I came to the realization that I am actually writing my own reality, my perception of the world, my opinion, widely accepted or not, to myself, this is my reality.
With my new found grasp on reality, I realized that I don’t need to live the words that everyone else has written for us. But it’s my occasion to write down my experiences so everyone else gets a chance to live the reality that I do.
A quick tweet or an short-winded blog, it’s about mastering my words. Translating my every day interactions to font; this curiosity has come a bit later in my life, but none-the-less I look forward to spraying ideas and experiences over our net, as vast as it extends with alphabet.
This isn’t my first punch at telling stories. I’ve pounded right and left mouse clicks, scuffed up my mouse pad through Photoshop, manufactured visual stories for governments, businesses, products & events, and caramelizing it to glossy paper; to spread messages of the people that paid me to create them. When asked what I do, “I am a commercial artist” I’d always say, an artist that was commissioned everyday for 15 years, who's art augmented economies, but today at the age of 30, I know I was just whore.
On my road to becoming a pro, and to grasp my reality, (I’ve actually calculated this out, day dreaming between art commissions) would take 2 hours, spanned over 3 years, considering the probability of you spending every day with me. I could then share with you what I’ve seen, the places I’ve walked by, where I’ve looked up, and thought to my self, “that design is mine”, and with the time it’d take to blink twice, shrugged it off and kept walking. I’ve always been secretly envious of students who felt the awe and could celebrate their art; where I, had a long list of clients waiting for me to produce their work.
So I figure, with the understanding that experience, shared verbally can come off as ego, and professionalism converted to print earns respect. I write my own reality and much like my visual stories, can fly freely, be replicated and shared an infinite number of times.
~
Raoul
Follow me on Twitter @bhattmaan
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
D'Lish Urban Kitchen and Wine Bar... and night with Steelwood
Last night I was invited by a friend to come down to D'Lish, he plays in a band named Steelwood, and he was playing there last night, which also ended up being the restaurant's soft re-opening. D'Lish has been around for while as a meal assembly studio, where busy professionals could stop by and pickup a meal to take home. I don't really know the details because I never did get a chance to check our their previous setup, although highly recommended by many people. First impressions of the new D'Lish, it looked fabulous. The atmosphere was calming, the decor was well thought out, everywhere you looked was beautifully detailed; and it was spacious, yet intimate. I have never been the type that enjoys large commercial venues, so this was nice.
The servers were pleasant, my wife was also popping in for the opening, she only had 15 minutes, to eat and go, so I pre-ordered a dish so it'd be ready by the time she'd arrive. Upon checking the status of my order, by mistake the server doubled it, it was just a misunderstanding, he thought I wanted one for each of us, but graciously insisted that he can cancel the second order and bring me whatever I like. I went for the Gnochi, being vegetarian that was the only selection I had if I wanted an Entree.
The menu had a wide variety of tapas, wine and a few entrees to choose from, which gave me the impression that they are aiming to be a wine and tapas joint. I went for the cheese dish after my entree, not because the portion was small but because I was there for a while and just had a craving to compliment my wine with some sharp tastes. I was given a list of cheeses to choose from, I didn't know which ones to go for so I told the server, just pick your 3 favourite ones and surprise me. It was brought out on a black slate, the presentation was wonderful and came with a side of wine grapes, grated cucumber in a dressing, and soft, hearty sliced herb bread. A good sized portion, it was enough to nibble on for the evening and still have some to take home. Next time a single choice of cheese would be plenty of a snack for just me.
The night was wonderful I spent 3 hours having some great conversations with friends, while listening to the soft rock of Steelwood. I felt like I could have easily stayed another 2 hours until shutdown, complements to the pleasant atmosphere and the great music.
Steelwood @ D'Lish from firetext on Vimeo.
I really like the location of the place, 124th street and 104ave. If you live in the west end, and you want to break away for a taste of downtown atmosphere without the hassle, this is definitely the place to check out. I'll definitely be planning another evening here for some wine and tapas, maybe a date with my wife, a night with friends.
Follow me on Twitter @bhattmaan
The servers were pleasant, my wife was also popping in for the opening, she only had 15 minutes, to eat and go, so I pre-ordered a dish so it'd be ready by the time she'd arrive. Upon checking the status of my order, by mistake the server doubled it, it was just a misunderstanding, he thought I wanted one for each of us, but graciously insisted that he can cancel the second order and bring me whatever I like. I went for the Gnochi, being vegetarian that was the only selection I had if I wanted an Entree.
The menu had a wide variety of tapas, wine and a few entrees to choose from, which gave me the impression that they are aiming to be a wine and tapas joint. I went for the cheese dish after my entree, not because the portion was small but because I was there for a while and just had a craving to compliment my wine with some sharp tastes. I was given a list of cheeses to choose from, I didn't know which ones to go for so I told the server, just pick your 3 favourite ones and surprise me. It was brought out on a black slate, the presentation was wonderful and came with a side of wine grapes, grated cucumber in a dressing, and soft, hearty sliced herb bread. A good sized portion, it was enough to nibble on for the evening and still have some to take home. Next time a single choice of cheese would be plenty of a snack for just me.
The night was wonderful I spent 3 hours having some great conversations with friends, while listening to the soft rock of Steelwood. I felt like I could have easily stayed another 2 hours until shutdown, complements to the pleasant atmosphere and the great music.
Steelwood @ D'Lish from firetext on Vimeo.
I really like the location of the place, 124th street and 104ave. If you live in the west end, and you want to break away for a taste of downtown atmosphere without the hassle, this is definitely the place to check out. I'll definitely be planning another evening here for some wine and tapas, maybe a date with my wife, a night with friends.
Follow me on Twitter @bhattmaan
Friday, October 8, 2010
New Cineplex UltraAVX, 111mins of my life in Red
So, I got to checkout the newest released to the public innovation in Cinema entertainment. When I first logged in, sorry I mean walked into the Cinema building, the night became a whole new experience.
Earlier in the day my wife emailed to say she won 2 tickets to the movie RED. I didn't think anything of it, because at first, I didn't hear anything about the movie, and I've been to the theatre it was playing at dozens of times; so the night wasn't going to be a new experience, it was just going to be another lovely night with my wife. Let me get this out there too, I've been on this new thing the past few years where I try and not know anything about a movie, that way when I get to see it, its like a surprise.
But, the night was different the moment I walked in the movie theatre, the ticket seller took our double postcard size tickets and asked us where we would like to sit, while presenting us a layout of our theatre on a 12" blue screen that laid in front of us. The seller highlighted 2 seats with his touchscreen; we weren't happy with the seats he had chosen for us, so we asked for a different set of seats, a pair on the other side of the theatre and about half way down. After a bit more thinking, we switched back to the set he picked, seemed this new feature of airplane like selection brought on too many choices to make a easy decision while on the spot. The seller handed us the official tickets and we were making our way towards the red rope, but not before I told the seller that this was a "classy experience." He laughed...
Through the red ropes, under the banner draped entrance and cutting through the aroma of fresh paint. We were definitely walking into a brand new not-a-single-popcorn-kernel-on-the-floor space. The theatre was beautiful, I felt like I was walking into the control deck of the Star Trek Enterprise. Just needed to order "Take us away Commander"....after a quick look around to take in the new setup, we made our way up the far stairs and to our seats.
My isle was The Nile, I couldn't believe the amount of real estate I had, I knew when I come back I'd probably be paying a bit more for my ticket then I normally would for a seat. But it made sense though... wouldn't it be better to fit one less row of people, and offer your customers more comfort. Because really, how often is the movie theatre completely packed that you can't afford to sacrifice a few spaces which is taken up by stragglers anyways. Brilliant thinking Cineplex! I know you must've cut like 5 rows to get the space that you are offering us, but you know we'll gladly pay for the comfort. Speaking of comfort, the seats were nice, I'm the type that prefers a hard bed, a hard seat, hard pillow so this was nice; also I really loved the fabric, a nice vinyl material that felt more like tightly stretched leather. I'm really glad they didn't choose fabric, because I don't think it fabric really ever gets cleaned. Sitting on those fabric chairs, there was always a bit of doubt that would linger in the back of my mind, usually between creeped out stickiness and weird dark stain on the chair thoughts. This time it was great, they had a bit of a lean-back setup to it, I'm not sure why you'd ever use it to lean back, just for it to automatically spring you back upright again, well i guess for anxiety relief during a really good suspense movie.
The sound system was all Bose, the speakers definitely were all about substance over size, but there was a lot of them and with the brand, when I saw the brand, I knew I was up for a great surround sound experience.
EasyRock 102.3 FM was hosting the pre-screening for the movie, RED, you'd figure for being one of the first 100 people in Edmonton to experience this new UltraAVX technology that they'd set out a few roman candles, maybe some wine and cheese at the least. Come on! Let's celebrate this new Edmonton attraction; sadly they handed the microphone over to one of Cineplex's representatives where she talked, then tested the audience on facts about this UltraAVX theatre. I did throw up my hands twice, but then didn't bother after I saw she was just giving cheap posters promoting that promoted the movie. Now if it were a t-shirt, maybe I would've put my hand up the 3rd time...
The visual experience was great though! I thought 3D was a vibrant experience, but this UltraAVX screen was so bright and crisp that it almost looked as if it were 3D, and objects jump right out of the screen when they played the promotional video for the Cineplex UltraAVX technology. Awe-inspiring for sure, which sparked me to uttered a slow woooow, I had a similar experience the time I saw Avatar as my first 3D movie, this was the same, just without the need for 3D glasses. The screen was enormous too, it filled the entire wall of the room, edge to edge; i didn't think it would make that much of a difference by removing the black frame, but it enhanced the experience, by pulling you into the movie.
I've never seen such video clarity that was so darn large and with seats so spacious. I did the couples test too, I tried to snuggle with my wife in various ways, and the arm support height, spacing, rear tilt and leg room made getting close no problem at all. This is important to me, as I'm sure a lot of other people, because this is a theatre that could be a second or third date location, (after the first, because you'd want to at least spend time talking with them). Also a few other things I thought were really cool was the ability to pre purchase your seat location over the web, it definitely brings back that "night out" experience back to the theatres.
Great work Cineplex, just wish I got to see "Watchmen" in this theatre. This isn't really a review about the movie RED, but it was a good movie, be sure to take your parents they'd like it too.
Tweet
Here's some locations on where you can check out the Cineplex AVX theatres.
Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas
1025 The Queensway (at Islington)
Toronto, ON
SilverCity CrossIron Mills & XSCAPE Entertainment Centre
261055 CrossIron Blvd (at CrossIron Mills)
Calgary, AB
Cineplex Odeon South Edmonton
1525-99th Street NW
Edmonton, AB
Cineplex Odeon North Edmonton
14231-137th Avenue
Edmonton, AB
Earlier in the day my wife emailed to say she won 2 tickets to the movie RED. I didn't think anything of it, because at first, I didn't hear anything about the movie, and I've been to the theatre it was playing at dozens of times; so the night wasn't going to be a new experience, it was just going to be another lovely night with my wife. Let me get this out there too, I've been on this new thing the past few years where I try and not know anything about a movie, that way when I get to see it, its like a surprise.
But, the night was different the moment I walked in the movie theatre, the ticket seller took our double postcard size tickets and asked us where we would like to sit, while presenting us a layout of our theatre on a 12" blue screen that laid in front of us. The seller highlighted 2 seats with his touchscreen; we weren't happy with the seats he had chosen for us, so we asked for a different set of seats, a pair on the other side of the theatre and about half way down. After a bit more thinking, we switched back to the set he picked, seemed this new feature of airplane like selection brought on too many choices to make a easy decision while on the spot. The seller handed us the official tickets and we were making our way towards the red rope, but not before I told the seller that this was a "classy experience." He laughed...
Through the red ropes, under the banner draped entrance and cutting through the aroma of fresh paint. We were definitely walking into a brand new not-a-single-popcorn-kernel-on-the-floor space. The theatre was beautiful, I felt like I was walking into the control deck of the Star Trek Enterprise. Just needed to order "Take us away Commander"....after a quick look around to take in the new setup, we made our way up the far stairs and to our seats.
My isle was The Nile, I couldn't believe the amount of real estate I had, I knew when I come back I'd probably be paying a bit more for my ticket then I normally would for a seat. But it made sense though... wouldn't it be better to fit one less row of people, and offer your customers more comfort. Because really, how often is the movie theatre completely packed that you can't afford to sacrifice a few spaces which is taken up by stragglers anyways. Brilliant thinking Cineplex! I know you must've cut like 5 rows to get the space that you are offering us, but you know we'll gladly pay for the comfort. Speaking of comfort, the seats were nice, I'm the type that prefers a hard bed, a hard seat, hard pillow so this was nice; also I really loved the fabric, a nice vinyl material that felt more like tightly stretched leather. I'm really glad they didn't choose fabric, because I don't think it fabric really ever gets cleaned. Sitting on those fabric chairs, there was always a bit of doubt that would linger in the back of my mind, usually between creeped out stickiness and weird dark stain on the chair thoughts. This time it was great, they had a bit of a lean-back setup to it, I'm not sure why you'd ever use it to lean back, just for it to automatically spring you back upright again, well i guess for anxiety relief during a really good suspense movie.
The sound system was all Bose, the speakers definitely were all about substance over size, but there was a lot of them and with the brand, when I saw the brand, I knew I was up for a great surround sound experience.
EasyRock 102.3 FM was hosting the pre-screening for the movie, RED, you'd figure for being one of the first 100 people in Edmonton to experience this new UltraAVX technology that they'd set out a few roman candles, maybe some wine and cheese at the least. Come on! Let's celebrate this new Edmonton attraction; sadly they handed the microphone over to one of Cineplex's representatives where she talked, then tested the audience on facts about this UltraAVX theatre. I did throw up my hands twice, but then didn't bother after I saw she was just giving cheap posters promoting that promoted the movie. Now if it were a t-shirt, maybe I would've put my hand up the 3rd time...
The visual experience was great though! I thought 3D was a vibrant experience, but this UltraAVX screen was so bright and crisp that it almost looked as if it were 3D, and objects jump right out of the screen when they played the promotional video for the Cineplex UltraAVX technology. Awe-inspiring for sure, which sparked me to uttered a slow woooow, I had a similar experience the time I saw Avatar as my first 3D movie, this was the same, just without the need for 3D glasses. The screen was enormous too, it filled the entire wall of the room, edge to edge; i didn't think it would make that much of a difference by removing the black frame, but it enhanced the experience, by pulling you into the movie.
I've never seen such video clarity that was so darn large and with seats so spacious. I did the couples test too, I tried to snuggle with my wife in various ways, and the arm support height, spacing, rear tilt and leg room made getting close no problem at all. This is important to me, as I'm sure a lot of other people, because this is a theatre that could be a second or third date location, (after the first, because you'd want to at least spend time talking with them). Also a few other things I thought were really cool was the ability to pre purchase your seat location over the web, it definitely brings back that "night out" experience back to the theatres.
Great work Cineplex, just wish I got to see "Watchmen" in this theatre. This isn't really a review about the movie RED, but it was a good movie, be sure to take your parents they'd like it too.
Tweet
Here's some locations on where you can check out the Cineplex AVX theatres.
Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas
1025 The Queensway (at Islington)
Toronto, ON
SilverCity CrossIron Mills & XSCAPE Entertainment Centre
261055 CrossIron Blvd (at CrossIron Mills)
Calgary, AB
Cineplex Odeon South Edmonton
1525-99th Street NW
Edmonton, AB
Cineplex Odeon North Edmonton
14231-137th Avenue
Edmonton, AB
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