“blogging isn’t journalism, it’s graffiti with punctuation”
The Toronto Star recently profiled Deadboy, who, as most of you know, has been a friend of The Spadina Monologues for months now, and I’ve always profiled his work. In the article, The Spadina Monologues got a brief but important mention in reference to Deadboy’s work and my profiling of graffiti. Check out the article, because I’m pretty sure this means I am now a Toronto graffiti authority. Called it.
My panel discussion, Brands, Agencies, and Influencers Unite, at the Social Media Week conference went really well! There was easily 100 people in attendance, and they were all live-tweeting almost every point we made.
that’s darren on the left, our moderator. him and i had plenty to chat about, as we’re both playwrights and theatre nuts. bruno is sitting next to me, we took the Via train together and shared so many experiences that by the time we got to this panel, we were ribbing each other with our elbows like old chums. he’s mah boy! next to bruno is stéphane from the NFB, and not pictured is Yves from Via Rail, who took us all out to dinner afterward. Loved them all!
first they introduced the videos that bruno and i made about our train experience, and then we began to talk about brand-agency-blogger relationships.
i was able to make several important points that i’ve been wanting to express for a while, since my life as an “influential blogger” or whatever began.
#1: most of the daily pitches i receive from brands or agencies are clearly cut n’ paste with my name jammed in at the top
#2 most of the pitches basically say, “please do my job for me. FOR FREE.”
#3 these agencies or brands will mass-email-blast their pitches to a cornucopia of bloggers, rather than actually doing research into the bloggers they’re pitching, nor understanding whether or not the pitch will be suitable for these bloggers.
#4 I blog about graffiti/street art/culture-jamming….and travel/adrenaline junkie activities ….. and theatre/film. so why am i getting pitches about Mattel’s new barbie and ken dolls? or Dunkin Donuts’ national donut day campaign? or vodka tastings? Those are beyond the voice of my blog, they don’t fit with my ethos, and my readers wouldn’t give a toss about those campaigns.
#5 brands and agencies should be more concerned about pitching to influencers whom they actually want to build long term mutually-beneficial relationships with, rather than EVERYBODY for a short period of time.
according to the panel’s program, i now am the NFB’s co-director with Stéphane.
YOU READ IT HERE FIRST. I GET STEPHANE’S PAYCHEQUE THIS MONTH. IT’S IN PRINT!
s’okay, my nametag was correct.
Via Rail put me up in the posh and luxurious Opus Hotel in the heart of trendy Yaletown in Vancouver. my room was so lush. when a single gal with an orgasmic rush of energy is given a sexy, mojo-enhancing room like this, there’s only one thing she can do.
what did you think i meant? get your minds outta the gutter!
or back in the gutter?
in the morning, with the sunshine pouring in through my massive window, i knew i was going to have a classically cool Vancouver day.
Opus’ communications manager left me a lil’ gift and an awfully kind note at the front desk too. he had heard me speak at the panel the night before. fanks Jer!
i decided to only wear black and white all day.
i let my personality fill in the colour.
summer 2011 is officially over. this was an exceptionally difficult summer.
i quit my job. i went through a heartbreak. and then received a bad health diagnosis.
i will not miss this summer at all.
Yet despite all of that, happiness still abounds in my life.
Life always finds a way.
we can remember swimming in December, heading for the city lights in 1975
check out my film review of Alamar, a film about the bond between father and son, that blurs the line between documentary and fiction. but, as they say on reading rainbow, don’t take my word for it……
Performances of Alligator Tears:
Saturday March 19 @ 1 PMFriday March 25 @ 8 PM
TicketsTickets are on sale now through the Tarragon Theatre box office!Tickets to the Paprika Festival are FREE! With one exception. The Friday night performance of Alligator Tears is doubling as a fundraising performance for the festival. This means ticket to this performance will be $10 each. More details about the evening will follow shortly!
Regardless of whether the tickets are free or $10, we suggest that you reserve ahead of time We absolutely had shows sell out last year so make sure you reserve your tickets in advance if you really want to see something. The Tarragon box office phone number is 416.531.1827 or you can also reserve them online through their website at www.tarragontheatre.com/tickets. There will be a limit on how many tickets one person can reserve to this year’s Festival. We are limiting reservations to four tickets per show per person.
watch the trailer here:
i do not forgive the follies and vices of others, nor their offences against me. my good opinion, once lost, is lost forever.
i have neither the time nor the inclination to indulge your need for redemption. your selfish disdain for my feelings was colossal. there is no road home.
as you were.
>we can remember swimming in December, heading for the city lights in 1975
>
check out my film review of Alamar, a film about the bond between father and son, that blurs the line between documentary and fiction. but, as they say on reading rainbow, don’t take my word for it……
Performances of Alligator Tears:
Saturday March 19 @ 1 PMFriday March 25 @ 8 PM
TicketsTickets are on sale now through the Tarragon Theatre box office!Tickets to the Paprika Festival are FREE! With one exception. The Friday night performance of Alligator Tears is doubling as a fundraising performance for the festival. This means ticket to this performance will be $10 each. More details about the evening will follow shortly!
Regardless of whether the tickets are free or $10, we suggest that you reserve ahead of time We absolutely had shows sell out last year so make sure you reserve your tickets in advance if you really want to see something. The Tarragon box office phone number is 416.531.1827 or you can also reserve them online through their website at www.tarragontheatre.com/tickets. There will be a limit on how many tickets one person can reserve to this year’s Festival. We are limiting reservations to four tickets per show per person.
watch the trailer here:
i do not forgive the follies and vices of others, nor their offences against me. my good opinion, once lost, is lost forever.
i have neither the time nor the inclination to indulge your need for redemption. your selfish disdain for my feelings was colossal. there is no road home.
as you were.
the thoughts you once gave me sound like the wind in my ears that blows out the knots i’ve got in my long brown hair
check out my film review of Precious Life, a documentary that made the Oscar short-list . . . . was I a bit too harsh?
this was my name plate. Oh happyjaculations!
it was a bit of a mind-fuck returning to York after so many years have passed since I graduated. the campus has changed! what used to be farm land and fields are now bustling buildings and lecture halls. incredible.
and just the fact that my alma mater invited me to return to speak about my career as a writer was an incredibly flattering and humbling experience.
there were 5 of us in total on the panel, and we spoke very briefly about ourselves before opening it up to the floor to ask us questions…so for two lightning-fast hours, we answered questions about how what to expect when you become a writer (key phrases that were repeated several times were “you gotta hustle!” and “apply for grants!”)
after the panel discussion was over, there was literally a line-up of people wanting to talk to me, to ask specific questions, or even those who just wanted to come up and say hi. it was such a lovely environment.
i’m so glad i was able to participate in such an event, and would gladly do more in the future! shout out to Sara for hooking a sistah up!
* * *
the Next Stage Theatre Fest had it’s opening night this past week with delicious food provided by Smoke’s Poutinerie, Shanghai Cowgirl, Mariachis, Merci Mon Ami & Butler’s Pantry.
i was lucky enough to snag a few tickets to some of the shows (and let me tell you, tickets are selling out FAST so get tickets now) and hung out in the McAuslan Beer Tent set up in the Factory Theatre garden to hang out with some of the coolest theatre practitioners and enthusiasts in the country. seriously, even though i don’t drink, beer tents=TONS OF WIN.
and, of course, tickets are redonkulously inexpensive for the quality theatre you are presented with! forget the mirvishes (seriously, i rarely patron the mirvishes, toooooo expensive!), go see some regional theatre by the blokes who live on the same street as you and drink at the cameron house. all your mates are waiting for you at the beer tent!
ps see Duel of Ages. seriously.
the fest is on until the 16th, so you still have lots of time!
* * *
” i hope you know that i’ve always enjoyed seeing you and talking to you, and that has been from years and years ago, long before twitter and blogging, back to tarragon spring arts fair and york and fringe vignettes in the dark and that victoria goring show in the club and you working at passe muraille and being (when i was first getting to know who you were) this young vibrant smart beautiful theatre artist who i knew would really make a mark for herself someday. and who has.”
this person was in the aforementioned beer tent the other night, so when i saw them, i pushed my way through the crowd and beeeeeeearrrrrrrrrrrrrr-hugggggggggged them.
this is literally the nicest message i’ve ever received. so thoughtful and caring. i didn’t even realize this person KNEW of all that stuff i’ve done. half of my best friends don’t even remember some of this stuff. so thank you, my friend, for giving a shit.
it’s been a really sad holiday season for me. lots of tears in realizing i’m disposable to a lot of people i deeply cared about. but, like the MAN said…
>the thoughts you once gave me sound like the wind in my ears that blows out the knots i’ve got in my long brown hair
>
check out my film review of Precious Life, a documentary that made the Oscar short-list . . . . was I a bit too harsh?
this was my name plate. Oh happyjaculations!
it was a bit of a mind-fuck returning to York after so many years have passed since I graduated. the campus has changed! what used to be farm land and fields are now bustling buildings and lecture halls. incredible.
and just the fact that my alma mater invited me to return to speak about my career as a writer was an incredibly flattering and humbling experience.
there were 5 of us in total on the panel, and we spoke very briefly about ourselves before opening it up to the floor to ask us questions…so for two lightning-fast hours, we answered questions about how what to expect when you become a writer (key phrases that were repeated several times were “you gotta hustle!” and “apply for grants!”)
after the panel discussion was over, there was literally a line-up of people wanting to talk to me, to ask specific questions, or even those who just wanted to come up and say hi. it was such a lovely environment.
i’m so glad i was able to participate in such an event, and would gladly do more in the future! shout out to Sara for hooking a sistah up!
* * *
the Next Stage Theatre Fest had it’s opening night this past week with delicious food provided by Smoke’s Poutinerie, Shanghai Cowgirl, Mariachis, Merci Mon Ami & Butler’s Pantry.
i was lucky enough to snag a few tickets to some of the shows (and let me tell you, tickets are selling out FAST so get tickets now) and hung out in the McAuslan Beer Tent set up in the Factory Theatre garden to hang out with some of the coolest theatre practitioners and enthusiasts in the country. seriously, even though i don’t drink, beer tents=TONS OF WIN.
and, of course, tickets are redonkulously inexpensive for the quality theatre you are presented with! forget the mirvishes (seriously, i rarely patron the mirvishes, toooooo expensive!), go see some regional theatre by the blokes who live on the same street as you and drink at the cameron house. all your mates are waiting for you at the beer tent!
ps see Duel of Ages. seriously.
the fest is on until the 16th, so you still have lots of time!
* * *
” i hope you know that i’ve always enjoyed seeing you and talking to you, and that has been from years and years ago, long before twitter and blogging, back to tarragon spring arts fair and york and fringe vignettes in the dark and that victoria goring show in the club and you working at passe muraille and being (when i was first getting to know who you were) this young vibrant smart beautiful theatre artist who i knew would really make a mark for herself someday. and who has.”
this person was in the aforementioned beer tent the other night, so when i saw them, i pushed my way through the crowd and beeeeeeearrrrrrrrrrrrrr-hugggggggggged them.
this is literally the nicest message i’ve ever received. so thoughtful and caring. i didn’t even realize this person KNEW of all that stuff i’ve done. half of my best friends don’t even remember some of this stuff. so thank you, my friend, for giving a shit.
it’s been a really sad holiday season for me. lots of tears in realizing i’m disposable to a lot of people i deeply cared about. but, like the MAN said…
