Month / December 2013

by peter

Chito-Ryu: The Next Generation

Master Tsuyoshi Chitose

Senior practitioners of Chito-ryu karate live under long shadows. First there is enormous shadow cast by founder Tsuyoshi Chitose, a martial arts virtuoso who studied under many masters and synthesized what he learned into his remarkable art.

Then there are the shadows cast by the pioneers who introduced Chito-ryu to their countries and amassed impressive organizations. In North America these larger-than-life figures include Masami Tsuruoka, the Father of Canadian Karate; Shane Y. Higashi, head of the Canadian Chito-ryu Karate Association;  and the late William Dometrich, founder of the United States Chito-ryu Karate Federation. . . . Read the post from my karate club blog.

by peter

Take the Heli-Skiing Cure

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The following blog post, originally appearing on Lifecruiser.

I thought it would be a good way to cure my fear of heights.

A friend and I were skiing in Rockies of Alberta, challenging the slopes of Lake Louise and Sunshine. One night, after a couple of  shots in front of the roaring fire at our lodge in the town of Canmore, Hal said, “I think we should try heli-skiing.” . . .

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by peter

Villa Mas Mateu: Tilt at Windmills in True Style

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So you want a vacation in Spain, in Catalonia. You want to be near the action of Costa Brava and to a town full of history and fine dining, like Girona. But you also want a secluded inland location, on its own forested estate, nestled amid olive groves, with views of the snowcapped Pyrenees. You want to immerse yourself in the ambience of a centuries-old private home but have all the amenities and comforts of a dazzling modern design.

A tall order? No, what you want is Villa Mas Mateu. . . . Read the full blog post for the LaCure magazine here.

by peter

Let’s Talk Verbal Identities

Photo by Giedrius.

Photo by Giedrius.

So verbal identities are a thing. . . . When did verbal identities become a thing?

I recently met Scott Christie, the creative director at Interbrand in Toronto. Scott mentioned in passing that the practice of creating ‘verbal identities’ was a big thing, with a lot of writers devoted to it, at the New York Interbrand office. And now they were trying to introduce the discipline to Canada.

I nodded sagely then rushed home and googled ‘verbal identity interbrand’ and got this  explanation:

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by peter

Bankruptcy: The Road to Recovery

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It was a perfect storm of personal and professional misfortunes.

Bryan was a successful independent marketing communications consultant, well respected in the business with a good network of friends. But in his late 50s he discovered that he had adult attention deficit disorder (ADD), with a host of problems, ranging from an inability to focus to poor organization skills and depression. After years of laboured compensation for the symptoms, he felt the copying structure he had carefully built begin to fall apart.

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by peter

Discover the Art of Easy Living

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I wrote the following post while serving as community manager of Applied Artworks, a site selling limited-edition art prints, as well as the assignment services of photographers and illustrators:

If summertime is about easy living, then the art of enjoying it should be simple, beautiful and affordable.

Applied Arts has launched its ArtWorks site to provide a gorgeous variety of art at summer sale prices. Whether you have a cottage, a home or an office that you want to decorate with prints of original images, you should visit the three ArtWorks Galleries:

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