Nut 'N' Plaid Comedy Show!

So, me and some friends are putting on a super awesome comedy show at the Casbah Lounge in Hamilton, Ontario this WEDNESDAY, JULY 28th, 2010!!

It's our first ever DVD taping, so we're very excited to put on this show. It's gonna be a lot of fun. Tickets are $10. Show starts at 9pm. See y'all there.

And We're Live!

So at the new production office where we produce 'The JR Digs Show', we're all setup for live on-line streaming at our convenience. We'll stream a live radio/talk show with video hosted by JR Digs and then a series of other streaming shows, including an open-mic comedy night that will be hosted by myself, live, from downtown in The Hammer.

Here's a link to check and tune-in every once in a while, cause you never know when we might be on outside of our scheduled showtimes:

www.jrdigs.com

Cheers!

- Patrick

Where to begin...

It's been forever since I've last blogged. So much has happened since the last post, it's crazy... another year of hobnobbing with A-list celebs at TIFF'09, shooting episodes and episodes of JR Digs featuring interviews with guests like Kenny Hotz & Spencer Rice (of Kenny vs. Spenny), performances in the van by Alexisonfire, etc. A lot of personal ups-and-downs, but mostly a lot of fun!

More recently, I've got my feet wet in the world of stand-up comedy. It's been another dream of mine since I was young, watching comedy specials on TV of comedians like Jeremy Hotz, Mitch Hedberg, Dane Cook, Jim Carrey, Jeff Dunham, Jim Gaffigan and many many more. It feels so good to finally get on stage and make people laugh. My first time ever onstage was a bit nerve-wracking, because it was infront of about 100 people and being filmed for television as part of 'JR DiGS: Man With A Van' Live Comedy Tour.

95% of my free time outside of work is surrounding myself with this comedy stuff. The mountain on stand-up DVDs I have is disgusting and the amount of live shows I'm going to isn't much better, but I can't get enough of it! This year I've seen David Cross, Todd Glass and some others, and coming up in less than a week is Dane Cook for his Isolated Incidents tour. I've also got my tickets for Jeremy Hotz's February show in Hamilton as well.

Since that first show I've been trying to hit every open-mic I can, enter any contest, etc. Anywhere there's a stage and an audience who will listen is good enough for me! The day before my 20th birthday I hit a Yuk Yuk's stage for the first time. Even though it was just an Amateur Night, it felt like a bigger deal to me because ever since I was young, hearing stories about my long-time hero, Jim Carrey, and how he started out playing Yuk Yuk's rooms, I always associated the Yuk Yuk's logo with Jim Carrey whenever I drove past it, and thought "one day, I'll do that!" The dream for me is slowly, but surely coming to life. I'll post the video of my Yuk Yuk's performance below:


My goal with all of this? Not too sure. Fame? Maybe one day, who knows. Wealth? That's a bit more accurate. Happiness? Definitely. Everything I'm doing right now in my life keeps me insanely busy, but I'm loving every second of it and that's what counts.

I guess that's the gist of what's been going on lately... I suppose I could babble on some more about my personal life, but then this read will take a depressing turn, so let's not. hahah, just kidding... maybe.

Thanks for reading (or just scrolling down to this point),
Patrick

Gettin' all artsy-fartsy.

Well, I've finally begun pursuing another artistic passion of mine - Photography.

With endless thanks to my friend, and very talented photographer, Beth Smith, who's sold me some awesome gear to shoot with. She's been kind enough to loan me the gear, so I can learn, before I could even pony up the cash for it! So it's only fair to plug her work here as well. It's the least I can do in return. Check out her stuff at edisonphotography.com

So, aside from the photos I took at TIFF this year (which you can see in my last blog), I did a free photo shoot this thanksgiving weekend to get my feet wet and have some sort of portfolio started. I am fortunate enough to have people trust that I'd do a good job and believe I'm somewhat talented, haha. So I'd like to thank my friends Emily and Courtney, and my cousin Paolo, who did a great job modeling for me on Saturday.

Here are just a few photos from that shoot:



To check out the whole album of photos, go to my flickr page or view my facebook album.

It's crazy how after a shoot you end up with 550+ photos and keep maybe 40-50 of them if you're lucky! It's such a fun process though from start-to-finish, like anything else creative. When you're out on a shoot, everything around you suddenly becomes a potential piece of artwork. It's such a cool way to observe our surroundings.

Anyways, before this blog gets too long, I should probably wrap it up here.

If you are interested in having photos done for yourself, your band, your friends, your family, your day at the dentist - whatever! Just let me know and I'll see what I can do!

Many thanks,
- Patrick

My ten days as a paparazzi... (TIFF 2008)

TIFF '08 was possibly the coolest thing I got to be a part of this year.

September 4th-13th were 10 days I had anticipated since I started working for JR Digs, on his national television show. It's crazy to think that it's the only late night talk show in the country!

Being the independently produced show that it is, the crew is small, and I'm pretty much JR's go-to guy. It's good for me, because that means I get to shoot, edit, audio engineer, all the works. Lot's of experience to be had, and for events like TIFF, it means I'm right on the front lines in all the star-studded action.

We shot interviews on about two to three red carpets per day. Needless to say, it was a very exciting, but busy, 10 days. I got to be around some of the biggest stars in the world, including: Jeremy Piven, Gerard Butler, Guy Ritchie, Michael Cera, Jeff Goldblum, Ben Kingsley, Brad Pitt, The Coen Brothers, Jim Sturgess, Kevin Smith, Dakota Fanning, Alicia Keys, Queen Latifa, Mark Ruffalo, bla bla bla, so many more!

The coolest part about all of this is that, not only did I get to shoot video for our show, but when we had volunteer camera-men to shoot, I got to stand in the photo booth with all the other press, snapping photographs like a paparazzi! haha.

Luckily I know a really cool photographer, my friend Beth Smith. She sold me her old Rebel XTi right before the festival, so my first photoshoot ever involved some of the biggest celebrities in the world! haha. Speaking of Beth, her work is amazing and I think you need to check out her stuff if you're into photography at all. Her website is www.edisonphotography.com

Here are just a few of my photos from the red carpets:



For more of my TIFF photos, just go to my flickr page.

Anyways, back to my story. Another cool thing I got to do at the Film Festival was attend some of the after parties. After a long day of work, me and JR Digs got to kick back and reap the benefits of our media passes for some VIP access at Casa Loma for ET Canada's parties. It was a great way to end the night, and to top it off - OPEN BAR! Here are some photos of that:


And then sure enough, who shows up? The cast of a new film called 50 Dead Men Walking, including the likes of Sir Ben Kingsley and Jim Sturgess. Got to hang out for a bit and take some photos of them, but then they got pulled into the 'ever-so-fun' lounge where only the stars get to hang out. It seems kind of strange though, because they are stuck in a room together, about seven of them, while the rest of the freakin' castle is partying their faces off.


Being a fan of Jim Sturgess from Across The Universe and 21, he was the only one I particularly wanted a photograph taken with. But like I said, they got pulled into that tiny 'vip room' and wasn't allowed out for more press, nevermind a personal photo.

The next day, me and JR Digs head to a Toronto 5-star hotel to deliver a tape to ET Canada's suite. When we go inside, guess who is standing at the counter ready to check out of the hotel? Yep! Jim Sturgess. As if my luck was that good, huh? haha. And the funniest thing about it was that it was the ONLY time I didn't have my camera with me! But luckily, thanks to today's technology, I had my camera phone:

Got to chat with him some more, and meet his girlfriend. He's actually a really cool guy. The fame hasn't gotten to his head... yet. haha.

Anyways, the festival ended on a slow note as the red carpets became less and less star-studded. It was a relief to finally be done with the long days. It's amazing how tiring just 10 days can be, when you're working nonstop. But it was a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it all again next year!

Well, that was my most recent adventure. I hope it was at least mildly entertaining.

Back to reality, and getting started on some new episodes of JR DIGS: Man With A Van. Don't forget to check it out Sunday nights on E! Network.

Thanks for reading,
- Patrick

Summer in Review...

Well, the summer is almost over... I look back, and feel like I haven't accomplished all too much, but at the same time, I guess a lot has gone on.

My summer started at the end of April. It was a bit depressing for me, really. I was leaving residence after dropping out of College to pursue my career. Being the end of the term, I would have been leaving anyways, but the difference was that I am not returning in September for the next term...

That meant a lot to me... I was leaving behind all the friends I made in my first year, and it meant my relationship with my girlfriend at the time, was going to be long-distance. As we expected, it was difficult to maintain. I could babble on about what happened, but really, who cares? hah. Long story short, we are no longer together, and she doesn't want to talk to me anymore. Rightfully so, I was being a jerk near the end anyways. I still love her though, and regret doing anything I did that could have been prevented. It's a horrible feeling being hated and ignored by someone you care about so much, and I would love to still be friends with her. So let that be a lesson, kids! If your going through a break up, no matter what you're thinking at the time, swallow your pride and be nice to the gal! You'll be glad you did...

Anyways, as the summer continued, I kept super busy with my job. I'm really lucky to have found something I love doing. I volunteered as an editor on JR Digs' new Canadian television series, "Man With A Van", for two months. I was finally hired in June, and have been working there full time ever since. It's a blast to work on the show and feels good to be following my dreams. I'm only 18 years old, and I've got 13 episodes of National Television under my belt. I know it might seem like I'm boasting, which I try not to do, but heck - how many other kids my age can put that on their resume?! Who knows what opportunities lay ahead for me in the future...

Also to keep busy this summer I put myself through driving school. I wish I didn't wait so long. I kept putting it off in high school, when I had all the time in the world to just get it done. Now I've been finding it difficult to squeeze time for practice in my busy weekly schedule. But, my test is tomorrow afternoon for my G2, so wish me luck!

The biggest thing I've done this summer, I would have to say, is going to Chicago last weekend for Lollapalooza. What an experience that was! I saw more bands in one week than I thought I ever would have my whole life. I've never been to a 3-day festival like this before, so this really took a toll on me by the 3rd day. We had amazing weather though and got to see some great bands play, at more-than-decent distances.
Here's what our itinerary of bands watched looked like:
Day 1:
- Yeasayer
- The Kills
- Gogol Bordello
- Bloc Party
- Radiohead

Day 2:
- The Ting Tings
- Foals
- MGMT
- Explosions in the Sky
- Broken Social Scene
- Rage Against The Machine

Day 3:
- John Butler Trio
- Saul Williams
- The National
- Nine Inch Nails
- Kanye West

They were all incredible shows. The only disappointment was MGMT... I thought they'd be better live, but it was a very low-energy show.

And as if that wasn't enough live-music this week, last night I went to the Sound Academy in Toronto to see John Butler Trio (yes, again) and G.Love & Special Sauce, who was also at Lolla, but we never got around to seeing them, though I wish I had because they were great in Toronto!

That pretty much sums up my summer so far, other than being molested by a female at a bar last night, but I'll talk about that some other time... haha.

Still to come is a trip up north at the end of the month, as it's been tradition for the past 3 years. Should be a blast. A "beach blast" as James Quall would say.

And then I'm on the red carpet at TIFF '08 shooting interviews for JR Digs! I can't wait. I'm going to be about 3 feet away from the biggest celebrities in the world, and have access to all the films and stuff. Should be lots of fun.

Anyways, I'll end the blog here.

Thanks for reading.
- Patrick

Do you pronounce pop 'POPE'? Didn't think so.

Yes! I WON!

For those of you who didn't know how big of a loser was yet... listen to this...

Me and my sister have had this ongoing debate for like a year now about the Yoplait product, "Yop". You know those little yogurt drink things?

She, like many others, insisted that the correct pronunciation for this product was "YOPE"... rhymes with pope, nope, soap, etc.

While I, on the other hand, insisted that it was pronounced "YOP"... rhymes with pop, cop, stop, shop, etc.

People always used the commercials as proof that it was pronounced "YOPE", but for whatever reason, in all those commercials, the singers usually have accents of some sort and its very easy to argue both sides.

My sister's main argument though, was that "it must be pronounced YOPE because the company that makes them is Yoplait (pronounced yo-play)"

My response to that was simply the fact that regardless of the company name, Yoplait and Yop are two completely different words, therefore changing their individual pronunciations.

As you might imagine.. it got to the point where people were saying "its however you want to say it" or whatever. But that's not good enough for me.

So, to settle the case once and for all, my sister emailed Yoplait directly and asked them how to properly pronounce it, and this is what they replied with:

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Dear Consumer:


We acknowledge receipt of your question on the way to pronounce Yop and would like to thank you for the interest you have shown in Yoplait products.

Actually, "YOP" should be pronounced as in the word "POP. We enjoy receiving your comments and encourage your feedback on our products.

Once again, thank you and please be assured that Yoplait is continuously working to be the first to offer consumers innovative products of the highest quality.


Best Regards,


Odette Gougeon

Service aux consommateurs / Consumer Service

Aliments ULTIMA inc. / ULTIMA Foods Inc.
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I stuck to my guns, and I was right!!!

What did I win? nothing. Just the pure satisfaction of being right, which is always awesome.

So for those of you who ever wanted to know how it was pronounced... now you have it.

Thanks for reading!
- Patrick