The lighter side of Social Media

This day in #HarperHistory

Greetings, friends & neighbours - your faithful scribe has of late been extending his reach (and that of Stalking the Job) further into the realm of Social Media, shoring up his formerly-minimal presence on FaceBook and forging a brand-new Board on Pinterest. But a funny thing happened late last night, by way of checking my Twitter feed: #HarperHistory. 

Now, bearing in mind that this StJ is most decidedly not a political blog by nature, I'm not about to get into any mudslinging or finger-pointing (that's what Parliament is for, after all), but I'll be honest - I was in stitches while reading the spontaneous outpouring of humorous tweets from Canadians across the nation. To understand why this hashtag got started in the first place, you'd have to go back to yesterday's Question Period on Parliament Hill... in an exchange over Canada's current mission in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper accused the NDP of having been insufficiently opposed to Adolf Hitler in 1939 (but unfortunately for Mr. Harper, the NDP did not actually come into being until 1961, some sixteen years after the conclusion of the Second World War).

Soon thereafter, and continuing well into the night and onto the next day, people on Twitter began posting a raft of sarcastic tweets claiming morally & ethically questionable stances on the part of the NDP throughout human history (and in some cases, works of fiction) along with the hashtag #HarperHistory. Before anyone realized it, "#HarperHistory" and "The NDP" had begun trending worldwide. At certain points the tweets were coming in so fast, it was like one of those moments in time where you find yourself unable to stop laughing in order to breathe. There's simply too many to reproduce here, but I've put together a small sample for you:

"Damn you NDP for not standing up to Genghis Khan!!!"

"The NDP made the Tower of Pisa lean (to the left of course)"

  

"The NDP didn't support our troops in the Boer War either"

"the NDP was the second gunman on the grassy knoll"

"Neil Armstrong quoted on the moon: One small step for man, one giant leap for the NDP"

And in all honesty, faithful readers - I couldn't resist joining in the fun, and added in a few observations of my very own:

"The NDP did nothing to prevent the Holocene extinction."

"The NDP pointed and laughed as the island of Atlantis sank."

"It was the NDP who willfully led Sir John A. MacDonald from the path of sobriety."

For me, the most hilarious part was that I somehow managed to boost my rating on Klout from a 32 to a 36 by making those posts - an unintentional side-effect of just letting my hair down on Twitter for a spell. And perhaps there's a lesson to be learned from that. Social Media is... well, social by nature. Never mind that I'm making use of it to advance my ongoing job search; there must and should be equal amounts of laughter to compliment ones' hard work and dedication to promoting oneself.

 

Weekend happenings

 This weekend will once again see me toiling away to produce the 10th edition of my web-comic, "That QR Code Guy". I've already begun to assemble the raw materials necessary for the story, and it promises to be a good one. However, this Saturday afternoon I will be attending a fund-raiser for Artheart, the Regent Park-based art community center. Concurrent to working on the web-comic, my friend and former colleague Todd Ivey of Wabunganung Films has asked me to provide a bit of spec work for an upcoming project requiring some character style-sheet designs. I finished the first of three illustrations yesterday evening (so as to give me a bit more leeway over the next few days), and Todd seemed fairly happy with the results, but I'll refrain from posting that work here (for now, anyways) as I don't want to overstep anybody's bounds. Rest assured, as soon as I've been given a green-light, I'll get 'em posted.

Have you seen that QR code guy?

Taken by Ron McEwen along Front Street, April 13th.

Well just in case you haven't, don't worry - I have a wealth of photos to share with you, my faithful readers. But if you see me around (and you'd like to have your photo skills featured here on Stalking the Job) don't hesitate to ask... I'm always happy to stop for a snapshot or a scan!

For Stalking the Job - this has been your correspondent, John Currie. And remember folks... I'll be seeing you!

Afterword

A special thank-you to Twitterer Brian Badillo for including my new Pinterest board in his online newspaper, The QR Code Chronicle:

http://paper.li/bbadillo/1303504696

Have a good weekend, all!

And the Award Goes to...

It occurred to me yesterday that I have a lot to be thankful for. Good friends, supportive family, and an awful lot of random passersby who... well, who certainly aren't hostile, anyway. So this morning on Stalking the Job, faithful readers, I'd like to take a bit of time to properly show my gratitude:

The award for "Most Understanding Wife" goes to - well, it goes to my wife Liz. She's there for me... has been from the start of this mad scheme... and she isn't afraid to administer the occasional swift kick to the backside when I need one. Thank you my dear. And I promise I'll find some way to incorporate you into an upcoming issue of my web-comic.

The award for "Best Partner-in-Crime" goes to my associate, Vince Vaitekunas. Vince was partially responsible for drawing me out of my shell last year, and was one of the first people to see the validity of this crazy idea. Not only that, he was largely responsible for constructing the sandwich board - and he's helped with shooting/editing video for the intro portion of my reel. Thanks, Vince.

The award for "Best Sister-in-Law" goes to my wife's sister, Joanne. She has helped me in any way she can, from printing up stacks of business cards to recommending a downtown print shop, and all she ever seems to ask in return is carafe after carafe of coffee on Saturday mornings. I make good coffee, apparently.

The award for "Most Accommodating Print-Shop Owner in Toronto" goes to Hamilton Choi of Printland Plus on Yonge Street. As it turns out, Hamilton is both the brother-in-law of the minister at the downtown church where my sister-in-law works, and the former employer of one of my oldest friends. It really is a smaller world than some might think.


The award for "Greatest Barber in Toronto" goes to Mike Maranich of Nu-Image Hair Design on Lower Sherbourne Street. Mike's been cutting my hair for years, but if any of you are familiar with the old UK comedy series "Red Dwarf", Mike is like the character of Lister's Confidence. You can't spend any time in Mike's orbit without being made to feel ten feet tall.

The award for "Most Supportive Friend I Frequently Encounter in Random Places" goes to my pal Tim, who I've run into on the streets of the city on no fewer than five occasions since setting forth on this quest for gainful employment. I'll always fondly remember Tim grabbing me by the shoulder in the heart of the Entertainment District and repeatedly yelling, "hire this man!" to anyone within earshot.

The award for "Best Former Apprentice Turned Twitter Re-Tweeter" goes to Dan O'Rourke, who after working with me for a few years, later went on to his own career in motion-graphics. Whenever I release a new installment of the "Adventures of That QR Code Guy" web-comic, Dan's there re-tweeting it to his followers. Thanks for being in my corner, Dan.

Congratulations, one and all. It's your faith in me that helps me to persevere... to not falter, to keep moving forward. You make the task I've set for myself seem less daunting... and I thank you for that.

But for now, the city awaits - and I shall conquer it! See you around...!