Canaan Chu’s Blog: Ashbery is good

So, how’s it going people? I’ve tried to update this blog two times, but never followed through on it. The first time was after the NBA Championship, which was won by the Lakers more than a month ago. This is just to say I’ve meant to blog more, and I will. You can follow me on twitter (canaanchu), although most of my new tweets are on the tastiness of beef pancake.

Here are some random thoughts: the new Harry Potter movie was almost perfect, but the ending seemed rushed. Spoiler alert! Dumbledore throwing fire at those zombies in slo-mo was a very surreal scene, my favourite. Also, Daniel Radcliffe was at his best, especially when he drank the Luck Potion.

Anyway, try some beef pancake if you haven’t already. They are available at T&Ts for $2.99 apparently, but you can go to your friendly neighborhood Chinese restaurant too.

Peter Bishop: What’s the second thing?
Me: What second thing?
Peter: The second thing you almost updated your blog with!
Me: Oh yes, this is extremely important. Is it possible to get me a root beer float?

Google twitterfeed to feed blog to twitter.

Recently, I had to do a presentation on the design of Maclean’s Magazine. I found a few interesting things I decided to share on this blog.

Before the 1960s, Maclean’s was seen as general-interest magazine. This was reflected in its designs as the covers were pretty illustrations usually commissioned to well-known Canadian illustrators and painters, made to look good sitting on coffee tables.

During the peak of their success in the 60s, Maclean’s experienced its first radical design change. The editor-in-chief Ken Lefollii, decided to change their approach towards an outward looking, international magazine with an edgier, sharper tone. The covers during the 1960s started to use full colour photographs to emphasize the “reality and immediacy of the issues on the coves and stories within the magazine” (Braggins 35). As Macleans started to become more of a newsmagazine, their art director at the time, Allan Fleming, made radical changes to the look of the cover. Instead of full colour photographs with full bleeds, Fleming implemented a typographic-centred design that made it feel more like the style of a newspaper.

However, this change did not last very long, as the editorial clashed with the business aspect of the magazine. They ran very controversial stories that alienated advertisers and readers alike. A three-part article on overmedication caused drug advertisers to withdraw $70,000 to $100,000 in advertising funds. In 1964, just two years after he took the job as editor-in-chief, Lefolli left Macleans saying there was too much pressure from the publisher to change editorial content.

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The Balfour Books Sale happens once every year around March Break (although they say its slightly different start time every year), and they offer 50% off their already discounted used books. Last time on my blog, I talked about buying books with a budget. I actually want to stop buying books, its like a sick disease. Perhaps the feeling that you are acquiring some kind of knowledge or privilege from owning a book (without even reading it!!!), is a bad reason to buy anything. Although, there is some conventional truth to this notion; I mean, buying a dictionary or a set of encyclopedias could benefit the buyer at a later time. But the point is, there is a financial and spatial limit (the size of my closet) to the number of books one person can purchase within reason.

But this was too good of a sale to pass up, so I went. I felt kind of claustrophobic, there were tons of people there squeezing through each other. I was a couple hours late and already I felt as if I missed all the good books. My strategy I came up with was this: I would purchase the book which had the most value, and this value was to be calculated on the following criteria:

1) How much it was marked down (ie. Could I afford this book if it was not on sale?)
2) Is this book easily findable in most bookstores? (ie. Can I just purchase this used on Amazon.com?)

On this criteria, I bought a biography of Philip Larkin, and this short story collection by Ma Jian. Both fit the above criteria (criterium?). Anyways, this blog is turning into a personal book shopping list. What are some of the things you look for when you purchase a book? Participate in my comment section!

Magazine That Is Expensive ($16):
The Paris Review, Winter 2008

Books I Purchased And Saved Mucho Dinero On ($50 Total):
Orhan Pamuk, Other Colors
Alberto Manguel, The Library At Night
The Masters of American Comics
Michael Chabon, Maps and Legends
Antanas Seleika, Woman in Bronze
Sheila Heiti, Ticknor

To solve my book problem (ie. spending too much money on them), Mel suggested I buy a book only after I finished it. Unfortunately, I think I lasted two days. Here is how it “happened” the first time; I was deciding whether I should purchase the lastest Paris Review (because it was 16 bucks), when I passed by the remaindered book table at the Indigo’s by Scotiabank Theatre. Wait, actually it was before this. I was looking at the remaindered book table in Book City on the Danforth. This was the first time I noticed some interesting books for $6.99: Orhan Pamuk’s collection of essays “Other Colours”, and Alberto Manguel’s “The Library at Night”. All in hardcover. I can never afford hardcover, and now here they were, as cheap as an Arby’s combo. That day, I was also debating with myself on that day whether to purchase The Paris Review, a testament to my recently renewed attention to sticking to a budget.
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You too, can be as handsome as Paco.

One night, during a casual conversation, my friend Laura tells me she is learning how to play the guitar. Toro overhears our conversation and says, “I have always wanted to learn the guitar, but there are so many things to know.” Having been learning the guitar for the last five years, I told Toro that learning the guitar is simple. In fact, I was at Toro’s house during the summer and he showed me his new guitar, then strummed a few chords for me. Unfortunately, I have noticed with Toro, that knowing the fundamentals of guitar did not give him the confidence to call himself a guitar player. Instead, he told Laura that he has always wanted to learn, as if he hasn’t even started learning. This is a tendency I can see many starting guitarists having. More likely, it is the experienced guitarist who appreciates the fundamentals, and who would tell Toro and others of a similar skill level that in fact, their knowledge is sufficient if applied in the correct way.
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Toronto Life

http://www.torontolife.com

At the bottom of each Toronto Life article on their websites, there are buttons to Digg, Facebook, and Delicious. These buttons are close to the advertisements. This is a good way for readers to bookmark the article, and for people who see the bookmarks on Delicious to spot the advertisements when they read the article.

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