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Congratulations to Blackstone Hotel

To say The Blackstone Hotel is an American landmark would be a slight understatement. “The Hotel of Presidents” has an unparalleled history. It has welcomed over a dozen presidents, was the birthplace of common political colloquialisms and the inspiration behind some great pop culture. Read about it.

When Sockeye was asked to work on Blackstone’s new identity we jumped at the opportunity. How often do you get to help reinvent an icon? The new identity touched on Blackstone’s great stories and gave nod to their roots. And it seems all that jumping helped land Blackstone Hotel a Mohawk Show Finalist nod. Sweet!

Next time you’re in Chicago stop by. Check it out. Soak in the history. Enjoy.

Mohawk Show 11 Finalist: Blackstone Hotel Identity « Mohawk News.

Chinese New Year at Lan Su

We recently took a short jaunt down to the Lan Su Chinese Garden. And what did we find? Dr. Ed Yang of the NW Art Academy entertaining with music and calligraphy. His playing ability somehow combines tranquil and upbeat notes into a catchy tune. So we recorded it, natch.

Dr. Yang is just one part of the festivities in the Gardens during Chinese New Year 2010. The whole event culminates in their annual Lantern Viewing on Sunday night. It’s a finale of finales, including hundreds of floating lights. See you there!

-Andrew

The Portland Art Museum

Quick snapshots are great. Sockeye designer John Fisher snapped this shot of a spruced-up Portland Art Museum, as it gets prepped for Disquieted (FEB 20, 2010 – MAY 16 2010). And, can you guess who PAM allowed to dress up their windows? Sockeye!

National Handwriting Day Is Fun

Ah yes, the seventies. A time of Smithson’s Spiral Jetty installation, Intel’s first microprocessor, and sea monkeys. Not to be outdone is National Handwriting Day, created in 1977 by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association. “Though computers and email play an important role in our lives, nothing will ever replace the sincerity and individualism expressed through the handwritten word,” says David H. Baker, Executive Director. Very true. Mr. Baker says the event was created to encourage creativity by writing out a note, poem or letter. Let’s not hold out on sincerity or individualism now!

Using an excerpt from Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie’s beloved “Peter Pan,” we had everyone at Sockeye provide a writing sample, which we then analyzed using Handwriting Web Analysis, the “Original Web Handwriting Site.”

The results were interesting.

Analysis:
Your handwriting seems comfortable and pretty well worn in with your personality, doesn’t it? Quick minds often invent their own form as they go, and that’s a sign of adaptability. Good trait. You may sometimes have a tendency to get caught up in intense discussions a bit too often, and you can do some serious leaning into people’s faces with your intensities.
Continue reading…

Also Made in Oregon.

–by Mike Byrne

The Governor’s Office of Film and Television works hard to ensure that at least three movies a year are shot outside of Vancouver BC. To their credit, some dang good flicks have been shot right here in Oregon; The General, One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest, Drugstore Cowboy, Film Geek, and a couple more.

But let’s be honest, the respectable titles are few and far between. It’s the aggressively mediocre to balls-out shiteous that pay the Mircrobrew tab. For every Dead Man that people will admit to there are five or ten Frozen Assets that kept people off the bread lines. Let’s spill a 40 for the fallen PAs and celebrate the locally shot stinkbomb.

Where better to start than Brain Smasher… A Love Story (1993)? Shot in Portland under the working title “Sam and Ed,” this is the cinematic nugget in which Andrew Dice Clay and Teri Hatcher get chased all over downtown Portland by robed Shaolin Monks on dirt bikes. As imdb reviewer sxct from Connecticut puts it “This is the campiest movie you will ever see. It is so bad that it is hysterical.”
Find it for $1.99 in a used VHS bin and watch it on a VCR with tracking problems.