Internet Marketing For Small Business

These tips on how to write a verse for the twelve bar blues are are kindly contributed by Paul Quarrington of the Toronto band PorkBelly Futures. To see the tips in action watch and listen to “The Canadian Blues,” a blues song written by the audience using these tips.

Paul’s 12 Bar Blues Song Writing Tips

The blues typically begins with a statement regarding history and/or emotional state:

I WOKE UP THIS MORNING, MY BABY HAD LEFT

This line is repeated for dramatic emphasis:

I WOKE UP THIS MORNING, MY BABY HAD LEFT

Finally there is a resolution or recapitulation, which ends with the apposite RHYME:

I WAS SO SAD, DISHEARTENED AND BEREFT

As you can see, upbeat sentiments are somewhat frowned upon, but we can make allowances given the time of year:

WELL, IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME, ALL JOYFUL AND FUN
WELL, IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME, ALL JOYFUL AND FUN
IF MY BABY DON’T COME BACK, I’LL GO AFTER HER WITH A GUN

Good luck!!
PorkBelly Futures

Click here to learn to play blues guitar like a pro.

The Canadian Blues: A.K.A My Penis Has Shrunk – video powered by Metacafe

What gives Canadians the blues?

Why, if you ask some holiday revelers at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto, it would seem it’s the weather.

“It’s too warm, it’s too cold. My Penis has shrunk.”

The “Cure Your Holiday Blues with Pork in Strange Shorts Holiday Party” was held at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto on Dec 18, 2006. The festivities included a blues verse-writing contest where guests were given a lesson on how to write the blues by PorkBelly frontman and award-winning author, Paul Quarrington.

After a preliminary judging, the band sang the top 3 verses on stage. Way to go, Joey Bechta, who penned the #1 winning lyrics.

This video shows an abridged version of the song and features Paul Quarrington, Rebecca Campbell, with some killer solos by Paul Reddick of “Paul Reddick + The Sidemen” and Teddy Leonard, formerly of Fathead. Click on the image above to view the video.

The party was hosted by BookShorts.com, StrangeDuck.com (this blog’s owner) and porkbellys.com, because we worked a lot together during the past year on various BookShort films and on the TV series Moving Stories, and wanted to keep the party going.

A big thanks to all our friends, family and guests who came by for the cure. We raised $200.00 bucks for www.pencanada.ca.

Extras:

• View the full 9 minute version of “The Canadian Blues” with all the solos.
• Download the full version of the song “The Canadian Blues MP3.“
• View the Canadian Blues video Quicktime Version, if that’s the way you prefer to view things.
• Instructions how to write a verse for the 12 Bar Blues

Tags: humour, video, comedy, song, blues, music, paul, quarrington, reddick, sidemen, rebecca, campbell, bookshorts, contest, porkbelly, futures, judith, keenan, irene, duma, futures, hotel, strange, duck, media

Come one come all!

The evening’s beverage of choice sponsored by

Saint Andre Lager

Lots of goodies and prizes from generous supporters

F.L.A.G. Accessories; Strange Duck Media; BookShorts; Pork Belly Futures

Thanks to the generous publishers that have contributed the gift of literature

Raincoast Books / IPG
Winter Wood by Patrick McCabe –– Signed by the Author
Drina Bridge by Jim Bartley –– Signed by the Author
Empire of the Soul by Paul William Roberts
Walking After Midnight by Katy Hutchinson
The Sweet Edge by Alison Pick
The Magdalene Moment by Joanna Manning
So Many Ways to Begin by Jon McGregor –– Signed by the Author
Remainder by Tom McCarthy –– Signed by the Author

ECW Press
No-Limit Texas Hold’em: A Complete Guide by Angel Largay with BookShorts DVD

McClelland & Stewart
Archetypes by Mireille Silcoff, Illustrated by Kagan McLeod with BookShorts DVD

Random House of Canada
The Upside of Down by Thomas Homer-Dixon with BookShorts DVD
What Casanova Told Me by Susan Swan with BookShorts DVD
High: Confessions of a Pot Smuggler by Brian O’Dea
Midnight Hockey by Bill Gaston
Relative Stranger by Mary Loudon
The Risk of Darkess by Susan Hill
Two Time by Chris Knopf
Before I Wake by Robert Wiersema
The Custodian of Paradise by Wayne Johnston

Penguin Group (Canada)
The Fighter by Craig Davidson with BookShorts DVD

Thomas Allen Publishers
One Bullet Away by Nathaniel Fick with BookShorts DVD
A Quiet Courage with BookShorts DVD
My Heart is Africa with BookShorts DVD

Hosted by Strange Duck Media, BookShorts and PorkBelly Futures

The good egg has finally bit the bullet and decided to blog.

Why, you may ask? Aren’t there tons of blogs out there all ready? Well, there sure are. But I believe there’s room for more.

As a web and video design consultant and designer most often working with small to medium-sized businesses, start ups and artists, it has come to my attention that the range of computer literacy and Internet experience amongst us is vast indeed.

Sadly, I have often come across clients, family and friends who have no idea what I – or most of the people on the web- are talking about. Their smile politely as their eyes wander, they stifle yawns feigning interest, and occasionally interrupt my sentences with a loud ” Hey, they have a special on wings tonight.”

One could get discouraged. But the fact is they DO want to know. They just need an “in.”

I will be taking the experience I gained while working as a demonstrator at the Ontario Science Centre and will write about web, graphic and computer stuff in such a way to make it non-scary, accessible, understandable and useful.

So, if you are technologically challenged, time harried, or a lapsing luddite, this blog’s for you.

Irene