
383

W7

383
364

L3

404
462

L3

336
421

W5

445
302

W6

422
357

W5

511
298

3 Chris
Williams 10–4 +565 1804
1948 1822
+18

W27

373
306

W23

397
316

W12

402
395

L13

460
494

L1

392
409

W22

451
304

W16

453
376

W10

490
370

W18

462
374

W2

462
404

W2

421
336

W1

560
368

L1

413
532

L1

315
502

4 Chris
Tallman 9–5 +246 1544
1650 1562
+18

W16

431
288

W26

388
353

L7

345
561

L2

355
383

W6

481
286

L8

316
454

L10

308
441

W11

445
345

W19

390
350

L15

365
436

W21

427
318

W14

424
352

W17

424
309

W7

405
382

5 Lam
Tang 9–5 +153 1585
1644 1595
+10

W9

406
398

L22

346
355

W17

503
390

L20

355
382

L7

344
434

W27

405
328

W11

449
348

W12

360
277

W16

435
372

W8

485
361

W17

377
326

L2

302
445

W7

369
354

L2

298
511

6 Ted
Bryde 9–5 +37 1261
1676 1342
+81

W10

532
379

L1

262
514

W24

371
316

W7

437
320

L4

286
481

L14

301
412

W12

420
338

W21

397
341

L17

382
404

W22

434
360

W13

383
365

W17

410
333

L2

357
422

W10

377
327

7 Dean
Saldanha 8–6 +688 1897
1579 1854
−43

W26

427
321

L16

357
421

W4

561
345

L6

320
437

W5

434
344

W18

349
332

W21

515
318

L13

299
387

L2

364
383

W10

557
387

W15

491
374

W8

420
319

L5

354
369

L4

382
405

8 Dielle
Saldanha 8–6 +444 1835
1513 1792
−43

W25

492
331

L19

337
387

L13

361
475

W23

496
277

W27

366
324

W4

454
316

W17

445
262

W14

421
330

L1

346
412

L5

361
485

W24

459
333

L7

319
420

L10

420
490

W14

368
359

9 Kim
Proulx 8–6 +130
1331

L5

398
406

L17

287
428

L22

308
444

W24

396
281

L25

376
435

W23

450
345

L26

323
347

W19

384
342

W28

392
381

W18

425
339

W14

382
326

L10

350
359

W15

357
324

W15

432
373

10 Kevin
Lee 8–6 +37 1582
1592 1584
+2

L6

379
532

W24

363
320

W1

390
384

L18

342
422

W21

442
364

W15

523
299

W4

441
308

L3

370
490

L14

391
420

L7

387
557

W16

413
337

W9

359
350

W8

490
420

L6

327
377

11 Dion
Saldanha 8–6 −69 1303
1369 1315
+12

L21

371
390

W28

429
306

L2

382
571

W16

377
351

L17

326
386

W12

367
359

L5

348
449

L4

345
445

L15

327
356

W26

366
353

W20

391
345

W19

455
330

W13

471
415

W17

379
347

12 Reuvena
Ross 7–7 +232 1304
1152 1275
−29

L23

358
370

W27

445
281

L3

395
402

W22

463
335

L15

313
358

L11

359
367

L6

338
420

L5

277
360

W25

385
356

L21

369
413

W28

423
355

W24

404
392

W26

416
344

W19

449
409

13 Murray
Weber 7–7 +172 1536
1466 1525
−11

W19

437
400

W25

440
341

W8

475
361

W3

494
460

L14

409
414

L2

324
461

L18

308
458

W7

387
299

W22

376
315

L1

410
430

L6

365
383

L15

329
337

L11

415
471

W20

410
277

14 Gabriel
Wong 7–7 +105 1516
1501 1514
−2

W15

416
386

W20

370
310

W18

400
361

L1

361
430

W13

414
409

W6

412
301

L2

351
416

L8

330
421

W10

420
391

L17

334
356

L9

326
382

L4

352
424

W21

484
269

L8

359
368

15 Jordan
Campbell 7–7 −138 1179
1377 1215
+36

L14

386
416

W18

407
374

L20

297
357

L17

395
437

W12

358
313

L10

299
523

W27

444
384

W26

496
315

W11

356
327

W4

436
365

L7

374
491

W13

337
329

L9

324
357

L9

373
432

16 Stuart
Craig 7–7 −152 1258
1299 1266
+8

L4

288
431

W7

421
357

W26

420
403

L11

351
377

W19

405
372

W20

436
353

L3

376
453

L17

315
322

L5

372
435

W20

348
332

L10

337
413

L23

342
353

W24

361
343

W21

349
329

17 Ryan
Burgess 7–7 −258 1267
1368 1288
+21

L22

350
358

W9

428
287

L5

390
503

W15

437
395

W11

386
326

W19

387
360

L8

262
445

W16

322
315

W6

404
382

W14

356
334

L5

326
377

L6

333
410

L4

309
424

L11

347
379

18 Jesse
Matthews 6–8 +552 1813
1219 1723
−90

W20

411
364

L15

374
407

L14

361
400

W10

422
342

W23

544
276

L7

332
349

W13

458
308

L22

379
384

L3

374
462

L9

339
425

L1

410
432

L27

434
447

W28

474
327

W23

520
357

19 Tony
Verma 6–8 +90 1185
1144 1177
−8

L13

400
437

W8

387
337

W25

459
346

L21

312
569

L16

372
405

L17

360
387

W20

403
347

L9

342
384

L4

350
390

W27

400
268

W22

468
307

L11

330
455

W23

462
283

L12

409
449

20 Bill
Kinsella 6–8 −218 964
1134 994
+30

L18

364
411

L14

310
370

W15

357
297

W5

382
355

L26

351
385

L16

353
436

L19

347
403

W28

346
328

W23

374
345

L16

332
348

L11

345
391

W25

427
315

W27

316
305

L13

277
410

21 Yukari
Balabanov 6–8 −430 1103
1269 1132
+29

W11

390
371

L2

283
532

W28

425
317

W19

569
312

L10

364
442

L1

355
427

L7

318
515

L6

341
397

W26

409
338

W12

413
369

L4

318
427

W22

393
326

L14

269
484

L16

329
349

22 Mark
Stedman 6–8 −586 1063
1298 1122
+59

W17

358
350

W5

355
346

W9

444
308

L12

335
463

W2

444
437

L3

304
451

L1

280
550

W18

384
379

L13

315
376

L6

360
434

L19

307
468

L21

326
393

L25

443
451

W27

411
246

23 Jennifer
Nip 6–8 −833 1160
1129 1155
−5

W12

370
358

L3

316
397

L27

312
412

L8

277
496

L18

276
544

L9

345
450

W28

405
331

W24

399
367

L20

345
374

W28

398
309

W25

422
329

W16

353
342

L19

283
462

L18

357
520

24 Lilia
Murnane 5–9 −372 1011
990 1008
−3

L1

257
490

L10

320
363

L6

316
371

L9

281
396

W28

388
348

W26

393
377

L25

337
396

L23

367
399

W27

351
327

W25

494
338

L8

333
459

L12

392
404

L16

343
361

W26

394
309

25 Sunshine
Gudlaugson 5–9 −741 969
905 957
−12

L8

331
492

L13

341
440

L19

346
459

L26

341
359

W9

435
376

W28

350
329

W24

396
337

L27

269
399

L12

356
385

L24

338
494

L23

329
422

L20

315
427

W22

451
443

W28

351
328

26 Marilyn
Batchelor 4–10 −495 985
842 960
−25

L7

321
427

L4

353
388

L16

403
420

W25

359
341

W20

385
351

L24

377
393

W9

347
323

L15

315
496

L21

338
409

L11

353
366

W27

364
331

L28

346
354

L12

344
416

L24

309
394

27 Julia
Szwet 4–10 −501 903
891 901
−2

L3

306
373

L12

281
445

W23

412
312

W28

379
348

L8

324
366

L5

328
405

L15

384
444

W25

399
269

L24

327
351

L19

268
400

L26

331
364

W18

447
434

L20

305
316

L22

246
411

28 Vern
Giesbrecht 1–13 −948 769
312 723
−46

L2

305
508

L11

306
429

L21

317
425

L27

348
379

L24

348
388

L25

329
350

L23

331
405

L20

328
346

L9

381
392

L23

309
398

L12

355
423

W26

354
346

L18

327
474

L25

328
351

Vancouver, BC, CAN
August 27-28, 2011
	Rating
Rank		Name	W–L	Spread	Old Perf	New +/−	Round-by-Round Results
1		James Leong	12–2	+1153	1967 2201	1991 +24		W24 490 257	W6 514 262	L10 384 390	W14 430 361	W3 409 392	W21 427 355	W22 550 280	W2 383 359	W8 412 346	W13 430 410	W18 432 410	L3 368 560	W3 532 413	W3 502 315
2		Mark Schellenberg	10–4	+1137	1763 1841	1776 +13		W28 508 305	W21 532 283	W11 571 382	W4 383 355	L22 437 444	W13 461 324	W14 416 351	L1 359 383	W7 383 364	L3 404 462	L3 336 421	W5 445 302	W6 422 357	W5 511 298
3		Chris Williams	10–4	+565	1804 1948	1822 +18		W27 373 306	W23 397 316	W12 402 395	L13 460 494	L1 392 409	W22 451 304	W16 453 376	W10 490 370	W18 462 374	W2 462 404	W2 421 336	W1 560 368	L1 413 532	L1 315 502
4		Chris Tallman	9–5	+246	1544 1650	1562 +18		W16 431 288	W26 388 353	L7 345 561	L2 355 383	W6 481 286	L8 316 454	L10 308 441	W11 445 345	W19 390 350	L15 365 436	W21 427 318	W14 424 352	W17 424 309	W7 405 382
5		Lam Tang	9–5	+153	1585 1644	1595 +10		W9 406 398	L22 346 355	W17 503 390	L20 355 382	L7 344 434	W27 405 328	W11 449 348	W12 360 277	W16 435 372	W8 485 361	W17 377 326	L2 302 445	W7 369 354	L2 298 511
6		Ted Bryde	9–5	+37	1261 1676	1342 +81		W10 532 379	L1 262 514	W24 371 316	W7 437 320	L4 286 481	L14 301 412	W12 420 338	W21 397 341	L17 382 404	W22 434 360	W13 383 365	W17 410 333	L2 357 422	W10 377 327
7		Dean Saldanha	8–6	+688	1897 1579	1854 −43		W26 427 321	L16 357 421	W4 561 345	L6 320 437	W5 434 344	W18 349 332	W21 515 318	L13 299 387	L2 364 383	W10 557 387	W15 491 374	W8 420 319	L5 354 369	L4 382 405
8		Dielle Saldanha	8–6	+444	1835 1513	1792 −43		W25 492 331	L19 337 387	L13 361 475	W23 496 277	W27 366 324	W4 454 316	W17 445 262	W14 421 330	L1 346 412	L5 361 485	W24 459 333	L7 319 420	L10 420 490	W14 368 359
9		Kim Proulx	8–6	+130		1331		L5 398 406	L17 287 428	L22 308 444	W24 396 281	L25 376 435	W23 450 345	L26 323 347	W19 384 342	W28 392 381	W18 425 339	W14 382 326	L10 350 359	W15 357 324	W15 432 373
10		Kevin Lee	8–6	+37	1582 1592	1584 +2		L6 379 532	W24 363 320	W1 390 384	L18 342 422	W21 442 364	W15 523 299	W4 441 308	L3 370 490	L14 391 420	L7 387 557	W16 413 337	W9 359 350	W8 490 420	L6 327 377
11		Dion Saldanha	8–6	−69	1303 1369	1315 +12		L21 371 390	W28 429 306	L2 382 571	W16 377 351	L17 326 386	W12 367 359	L5 348 449	L4 345 445	L15 327 356	W26 366 353	W20 391 345	W19 455 330	W13 471 415	W17 379 347
12		Reuvena Ross	7–7	+232	1304 1152	1275 −29		L23 358 370	W27 445 281	L3 395 402	W22 463 335	L15 313 358	L11 359 367	L6 338 420	L5 277 360	W25 385 356	L21 369 413	W28 423 355	W24 404 392	W26 416 344	W19 449 409
13		Murray Weber	7–7	+172	1536 1466	1525 −11		W19 437 400	W25 440 341	W8 475 361	W3 494 460	L14 409 414	L2 324 461	L18 308 458	W7 387 299	W22 376 315	L1 410 430	L6 365 383	L15 329 337	L11 415 471	W20 410 277
14		Gabriel Wong	7–7	+105	1516 1501	1514 −2		W15 416 386	W20 370 310	W18 400 361	L1 361 430	W13 414 409	W6 412 301	L2 351 416	L8 330 421	W10 420 391	L17 334 356	L9 326 382	L4 352 424	W21 484 269	L8 359 368
15		Jordan Campbell	7–7	−138	1179 1377	1215 +36		L14 386 416	W18 407 374	L20 297 357	L17 395 437	W12 358 313	L10 299 523	W27 444 384	W26 496 315	W11 356 327	W4 436 365	L7 374 491	W13 337 329	L9 324 357	L9 373 432
16		Stuart Craig	7–7	−152	1258 1299	1266 +8		L4 288 431	W7 421 357	W26 420 403	L11 351 377	W19 405 372	W20 436 353	L3 376 453	L17 315 322	L5 372 435	W20 348 332	L10 337 413	L23 342 353	W24 361 343	W21 349 329
17		Ryan Burgess	7–7	−258	1267 1368	1288 +21		L22 350 358	W9 428 287	L5 390 503	W15 437 395	W11 386 326	W19 387 360	L8 262 445	W16 322 315	W6 404 382	W14 356 334	L5 326 377	L6 333 410	L4 309 424	L11 347 379
18		Jesse Matthews	6–8	+552	1813 1219	1723 −90		W20 411 364	L15 374 407	L14 361 400	W10 422 342	W23 544 276	L7 332 349	W13 458 308	L22 379 384	L3 374 462	L9 339 425	L1 410 432	L27 434 447	W28 474 327	W23 520 357
19		Tony Verma	6–8	+90	1185 1144	1177 −8		L13 400 437	W8 387 337	W25 459 346	L21 312 569	L16 372 405	L17 360 387	W20 403 347	L9 342 384	L4 350 390	W27 400 268	W22 468 307	L11 330 455	W23 462 283	L12 409 449
20		Bill Kinsella	6–8	−218	964 1134	994 +30		L18 364 411	L14 310 370	W15 357 297	W5 382 355	L26 351 385	L16 353 436	L19 347 403	W28 346 328	W23 374 345	L16 332 348	L11 345 391	W25 427 315	W27 316 305	L13 277 410
21		Yukari Balabanov	6–8	−430	1103 1269	1132 +29		W11 390 371	L2 283 532	W28 425 317	W19 569 312	L10 364 442	L1 355 427	L7 318 515	L6 341 397	W26 409 338	W12 413 369	L4 318 427	W22 393 326	L14 269 484	L16 329 349
22		Mark Stedman	6–8	−586	1063 1298	1122 +59		W17 358 350	W5 355 346	W9 444 308	L12 335 463	W2 444 437	L3 304 451	L1 280 550	W18 384 379	L13 315 376	L6 360 434	L19 307 468	L21 326 393	L25 443 451	W27 411 246
23		Jennifer Nip	6–8	−833	1160 1129	1155 −5		W12 370 358	L3 316 397	L27 312 412	L8 277 496	L18 276 544	L9 345 450	W28 405 331	W24 399 367	L20 345 374	W28 398 309	W25 422 329	W16 353 342	L19 283 462	L18 357 520
24		Lilia Murnane	5–9	−372	1011 990	1008 −3		L1 257 490	L10 320 363	L6 316 371	L9 281 396	W28 388 348	W26 393 377	L25 337 396	L23 367 399	W27 351 327	W25 494 338	L8 333 459	L12 392 404	L16 343 361	W26 394 309
25		Sunshine Gudlaugson	5–9	−741	969 905	957 −12		L8 331 492	L13 341 440	L19 346 459	L26 341 359	W9 435 376	W28 350 329	W24 396 337	L27 269 399	L12 356 385	L24 338 494	L23 329 422	L20 315 427	W22 451 443	W28 351 328
26		Marilyn Batchelor	4–10	−495	985 842	960 −25		L7 321 427	L4 353 388	L16 403 420	W25 359 341	W20 385 351	L24 377 393	W9 347 323	L15 315 496	L21 338 409	L11 353 366	W27 364 331	L28 346 354	L12 344 416	L24 309 394
27		Julia Szwet	4–10	−501	903 891	901 −2		L3 306 373	L12 281 445	W23 412 312	W28 379 348	L8 324 366	L5 328 405	L15 384 444	W25 399 269	L24 327 351	L19 268 400	L26 331 364	W18 447 434	L20 305 316	L22 246 411
28		Vern Giesbrecht	1–13	−948	769 312	723 −46		L2 305 508	L11 306 429	L21 317 425	L27 348 379	L24 348 388	L25 329 350	L23 331 405	L20 328 346	L9 381 392	L23 309 398	L12 355 423	W26 354 346	L18 327 474	L25 328 351

via scrabbleplayers.org

This is an overly complex diagram to show my 5th place standing in the BC Scrabble Championships this past weekend in Steveston/Richmond, BC. Thanks to James, Jesse, Kevin, Nick & probably Chris W too for everything you did to make things happen, and sorry I bailed early: was late for supper plans with my babies!

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

Are we one big inside joke?

2011-08-22T23:50:00.001-07:00

Sasha's starting to say something that sounds like "yeah!" these days so that's what we r going with. She also laughs like it's an inside joke that's lasted all her life. It probably is. I'm just not sure I fully get it yet. But I'm laughing along anyway cuz it's still pretty funny.

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

"...consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together." from #JackLayton's final msg

2011-08-22T11:27:00.001-07:00

Jack Layton's final message
Monday, August 22, 2011
By Jack Layton, edmontonjournal.com

New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton (L) holds his granddaughter Beatrice as he sits with his wife NDP candidate Olivia Chow (R) watching election results on television with family and friends in a hotel room before his election event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Monday, May 2, 2011.
Photographed by:
(Tyler Anderson/National Post)
Dear Friends,
Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.
Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.
I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.
I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.
A few additional thoughts:
To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.
To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.
To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.
To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.
To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.
And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.
My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.
All my very best,
Jack Layton
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

via edmontonjournal.com

Jack Layton's final message. You are missed, Mr. Layton.

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

Better World Books Takes A Page From Toms Shoes' "One For One" Playbook | Fast Company

2011-08-15T14:41:00.001-07:00

Better World Books, a bookseller that calls itself "the online bookstore with a soul," announced an initiative this week to donate a book to the company's non-profit literacy partners--Feed the Children and Books for Africa--every time a book is purchased on their website. Books for Africa will receive used textbooks, while Feed the Children will (obviously) get children's books.
Sound familiar? That's because the "Book for Book" initiative is similar to Toms Shoes' "One for One" initiative, which gives a pair of shoes to a child in need every time a pair is purchased. The model has been so successful that Toms is now using it with its sunglasses line (but giving away glasses and eye surgery to the needy instead of sunglasses). "Who wouldn't be inspired by what Toms Shoes is doing? Anybody who hears that story, you look for ways that you too can make an impact beyond what you're already doing," says Andy Perlmutter, CEO of Better World Books.
As you may surmise from its name, this isn't Better World Books' only charitable endeavor. The bookseller's entire business model is based on helping the down-and-out: the company collects books that colleges and libraries are going to throw out, sells them, and sets aside part of each book sale to give back to its literacy partners. It's a model that offers affordable books and textbooks to customers, supports literacy, and keeps perfectly usable books out of the landfill.
The for-profit model is clearly working. Better World Books has raised nearly $10 million for its nonprofits and reused or recycled over 57 million books since its inception in 2003--all while making money for the company, which has ballooned to having nearly 400 employees (it started out with just two Notre Dame graduates). "Now that we're approaching the milestone of having donated $10 million back to our nonprofit and literacy partners, we thought it was about time that we made that long-term commitment [with Book for Book]," says Perlmutter.
With Better World Books and Toms now using the buy-one-give-one model, we have to wonder: who's next?
[Image: Better World Books]

Reach Ariel Schwartz via Twitter or email.

via fastcompany.com

What a neat idea. Alpha folk who might be following, this could be a source for your course's Bibles...

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

DeLootLondon.co.uk

2011-08-15T12:50:00.001-07:00

Rebuilding our communities with every trip to the shops.
Rioters may have looted our local shops. But now it’s our turn to de-loot them – by spending our money there and helping our neighbourhood businesses get back on their feet.
-->

Follow us on twitter...@delootlondon

#delootlondon

WoodbineAvenue RT @londonriot: #delootlondon RT @realkellydavis: Help make sure no local shop affected by the riots is forced to close http://t.co/g4WGccs 55 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

cooperantics RT @JonAkwue: #DeLootLondon: a shopper's guide to looted shops of London. Simple. Brilliant. Beautiful. http://t.co/Zy3YIQy via @Snoxishere 51 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

StoryingShef #delootlondon great idea RT @londonriot: Help make sure no local shop affected by the riots is forced to close http://t.co/RJn3vGm 30 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

Join the conversation

via delootlondon.co.uk

Great idea RT@danmillest on what I'd like to call the #LondonAntiRiot... Wonder if people delooted (or are delooting) Vancouver. Might have, I just didn't track it.

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

Social Network Wars: How The Five Major Platforms Stack Up [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-08-10T17:05:00.001-07:00

Most people don’t have the social steam to power a presence on Google , Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Tumblr. Sure, there are handy apps like Twitterfeed and Hootsuite that can help spread one post to all of your networks, but that ignores the individual strengths and weaknesses of each platform.

When it comes time to pick and choose where you post, this chart can help you decide what’s appropriate for you.

Infographic design by Emily Caufield.

via mashable.com

Handy chart... it's kind of my job, and I still get all these doodads mixed up.

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

35% of Web Downloads r porn, acc. to @EdStetzer - Pornification: Just the Facts

2011-08-10T15:30:00.001-07:00

via edstetzer.com

http://www.edstetzer.com/2011/08/pornification-just-the-facts.html
...was a hugely enlightening post connected to an even more informative post I'm about to read. Shown here is the infographic.

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

Religious tolerance in retreat globally: study | Holy Post | National Post

2011-08-10T14:10:00.001-07:00

via life.nationalpost.com

I'm thankful to be in this country; thoughts & prayers go out to those in other countries who aren't as free.

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

"Snail Mail My Email" Marries the Romance of Analog with the Convenience of Digital - Media - GOOD

2011-08-10T13:17:00.001-07:00

"Snail Mail My Email" Marries the Romance of Analog with the Convenience of Digital - Media - GOOD

http://www.good.is/post/snail-mail-my-em...>

Too lazy to write a letter by hand? This public art project will do it for you.

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran – Unprecedented Death Sentence for Christian Pastor on Charge of Apostasy

2011-08-08T15:57:00.001-07:00

Appeals Court’s Ruling

“Apostasy” Not Even a Crime Defined in Iranian Laws

(7 December 2010) The Supreme Court of Iran should immediately reverse the apostasy conviction and death sentence of Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani and release him from prison, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. The judiciary should also release another pastor, Behrouz Sadegh-Khanjani, who faces a similar prosecution.

Nadarkhani, 33-year-old who became a Christian at age 19, is a member of the Church of Iran ministry and the pastor of an approximately 400-person congregation in the northern city of Rasht. Despite being sentenced to death for apostasy, no articles in the Iranian legal code refer to such a crime.

“It is the low point of any judicial system to sentence a person to death outside of its own legal framework,” said Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

“To execute someone based on the religion they choose to practice or not practice is the ultimate form of religious discrimination and disregard for the freedom of conscience and belief,” Rhodes added.

On 22 September 2010, the 11th Circuit Criminal Court of Appeals for the Gilan Province upheld the death sentence and conviction of Youcef Nadarkhani for apostasy.

Apostasy, the act of renouncing one’s religion, is not a crime under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code. Instead, the presiding judge in Nadarkhani’s case rested his opinion on texts by Iranian religious scholars.

According to the judgment, Nadarkhani was born to Muslim parents but converted to Christianity at 19. The judgment stated that during interrogations Nadarkhani made a written confession admitting he left Islam for Christianity. But at his trial, Nadarkhani said his interrogators pressured him into making the statement.

“I am not an apostate … prior to 19 years old I did not accept any religion,” Nadarkhani said at trial. After repeated questioning, “my interrogator coaxed me [into thinking] that a person who is born to Muslim parents, and does not accept a religion other than Islam before reaching the religious maturity age [15 for males], is automatically a Muslim.”

On Sunday, 5 December 2010, Nadarkhani’s lawyer filed an objection to his client’s sentence with Iran’s Supreme Court.

Articles 13 and 26 of the Islamic Republic’s constitution recognize Christianity, granting Christians the right to freely worship and form religious societies. Article 14 obligates the Iranian government to uphold the equality and human rights of Christians.

The judge in Nadarkhani’s criminal cases grounded his decision on provisions in the Constitution and the Revolutionary Court’s civil procedures that instruct judges to consult sources when there is no codified-law that addresses a matter. The judge also cited a provision in the penal code that allows judges to draw upon their personal knowledge when adjudicating cases.

“More and more, the Iranian judiciary is departing from any recognized form of due process, issuing arbitrary judgments based on vague, open-ended laws,” said Rhodes. “Laws and evidence are increasingly irrelevant and unrelated to judicial outcomes in Iran.”

Another Christian pastor, 33-year-old Behrouz Sadegh-Khanjani, is facing a possible indictment for apostasy in the southern city of Shiraz.

Referring to Nadarkhani and Sadegh-Khanjani’s cases, Firouz Sadegh-Khanjani, brother of Behrouz and member of the Church of Iran’s Executive Council, told the Campaign, “This is part of a greater trend of persecution against Christians.”

“My brother was arrested in June 2010. Eight members of his congregation including his wife were arrested two days later but were eventually released,” Firouz Khanjani told the Campaign. “For several months he was in solitary confinement; we had no word from him and he had no contact with his lawyer. He has been moved to [prison] but we worry about the type of pressure he was under while in solitary confinement.”

After his release from solitary confinement, Behrouz Sadegh-Khanjani and his lawyer, Mahmoud Taravatrooy, attended one pretrial investigatory hearing [dadsara] where prosecutors sought to indict him for apostasy along with the crimes of acting against national security, propaganda against the regime, and insulting sanctities.

“We are most concerned with the apostasy charge,” said Taravatrooy. “In preparing [my client’s] defense, that’s where most of my energy has gone, to save him from death.”

According to his brother, Sadegh-Khanjani was born to Christian parents and was never a Muslim. Behrouz Sadegh-Khanjani’s mother is a Christian immigrant from the Congo and his father converted before he was born.

“Technically speaking, the court should dismiss this charge,” said Taravatrooy, “but the judge has to review the accusations first.”

“We asked some top clerics to issue opinions on [apostasy under Islam],” Taravatrooy told the Campaign. “Four Ayatollah’s [including the late Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri], said that changing one’s religion from Islam to one of the Abrahamic religions [including Christianity], is not construed as apostasy and [the convert] should be treated the same way as people of other religions would be.”

Authorities placed Behrouz Sadegh-Khanjani under temporary detention on 6 June 2010 after he reported on a summons to the revolutionary court in Shiraz. At the time he was free on bail stemming from a December 2009 arrest. Taravatrooy told the Campaign that Sadegh-Khanjani’s temporary detention order expired on 18 October 2010. “Technically he is being held illegally.”

The Campaign called for the immediate release of Nadarkhani and Sadegh-Khanjani and for an end to prosecutions on the charge of apostasy, which does not appear in any Iranian laws and violates Iran’s human rights obligations.

*Correction on 13 December 2010: the ages of Youcef Nadarkhani and Behrouz Sadegh-Khanjani were incorrectly stated as 32 and 35, respectively. Both men are 33 years of age.

———————————————————————————————————

via iranhumanrights.org

Brutal truth in Iran.
A few articles of this nature on the site but this one sums it up decently.
As much as we are not unopposed, we are fortunate to live in a place free from a government this outrageous.

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

A Summer Theater Made of old Fridges in East London

2011-08-04T12:23:00.001-07:00

via good.is

Wait, do we spell it Theater or Theatre in Canada?
Regardless, what a neat idea. I'd pay to see a movie on a bunch of old fridges.

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

welcome back prank

2011-08-02T14:15:00.001-07:00

First day back from vacay.
Came back to a newly cleaned desk, pictured here.
Anyone who's ever seen how I keep my desk will know how dramatic a change it is when you can see the surface of it.
As you can well imagine too, this has yielded a pile of papers to sort through. A nice neat pile, tho.

Thanks, workmates!

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

The Tragically Hip's stars line up on the Friday commute

2011-07-15T18:54:00.001-07:00

via en.wikipedia.org

At 542pm local time today, The Tragically Hip were on three local radio stations at the same time (from L to R on the fm dial...):
1. Rob Baker (the long-haired guy, on the right in this pic) was being interviewed on 99.3 The Fox (cfox.com)
2. 100.5 The Peak had Cold Calculation on.
3. 50 Mission Cap was on Classic Rock 101, sponsors of tonight's concert. (interesting full-circle thing too: the song mentions a goal that won the Leafs the Cup, and Rob mentions how long it's been in his interview)
Probably weighted in their favour as they play at Deer LK Pk tonight. Still, this was a little neat. A whole lot less neat if you're not Canadian. Weird, eh?...

Posted via email from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing

20odd Off Days: Day 3 - Unbreaking A Mirror

2011-07-06T22:17:00.001-07:00

One of the (several) mistakes in our early married life in an East Van rental was picking up a full length mirror, then putting a huge crack in it ON THE WAY TO THE CAR. Today we had a chance to redeem ourselves by picking up a full-length that stands on the floor, so it's not tied down to any one room. Smart thinking by design. Provided for a nice photo opp for the attached photo, and Dana tells me she FINALLY knows what her whole outfit looks like.

We have more news about redemption and smart design thinking but I'd rather save it for when the deal is done...

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20odd Off Days: Day 1

2011-07-04T23:50:00.001-07:00

I'm on baby-cation.
I have the good fortune of taking a bunch of days off to get some things together as a Dad. It's a special time. I hope and pray that I can be rested, and also be inspired & encouraged. Being a Dad has been surreal, I can't believe I am one. This past week I've felt like an older sibling stumbling around figuring out how to calm a baby down...

Pictured here: Sasha before we left the house today. She'll flash us a smile like this while she's playing on the floor, then go right back to doing some crazy baby thing, like taking that floor apart.

NOT pictured here: Sasha crying all the way thru our Toyota test drive today. Our saleswoman was really patient.

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At #TheMeetingHouse Oakville for my first Father's Day as a Dad

2011-06-19T08:56:00.001-07:00

Watching Bruxy Cavey interview Brethren In Christ Exec Dir Darrell Winger as part of their One Church teaching series. Great idea: getting different denom leaders to present on diff Sundays. Unity is a strong theme thru Conf Week in London and now.

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Carboloading from the crypt

2011-06-14T06:30:00.001-07:00

I'm far from a fan of the "here's what I had for lunch" post. However, I'm being a tourist so I might be forgiven. This is the custard & apple crumble in The Cafe in The Crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields. It's a nice little oasis of real food in the heart of touristy London. We are going to do a brass rubbing after this.

I only wonder if they could call this something less creepy than a Crypt. While I'm at it, where are these Fields that St Martin is in?

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Conf Week at HTB London: lots to celebrate, lots to process... This baby's pooped!

2011-06-10T10:24:00.001-07:00

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#PoachedEgg at trad'l eng breakfast foreshadowed #RamezSousou: #CSLewis #MereChristianity part of his story at #AIW2011

2011-06-07T01:49:00.001-07:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Ken Costa, #GodAtWork author, at HTB (Alpha Church) on the church & healing world ruptures

2011-06-06T03:37:00.001-07:00

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Downtown Vancouver game 1 of #StanleyCupFinal

2011-06-01T22:16:00.001-07:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

A few shots from tonight's game. Man, this year's Canucks know how to leave it till the last minute!... which is totally what I do too. Go Canucks!

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(Ipsos says) #Canadians Look to #Vancouver #Canucks to Bring Home the #StanleyCup

2011-06-01T14:10:00.001-07:00

Here's Ipsos answering the Ipsos-induced question I posed yesterday about whom Canada's cheering for...

"Vancouver, BC, June 1, 2011 – The puck is about to drop for the first game of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals and it appears that most Canadians are cheering for the Vancouver Canucks. In fact, close to two thirds of Canadians (62%) are hoping that the Vancouver Canucks will be the first Canadian team since 1993 to bring the Stanley Cup home. Comparatively, only one in ten (11%) are cheering for a Boston Bruins victory. Just over a quarter of Canadians (27%) have no opinion. These are the key findings of an exclusive poll conducted by Ipsos Reid for Rogers Sportsnet.

Access the entire press release at:
http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5254&wt.mc_id=1110239 "

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Ipsos: Cup Fever grips BC | what about everyone else?...

2011-05-31T17:00:00.001-07:00

via ipsos-na.com

Ipsos Reid says BC is really into the Canucks.
In other news, the sky is blue and the world is round.
I'm curious, though: how are my non-BC friends feeling about the Cup?
Are you watching? (CBC / Nielson seem to indicate Yes but hey, you mighta just left the game on & done other chores...)
And if you are, who're you cheering for?
Chime in, friends!
...really, I just want to know, I won't Flame or Un-Friend you if you do not see the truth that is the 2010-11 Canucks...

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Watching #2012movie tonight to learn how to get thru #EndOfTheWorld tomorrow.

2011-05-20T19:21:00.001-07:00

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Hey, my name's on the boards at tonite's hockey game. Yeah Lam Research. That's me, sure.

2011-05-20T18:59:00.001-07:00

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Metro - Shark Club re-brands for playoffs #NoWayJose #GoCanucks

2011-05-20T17:57:00.001-07:00

via metronews.ca

Slightly old news. Shark Club is now Vancouver Club during this playoff series. So till Sunday?...

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ICON on Vimeo by Dan Millest #GuiltyPleasure

2011-05-19T12:54:00.001-07:00

via vimeo.com

Dan Millest does some neat stuff. This cracked me up.

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on feeling like a fraud... "You Mean There’s A Name For It? | Joan McArthur"

2011-05-18T16:08:00.001-07:00

via joanmcarthurtraining.com

My old writing teacher (old as in previous. Joan's not old... pshaw...) posted this on her Consultancy's blog. Click thru the link above to see the name of the Syndrome where really bright and/or creative folks feel like Impostors. And the simple remedy. Thanks, Joan!

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What a gas, nyuk nyuk...

2011-05-11T17:25:00.000-07:00

via thestar.com

Ran across this cartoon from the Toronto Star.

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Does anyone still do #FF or #FollowFriday anymore? Pls chime in, Twitter über-geeks! (eom)

2011-05-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

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Why Greentech Needs Strong Brands To Survive | Marc Stoiber

2011-05-11T05:53:00.001-07:00

This article is an adaptation of a Canadian Cleantech Summit webinar.

I’m a creative director with a passion for building strong Greentech brands.

Greentech companies are an interesting study. They’re dominated by logical, linear thinkers who enable great innovation, but often fall short when it comes to building great brands.

I personally believe the world needs Greentech to succeed. By sharing my brand learning, I hope to enable a better win record in this vital sector.

Great Brands Are Intuitive

So what goes into a good brand?

Let’s step outside the tech paradigm for a moment. Way outside.

The crusaders, in my opinion, had one of the most successful brands in history.

Why?

Most would say it was the great logo. Big red cross, bright white background. But that’s confusing logo with brand.

The real brand wasn’t painted or stitched. It existed in people’s minds.

First, the mind of the knight wearing the cross. When you donned that red logo, it gave you a sense of purpose and inner strength.

And just as important, the mind of the hapless peasant who encountered that knight. The red cross inspired instant respect, or abject terror – depending on which side of the religious fence you found yourself on.

What’s important was the logo inspired these feelings intuitively.
The audience simply had a space in their head filled with perceptions of what that logo meant. And that perception was strong enough to move them to action.

Great Brands Create Movement

Ad giant David Ogilvy had a wonderful quote – “When Aeschines spoke, they said, “How well he speaks.” But when Demosthenes spoke, they said, “Let us march against Philip.” I’m for Demosthenes.”

This is what powerful brands do. They incite action.

Simon Sinek talks about why some brands continue to create action, innovation, and loyalty – while others don’t.

He believes most companies know exactly What they do. They know How they do it. But they haven’t a clue Why.

Let’s take computer companies, for example. Their standard pitch goes something like:

“We make computers (What). They’re shiny and fast (How). Buy one.” Hardly inspiring.

Contrast that with Apple. A company with the same access to innovation, but a highly developed brand. They start their pitch with the Why.

“We exist to challenge the status quo in everything we do (Why). We do it by rethinking tech to surprise and amaze (How). You’ll find this in every computer we make. And phone. And music player. And TV tuner (What).”

Powerful stuff. And if you share Apple’s Why, you’d probably be happy to buy an Apple car or frying pan if they made one.

That’s the way beliefs work. Starting with Why liberates your thinking and allows you to transcend categories.

Compare this with Microsoft – the ultimate ‘What’ and ‘How’ company. They tried, and failed, to launch a competitive music player. People simply couldn’t see where they were going with it. Who would buy a music player from a computer software company?

Truth is, you’re doing it every day, with Apple.

Great Brands Start With Empathy

How do you create power like this?

Well, Steve Jobs intuitively knew what consumers were looking for. It was what inspired him.

For the rest of us, though, we need to consciously develop our empathy skills.

Empathy is the ability to see the world through someone else’s eyes.
After all, if we we don’t see eye to eye with them, how can we create something that inspires them?

Clare Graves can help us get there.

Graves was a psychologist who helped us understand how people understand the world. This knowledge enables us to form empathetic bonds with them.

He defined four worldviews – absolutistic, opportunistic, humanistic, and systemic – that are particularly instructive.

Absolutistic people seek order. They have strong faith in a greater power. They believe in sacrifice today, for a reward in heaven.

It’s the predominant worldview of the politically conservative, and religiously devout.

The Opportunistic thinker, on the other hand, sees the world as a game they’re smart enough to win at. They believe they’re justified in taking advantage of those who don’t grasp the same opportunities. If things get ethically uncomfortable, they talk about ends justifying means.

Opportunistic thinkers enabled the great wealth of the 20th Century. And they’re alive and well today, personified by entrepreneurs like Donald Trump.

As a reaction to the inequities created by the Opportunist, we saw the rise of the Humanist. Humanists believe there is more to life than money. They recognize the karmic importance of treating others well. You’ll find humanists among the ranks of hippies, liberals, and ‘new agers’.

From the Humanists and Opportunists evolved the final worldview we want to discuss - Systemic thinkers. Systemics believe everything in the world is interconnected. Like Opportunists, they see through the veil of money. Like Humanists, they understand that there is a connection between the happiness of others and their own happiness. They also see sustainability of the planet as key to their own self-preservation. Think Richard Branson or Barack Obama.

When Worldviews Collide, Brands Fail

So now you understand the concept of worldviews.

But it’s key to understand the importance of aligning your brand with the worldview of your audience.

Let’s bring this close to home by talking about you – the greentech innovator – and your potential buyer.

You’re a creative thinker. Your buyer is probably an order driven thinker.

You’re doing this to make money, but also to make the world a better place. Your buyer is trying to keep his family, and his company safe.

You believe in unleashing a new reality. Your buyer, not so much.

In short, you’re probably a Systemic thinker. He’s probably an Absolutistic thinker.

So what does this buyer think of you?

Well, first off, he probably doesn’t trust you, because you’re not like him.
He might think you’re a bit dangerous, or unreliable. He might see your product as innovative, but risky.

Now you understand why innovators have a hard time selling product.
And why you have to build a brand for your buyer that will create an empathetic bond.

What would the hallmarks of that brand be?

Let me take a slice from one of the tech companies I’ve worked with. Their brand attributes, interestingly, have little to do with their technology. They are: customer service, the passion of real people, shared team vision, commitment, integrity and loyalty. Precisely the values of their best buyers. Coincidence?

Get Started

We’ve spoken about building powerful brands, and tapping empathy to inspire your buyers to action.

So how do you get started? By getting an outside perspective of your brand.

Write down the following questions.

What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of my company?

Does my company share your beliefs?

Do we live those beliefs every day?

I want you to ask prospective clients these questions. I’ll guarantee the answers will surprise you.

If you’d like to know what to do with the information, drop me a line. I’d be happy to provide you with thoughtstarters.

After all, we all need you to succeed.

via marcstoiber.com

This post about greentech has great principles for any brand with a world-improving mission.

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RT @mpommella "FRAMED* — A Platform for New Art Forms" would look great in our condo...

2011-05-10T15:47:00.001-07:00

via frm.fm

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5 Ways Pregnancy Can Improve Your Personal Brand (Even if You’re a Man)

2011-05-09T15:36:00.001-07:00

via sallyhogshead.com

The link here is a fun way to look at personal branding (& corporate too imho).
Although with a 3.5-month-old of our own in tow, "fun" isn't totally the word quite yet...

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Happy Mother's Day! TED talk by two mothers who forgived & healed post-911

2011-05-08T09:21:00.001-07:00

This story's been making the rounds. I was touched.
http://www.ted.com/talks/9_11_healing_the_mothers_who_found_forgiveness_frien...

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Happy Free Comic Book Day!

2011-05-07T12:10:00.001-07:00

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our Squamish family "watching" oldest son Josh's baseball game

2011-05-05T16:51:00.001-07:00

Dana & I are long overdue for posting more cute pics of our daughter.

There are just way too many to choose from.

Here is our cute mixed kiddy hanging out with her two cute mixed kiddy cousins from Squamish.

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Yay May! Nice to see Green get a seat.

2011-05-02T21:26:00.001-07:00

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The "Duceppe" cheer sounds like "you suck"

2011-05-02T20:52:00.001-07:00

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To win a US or Cda national election I think u just have 2 b blue.

2011-05-02T20:31:00.001-07:00

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Spoiler alert! Canucks win, 1-0 in game and series! (eom)

2011-04-28T20:40:00.001-07:00

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Superman Defies (a) God, USA in Action Comics’ Landmark 900th Issue | Underwire

2011-04-27T17:27:00.001-07:00

via wired.com

The fact that there's this much written about a comic book might be newsworthy enough. That says, I might grab this on Free Comic Day (yes, geeky ones, I know this one won't be free...).

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TwitFace

2011-04-27T11:34:00.001-07:00

Somebody's probably posted about this already but I was just curious... and curious why I didn't get curious about this any sooner...

Facebook on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/facebook

Twitter on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Twitter/20865246992

...actually, punching Twitter in right after FaceBook gets you something different and ultimately more useful.

Not sure if this proves anything. Feel free to comment, if you have even more time to kill!

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Note to friends: our firstborn's name is now Alex Burrows (eom)

2011-04-26T22:17:00.001-07:00

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A Hard Name - TVO Documentary on 7 reforming and transformed habitual criminals

2011-04-25T15:00:00.001-07:00

via tvo.org

David Atkins, an Alpha for Prisons Coach, thought you might be interested in viewing this excellent Genie award winning documentary. For those who want to see it on good ol' fashioned TV in Ontario, it's on TVO Wednesday April 27th at 9:00 p.m.

To (further) quote Dave:
Some of you have already seen this raw and powerful video about the root cause of approximately 70 to 80% of habitual criminal behaviour, but many more need to see it. After watching it viewers will agree that simply continually locking up many of these people on a revolving door basis doesn't serve them or society well. What is needed is appropriate counselling and healing instead of more incarceration and trails of victims in their wake. In the past ten years of volunteer prison ministry (and thousands of inmates) we have witnessed the stark reality of this truth as revealed in this documentary. We hope that this documentary will encourage those in authority/responsibility in our justice system to address this heretofore hidden matter.

In no way does this documentary excuse the habitual criminal behaviour however it does shed much needed light on the reasons/background for it. As one of the very colourful ex-offenders from the Maritimes said on the documentary: "Why doesn't society know that this is the reason for all of us jail guys!!"

I am also sending this message to others who are in the prison ministry and ex-offender aftercare and justice/corrections business in the hopes of increased awareness and action.

As the producer/director of this film said recently "I was a middle class fellow and unaccustomed to what I was learning from the seven people (reforming and transformed habitual criminals) in my film. It (this revelation of truth) was so explosive that I thought I had a piece of dynamite in each hand and didn't know what to do with it."

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2nd Cup of Hot Apple Cider - Anthology May 1

2011-04-18T16:25:00.001-07:00

hotapplecider.ca

This collection, described as a Canadian Chicken Soup For The Soul, hits stores May 1. I'm stoked about it because my colleague Bill Bonikowsky made the cut, with his story involving a home repair and the neighbour's cat... Trying to find out if there's a Book Signing or something planned in the Vancouver area. If anyone knows anything, please let me know!...
http://hotapplecider.ca/

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Where Does a Leader Go When He's (or She's) Afraid?

2011-04-15T15:46:00.001-07:00

via campaign.r20.constantcontact.com

Click to check out this leadership post from a friend of mine. I'm reposting because it's a neat principle, and because I was on this New Guinea trip with him! The injury happened while we were apart... dare I say it was because we were apart?...

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BillBo's a (8-time) Grand-Dad!

2011-04-12T16:33:00.001-07:00

My direct report at work, Bill, is a grand-dad for the 8th time.

Knowing from very recent firsthand experience how bad the first photos can be, these shots turned out really well. I hope I'm not stepping on any toes here by putting this out to the blog-o-sphere, BillBo, but I'm so stoked for you!... Dana sends her love too!

Here's what Bill wrote:

Our son Jonathan and his wife Jennifer became the proud parents of Ruby Olivia, born tonight (April 11) at 10:25 pm… 20 minutes after arriving at the hospital. She weighed in at 8 lbs. even. These photos were taken at less than two hours old.

Pardon the short email… we’re going to bed... happy and grateful for 8 healthy grandchildren.

Love,

Bill and Joy

See the full gallery on Posterous

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PosterousFolio: Proudly announcing...

2011-04-05T17:32:00.001-07:00

ParentingCourses2011.pdf Download this file

A rough draft of something we're working on...

Art Director on the good parts: Jessica Tipping

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on truth in the Bible. - John Stackhouse, FBC Vancouver Sermons

2011-04-01T23:14:00.001-07:00

via fbc2010sermons.posterous.com

Slowly coming to the realization about sermons at my church, that they ring truest out of anything I've experienced ever in my life in church. The truth they're ringing also happen to be the most accessible to people who don't go to church. Those keeping track may recognize this intro from my last post: it actually applies better to this post.

Dr. Stackhouse, or Stax as Dana & I refer to him in our home, is one of the neatest theologians ever (Dana also refers to Stax as one of my speaker crushes, and I do not deny). I may be reading into the situation, but I suspect this is a message he'd love for lots of people to hear as a "before you go any further" message: if you are ever inclined to use scripture and say "this is true", or if you wonder about what Christians mean (or could or should mean) when they say "this is true".

A little ironic that this post is up on April Fool's Day.
But barely. And after noon.

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Darrell preaches on Romans 8. - FBC Vancouver Sermons

2011-03-31T11:04:00.001-07:00

via fbc2010sermons.posterous.com

Slowly coming to the realization about sermons at my church, that they ring truest out of anything I've experienced ever in my life in church. The truth they're ringing also happen to be the most accessible to people who don't go to church. That said, this one's more for church people, addressing a great chunk of the Bible, but a chunk that's commonly misconstrued.

This one speaks to the current moment in life, personally and work-wise: as I'm in the thick of our first months as parents, the National Director of Alpha Canada & my employer, Shaila, is in her first weeks of a long treatment road for cryptococcal meningitis. Huh?!, you say? That's what we're all saying too. This sermon might help with some perspective.

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Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T14:29:00.001-08:00

Download now or preview on posterous

Vday2011.pdf (830 KB)

Here's the Tang family Valentine.
All the best to you and yours!

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here's lookin' at you, kid

2011-02-08T11:02:00.001-08:00

Finally, the promised cuter pictures of Sasha.
These are a bunch from the night we brought her home, while she was on Dana's lap.
If you scroll thru quick, it might work like a flip book...

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Harry's Law + The Judge & His Friend | StudentAlpha

2011-01-20T15:32:00.001-08:00

via studentalpha.org

Spoiler Alert!
Aw, who'm I kidding... I'm habitually a day to a week behind, period, and that's where I'm at with my TV viewing.

Dana & I just watched Harry's Law last night (orig. aired Monday). Quite formulaic, but formulated into an entertaining hour of TV. The end made me think of this little animation from Alpha. Yeah, it'd spoil the end if you've PVRed the episode. Altho if u equate "spoiling" with "time-saving", maybe this is a favour.

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Variety Pack - Digitized Archive of FBC Vancouver Messages

2011-01-10T14:06:00.001-08:00

via vp40.posterous.com

M.D. Maisey of our home church, First Baptist, set up this website containing about 70 blasts from the First Baptist preaching past. Among the standout names who've had this downtown Vancouver pulpit: NT Wright, Charles Colson, JI Packer & Leighton Ford.

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Book (p)Review / judging a book by its cover - “Conversion Narratives” about Gender « Prof. John Stackhouse's blog

2011-01-05T15:46:00.001-08:00

via stackblog.wordpress.com

I've long had the idea to post Book (p)Reviews, indeed judging books by their covers (more accurately, their covers, titles, subtitles and perhaps the blurb on the back cover or from Amazon.com).
This seems like a good place to start.

I haven't read this book yet.
Haven't got to my local bookstore to get it, and even if I were there I'm not sure I could afford it.
That said, the premise fascinates me: prominent evangelical leaders' personal "conversion narratives" on women in leadership.
And I love the title Dr. Stackhouse uses to introduce the book.
The fact that Prominent Evangelicals have Conversion in their Narratives, that alone is a lesson. So many Evangelicals seem so unteachable, it's comforting to know that we can (and likely should) still be converted, especially on a topic that's been so itchy in church history.

A note on how I hope Book (p)Reviews will work: if it shows up as a Book (p)Review, it means a thumbs-up. I like this.
It's me saying "this seems like a good idea at the time".
At this point I think just doing the ones I like will keep me pretty busy.
And there's way too much bashing on the Internet.

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Our tree for our first Christmas in our place

2010-12-20T22:39:00.001-08:00

Our conservatively decorated tree shot in a "favourable" light. We will probably stop using wedding stuff on the tree when we get more actual Christmas decorations. We plan to get a new set of something every year. We have a place to call home in Richmond (or leechyman as Andrew lam says).

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Uplifting artwork of Freedom, Love & Justice. ~from a former inmate.

2010-12-07T12:52:00.001-08:00

via alphatools.ca

If this artwork touches you at all, please please click on the link above to see the whole story published on AlphaTools.ca ...it's not too long!

If you are even more pressed for time, though: artist Ray took Alpha & hosted a Bible Study while in prison. This piece won 3rd prize for sketches in a worldwide contest sponsored by Prison Fellowship International for inmates and ex-offenders. This was in association with PFI's quadrennial convocation in 2007 attended by over 1,000 prison ministry delegates from 128+ countries. The next PFI Convocation will be in late June 2011. Ray is now living happily with his family in Cornwall, ON living crime-free and intends to be a role model for his children.

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December goodness...

2010-12-03T15:07:00.001-08:00

Welcome to Alpha Canada's Christmas page!

The stories collected here at this time in 2010 remind us of how God is good, all the time.
Each life here was touched by Jesus through the Alpha experience.
Check back soon for more stories!
Alpha intro by Shaila

Patsy

Brian

Rebecca

Wendy

Claude (English)

Claude (en français)

Jessica & Steve

Jasdeep

Missie

Marco

A Prayer by Pastor Tim MacIntosh

via alphatools.ca

Can you believe it's December already? Three days in already too.
As much as I think I'm getting better at keeping deadlines in front of me and prioritizing, I still find it shocking that occasions seem to creep up on me and surprise me. I believe it's partly that I do some advance planning, shelve stuff but shelve it too long. Case in point: this Christmas story collection for Alpha Canada was on the drawing board for a while, but was still this week's mad scramble for me here as Communications Director for Alpha Ministries Canada.

That said, it's been a great first few months here and the team here helps me stay on task. Hence we got this web page done within a reasonably acceptable timeframe.

I must give props to everyone who shared these stories here: Patsy, Brian, Rebecca, Wendy, Claude, Jessica & Steve, Jasdeep, Missie, Marco, my boss Shaila and Pastor Tim MacIntosh.

Also, my colleagues Bill "BillBo" Bonikowsky, Alayne Campbell, Claudia Leopold, and all the testimony referrers... we honestly could not have done this without the whole team here.

What a week.
Busy spreading some good news.
Not a bad way to be.

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a whole new level of scary?

2010-11-01T16:15:00.001-07:00

Saw a few headlines this morning that were still referencing Hallowe'en. It felt so yesterday.

That said, I also feel somewhat moved to recap Dana & my Hallowe'en.

I'll try to keep it quick.

There was nothing but scary movies on TV.

That probably shouldn't have surprised us, but having all the channels we have with Telus Optik might have made us think we had some more options. Which we did. Just that it was more channels playing scary movies, pretty much.

With that, I formulated a somewhat impromptu plan to record two of these scary movies that were marginally 1) interesting and 2) less gratuitously gory than the rest.

We ended up with 1) Underworld: Rise of the Lycans; and 2) Daybreakers.

Dana will likely not be a big fan that I'm giving any prop's to Daybreakers.

I won't say they're major props, but the movie's stuck with me.

Along with another biggie movie this year, Avatar, a sticky thought is out there (at least in my brain):

we might be the bad guys.

I'm far from endorsing either of these movies as must-see's (I'd go for Toy Story 3 first. Then maybe Inception) but it's kind of a neat thought.

In some ways it feels like society's taken this long in its evolution to be able to admit that.

And in a lot of ways we're not totally ready to admit it. And perhaps never really will...

Regardless, if we get to any TV tonight it will likely be much much lighter fare:

Chuck and the subsequent Women of SNL special come to mind.

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the things that come up cleaning out the desk(top on the computer)

2010-07-27T09:42:00.001-07:00

This is my last day at First Baptist Church Vancouver as Communications dude.
And the attached is something I was playing around with (that I also forgot to back up in any other way).
The blog is kinda handy for this sort of thing.
They didn't let me make this the poster for this Grace Chan concert.
I'm not sure why... (kidding...)

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posterousfolio: crazy talk

2010-07-23T13:56:00.001-07:00

Download now or preview on posterous

2010-EasterInvite.pdf (530 KB)

This piece was the fruit of a community working together on it:
Darrell, Darrell's assistant Carolyn Vanderheide, and my old Art Director partner David Yu.
Getting a bit nostalgic in my last week here, hoping our upcoming church "seasons" can be as well voiced.

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Another favourite

2010-07-20T14:34:00.001-07:00

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2010-0711Faves.pdf (53 KB)

Another PDF from the favourite file, from the July 11 Service (it just surfaced).
I may look back on these with nostalgia now that I'm closing in on my last days at First Baptist.

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Cleveland icon Harvey Pekar dies

2010-07-12T12:53:00.001-07:00

via wtam.com

The Splendo(u)r has died.
Hopefully this post will link back to the article from Cleveland NewsRadio.
This is the guy from the movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0305206/) and comicbook American Splendor.
I have the DVD if anyone wants to borrow. I consider the role of Paul Giamatti's life.

I'm a bit choked up.
And slightly weirded out: story reported on my wife's birthday, and Harvey has the same birthday as me.

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Alpha

2010-06-21T14:54:00.001-07:00

I've accepted the role as Director of Communications for Alpha Canada.
http://www.alphacanada.org/
I'd like to thank God, my Mom... oh gosh there are too many of you...
Looking forward to coordinating some communications for something that is in itself a communications movement.
Plus everyone I met in the office in Richmond seemed fun when I met them.
I hope they weren't pretending.

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pictures for my mother-in-law

2010-06-20T18:08:00.001-07:00

This is not the promised update on my life. If you happen to be
following my blog, you are likely not keen on seeing this one, it's
just the handiest way for me to post photos for my mother-in-law to
use. Not to say you can't enjoy these in your own way, though.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Actually, there's a decent chance you WILL smell me later...

2010-06-18T13:47:00.001-07:00

Lookit what the guy handing out the Metro at Burrard & Robson gave me as well: a year's supply of cologne! (at the rate I go. Seriously, those who know me, when have I ever smelled like I use this stuff. And honestly, do you think I should. Break it to me gently, folks...).
I hope to make an official announcement here, probably Monday.
If I don't get to it and you're anxious about it, drop me a quickie line...

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selection from the Favourite File™

2010-06-01T17:05:00.001-07:00

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Paraclete.pdf (11 KB)

I've kept a file at church that I called My Favourite File.
It was handed down to me.
It may in fact be the best handing-down of something we've done in the church's office environment.
Anyway, this is a recent sample of what we've kept.
It recently dawned on me that the Blog was a good way to post this without expressly encouraging this kind of behaviour.
If I get around to it, stay tuned for more!
And let me know if you want to see more.
Or if you DON'T.

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lookee here...

2010-04-26T16:56:00.001-07:00

I do wonder whether this is one of those uses of blog that gets one in trouble. Maybe.
However, here goes: I have this in my office now. Those who can figure out what this means MAY start to request use of it. But you don't have to. Really.

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PosterousFolio: aaaahhh in 60 seconds

2010-04-14T21:47:00.001-07:00

The only 60 second radio campaign I ever did.

It was nice to have the space.

And to fill it with some relaxing space.

And to know the talent was also my Creative Director, so I could hear what the announcer would sound like as soon as I wrote the script.

Creative Director: David Bellerive

Voice: David Bellerive

Agency: The Phoenix Group

Studio: Twisted Pair Sound

Download now or listen on posterous

Spot 1.mp3 (1209 KB)

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Spot 2.mp3 (1186 KB)

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Spot 3.mp3 (1188 KB)

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PosterousFolio: ...or is it "whomever"...?

2010-04-13T21:29:00.001-07:00

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LeaderPost.pdf (140 KB)

Prince coming to town was front page news for Regina.

Turns out it was a really good show, too: my buddies were talking about it for weeks. I think they may have started a band shortly after. I was tempted to go see, even though I'm not a Prince fan.

That's my handwriting on this, outlined by Art Director Erik Norbraten.

Ad Agency: Brown Communications

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PosterousFolio: wish this product worked this well

2010-04-13T21:23:00.001-07:00

Yellow Pages. This was the beginning of their battle with stuff like the Internet. Also, in many Canadian markets, Yellow Pages have to compete against other directories that happen to also be yellow.

Ad Agency: Cossette

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YellowFinderHair.pdf (44 KB)

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YellowFinderPiz.pdf (18 KB)

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YellowFinderDry.pdf (32 KB)

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PosterousFolio: something nice to read in case you're bored at the bar

2010-04-13T21:18:00.001-07:00

These were fun to write.

As if beer isn't fun enough, this was some good beer.

Yes, we got samples. But not a lot of samples.

Art Director: Gillian Meyer

Ad Agency: The Phoenix Group

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BRtent_trad.pdf (417 KB)

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1030 TC-grasshopper.pdf (406 KB)

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PosterousFolio: to the Max

2010-04-13T21:11:00.001-07:00

SaskTel Max was a TV system with Internet built in.

I think it launched a little early, although I don't know now if it ever took off.

Creative Director: Mike Woroniak

Ad Agency: Brown Communications

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Megaphone.mp3 (466 KB)

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Curtains.mp3 (476 KB)

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PosterousFolio: fast (but not too fast) food

2010-04-13T21:06:00.001-07:00

Burger Baron is an old-fashioned burger joint. They have an unofficial bike show out front in the summer.

I met the owner of this place before I pitched ideas to him. At another restaurant to boot. How weird is that?

One of the proudest things about this series of work was hearing that the teens working cash there felt a little prouder to be working there.

Creative Director: Mike Woroniak

Ad Agency: Brown Communications

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Baronbillboards.pdf (77 KB)

Generic by Burger Baron
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Burger Baron - Generic.mp3 (730 KB)

Supper by Burger Baron
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Burger Baron - Supper.mp3 (730 KB)

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PosterousFolio: a crazy good truck

2010-04-13T21:00:00.001-07:00

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ABHD_RidgBnr_CSun.pdf (230 KB)

Honda was in a position, I think, to have ideas for trucks and put them into a truck, for real.

Oh, it has a trunk built in the back.

It's a nice truck. And it won MotorTrend Truck of the Year.

Sure, I'll take partial credit for that, too...

Art Director: David Yu

Creative Director: Rob Showell

Ad Agency: Harfield & Associates

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PosterousFolio: hey, doesn't that cloud look like...?

2010-04-13T20:51:00.001-07:00

Nice words for a nice idea.

Sort of giving back. Sort of.

Part of our research at the time was the South Park episode where everyone was into Hybrids.

Art Director: David Yu

Creative Director: Rob Showell

Ad Agency: Harfield & Associates

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10221BCHD.pdf (270 KB)

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6045BCHD_Hybrid_NP.pdf (403 KB)

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PosterousFolio: separation anxiety

2010-04-13T20:46:00.001-07:00

Doing a little more than just telling the message for DivorceCare, a program that I'm happy to see in kinder, gentler churches.

Pastor Bob Swann at First Baptist suggested that Dana & I watch that to perhaps get "scared straight", and the guy who runs the program kind of agreed.

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PosterousFolio: the Canadian game

2010-04-13T20:36:00.001-07:00

Two spots done with the voice of the CFL (Canadian Football League).

Amazingly professional read for him to stay in character in the Playoff spot, altho I think I heard his eyebrows raise after the first take.

Creative Director: David Bellerive

Ad Agency: The Phoenix Group

Studio: Twisted Pair Sound

Playoffs '03 - 30' by Cfl
Download now or listen on posterous

CFL-Playoffs.mp3 (730 KB)

Argo Radio Oct 4 Game by Cfl - Toronto Argonauts
Download now or listen on posterous

ArgoRadioOct4.mp3 (722 KB)

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PosterousFolio: Don't worry, Ma...

2010-04-13T20:27:00.001-07:00

We shot these in a real frat house in Toronto.

There's so much mess we actually didn't have to make, it's borderline criminal.

This project won our team a trip to the London International Advertising Awards.

This was also a season when I was wanting to tell my ma not to worry (and was actually having my vegetables, and yes, Mom, cleaning them really well).

Art Director: Lieza Machula

Photographer: Meiling Chung

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PosterousFolio: shown smaller than actual size

2010-04-13T20:26:00.001-07:00

This ad was bigger in print. Unless you're looking at this on a really really big screen.

Extra-Old Stock is a high percentage beer. That's pretty much the brief.

It's probably tiny here but there was a bit of legal we still had to add about still having to be of legal drinking age to purchase.

Art Director: Ken McCarty

Creative Director: Dick Hadden

Ad Agency: Cossette

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PosterousFolio: Don't worry, Ma...

2010-04-13T20:22:00.001-07:00

We shot these in a real frat house in Toronto.

There's so much mess we actually didn't have to make, it's borderline criminal.

This project won our team a trip to the London International Advertising Awards.

This was also a season when I was wanting to tell my ma not to worry (and was actually having my vegetables, and yes, Mom, cleaning them really well).

Art Director: Lieza Machula

Photographer: Meiling Chung

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PosterousFolio: that Synching feeling

2010-04-13T20:15:00.001-07:00

Is it "sync" or "synch"? Seems like it's missing something without the "h".

It was nice that these athletes' names allowed for it to work.

Ad Agency: The Phoenix Group

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PosterousFolio: Giantology

2010-04-13T20:11:00.001-07:00

I loved that we had the opportunity to promote Junior Hockey in Vancouver.

I think the Giants won the WHL this season.

Yeah, that's Bro Jake at the top of these.

Creative Director: Rob Showell

Sound Studio: Wayne Kozak Audio Productions

Download now or listen on posterous

Giantology 1_Be There.mp3 (732 KB)

Download now or listen on posterous

Giantology 2_Be United.mp3 (729 KB)

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Giantology 3_Be Prepared.mp3 (729 KB)

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PosterousFolio: good ol' wholesome commercials

2010-04-13T19:16:00.001-07:00

BC Dairy started doing interesting ads around this time. I like to think this was where they started.

We had a whole bunch of scripts written for this campaign. Turns out Milk is a fun character to write for.

Art Director: Ken McCarty

Creative Director: Dick Hadden

Director: Gerry Casale

Download now or watch on posterous

BCDAIRYT.MOV (5042 KB)

Download now or watch on posterous

BCDAIRYR.MOV (4962 KB)

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Posterousfolio: that subtle Manitoba humour

2010-04-13T19:09:00.001-07:00

Download now or watch on posterous

Knock Knock.mov (5828 KB)

Part of a longstanding campaign with MTS (Manitoba Telecom) featuring Gerry & Carl pontificating, doing stuff, and being bison. We worked on this campaign in Vancouver, ironically. We had some good times with Gerry & Carl.

Art Director: Ken McCarty

Creative Directors: Simon Cameron, John Edmonds & Dick Hadden

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PosterousFolio: First Baptist Church Vancouver website

2010-03-31T20:02:00.001-07:00

via firstbc.org

The website of First Baptist Church in downtown Vancouver, one of a few communications pieces I take care of on an ongoing basis. Anything amiss? email lam@firstbc.org because someone should fix that.

Posted via web from ThatGuyLam's posterousizing