www.James-Strocel.com

Follow Joe as he makes his way through the torturous land of “Bed, Bath and Beyond” to save his marriage…and his very soul.

Last week a top 40 station called “The Beat” 94.5 gave out marketing prize bags to anyone that happened by on the BCIT campus. If you were to be arrested while in possession of one of these bags, this is what they would find:

$100 off a Destination snow ski/board trip

$100 off at Bustloose.com

Frizz Ease hair serum (Curler/straightner)

Student hookups ad card

British Columbia Ballet program

Ritter Sport chocolate Yogurt bar

Cypress Mountain Season pass price list

Dan-D-Pak chestnuts in shell

A hairband from skyler.ca (Looked like a thong)

1 packet of Durex play lubricant

sexualityandu.ca label

O’my natural lubricant

The beat 94.5 fm stickerwith rogers ad on the back

2 for 1 student pass at Vancouver theatre sports

10% coupon at the bread garden

Translink nightbus schedule

Beat bash advertisement with the black eyed peas, Rihanna and Awollen members

15% at remix records

The Bay Men’s and ladies denim event prize draw card

It’s been 5 years since 9/11, the worst attack on US territory since Pearl Harbor. The United States and its allies are a little wiser to the machinations of Al Qaeda and their ilk, but only time will tell if they are doing the right thing. The rebuilding of Iraq continues, for better or for worse, along with the rebuilding of Afghanistan, for better or for worse. It was lack of proper security and information sharing that led to the attacks in the first place; however the advancement of technology to rectify the situation seems to be outpacing the democracy to regulate it.

I believe that Canada has a duty to increase its military budget not only to help its allies but to affect international events on its own terms. There are many choices to make concerning the use of military power, but the one choice we don’t have is non-involvement. This isn’t a more dangerous world, it’s just a smaller one, and we must have every resource available to bargain with our neighbors.

According to my website stats page, I show up when people enter “where can i find pictures of people stuck headfirst?” on Google.

This is probably the Nth post about Steve Irwin’s passing, but it’s something I just can’t stop thinking about. Actually, it kind of bothers me that it just leaves me so utterly bummed out. Don’t get me wrong, it is a textbook definition of “The good die young”. Even on the internet, salacious mutterings about Darwin awards and other such jokes are met with sadness and derision. For the country of Australia itself, it’s like Superman died. Never mind the work he did to preserve majestic wildlife the world over, Steve Irwin’s “Crikey!” catchphrase and Kahkis created the identity of a nation. The way he used that identity to support his conservation work is model for engineering positive human behavior.

So why has it still got me down? I never felt this bad when Jim Henson or Carl Sagan passed away. It could be that this is just the straw that broke the camels back. It’s been a terrible year in terms of mortality for my friends and family, not the least of which was my Grandfather passing away this spring. Seeing some of my favorite fictional characters in “Legend of Galactic Heroes” and “Firefly” cack this year probably didn’t help matters. However, I tend to agree with my mother (who has been a Nurse for over 30 years) that death is not necessarily bad. It is a transition to a better place, away from this world of pain and suffering. I don’t really need to feel sorry for people who in one sense are doing better for themselves. And mourning fictional characters is just bloody stupid.

But then I thought back to when I first heard the news that the Crocodile Hunter was dead. My first thought was a FedEx commercial he did a few years ago. In the ad, he had been bitten by a deadly snake, but fortunately the antivenin was coming via FedEx. When an assistant told him that the antidote was sent by another courier, he promptly keeled over, dead. It was funny at the time, but now it made me realize that I was feeling partly responsible for Steve’s death. It was like Salieri in Peter Schaffer’s “Amadeus” pushing Mozart to exhaustion. By enjoying Steve Irwin’s antics, and marveling at every attempt he made to wrestle the world’s deadliest animals, I was encouraging a lifestyle that resulted in a freak accident that claimed the world’s premier conservationist. It’s been forming a bitter little ball of self-disgust that I can’t help but lean on like a sore tooth.

Come to think of it, that probably ranks up there with the fictional character mourning. It’s not logical, but I’ll bet that nagging guilt is on the minds of more than one crocodile hunter fan. In knowing this, I’m little more content to be where I am right now. The Geographic Information System technology I’m working with right now is used in conservation efforts, and some day I may find myself working in that capacity as both atonement and tribute to a true wildlife warrior.

I had my Orientation today at BCIT for my GIS program. You can read all about it at my new blog, gis.james-strocel.com

Kevin McKeever, Product Coordinator for Harmony Gold was not only here [at anime evolution] to promote the new Robotech movie, he was also gracious enough to field a few questions from local independent film makers and give a few tips on pitching ideas:

“Be polite”

Production companies will be spending the next 18 months with you on your project, so it goes without saying that you need to be nice to them.

“Be competent”

First-time film makers should come prepared with some aspect of their vision, be it a script, a storyboard, or even a short film. Business cards are a must.

“Dress Professionally”

Cosplay in particular is discouraged when you are pitching your project. While it may demonstrate your enthusiasm, production companies need to be confident you’ll make the right decisions when the film goes over budget.

“Don’t insult the person(s) you are pitching to”

If your idea is good enough, an employee at any position in the company you are pitching to can become a valuable advocate in getting your project made. Remember, eventually you will be pitching your project to everyone, (i.e. fans) so treat everyone with respect and courtesy.

“Take no for an answer, there will always be another chance”

It’s not a good idea to focus or dwell on companies that reject your work. Rejections are part of the business. Once that happens, you need get back up and move on to the next company.

“Focus on the Yes”

If a company does take interest in your work, do everything you can to work with them. It does you no good to be hurt by a rejection from a large company when a smaller company wants your intellectual property.