Get Paid To Promote, Get Paid To Popup, Get Paid Display Banner

Playing with paper~

I made this little gift card holder recently. I tell ya, it was like pulling teeth for me to work on it.... its hard to put any effort into something knowing full well its going to be thrown away the first chance they get..... Anywho, I took two vintage bingo cards, distressed them... tore one and glued it on top of the other to make a pocket to hold a gift card... I had plans to do much-much more to this piece... but you know...I used an existing pocket envelope that I embellished with vintage lace and 3 tissue paper flowers that I made using a vintage dress pattern. The bingo card slipped in perfectly~The hardest part was essentially tossing in the garbage using 3 mother of pearl buttons and a piece of vintage lace... cause YOU KNOW..... it IS going in the trash.... *sigh*.... I think I need to go drape some vintage lace around my neck and run my hands through some of my buttons now~

Lazy Sunday # 125: Where's The Story?

My apologies for the lack of activity at the Legion last week. We've been busy. But we'll be back with lots more because of it real soon.

When you're up to your ass in alligators, it's always hard to keep track of everything else that's going on in the world. That used to be a simple thing. Buy a newspaper on the way home, catch the 11 o'clock news, spend Sunday lounging over a magazine.

These days, the news cycle runs 24/7. There's dozens of news channels, hundreds of web sites and enough citizen journalists on Twitter to give you every angle on every event and non-event in every part of the planet.

On one level, that's a good thing because you can get what you need to know when you need it. On another, it seems to be driving what used to be our most reliable sources (newspapers and television) into a position where they're afraid to stop and examine, to dig for more information or insight.

Their attitude seems to be that they've got to be the first one on the next bus, "breaking" news rather than telling you what it really means, why it's important and what you can expect to come next. They're leaving us all well aware of what's going on in the moment, but with little idea of why it's happening or whether it might mean something more important in the days to come.

g20-1

I pulled this off a Twitter feed from the G-20 riots in Toronto last night. Dramatic image. But without context it could lead to any number of conclusions. Protestor arrested. Man hurt during demonstration. Compassionate cop giving a wino directions to the nearest un-torched liquor store.

Unlike screenwriters, who understand the necessity of being aware of the audience's questions every second, most modern journalists seem to figure that once they've transmitted the gist, they can move on.

No wonder the world is rife with conspiracy theories about what's "really" happening and the belief that "certain people" control what we're told.

It's not that hard to find a story. But it takes a lot of work to make sure everybody understands it.

Howard Bernstein has a brilliant piece over at Medium Close Up examining the inability of the Canadian Main Stream Media to uncover the truth behind the ballooning costs of the G20. Meanwhile, the American media struggles with a similar inability to get to the bottom of what's really going on in the Gulf of Mexico.

All over the web, you can find reporters from ABC, CBS, CNN or local news affiliates being bullied away from asking questions of those on the ground. They can't seem to get access to those in the corporate structures involved and seem somehow unwilling or unable to put pressure on politicians to get straight answers.

It shouldn't be this hard to get to the truth.

And as it turns out -- it isn't.

From the earliest days of this blog, I've been tossing out links to Vice TV. If you haven't found them by now, you need to. Vice specializes in getting the stories everybody else either shies away from or ignores.

And in a move that tells you more about the current state of journalism than anything else, this week CNN began running their stories on the Gulf oil spill.

CNN with all their influence and access to resources can't get the story. But a ragtag outfit of guerrilla journalists can.

If that doesn't tell you there's something seriously wrong in the whole "take-a-side", "if-it-bleeds-it-leads", "breaking-news-now" format everybody is following, nothing else will.

I can't find a stable video embed of Vice's story on the Gulf oil spill. But you can see it here. Elsewhere on the site are dozens of important and impactful stories you've either never encountered or been unable to access without the appended Left or Right or Whatever spin.

Find the story and hopefully the Truth. And Enjoy your Sunday.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party~

Welcome~
Dear sweet little Alice decided to leave her lovely little cottage to take a long stroll through the woods by her home.It was a lovely spring-like day, perfect for a walk. It seemed like the flowers she saw growing wild amongst the trees were swaying as if dancing to the birds singing their lovely tunes in the tree tops above her. Something off in the distance made Alice quicken her pace. "Whats this?" Alice said out loud-- which was silly because Alice was all alone. "Sit, eat, enjoy yourself" was the reply. Alice was wondering to herself... self-- did you say "Sit, eat, enjoy yourself?" Again, she heard the purring voice say, "Sit down girl, eat some food, enjoy yourself." Looking quickly around, Alice spied a striped cat sitting on a branch of a tree... surely that cat didn't say all of that. "Hello girl, I am a cheshire cat... I've invited you to sit at this lovely table that is set before you.There are yummy cookies and a delightful sweet cranberry tea that is of the highest quality made by fairies that live in this area.Alice was befuddled. Everything was so out of the ordinary that it made dear sweet little Alice dizzy... so, dear sweet little Alice pulled out a chair and sat down. Surely this wasn't meant for her! Know one knew she was going for a walk today, or that she would end up taking this very path-- not even Alice knew herself. Looking at the table set before her she was quite suprised at the spread that was laid out before her. Cranberry tea that smelled like a boutique of sweet roses, next to a plate of sugar cookies piled high. Alice could only image how great it all would taste. "Please help yourself to whatever is your hearts desire, I must go curl up in a sunny spot and take a nap." And with that, the cheshire cat sashayed away flicking his tail to and fro as his huge belly sashayed in the opposite direction as his tail. It was all Alice could do but laugh at the cat as he walked away.
As dear sweet little Alice settled down from such a happy-funny sight she felt much more comfortable with her surroundings and now the idea of a table set with such yumminess in the middle of nowhere wasn't so unbelieveable. Dear sweet little Alice grabbed a few cookies and set them on the plate in front of her and then poured herself a cup of the cranberry tea. Without even a taste, she added four sugar cubes for good measure. Within a few bites of a sweet sugar cookie, dear sweet little Alice felt the weight of someone staring at her. She twirled around in her chair out of fear and embarrasment and set her eyes upon a dear sweet little fella wearing a odd looking hat. A startled Alice spoke in a soft voice, "Oh, my-- hello... is this your table set so beautifully that I was invited to sit at?" The little fella stepped right up to Alice and replied, "Yes, please sit and if you don't mind, I'll join you for some riparian refreshments." The two fell into a happy conversation as they both enjoyed the cookies and the sweet cranberry tea. Without hesitation the sweet fella hopped to his feet to get somemore cranberry tea....Alice being the inquisitive girl that she was, asked the fella, "Why wear such a big hat if you have to hold onto it all the time?" With down cast eyes, the fella wearing the huge hat confessed to Alice.... "I'm addicted to sweets." "I use this big hat to carry the large gumdrops that I grow in my garden."

Alice knew she could help out this nice fella who was addicted to sweets, for she knew that addiction herself..... "You don't have to use your hat silly," said Alice as she laughed with a solution. She spied a large basket that would serve the purpose well! The nice fella was overjoyed with the thought of having such a large basket to carry his sweet-sweet gumdrops.
Alice was happy to help her neighbor... then she got an idea! "If you love sweets, and I love sweets.... I betcha everybody would like some sweets!"
Alice, noticing the time, told the fella she would be back the next day.Alice took one of the fella's gumdrops home... she had a plan.The next day she informed the fella that they had to wash all of the gumdrops that he had collected... she had come up with a plan! With my Nana's recipe for chocolate chip cookies and these huge sweet gumdrops... hmmmmm...And now you know the rest of the story~
If you wish to partake in more tea party merriment... please visit Vanessa's blog "A Fanciful Twist" for a linky list of all those participating this year.

Pirate stuff...

I finished making more pirate things..... I finished up the first, second and third place trophys for best dressed. Here is the first place trophy~Here are all 3 trophys.... first is gold, second is silver and third place is bronze~I really love how the metallic spray paint started to melt the plastic on the trophys ever so slightly.... neat-o huh? Once the paint was dry, I dry brushed on some black paint to bring out the texture the spray paint created. I printed out the first, second & third onto cardstock and then tore, painted and scrolled each one then hot glued each in place.Here is how they looked when I picked them up for $1 each at a yard sale.I also made a pirate hat for myself. I was wanting white fabric with pink polka-dots... but I ended up using pink fabric with black polka-dots. I made it by cutting the brim off of a baseball hat and hot gluing the fabric onto the hat... easy-peasy. I got this brand-spanking-new hat for .50cents at a yard sale... I have no idea with the b stands for.... Lastly, some burlap bags~ Count down to the pirate party begins... arrrrrrrrrrgh!

Matelasse Bedspread

I recently was given this twin matelassé bedspread with two matching pillows. Very cute indeed~ I am drawn to these bedspreads everytime I see them. I recently had purchased a Shabby chic duvet cover... so it wasn't going on my bed. Soooooooooo I got to thinking about my grandaughters baby crib that I have/use at my house. Maybe I could make a fitted bedspread for the baby mattress.... hmmm.... why not? So out my scissors came... I cut off the scalloped edges in long stripes so I could reattach it when I cut the flat/fitted part I needed for the top of the crib mattress. I laid the mattress on top of the fabric to draw the outline of the size I needed, I gave myself plenty of extra fabric just incase it was needed down the line. You can never cut your fabric larger once you've cut it... words to take to heart!Once I had that piece drawn and cut out, I simply pinned the scalloped edges around the edge of the smaller size bedspread that I just created. I used the mattress as a guide to help keep the bedspread fitted as I pinned. Then I just stitched around the whole thing creating a fitted bedspread for the mattress. Once the whole thing was stitched together, I finished off the edges with a zig-zag stitch to keep the fabric from unraveling when its being washed. Once all the seams were stitched, I turned the whole thing rightside out-- hit it with the iron to set the seams. That was it! I think it turned out super caute! (The pillows are for decoration only-- she is still to young to sleep with pillows) Here is a close-up of the scallops.... I just love all things scalloped~

Lazy Sunday # 124: Telephone Road

backyard pool

Father's Day always gets you thinking of your own dad and sidetracks most of us into recalling the times when we were primarily "fathered".

Maybe it was that which inspired today's sermon. Maybe it was seeing a dour TV news report from rain drenched Saskatchewan about police cracking down on the dangerous sport of "Ditch Boarding", better known in some parts as White Trash Water Skiing.

The concept is about as simple as simple minds can devise. Find a flooded ditch. Strap on a snowboard, wakeboard, surfboard or set of skis, grab a tow line tied to the back of a pick-up truck and --- "Yee-haw".

ditch boarding

Yeah, it's a little dangerous and sometimes people even get killed. And while that's unfortunate, it's also a part of a lot of approved and organized sports as well as falling into the category of departure Bill Hicks described as "We're Missing a Moron".

My own Ditch Boarding adventures took place my last year of high school. After a too long winter cooped up in classroom and living in a city where 15" of annual precipitation (mostly in the form of snow) was the norm. You had to expect that the first hot day after torrential rains would cause some to see what could be made of all this exciting and unexplored standing water.

Inspired by Beach Boys records and too many Annette Funicello movies, some of us decided to replicate Malibu Beach at the edge of a lonely prairie road.

Unable to find anything to imitate a surf board, however, we ended up using a set of water skis, taking turns either skimming skillfully over the muddy water, scattering ducks and muskrats as we passed or getting dragged through thick black prairie topsoil.

An occasional vehicle would roll past, honking its horns or waving at the mud caked idiots charging through the ditch water. Then one car followed us for one of my runs and pulled over when we coasted to a stop. The driver got out. It was some guy none of us recognized. But I sure knew his passenger. It was my dad.

He'd been nearby when his car broke down and somebody had stopped to give him a ride back to the city. They'd noticed the odd activity on the side road as they passed and came back for a closer look.

I thought I was dead for sure.

My dad just stared at me tightly as we explained how the whole thing worked, doing all we could to deflect any possibility that it could be construed as dangerous, illegal or even just plain stupid. Neither he or the other guy said anything.

I knew I was looking at a grounded Prom night at best.

Then I noticed my dad kicking off his shoes and rolling up his pants.

"Let's give it a try."

We spent the next hour towing he and his Good Samaritan friend up and down the waters beside that lonely road. By the time they'd had enough they were just as muddy as we were, almost as sunburnt and grinning ear to ear.

As they got in the car, my dad reminded me that dinner was at six and I better have the mud washed off before I came home. Then he added, "One more thing. Don't tell your mother."

I believe that was the moment when I realized my father would no longer treat me as a kid.

Most of our memories of our fathers are tied up in the sweetness of our youth and one of my favorite songs about growing up (maybe because it so closely replicates the experiences of my own era) is Rodney Crowell's "Telephone Road". Oddly it also includes Ditch Boarding.

Have a Great Father's Day. And Enjoy your Sunday.

My Studio~

I've linked up to the 2nd annual Where Bloggers Create linky party being hosted by Karen from her blog My Desert Cottage. Keep in mind, that my studio is a work in progress and that I'm wanting going to paint all the cabinets/shelves white, add wood trim and make it cauter! Right now I'm just focusing on keeping things organized... and somewhat tidy. Okie-dokie-artichokies... I throw open the door to my studio, also known as Stash Studio!


Well, I hope you've enjoyed your visit into my studio space. I've got a lot of super neat things stashed in all of those bins. Once I get done hoarding stashing all of the neat things I come across I'm going to start making things! Pinky-swear!
Leave a comment and be entered in a drawing to win this caute little fairy~
She was collecting pink dew drops off of my roses in my yard when I captured her in this jar~

Now We Can't Even Do Hot Girl-On-Girl Action!

Sigh…

There are no Lesbians in Canada.

Hey, don't look at me like I'm Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, standing in front of the student body at Columbia University declaring that there are no homosexuals in Iran.

I'm deducing this from a TMN press release that landed in my inbox today promoting "The Real L Word" a summer series about the lives of six LA Lesbians --- "every bit as glamorous, fashionable, fabulous and even as cutthroat as those hetero housewives".

The press release then reminds me that TMN is Premium Cable so "nothing will be held back".

Much as I can't wait to see the young lady who can apparently emit blinding light from her kitty region, the first thing that struck me was "Don't we already have enough foreign content on TV here? Do we really need to import the throw-away stuff as well?"

I know Bill Brioux would still rather see imports of the new Betty White show on TVLand than another rerun of "The Trouble with Tracy". But isn't there somebody willing to stand up for our right to make our own "shit" as some Alberta Cultural minister might describe the end product?

I mean, we can do cheap, cheese-ball, peep-shows! By the look of the promotional video for this "Heat Up Your Summer" series, it was shot for about $46 not counting what appears to be an astronomical bar tab.

Geez, even Canwest could come up with that kind of money. And somebody like me coulda probably shot the whole thing over a long weekend.

Seriously, this is just "Jersey Shore" without "The Situation" and "Snooki" constantly hitting on "J-Woww". It's got the production value of a high school Youtube challenge and offers about as much insight into the lives of the women profiled as you're likely to discover talking to a drunk getting a tattoo.

And nobody in the audience cares because all they're doing is waiting for the hot girl-on-girl action to start.

Cause I guess they can't find all the free versions on the internet.

The only reason we're not doing a show like this here must be that we don't have any Lesbians.

Or in the executive offices of TMN, they maybe think we don't have any of those smokin' hot, LA tanned, tattooed and hard drinkin' ones.

It's that kind of thinking that condemns us all to eternally playing in the minor leagues, TMN.

See, off the top of my head, I know at least six Canadian Lesbians who are far hotter than any of these obviously fine young ladies. A couple of them are actresses. One's a fitness trainer. One's a nurse. I think the one that's a lawyer stripped to pay for Law school.

They'll all talk dirty if you ask 'em and every single one can drink me under a table.

Unfortunately, I don't have any tattoo intel. But I'm sure somebody's got one. If they don't, a good stick-on isn't hard to find these days.

They're all far more well-spoken than the ladies from LA. Maybe they don't do the red carpet with regularity, name drop movie stars or have a past with the Crips and Bloods. But they've all had to fend off drunk hockey players and know somebody with a cottage in Muskoka so that's probably good for an episode or two.

All's I'm sayin' is -- if this is the kind of crap TMN will pay for (obviously backed by market research that says its what their viewers will pay for) how come they don't hire a local producer to make it?

Why pay license fees on a show so inexpensive to produce they could recoup from their own broadcasts and then have something they could sell internationally, on DVD, online, whatever?

And of course it would sell. TMN bought it! And, c'mon who doesn't like Lesbians?

Maybe it's a Pride thing -- and I'm not talking about any parade with squirt guns. But since TMN always prides itself on the "classy" shows it has developed like "Durham County" and "Terminal City" maybe they don't want anybody associating them with something this tawdry.

Which makes you wonder why they sent out a press release in the first place.

"The Real L Word". Somebody explain to me why we had to go outside the country for this…

"New" then "Next" then "Integrated" Media

Proponents of the digital age first began calling their creations "New Media". And when it had been around for a while they opted for "Next Media".

Cause we all know it's going to be the next big thing.

Never mind that government funders still insist that it's "Experimental", nor that everyone is still struggling to figure out how to make it stand out or even stand on its own, not to mention devise a model that will ensure it can pay for itself let alone make a profit -- it's going to be the next big thing.

Trust us on this…

This week, the digital gurus and shamans and former stars of TED were at Banff and BAFTA spinning visions of the future and hopefully inspiring those who will be at the forefront of a new digital age of creativity when it finally arrives.

Some of us have been listening to these promises for a decade.

Meanwhile, somebody at Google decided to stop waiting and just put it all back on television.

Google TV will roll out in the fall. More likely than not it will be initially banned (though just euphemistically labeled "unavailable") in Canada.

Yet, its arrival signals that those working in the digital sphere may need to further rethink the manner and make-up of their content.

And those of us used to the way things have been done in television might have to do the same.

Google TV will seamlessly integrate analog (television) media with the digital offerings of the internet. You'll be able to surf channels and websites at the same time, clicking from the CBC to Youtube to Sportsnet to Facebook with the same ease you used to rotate a 12 channel tuning knob.

But you'll be able to do much more than that.

You could Twitter your reactions to a news story as it plays out live while downloading one movie and DVRing another. And all that will be possible without simultaneously using a laptop, iPad or smart phone.

If you get bored by the football game NBC is broadcasting, you can switch over to play the Google Android version of John Madden 2010, perhaps with the same two teams, even implementing the game plan the real life coaches couldn't get to work.

Read email during commercial breaks. Open eBay and check the price on that cute T-shirt Sheldon is wearing on "The Big Bang Theory".

Maybe you want to watch the photo stream Mom is posting from Bora Bora while listening to the score of "South Pacific" on Blip.

Perhaps you just want to read a book or magazine from a digital library.

All possible without turning on -- or even owning a computer. All you need is the TV you already have and a Google box.

The arrival of Google TV suggests that couch potatoes, web heads and even people who don't know Google has become a verb can safely remain on the couch without missing a damn thing those crazy kids are doing in the basement with a digicam and a cross-platform.

It makes you wonder how many people will feel they really need to own an iPad, or pay for streaming video on their smart phone…

Or subscribe to ALL those specialty channels.

Is there anything on "TVLand" that isn't somewhere online?

But more than that. If you can produce a season of "The Guild" for less than 6 figures and it's just as funny as "Two and a Half Men" which is edging into 8 figure territory per episode --- are we going to see a lot of downsizing in TV budgets?

Of course we are. Along with further audience fragmentation, inattention and disinterest in sitting through commercials.

Will people watch the same Charmin ad run for the umpteenth time on Global or use that 30 seconds to kill a troll in "World of Warcraft"?

And that means…

At what point does a show creator begin to wonder if the monetary difference between being on Fox versus Funny or Die is worth the aggravation that comes along with making a bunch of studio suits and network executives happy?

What happens when some amateur model on Myspace starts trending larger than the sexy starlet a studio has spent a fortune grooming?

Will there be a time when milking a Farmville cow is more enjoyable than "Little Mosque on the Prairie".

Sorry, bad example.

Suffice to say that the disruptions we've seen in our industry may be far from over. And whatever models the Next Media creators have been tweaking might need another adjustment to take the new hardware into consideration.

Luckily, we've still got 3 months before this turns up in people's living rooms…

That should be enough time to come up with a strategy, shouldn't it?

Pssst --- Banff?

twit 8

Sometimes, not being at the center of the action can tell you more about the industry you're in than actually rubbing shoulders with the movers and shakers.

I'm not at the Banff International Television Festival this year. Actually, I've never been. Scheduled as it is, I've usually been shooting or lying face down on a remote beach recovering from a long season when it's in session.

I've heard all the stories, of course. Tales about how almost as much money changed hands on the golf course as did in development deals.

The legendary opening night BBQ (since discontinued) where who you slept with afterward determined whose "let's keep this between us" blind pilot contract you were soon also consummating.

There was even a cocktail party where a newly merged Canadian producer literally lit his cigars with hundred dollar bills to exhibit his success.

Cannes may have had naked starlets, but Banff attracted guys eager to burn money. It sounded like my kinda place.

But, sadly, Life never co-operated and now I get the impression the Golden Age has passed.

There's no doubt the Banff Festival remains a significant event on the media calendar, an opportunity for television and now Next Media innovators and visionaries to gather, share ideas and initiate projects.

But if you follow the progress of the conference on Twitter, as I did with the opening day, you begin to wonder if Banff's television icons and eager acolytes have been replaced by hucksters and wannabees.

To be sure, there has always been an endless parade of bureaucrats preaching caution or politicians pitching game changing programs. But the Festival also now seems to be home to single show promotions and media evangelists.

Through Twitter, you also get an interesting insight into one of the social media platforms often hyped as a tool to get your television "message" out there.

The first tweet that caught my attention was the following…

twit 7 

Well, TV creatives don't come much better or more talented than Manos, but seriously, "What the fuck does that mean?". Are we talking about shooting styles, doing a dialogue pass on the script or where to find new talent?

Is this how Twitter can enhance my series, by confusing or even losing somebody who might have watched?

Granted, a lot of dumb stuff gets said in even the most intelligent industry confab. Speakers often haven't been briefed on who they're speaking to, what that audience needs or they're just people with an immense amount of ability when parked at their keyboard but you wouldn't ask them to toss a frisbee for your dog in the real world.

But, as anybody referencing porn knows, the reference tweaked my interest in what else was being shared online for the edification of the demographic the festival probably most wants to engage.

Instead of seeing how social media might enhance a product, however, I began to wonder why people paid a thousand dollars and up to access nuggets like…

twit 2

Um…beyond stating the obvious, isn't that the whole point of technology, Duncan? I mean, you're the expert, but do you know of any individual or corporation who has ever put together a research team to make what they're doing HARDER to accomplish?

Can you foresee a future in which people line up at the Apple store for a device that doesn't work better than the one they already own?

Another tweeter attending Duncan's lecture loved a catch phrase he'd used to describe the iPad as "A Goldilocks device".

I hope that Tweeter knows it's just a cute way of saying the iPad isn't too hot or too cold, it's just right and he doesn't go hiking up Sulphur Mountain with his new tablet in order to befriend some bears.

One of the first things you learn at these events is that there's a real desire to create a short-hand vocabulary. It makes you feel and appear to be part of a select company while possessing a greater handle on a topic when you haven't really gained any knowledge or insight at all.

Scrolling the dozens of similar catchy turns of phrase tossed out by panelists and lecturers on Day One, I started to feel like every screenwriter feels when he discovers his studio executive just spent the weekend taking a McKee course.

You begin to hate Euclid for even coming up with a word for the arc.

Yeah, this stuff is helpful when you want to look cool. But it's really just another way of describing what you should already know. And while Duncan's phrase was RT'd by many, not one of them detailed what "just right" meant either to them or to the industry.

Also in a related "didn't you know that before you came here" category, we have…

twit 4

Well, isn't that exactly what you'd expect them to say? I'm sure you could do a cut and paste using "British", "American" or "hot teenage" and be just as correct.

The whole reason conferences like Banff exist is that everybody is looking for a way to improve what's on TV, especially in the ways it impacts them directly.

Less charitable members of the Canadian talent contingent might secretly want to drape the Canwest delegation in smoked salmon and take them down the road to where the Grizzlies are fishing in order to improve the state of Canadian content. But I guess those on the panel are hoping there's still time for diplomacy.

Like catch phrases, the apple pie statement is always popular. But it never gets to the more important question of "How?".

Given all the like-minded talking that's gone on in the mountains over the years, you'd think Banff would have had some profound effect on the quality of television by now, but it hasn't. And that's because visionaries seldom concern themselves with how things really work.

I've come home with notebooks overflowing with wisdom I've gained at NATPE, AFI, AFM, TIFF, Sundance and any number of smaller fests and markets. Bubbling with new ideas, I've barged into development offices with vast plans to reshape television, only to be told "That's not what we're doing this year" while being shown a promo for a new series about dancing hamsters.

There comes a point when you realize talk is cheap (unless you're affiliated with a good booking agent) and what you hear needs to be implemented and given some substance for it to be of any real value whatsoever.

And, by late afternoon, there seemed to be a deepening sense that there wasn't even a lot being said to get too excited about. That was exemplified by a tweet that must have been repeated or sent as new information more than 50 times as the day wore on.

twit 9

Cute, whether or not it's true. But sadly just another Twitter viral.

Yet it's constant repetition among the conference participants indicated a desperation to use this Next Media platform in some way, in any way, to do some good or make something happen.

That's when I started thinking the glory that was once Banff had begun to fade. Maybe, like NATPE, it's reached a point where it needs to reinvent itself in order move on.

And when a member of the upper echelons sends a tweet like this…

twit 5

…you can't help but get the impression that somebody didn't get the "how social media can enhance your brand" memo.

At the very least, what appears clear from a distance is that the people at the forefront of Next Media have yet to communicate its possibilities to the rest of the television community. What's more, nobody seems aware of what kind of impression is being made on those using a hash tag to eavesdrop their activities.

So far, there is little new and nothing to imply a brave new future is close at hand.

But maybe I'm just being contrary. Because as the sun set, somebody tweeted this…

twit 10

Ahhhh! Somebody who gets how Canadian showbiz works. Maybe the old Banff isn't as lost as it might appear. Maybe next year, I should check it out.

Tree seat

Last year I created a raised circle around a tree in my g-kids play-yard with some retaining stones. I had two options in mind... one, make it into a seat. Or two, fill this area with some balls-- like a ball pit. Well, I didn't like the ball pit idea, so now I've got a bazillion balls that I'm forever picking up.So, of course, try the first idea second... make it into a seat. I cut a plywood circle, used cinder block to help support the plywood at the closest part of the tree trunk, it works pretty well and only called for two blocks. I covered the plywood with some vinyl cut from a vinyl tablecloth. I just used a staple gun to attach it.Then I cut apart two of the chaise lounge pads (I picked up for $1 each recently) to use as the pillow of the tree seat. I used some quilted fabric that I bought years ago for practically nothing for the pillow covers. Taaaaaa daaaaaaaa instant tree seat.I've also finished the curtains for the playhouse,made party hats for all the outdoor garden statues-- here are some of them,I even managed to pirate-up two monkeys~I also repainted this darling antique home-made hutch that I got for free years ago from one of my neighbors. It has doors but those are on the kitchen table drying. I'll post photos of it when its finished, its one of my favorite pieces in my home. There is always something to do, never an idle moment around here!