The Unknown Studio

Yes, this feature is supposed to be about movies. But it’s also our website and we can do whatever we want. In your face!

In this latest installment of our ongoing Watch This feature — in which Adam and I give you a rundown on shows or movies you absolutely must see — we run-down the dial on the television and give you our picks for some of the greatest cartoons…

For grown-ups.

So put the kids to bed, pull up a bowl of popcorn, and lets take a look at what you won’t see on Treehouse. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 26% [?]

Sometimes it feels like no matter the choices we make — buying clothes, going out, mowing the lawn (or even having a lawn) — we’re doing something to harm the environment, indigenous group, or some animal species. It’s damn near impossible to make a purchase without discovering it’s had some negative impact on something or someone if you trace what you’ve bought back to its component parts.

However, as people become more aware of the impact of their purchasing choices, some have moved to make more prudent, low-impact buys, whether they need a new pair of shoes or want to buy a box of chocolates.

That’s where Ethical Ocean comes in. Spawned from a discussion during a road trip in 2007 and launched at the beginning of February, Ethical Ocean equips consumers with the tools they need to make ethical buying choices. Think of it as the eCommerce solution to the green, fair trade and organic movements.

The Unknown Studio had a chance to speak with Tony Hancock, one of the minds behind Ethical Ocean over email last week. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 51% [?]

Attempting to cast a net around and harness that ethereal sense of nationalism and pride is a dubious exercise at best. Trying to make something with the intent of it going viral is seldom successful. Viral is successful when it’s clever, when it’s true and when it’s honest.

I don’t know what the boardroom discussions were like when Pepsi decided to make the “Eh Oh Canada Go” chant the chant of a nation, but I know this: it was a misguided, misinformed attempt to take the attributes of successful viral campaigns, and transform them into a full-on marketing machine. Other companies attempting to do something similar — to co-opt a sort of popular culture icon as simple as a “Go Canada Go” or “Ca-Na-Da” chant — would do well to learn from Pepsi’s experience. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 55% [?]

Hollywood… dun dun, dun dun, dun dun dun, Hollywood…

It’s that time of year again when nominees are set on edge, performers begin prepping the musical numbers, and the band gets ready to play you off at the thirty-second mark. Yes, friends, it’s Oscar season!

And that means it’s time for me to keep with tradition and and give my picks for the awards – which have historically proven to be totally accurate*. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 34% [?]

This Wednesday marks a fairly significant day in Edmonton, one which is tied to a fairly significant event taking place in the fairly significant month of February (which is fairly significant for, among other reasons, being the shortest month of the year, and if my girlfriend is reading this, Valentine’s Day). That’s right, friends, your brush with greatness, as it relates to athleticism and the corporatization of such, takes place tomorrow when the Olympic torch winds its way through the City of Champions.

Whatever you think of the Games — and I personally have a love/hate relationship with them ever since I was cut from the Canadian jet-luge team (no longer an Olympic sport) in the mid-90s — this definitely marks an historic moment in Canadian history, only the third time the games have taken place in our country. The last time was in 1988 in Calgary, when mascots Heidi and Howdy graced every toque, coffee mug and mitten in existence in this country. Before that, Montreal hosted the summer Olympics in 1976, which allowed them to score a now-dilapidated stadium as a permanent fixture on their landscape. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 33% [?]

In this latest instalment of our ongoing Watch This feature — in which Adam and I give you a rundown on movies you absolutely have to see — we don’t talk about movies at all. Instead, we’ll be running down some of our favourite science fiction television series.

The main reason? We spend way, way too much time talking amongst ourselves about the various pros and cons of the shows we like to watch. The other reason? We can. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 38% [?]