Sunday, April 20, 2008

Here, There, Everywhere!

What a lovely weekend this was for me and for those commuters who use the TTC - there is no longer a TTC strike beginning on our Monday morning! This is a sigh of relief for many Torontonians indeed, though it may have been nice to walk into work and enjoy this beautiful weather. Get off our lazy asses and move move move!

What a week this was for me. I was busier than a hooker on the corner of Jarvis and Wellsley. The week began with a trip to the Coca-Cola Bottling factory for a shoot for the Vancouver Olympic Games. Coca-Cola is one of the major sponsors of the games and this was a video created for product endorsement and brand creation. What a cool experience this was to see the assembly line of products being effortlessly thrown out into a bright red can and ready to serve off the line. I stood at starred for about 15 minutes, it was like a miniature universe. It was also very cool to work with Kathryn Humphries, who I have had a little TV crush on for a few years (she does sports reporting for City TV). She was very vibrant, hilarious and down to earth which made me enjoy her even further. Plus she had a tight little body. Sorry -- TV people are real people, not just sexual toys! My bad. A antique Coca-Cola car from the 1920's, a Olympic size swimming pool made of Dasani bottles and a mock mountain slope were some of the environments simulated for this video.

What else has TG been up to you ask? I have also been working on my first interview piece for Xtra with two queer women that will be winning "Women of Distinction Awards" this coming May. Watch out for this piece at the end of the month! So I have bought a dapper voice recorder and to the disarray of those around me, I can now record any candid conversation I desire! Be prepared to be exposed. Both of these women were extremely inspirational and were able to beam a positive light into my perspective. Inspiration it seems at times can be hard to come in contact with, but these women have opened my eyes to a multitude of minority issues and concerns in the Toronto community and beyond.

The week tied up with me coaching white people how to rap on a viral video for Cisco Systems Inc... Good times kids! This was a fun shoot, the energy was fun and my BF, Dee, ended up coming in as an extra to make some extra cash. AKA: she was a video ho! She was good at it, of course *W*

The office for Cisco Systems like being a kid at the candy store. Ridiculous. Technology everywhere. If you were Borg, you would be a most practical space. The coolest thing I saw was a room in which there is a half boardroom table that merge into three life-size screens. The illusion of the lighting in the room makes the screen appear to look like there is a continuance of the table, through the way in which the image of people appear on the screen in the same, uniform boardroom. That way the image on the screen can connect with various Cisco Systems offices throughout the world and appear as thought the individual(s) are right in front of you. Madness, the illusion is that the table is just continued right in front of your eyes. The technology was developed by Stephen Spielberg's workshop and retails at about a quarter-million bucks per unit. Cisco System is the first to provide this technology. This was some pretty high tech, geeky stuff.

Well all in all, it was a fun week full of new experiences and some fun memories. Cheers to another week of working hard for your munnnay!

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