Ability to code in HTML, CSS, and some PHP
Capable of customizing numerous content management systems including WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla
Thorough understanding of Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, and Fireworks
Able to work independently or in a team environment
Active participant on GetGlue, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and LinkedIn
Enjoys researching and actively understanding fan cultures and fan communities

Ideally, I would like a career in the media, upper retail or sports industry, but in reality, I would be willing to work for any employer that respects me, allows me to be creative, and encourages my career development. While I do live in Ontario, Canada, I am willing to relocate if the right opportunity arises.

Interested in hiring me? You can view my curriculum vitae here, and e-mail me here!

I love Linkin Park’s newest single, Burn it Down! I swear, the song has been on my iTunes playlist for the past two weeks, and I’m still not sick of it. At the same time, its April/May sweeps, so I’ve been consumed with the finales of all my favourite shows. More updates to come.

April has been a busy month full of ups and downs. However, one thing has remained consistent, I’m still addicted to Kelly Clarkson. More posts coming shortly!

Last Friday, my friend Anita and I headed out to our local AMC theatre to watch The Hunger Games. Anita was unfamiliar with the premise of the film, while I was a fan of The Hunger Games book trilogy; thus, I was the person pushing us into going to see the film on opening night. Even though numerous box office records were broken on release day, the theatre I went to was empty, and I felt the lack of an audience actually impacted my experience positively. Anita and I were able to experience the film within an environment where we had room to breathe, did not hear constant murmurs or sounds, and were comfortable for over two hours.

Despite the lack of attendees at our theatre, The Hunger Games is one of the best book adaptations I have seen in recent years. The film focuses on almost all of the books major plot twists and turns, and actually adds some new segments to make the story more exciting for viewers. The film also features an amazing soundtrack that not only can depict the mood of a certain scene, but it also helps progress the films plot. I must applaud the films casting director, as I felt that all characters within the film were perfectly casted. Unlike other teen films, actors casted in The Hunger Games are able to display emotion and depict realistic characters. Initially however, I was skeptical of Jennifer Lawrence playing the role of Katniss Everdeen, and of Josh Hutcherson playing Peeta Mellark, but after seeing the film, I felt they were the perfect. Despite enjoying over ninety percent of the film, there were a couple things that upset me.

Even though the premise of the Hunger Games is to have teenagers fighting to their death, the film lacked action. I found that fight scenes were choppy, in order to appeal to a younger demographic. I know a director cannot please all audiences, but I would have enjoyed the film a bit more if characters were developed before getting killed off, and if deaths were a bit slower. Within the film, when a character is removed, the screen flashes continuously, a viewer cannot focus on one item, and it appears as if content is lost. I also really disliked the use of the ‘shaky camera’ technique throughout the film and felt as though, the film did not require constant motion. Furthermore, sometimes the computer-generated graphics within the film were unrealistic and some major plot changes in the book were not present in the film. Film.Com actually does an amazing job showing 31 Differences Between The Hunger Games Book and Movie. Overall, the film was amazing and I eagerly want to see it again.

Normally, I would provide a summary of the film I watched within this blog, but I feel the entire film is up to interpretation, and I could not accurately summarize the film in less than one thousand words. If I had to give the film a rating, I’d say it was a 10/10 in my books, as I loved the adaptation from novel to film.

This past week I went to the movies far too often. I ended up watching, 21 Jump Street, The Hunger Games and Jeff, Who Lives at Home. Each film was quite different and in order to write legitimate evaluations, I’ll be spending the next couple days reviewing each film. Also, to make it interesting, I will review the films in the order I watched them. Thus, today will be in regards to 21 Jump Street, then I will focus on The Hunger Games and lastly I will showcase Jeff, Who Lives at Home.

21 Jump Street

While watching The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo earlier this year, I saw a brief preview advertising 21 Jump Street. Despite being a small and informal advert, I was mystified and eagerly wanted to see the film as soon as it came to theatres. For once, the films trailer was right, it was one of the funniest films I had ever seen.

Within the film, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum play the role of two former classmates who enroll in the police academy and get assigned to park patrol. After breaking numerous codes of conduct, the two officers become part of specialty division on 21 Jump Street. Their new assigned task forces them to re-enroll in high school to crack down on a new drug that is being spread amongst adolescents. Even though the task at hand seems simple, the film has numerous plot twists and turns that cause the mission to be difficult.

Overall, 21 Jump Street was an amazing well-written, comedy that defied conventions and took risks. I found that the humour used in the film was precise and despite constantly having one-liners present, I found that they added to the overall plot of the film. At the same time, the film keeps the same campy nature that was present in the 21 Jump Street

If I had to rate this film, I’d give it a solid 10/10 because, I cannot wait to pick up on blu-ray when its finally released!

These past two week were amazing! I got to attend two sold out concerts, saw the L.A. Galaxy play Toronto FC at the Rogers Centre (in a 2-2 draw), and I got to hangout with some of my closest friends; thus all of these events caused the lack of website updates. Since there isn’t much to discuss about the soccer game or hangout with friends, I’ll give a brief review of both the Young the Giant and Kelly Clarkson shows I attended.

On March 01, 2012, my brother and I went to see Young the Giant at the Sound Academy. Originally, I purchased tickets to see Young the Giant at The Phoenix, but due to overwhelming demand, the show was moved to the Sound Academy because it was a larger venue. If the show was originally at the Sound Academy, I really doubt I would have purchased tickets. Not only do I despise the Sound Academy, I find it is hands down the worst venue in Ontario, Canada. The venue has awful acoustics, is awkwardly arranged and super expensive for no apparent reason. I find that even the best artists sound and appear awful at the venue, and this was the case with Young the Giant. Throughout Young the Giant’s set, I was bored, uninterested and couldn’t focus. At the same time, everyone around me was talking and I found myself eavesdropping on conversations instead of listening to the music being played. Overall, Young the Giant weren’t memorable, and their performance wasn’t as great as I had remembered. When I saw them in 2011 at the Mod Club they blew away all of my expectations. This time however, Young the Giant was overshadowed by their opening act, Walk the Moon. Walk the Moon were amazing!! As soon as I arrived home, I purchased their three song EP and have been listening to it ever since. Their stage presence, songs and overall image were memorable, unique and awesome!!!!

On March 03, 2012 my friend Simone, my brother and I went to see Kelly Clarkson perform at the Avalon Theatre. If I could describe Kelly Clarkson’s performance in one word, I’d say it was ASTOUNDING. Clarkson’s vocals were powerful, her stage presence was magnificent and the songs she performed were delightful. Before coming to the event, I was a mediocre Clarkson fan. I enjoyed her last two albums, and knew all of her chart-topping singles. Though, as soon as I got home from this concert, I purchased her other three albums, and have been listening to them ever since. Clarkson’s performance was one I’ll never forget. Also, the Avalon Theatre was an intimate setting with amazing acoustics and comfortable seats. Overall, I loved everything about Kelly Clarkson’s performance, and I’m really hoping she comes back to Southern Ontario in the near future.

Next Up: This week I’ll be seeing The Weeknd and The Black Keys with the Arctic Monkeys.

On Sunday, my brother and I went to the Better With U tour featuring Big Time Rush and One Direction. The concert was my first ‘boy band’ oriented show since seeing Nsync* back in grade six/seven (approximately 12/13 years ago), and it will probably be my last.

Despite attending numerous concerts throughout the year, this event was able to combine everything I dislike into one location: shrieking girls, long bathroom lineups, big crowds, children with iPhones, overpriced merchandise and more. I knew there would be an abundance of tweens/teenie boppers present, but I could not have expected the amount of shrieking they would be doing for One Direction. Even though Big Time Rush were the headliners of the tour, 90% of the crowd were solely there to support One Direction.

Considering I do not follow the British version of the X Factor (or any other version), I was not familiar with One Direction’s fan base or performance style. Though, after seeing One Direction perform on Sunday, I found they were a group boys who sing in harmony, have no stage direction and are boring. Some individuals may state that these guys are different because they don’t dance or have a massive stage set up, but in reality, they are basically a male version of the Spice Girls. One Direction features five boys who are able to attract five different types of females, were pushed together by a record label and not one single member of the group has a particularly good voice. One Directions songs are manufactured, and I found that they’ve mastered the generic boy band poses already. Even though they lack originality, the girls in the crowd were going nuts for them.

When my brother and I arrived in Toronto at 3pm, there were at least five hundred girls surrounding the One Direction tour bus, and there were also long lineups to get into the venue. Now, I can understand that sometimes if a concert is general admission, people arrive early to get close to the stage, but at this show, everyone had an assigned seat; there was no general admission. Why on earth would someone wait all day in the cold for a concert when they already have an assigned seat? At the same time, when waiting for the show to go on, the girls surrounding us were crying upon seeing One Direction hit the stage. I can understand crying when meeting individuals who are influential, but crying for a boy band who doesn’t even have a CD released in North America seemed insane. The girls in the crowd proved how successful cradle-to-grave marketing is and basically made me really angry. Most of the crowd was under the age of thirteen, had no parental guidance and was consuming every little thing available without hesitation. I was also really upset when I see tweens having smartphones/iPhones because I can’t even justify buying one for myself. Like, why would a tween need to have internet access everywhere?

In contrast to One Direction was Big Time Rush, a band pushed together by Nickelodeon. The band is a modern day S Slub 7 or 2gether, having a television show and attempting to have a legitimate recording career. They talked, sang, lip synced and put on a vibrant, energetic and theatrical show filled with numerous pyrotechnics and dances. I enjoyed Big Time Rush’s performance when they weren’t lip syncing, but they weren’t anything out of the ordinary. In addition, since half the crowd left before Big Time Rush came on, my ears were finally put to rest, and I didn’t have to listen to the girls behind and beside me shrieking in my ear (or dropping posters under my seat all the time).

Overall, the concert was nothing amazing, and I doubt I’ll ever see either boy band again. Next up on my concert tour however is Young the Giant tomorrow (Second time!!) and Kelly Clarkson on Saturday, both 19+ events that I know will be amazing.

Note: I am aware that 90% of this post was a rant and not a review. Also, if you are wondering, I wear earplugs to every concert I attend!

Yesterday afternoon my brother and I went to the movies to see, Goon, a film that depicts violence in hockey as being comical. I enjoyed the film and I found Seann William Scott embodied the character of Doug Glatt, an individual who feels useless and takes on the role of ‘enforcer’ for a minor league hockey team. The film was also clever and had a real ‘Canadian’ vibe, featuring numerous Canadian actors, locations and dialects. Though I must admit, I thought it was hilarious when the team Doug Glatt played for faced off against, The Hamilton Steelers, a fictional hockey team from my hometown.

Despite enjoying most aspects of the film, I disliked the amount of swearing present throughout. I felt that every second word coming out of Jay Baruchel’s and other characters mouths was an f-bomb, and would not only delay the film, it would be unnecessary. Sometimes I feel cursing adds to a films plot, but in this film it was excessive and meaningless. I felt if time spent on swearing was used to deliver cleverly written one-liners, the film would garner more success and would be able to capture a larger audience.