Just a note of excited caution, prepare yourself for the sweet sweet love scene! That spud is a stud.

So sad. What makes it even more sad is the possibility of Brink not being available online again. Ever.

I stumbled upon this film a little more than a year ago and it was all over the online universe. However, it seems to have been taken down by its creators and has disappeared from our virtual screens. I really hope they bring it back online for the public to view. Something as beautiful as this should be shared I think. All that’s left now is its trailer:

Anyway, in my mourning for its disappearance, I found a new film from its maker, Shawn Christensen: Curfew. He not only directs, writes, and edits the film, but also stars in it as the hopelessly relatable Richie. This film is beautiful and wretched. It has gained many honors, most popular of which was Best Live Action Short Film in the recent Oscar Awards. According to the website, it is about:  At the lowest point of his life, Richie gets a call from his estranged sister, asking him to look after his nine-year old niece, Sophia, for a few hours.

Those few hours can change a man’s life.

I fear that this film may also leave us, just as Brink did. So, if you care, watch it while it’s still here:

Enough rambling. My point: Do as much as you can, as long as you can. Take that risk you’re already thinking about taking. It wouldn’t be a risk if you’re not at least thinking about it, weighing things out.

Another point: Maybe it’s not that even as great a risk as you set it up to be. Maybe it doesn’t mean risking it ALL. Maybe it’s simple and you’re over-thinking it. Don’t make it a monster even before you’ve had a chance to face it.

Three questions I ask myself when faced with potential leaps of doom:

1. Do I wake up in the morning excited to do it? Excited for what it could be? Does it make me giddy deep deep down?

2. Can I talk about it 24/7? Does it flow naturally from me without effort?

3. Will I do it even if I don’t get paid? But of course to get paid would be such a bonus!

But don’t get the foolish illusion that it’s easy; that once you risk it all, it’s going to be all balloons and cake and celebration. No, it’s going to be hell. For us, there were many many times when we wanted to throw it all away while ripping muscles hauling and delivering boxes while quality checking and wiping dirt while losing accounts while being broke while working until dawn while carrying boxes of planners under the scorching heat. But if you have that fire in your intestines, then in the end, it may be all worth it. Let’s see where this goes, I say.

It wasn’t all cakes and celebrations for Slate. There were horrid times as well, but the cake was worth it.

LIVE CREATIVELY
Captain Slate

*Doodle artwork found in the background of the Featured Image is by Eeshaun of Gardensilly.com

sloot, n.
Slate + Loot = SLOOT! 

1. A Planet Slate loot bag/ goody bag filled with random awesome objects inside to be won by joining Design Challenges
2. Mechanics to win a Sloot varies for each Design Challenge
3. When used in a sentence: I submitted an artwork to Planet Slate and won this month’s sloot!

________________________________________________________________________________
Hello everyone!

We have two (2) upcoming SLOOT giveaways coming up! We’re posting one of the two below:

Please read the MECHANICS carefully. Entries not following the mechanics will be subject for approval and posting.

1. Fill in the space with a photo, or illustration of anything that you want back from the past. Present it in a creative way.
Work on your submission digitally or by hand! Choose to work directly on the page in your Slate 2013 Planner, or work on the digital file found in this post (right click and save the template)!

2. Submission
IMPORTANT: Please send a file smaller than 800 px in width. Also, please send your entries with the subject title I WANT YOU BACK to livecreatively@slateplanner.com with the following details:
+ Full name
+ Title of your entry
+ Medium used
+ Brief description of your entry
+ Mobile #/ contact #
+ Portfolio site/blog URL

3. Choosing of Winner & Criteria
This contest is open for submissions until March 23, 2013. We will be posting entries as soon as we receive them. After March 23, 2013, the Slate Team will review the entries and will deliberate on the winners through out the week. We’ll announce the results on April 2, 2013!
Criteria for Judging:
+ Creativity 25%               There’s a template, yes, but it’s totally up to you how to work with it or around it.
+ Originality 25%            The more unique your selection, the better. I want my old waistline back (but who cares about that?).
+ Aesthetics 25%             If you’re going to submit anyway, show your best!
+ Quality of work 25%   Rendered by hand or the computer, the quality of your work should be severely sharp!

4. Prizes
The FIRST PLACE winner will receive a gift pack from Quirks Novelties & Curiosities, and a 2013 LiveCreatively shirt!

The SECOND PLACE winner will receive an artist gift pack!

For questions, just send them to livecreatively@slateplanner.com
We’re ready to reminisce!

LIVE CREATIVELY
Captain Slate

When I think about this month’s theme, wise words from a group of American rockers come to mind. Papa Roach said it well I think:

“And our scars remind us that the past is real”

Perhaps the rest of the lyrics to that song do not seem as wise and sentimental (or do they?) but this line is on point. Old is cool. It’s good to bring it back. It is good to remind ourselves of the past, not because it was better, but because it was what brought us here. It’s what we have been through, what we have survived. It’s good to look at our scars and remind ourselves that the past was real, we lived through that and survived it;  and today, this present, is a chance to make not only a better future, but also a better past.

Hope this all makes sense to you. If not, then maybe it just gave you a sudden urge to reminisce and watch the video to that Papa Roach song.  Well, you can do that here.

LIVE CREATIVELY
Captain Slate

What is a Design Hack? The word hack in Design Hack means shortcut, or tip. It is basically like the Life Hacks in your Slate Planner only Design Hacks are all about..well, design and art. Let’s start:

Slate Design Hack #1:
THE BASICS

Just like any makeover reality show would tell you, you should stock up on the basics. Treat this hack like a wardrobe situation. A decent human being should own a decent white polo, or a classy pair of dress shoes that he or she can use and pair with other items of clothing in many ways! So, in design, create your own basic vectors, icons, backgrounds, and drawings you can use over and over! As an example, I made a basic (but personalized) heart a few years ago and I have been using it in many other artworks since then (You can download this heart FOR FREE! If you use it, please send me a copy of your work so I can see!):

So, there. See how many ways you can use and apply a basic drawing?
Check back next month (or week, or day) for another Slate Design Hack!

LIVE CREATIVELY
Captain Slate

According to my team member, who I will code name Ms. More for the purposes of discretion, and according to me I dare say, this film is perfect. It has everything that is beautiful in the world in it, given that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. How can you not love a story of a man whose love for books brings him to a world of books? How can you not go crazy for beds and pianos and chairs and everything else made of books but in a completely innovative way?  I mean, a giant bed made of one giant book, is there anything better? How can you not love books that can make you fly? This short film is the hypothetical (but hopelessly plausible) babychild if ever Wizard of Oz and The Pagemaster got married and had fun. How can you not adore that gorgeous combination?

This film has no dialoque or speaking lines but rightly so because in a story about stories, ironically, there are not enough words to even start with. What takes the place of dialogue is the magnificent score that draws your attention as if it’s actually speaking to you. It’s an animated film but it beats out a lot of live-action movies when it comes to inducing emotion. The story, the circumstances, the subtle nuances in expression make you cry, laugh, revel, and sigh all in just glorious 15 minutes. It can even take you back to those sweet playful childhood days we sometimes miss so much.

If you’re not convinced by all these gushing over a film, then let its Oscar win for Best Animated Short Film reassure you. This is one of the most spellbinding short films in recent history. What’s even greater than perfect you may ask? Well, the creators of this brilliant film, Moonbot Studios, had the brilliant idea of making a website, an iPad app, and a picture book to complement the film. You can find all the additional surprises here. How wonderful is that, really?

If you’re convinced, you can watch the film right here. Thank the universe that it’s still streamed free.

The Make It Makati initiative gives us a new, fun, and easy way of looking at the city. By defining distinct districts with their own vibrant personas, the campaign helps bring people, places, and events together for the best Makati experience possible.

It sounds exciting especially the fact that it is going to be “art in a carpark”. Galleries and exhibits of the country’s art scene will be featured at The Link, Ayala Center, Makati. Art + urban landscape + Philippine touch – exactly what the Slate team lives for!

Hope to see you there, Planeteers! Let’s have some fun!

Date: February 7-10, 2013

Venue: The Link, Parkway Drive, Ayala Center, Makati City (marked by the pushpin on the map below)

Fair Hours: 11 AM – 9 PM

Ticket Price: Php 100

For more information, you can visit their website, artfairphilippines.com.

Think about three (or more!) things you want to plant now that it’s the start of the year, which you wish to harvest when the year ends.

Personally, I’d like to plant tomato and cucumber seeds just so I can have a veggie garden and a hearty salad by the time Christmas comes. But on a more serious note, there are three things that I want to plant for Slate and the whole team:

1. Affirmations of Prosperity - I am claiming this year to be ultra abundant – financially, socially, and creatively
2. Ideas for Innovation - Ideas must be put into action this year for them to exist. A big harvest of products, creations, and expressions of creativity await Planeteers.
3. Belief in the Adventure - I believe in the significance of the whole adventure of Slate. I will witness its manifestations and its value.

What are you planting in your garden this year? We’d love to hear about them!

Happy gardening Planeteers!

Captain Slate

*SLOOT, n.

Slate + Loot = SLOOT! 

1. A Planet Slate loot bag/ goody bag of random objects to be given away to a planeteer
2. Only one sloot per month up for grabs!
3. The mechanics to get the chance to win the sloot will vary every month
   When used in a sentence: I submitted an artwork to Planet Slate and won this month’s sloot!