Death of Target

When Target entered the Canadian retail landscape in 2013, I was excited. I had hoped that the cross-border shopping experience would be replicated with affordable, unique items not easily found at the competition. Thus on opening day, I was there. Something felt amiss though. I overheard several people comment on how it was just a "new Zellers". It would get better, I thought, but it never really did. The brand had overextended themselves and underestimated the Canadian marketplace. 

On January 15, 2015, Target Canada announced it would be filing for bankruptcy and closing all of its retail operations. It would be the first of many retailers to make this announcement in the coming months. 

On March 29, 2015, with five days left until closing, I photographed the death of Target: 

Thirty Something: Vignette no.2

I hopped in the backseat of the cab. A protective shield acted as a barrier between myself and the driver. These weren't present in taxis roaming the streets of the city I currently live in. However, the city I currently live in does not have the level of crime that plagues my hometown. I felt disconnected, but it was just as well; cab drivers can be quiet or entirely too talkative.

The commute – my regular commute – from the airport to my childhood home would be 40 minutes long winding through industrial zones, past the latest crop of highly congested retail outlets, to a residential area replete with mature trees, manmade lakes and a rich French/Metis history. My parents chose a physically- and spiritually-lush place to raise me. Although returning now brought a flood of bittersweet memories. 

The cab driver eventually did initiate conversation. This started out with the type of generic universal dialogue that strangers fill the air (and time) with, but eventually evolved into one of the most profound colloquies I've ever had. 

The driver appeared to be roughly the same age as myself and shared much of the same goals, struggles and heartbreak that I was going through. As many in their 30s can relate to. The frank discussion covered life aspirations that seemed to be eternally out of grasp, and ended, upon pulling up in front of my mother's house, our final destination, on the topic of parental loss and the hardship of faking enough strength to emotionally carry remaining family from their own despair. My father died last summer after an unexpected and far too brief battle with esophageal cancer. My driver's father died five years ago from a sudden heart attack.

He was not present.

And did not get to say "goodbye". 

All of his family reside in India.

As I exited the taxi cab, I gave my farewell to the driver and told him to phone his mother. He smiled warmly, then watched and waited as I left to greet my own. 

All that weekend, I regretted sharing everything with this exceptional stranger but our names.

March Book Recommendations:

WILD: FROM LOST TO FOUND ON THE PACIFIC COAST TRAIL
Written by Cheryl Strayed

The release of the film piqued my curiosity about 'Wild' by Cheryl Strayed. The tale follows a narrative that mirrors my own recent circumstance: unexpected loss of a parent from cancer, dealing with the aftermath of grief, depression and the "art" of distraction, and experiencing a robust desire to find one's self through travel and adventure. Cheryl's journey took her on an 1,100 mile hike following the Pacific Coast Trail which extends from California to Washington State in the western United States. Though inexperienced (and naive), she was determined and combated record snowfall, snakes, bears and gathering Deadheads to successfully complete the trek. If nothing else, the book was incredibly inspirational. 

Favorite line: "The father's job is to teach his children how to be warriors, to give them the confidence to get on the horse and ride into battle when it's necessary to do so. If you don't get that from your father, you have to teach yourself."

To buy this book, click here. 

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THE REAL NORTH KOREA: LIFE AND POLITICS IN THE FAILED STALINIST UTOPIA
Written by Andrei Lankov

North Korea has always fascinated me; Its history a narrative rife with corruption, criminal activity and importunate bravado far exceeding rank. This book documents the hermit kingdom's troubled past and even more tragic present, from the machiavellian antics of Kim Jong-Il and the famine of the 90s to the reign of his son Kim Jong-Un and their development into a nuclear state. The author, a Russian scholar and university professor who has lived in North Korea and now resides in Seoul, also theorizes several solutions for reunification that may present themselves in the future (none of which will be easy or, unfortunately, avoid further conflict). 

Favorite line: "Visitors and richer Pyongyangites – some 10 to 15 percent of the new middle class – can feast on numerous delicacies in a multitude of posh private and semi-private restaurants that have sprung up around the city in recent years. Most new restaurants have private rooms, which are used for the closed banquets of the bureaucrats and the new rich. In some case, they do not limit themselves to gastronomical pleasures but double as elite brothels. For the average North Korean denizen, the upmarket restaurants are prohibitively expensive, dinner costing some $5 to $10 (excluding alcohol). To put this into context, the average monthly salary of a university professor now equals some 80 cents." 

To buy this book, click here. 

Designer Magazine

Check out the Winter 2014 issue of Designer Magazine to read an article I wrote on being deployed to Vietnam:  

ROK Checklist:

Over the past few weeks, I've been finalizing arrangements for my trip to the Republic of Korea which will kick off the Year of Adventure™ I aim to have, living life to the fullest while celebrating the unbounded spirit of my late, beloved father. There are many things I want to do during my brief time there … and many items that I feel are essential to making it an enjoyable holiday. Including: 

• Travel journal to record my thoughts. Illustrated by Gustove Doré. Selected based upon the experiences of the day: 

• Reading material: 

• Sleeping pills. There is a 24-hr food market a few blocks away from my hotel that should keep me occupied while I adjust to the 15 hour time difference. If required, these will aid the process. 

• Imodium. There is a 24-hr food market a few blocks away from my hotel that should keep me occupied as I partake in a quest to sample every dish of Korean street food. Including things I can't identify. Including things I CAN identify and still willingly choose to indulge in. 

• Western snacks. It's been my experience that eastern junk food is not as stupendously sweet as its western counterpart. Two weeks doesn't seem like a long time, but I am not willing to go through the withdrawal.   

• One Million dollars. Or, more accurately, Won. The conversion equals approximately one thousand in Canadian funds. I still feel baller though. 

I'm nearly set. Let the countdown begin...

1986

Grade 1. 
Reading. Writing. Addition. Subtraction. 
Disney. Barbie. Easybake. Hockey. 
You can play with the girls and keep up with the boys. 
Neon. Cassette deck stereo. 
Duran Duran playing on the radio. 

This kid has no idea what lies ahead. 

But she dreams big. 

INFOGRAPHIC: Seoul

To download the full-res version of this infographic, click here. 

INFOGRAPHIC: Vladimir Putin

To download the full-res version of this infographic, click here. 

February Book Recommendations:

CURTAINS: ADVENTURES OF AN UNDERTAKER IN TRAINING
Written by Tom Jokinen

A bit of a morbid topic, this book, written by a former CBC producer who left his media gig to become an apprentice undertaker, is an insightful (and even entertaining) glimpse into the modern funeral industry. If you have ever been curious about what happens when you cease to exist, this book may provide some very detailed answers. At least in regards to your physical form. 

I personally found the subject of marketing tactics fascinating … in an era when the popularity of cremation has drastically cut into profits and the threat of having a multi-generational family trade being driven out of business by one of the big corporates from Texas constantly looms, the industry has had to get creative. In one of the, er, more interesting examples of this, a funeral home in Winnipeg has started offering loved ones the opportunity to observe the cremation process in a special viewing area. If this provides closure to some, then who am I to judge?  

Funerals, alas, are for the living and not the dead. 

Favorite line: "Cemeteries and funerals, the way French historian Philippe Ariés see it, are social constructs to keep nature … separate from a civilized life of flat-screen TVs and microwave chapatis. We evolved, beautifully, from monkeys into Type-A control freaks with a system (government, laws, religion, organized labour and technology) designed to overcome [it]. And for the most part, we pulled it off. There are only two weak spots where chaos sneaks in, wild, wet and savage, reminding us we're doomed animals: sex and death. So we devised taboos to deal with the former, to take away its power, and ritual to weaken the chaotic impact of the latter." 

To buy this book, click here. 

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BEING MORTAL: MEDICINE AND WHAT MATTERS IN THE END
Written by Atul Gawande

Continuing with the uplifting theme of death in my book recommendations for the month, 'Being Mortal' initiates a vital conversation that is absent in modern society: that of the lack of knowledge and dialogue surrounding end-of-life care. By examining the limitations (and failures) of modern medicine, author Dr. Atul Gawande, exposes how healthcare can – and should – do better to promote a life of meaning vs. a life of simply existing. 

I wish this book had been published a year earlier. 

Favorite line: "The problem with medicine and the institutions it has spawned for the care of the sick and the old is not that they have had an incorrect view of what makes like significant. The problem is that they have had almost no view at all. Medicine's focus is narrow. Medical professionals concentrate on repair of health, not sustenance of the soul."

To watch the PBS Frontline documentary on Being Mortal, click here. 

To buy this book, click here. 

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THE MAN WITHOUT A FACE: THE UNLIKELY RISE OF VLADIMIR PUTIN
Written by Masha Gessen

A number of recent hard-hitting documentaries on Russian President Vladimir Putin intrigued me to pick up this book by journalist Masha Gessen, whom, it would seem, has risked her own safety to expose the criminal underbelly that currently governs the nation. 'The Man Without a Face' paints a chilling portrait of espionage, assassination and corruption on a massive scale that is not only permitted but encouraged by those in power. This is not a work of fiction. 

Propaganda comes in many forms. And while this book might be perceived as an embellished tale originating from the western sphere of influence, recent history suggests that critical examination and commentary on this man is merited.

Glasnost and perestroika are missed. 

Favorite line: "If anyone in Russia or outside had cared to pay attention, all the clues to the nature of the new regime were there within weeks of Putin's ascent to his temporary throne. But the country was busy electing an imaginary president, and the rest of the Western world would not begin to doubt its choice for years to come."

To watch a CBC Fifth Estate documentary on Vladimir Putin, click here. 

To buy this book, click here. 

Alternative North Korean Propaganda Posters

As the Democratic People's Republic of Korea prepares to celebrate the 70th anniversary since the founding of its Worker's Party, hundreds of slogans were created to encourage patriotism amongst citizens. 

I've decided to create my own propaganda posters based on these rallying calls, the design of which illustrates the fantastical sentiment being promised while hinting at a conflicting, darker reality. 

FAIRYLAND FOR THE PEOPLE:

COUNTRY OF MUSHROOMS:

BIG FISH HAUL:

NONE OF THEM WILL SURVIVE: