FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
SPLICE
By FFWD StaffSigns of the Apocalypse
nothing
Face to Face
While we've all seen faces in the clouds at one time or another, graphic designers François and Jean Robert see faces everywhere. Face to Face (Lars Müller Publishers) is a collection of black-and-white photographs of unlikely objects which resemble faces - a wine opener, the back of an alarm clock, a leather bag, a vacuum cleaner, an envelope, etc.
The photos stand alone and do not require any explanation or accompanying text. As François and Jean explain at the end of the book:
"Years ago we saw a padlock gazing at us with whimsical intensity. It occurred to us that seeing is selection, a process of framing. When it comes to photography you might call it mental cropping. As we began consciously selecting and framing and cropping, the world became a delightfully communicative universe of human and animal faces - eyes, noses, and mouths - that tell a never-ending stream of silent stories.
"These adventures in vision are only the tip of the iceberg, the first step in exploring the potential of projected realities. Now choose your mood, take a look around you, wherever you are, and watch for faces that will haunt and hearten you."
Tom the Dancing Bug
Coming with a fake title (All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned From My Golf-Playing Cats) to trick the mass-market book-buying public into spending their money, Tom the Dancing Bug (NBM) by Ruben Bolling is actually a collection of cartoons from the popular weekly comic strip of the same name.
The "irreverent alternative comic strip" appears in an eclectic mix of papers - from the Washington Post to the Stranger in Seattle - and takes swipes at every level of life and politics. New York resident Bolling's recurring cast of characters include the likes of Harvey Richards, Lawyer for Children, and Sam Roland, the Detective who Dies (over and over), as well as The Dichotomies of Bob, and others.
The strip's popularity has grown in the past year to include 50 newspapers with a readership of four million. Tom the Dancing Bug is scheduled for release in September. For more information, see the NBM Web site.
Rising revenue
· Revenues for privately owned television stations increased 3.3 per cent to $1,581.0 million in 1996.
· Private TV operational expenses represented 93 per cent of total revenue compared with 94 per cent in 1995.
· The net operating income to revenue ratio before income taxes and other adjustments increased to seven per cent from six per cent.
· Privately owned radio broadcasting operations increased revenue by 3.9 per cent to $810.5 million from a year earlier.
· Private radio operational expenses increased by 3.4 per cent and represented 97.5 per cent of total revenue compared with 98 per cent in 1995.
· The net operating income to revenue ratio before income taxes and other adjustments was 2.5 per cent compared with two per cent in 1995.
· Total revenue of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in 1996 increased to $459.8 million from $364.8 million in 1995.
· Net cost of CBC operations increased from $1,112.4 million to $1,233.6 million.
Light up
· Light bulb and tube manufacturers sold 22.5 million light bulbs and tubes in June 1997, an increase of 15.2 per cent from the 19.6 million a year earlier.
· Year-to-date sales at the end of June 1997 totalled 148.3 million light bulbs and tubes, an increase of 2.7 per cent from the 144.4 million a year earlier.
Web watch
· In 1994, 30.5 per cent of Canada's carbon dioxide (C02) emissions came from Alberta and 29.49 per cent from Ontario (the two highest). Alberta, in that year, surpassed Ontario's production of C02 to become the highest producer of C02 in Canada.
· Over 145 million tonnes of C02 was produced in Alberta in 1994, with the largest contributor being power generation from coal combustion (over 48 million tonnes).
· On a per capita basis, Canada is second only to the United States in the ranking of carbon emission levels. The US leads at 5.4 tons per person followed by Canada at 4.2.
· About 96 per cent of Alberta's electrical energy is produced by burning fossil fuels.
· The price of electrical energy paid by consumers in Alberta does not reflect the cost to the environment, the health care costs or the social costs of fossil fuel combustion.
· Other jurisdictions have attributed costs of 1.13 cents to 8.82 cents per kilowatt hour to the price of electricity to compensate for the environmental and social costs of coal combustion.
· Electrical generation from wind power provides four to five times as many jobs per megawatt than other forms of electrical generation and produces clean electrical energy from a non-polluting, renewable resource.
· Electrical energy produced from wind has minimal related environmental or health care costs.
· The Alberta Government has committed itself to reduce the level and number of pollutants released into our atmosphere.
· Total electrical generation capacity in Alberta is 7,678 megawatts.
· Installed wind power capacity in Alberta is about 20 megawatts (.26 per cent of provincial production).
· Average consumption in Edmonton is 700 to 780 megawatts with a peak of 1,010 megawatts.
If you've ever driven through the Pincher Creek area, you've probably noticed several wind mills. The Wind Energy - Pincher Creek site on the Web promotes wind energy as a viable and environmentally friendly alternative. The Naturally Powerful Pincher Creek group wants Premier Ralph Klein to pass legislation to ensure that, effective immediately, 50 per cent of new or replacement electrical generation comes from non-polluting sources.
The site features information and facts about wind energy, news releases and articles, a letter of support from the chairman of the Earth Council, economic benefits, a task force report and an opportunity to show your support, as well as links to other wind energy sites.
Free Stuff
Fast Forward and The Banff Centre for the Arts are presenting a chance to win a trip to Banff complete with lunch and tickets to the production of The St. Nicholas Hotel. See the ad in this issue for contest details.
Back To Main Contents
Back To This Issue Table of Contents