This morning I was on the Ticketmaster website to get a couple of last-minute release tickets for the Vampire Weekend concert this Thursday and just when I was checking out, I saw this option for free downloads from the iTunes Store. It seems as though with every ticket purchased through Ticketmaster, you now get one free song download of your choice. This must have just went into effect recently because I didn’t get this a couple of weeks ago when I went to buy tickets for Metric. I think that’s pretty cool. It’s not going to make up for the huge surcharge that Ticketmaster tacks on the each ticket, but it’s a start.I’ve never bought anything from the iTunes Store before. Actually, I’ve never spent any money on the iTunes Store before. I’ve made purchases before, but that was with free gift cards that I would receive from various promotions. I much prefer buying a physical CD because I like tangible items. And because new CDs in my neck of the woods cost exactly the same as an iTunes album, it’s a no-brainer to get the tangible version (c/w inserts). I don’t want to download an album and then burn it to a CD. That takes time and effort (and an additional $0.07 for the cost of the CD). Importing a CD also takes time but not much effort so I’d rather do that.If the iTunes Store made it cheaper, then I’d consider buying albums but for now, I like my weekly trips to the music store and seeing what’s new. With that said, however, I would buy individual tracks from the iTunes Store. They have some exclusive tracks that aren’t available in a local store so I’ll give them that. With my free song download, I went and got Almost Lover (Remix Edit) by A Fine Frenzy (I love this chick!).What are your thoughts on the iTunes Store?

I think one of the best things I’ve done this year was upgrading my Flickr account to Pro status. Ever since that day back in January, I’ve been taking a lot more photos (I guess I did that by default when I went on my trip to UK/Europe) and gradually, I’ve been taking better photos. I am really getting more and more interested in learning how to take better photos (not just your regular point-and-shoot). I’m learning about composing the image, lighting, exposures, etc.

Read the rest of this entry »

Wow. My called my friend yesterday and the first thing he was talking about was this festival out in Pemberton. I hadn’t heard anything about it so I wasn’t in the know. However, after an evening out, I returned home and the entire Interweb and their dogs were all about the Pemberton Festival. I had to check it out to see what was so special about it. My friend had already told me the brief details about it; it was a 3-day festival being held in Pemberton in July, not unlike the Sasquatch Festival. Headliners were to include Coldplay, Jay-Z, Metric, and Interpol, among others. It wasn’t until I visited the website that I saw the full potential of the festival.

Besides the aforementioned acts, also appearing at the first-ever Pemberton Festival are Tom Petty, Nine Inch Nails, The Tragically Hip, The Flaming Lips, Death Cab For Cutie, My Morning Jacket, Sam Roberts Band, Vampire Weekend, Black Mountain, Wintersleep, Buck 65, Sia, Brazilian Girls, and many others. That’s a pretty damn good lineup. I am definitely going to this thing. Tickets are $239.50 for the entire 3-day event and go on sale March 28th. Hope to see you there!

As part of my things that would be good to do in the new year, I’ve been more environmentally conscience in my every day life. For example, whenever possible, I don’t use any plastic bags. I’ve bought some reusable bags for grocery shopping and I carry my messenger bag with me most anywhere I go so I can always throw things in that when I need to. I’ve also tried to not drive as much, to emit less pollution (and also because the price of gas is ridiculous). Being environmentally friendly has also extended to my purchasing decisions. Whenever possible, I also try to by things that are environmentally friendly and use some type of recycled material. My latest environmentally friendly purchase is a notebook by ecojot. It’s made from 100% recycled paper and it’s also made in Canada (bonus!). It’s a pretty cool little spiral notebook.

I had intentions to get a Moleskine, however it was expensive and it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. So when I found this notebook, I was pretty happy.I’ve been looking for a notebook to jot down notes ever since I got back from my trip. I had a notebook with me on the trip, however it was bigger than I had liked and when I returned back home, it was pretty much filled up anyway. I always like to carry a notebook with me in case I come up with brilliant (or sometimes not-so-brilliant) ideas. Even more so now because I’m always coming up with photography ideas. Now I just need to find a bag for my MacBook Pro and I’m all set. That, plus a digital SLR camera.

So I’ve had my new MacBook Pro for 5 full days now and honestly, I love it. I love laptop computers in general (what’s not to love?) but I doubly love my MacBook Pro. The fact that it’s shiny and an attention grabber makes it all the more better. But is it all just purely asthetics? No, it goes way beyond that.

Read the rest of this entry »