So instead of going back out and making sweet love to a few pints of Guinness, I decided to take a little stroll in the Vector Park! The site is a creative use of various Flash animations and algorithms that create an artistic world of interaction. There are three sections of the park each with its own interactive environments, and quips. The second section kept me occupied for at least 45 minutes! Although it seems like some of the interactions are over, there is much more to them, so do not be so quick to move on if one of them seems boring. This one is definitely in the bookmarks and may just become one of my regular walks in the Park!

This is an exchange between my brother and a fellow Match.com hopeful named VitaminC29! Vincent noticed that one of the friends in her profile pictures was an old high school buddy. So Vincent decided to have a little fun asking about his friend, by emailing VitaminC29; this is the result:

Vincent: I’m sorry, but is that Jackie Basgil in that picture with you? VitaminC29: Sure is…how do you know Jackie? Vincent: We actually went to high school together. I haven’t seen her in quite sometime, but I hear she’s married now. VitaminC29: Not yet but close. The wedding is this summer. Who should I say asked about her? Vincent: My apologies, my name is Vincent Bilotta III (actually, I was kidding about the III part, it just sounds pretty funny) So yeah, if you can pass along my regards that would be great. I’m sorry for making you a liaison, it was not my intention. Thanks! Vincent P.S. Li-ai-son (noun) 1. a channel for communication between groups. That was on my word of the day calender 3/13/07, good stuff!

It has been many hours, tons of different designs and me getting over myself in order to proudly announce the re-launch of my website. I had not been using the site as a daily part of my routine, this seemed pretty lame considering the amount I write and my abundant use of the internet. I have spent many hours on other designer’s sites and blog’s searching for the reasons why I was not doing the very same thing. The solution was simple, just put my head down and get it done. Since the first of the year I have been working to get this off the ground. Finally I have the project at a point where I feel confident in the outcome. I have updated with the help of the new version of Wordpress, and will be further implementing different functionality in the upcoming weeks to improve the usage of my site as a communication and development tool for my work as a designer. I hope you enjoy the redesign and would love to see some of you back here again!

This week while I was doing a small job in large agency located in downtown Philadelphia, I ran across, or was reacquainted with one of the most annoying things I come across as a freelance designer. An agency STILL using QuarkXpress! For those of you not in the industry this will sound like the rantings of a snotty, high on his horse designer. Most of my fellow designers will agree with me, although I know there are still Quark purists out there that will most certainly take their digs. If you are not in the industry and want to learn more about the battle between Quark and InDesign check out this website for the complete history. We all know that Quark was the “go to” application for print layout and production for years. It was not until Adobe created InDesign that we graphic designers finally had a choice of professional layout software. This designer was so happy on that day.

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At this very moment I am at a bachelor party. So “What the hell am I doing in front of a computer?” you ask! Avoiding! That is what. Downstairs there is a bunch of guys, 1, at least with a rubber penis on his head, getting their fix of female solicitation. I am not against this sort of thing, I just have never been comfortable with the de-romanticism of sex. Okay, call me a pansy! Go ahead, I may deserve it. It is just that I know that these sort of things feel so utterly false. You receive a woman’s attention, you feel the curves of her body, you smell the sweetness of her skin, and you have a desire. But…hold on, this girl could care less. This is a job for her, you are a job! She performs and you take nothing with you from the experience but a story to tell, that the guys from the last party she worked are telling, at that very moment, down at the corner bar.

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So here in Philadelphia we have Wawa, the very successful convenient store chain based out of Wawa, Pennsylvania. Those to the north of Jersey and south of Richmond have no idea what you are missing. Nor do those living West of Pittsburgh. Wawa is a local staple and a popular one at that. G Love sings its praises in the song “I Like Cold Beverages” with the lyric “Wawa’s to the right, they got beverage inside!” Damn right G, a whole lot of beverages including coffee. Anyway, Wawa is a daily stop during my morning, I walk up from my studio and grab myself one of their 24oz coffees at least twice a day. So the other morning as I was strolling the counter of coffee pots, which are brewed fresh all day, I noticed a pot a little different. It had flowers on it and the label said “Kona”. I stopped and stared in excitement. Could it be true, the marriage of my favorite convenient store and my favorite coffee? Yes true believers Wawa, had taken a step in the direction of ultimate greatness, and were serving Hawaii’s finest coffee. You have no idea how much this improved my mornings and quite actually my day! I grabbed a 24oz cup and poured myself a tall one. I usually go 3/4 of the way up and top it off with some cream. 6 sugars and I am that much closer to heaven… I mean damn! The first sip brought on feelings of such fulfillment that I literally stood there for a moment, engulfed in bliss, until a woman tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was in line for the check-out. I looked at her with wide eyed amazement, as if I just awoke from a dream. I know for sure that I said something reminiscent of Will Farrell in “Old Skool” like, “Ohh, when it hits your lips….” She scurried off; quickly realizing she had interrupted a man with a passion. That’s right lady, run and get yourself one. Only then will you see what I mean.

For the past week I have placed myself back in the hunt for a job. At first I had to decide if I wanted to stay freelance or just finally go out and get that one position that I really wanted, with the employer I really wanted. This is not the easiest task especially for a creative. I adjusted my resume, and began work on a cover letter which frankly, is a very difficult item to write. So as I went to all of the job related sites, Monster, CareerBuilder, HotJobs, etc. I could not help but wonder how the Creative Job portals were for finding work. The last time I really went looking for a job was years ago, and there was not very much in terms of portals for creatives.

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I have launched a new website for my Football(soccer) club. I am hoping that the new team I am building will be on board for us to become an actual club. I am hoping that we are able to use the site as a community for us and our families.

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