[1]Today marks the 2nd anniversary of Canada’s National Digital Media Day, when those Canadians who work in the Digital Media industry celebrate the innovation and importance of our contributions to the Canadian and Global economy. No other industry is able to touch so many people in such a wide variety of fields as that of Digital Media. From gaming to education to every day technology, Canadians around the world can be proud of the levels of creativity and success achieved by our Digital Media industry.
If you are in Vancouver, you can join local industry members at Appy Hour [2] which is taking place at The Diamond in Gastown. Following Appy Hour will be the6pm flash mob dance party at the corner of Powell and Carrall Streets. Remember to wear your favourite red shirt!
Another upcoming event which is still searching for an affordable and appropriate venue is Ghoulash Bash [3]. We are currently investigating a few possibilities, but so far nothing has been confirmed. Who would’ve thought that trying to find a cool place for a Hallowe’en fund raiser for the Greater Vancouver Regional Food Banks would’ve been such a challenge. We are also looking for sponsorships, swag and twitter auction items. This Hallowe’en be a part of the first Ghoulash Bash – because everybody hungers. 
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Don’t forget to grab your ticket for next Tuesday’s Aliens Among Us – the Visual Effects Behind District 9 [5] speaker session, presented by the ACM SIGGRAPH Vancouver Chapter [4] and sponsored by Vancouver Film School [6] and Annex|Pro [7]. Double up on your savings for local SIGGRAPH events by becoming a member – you will get incredible value for your membership.
[8]Congratulations are also due to our WCG Team Canada [8] members who earned 1 gold and 3 silver medals out of a possibility of 5 medals at the WCG 2009 Pan-American Championship, which was held September 12-13 in Guadalajara, Mexico. This incredible performance put Canada in 2nd place in the overall standings just ahead of Brazil. Mexico finished on top, taking advantage of their large team and fielding about three times the number of participants than the other invited countries.
Canada’s gold came after a brilliant performance by Max Rawal and Kevin Garcia in Halo 3. Despite not having played together since their victory in Germany at the WCG 2008 Grand Finals last November, the current WCG world champions had no difficulty adding another gold medal to their collection. They each received $1000 USD for their win.
Daniel Piacampo (Guitar Hero), Alan Joseph (Virtua Fighter 5), and Brandon Schlichting (Warcraft 3) each received $700 USD for their silver medals. It was Schlichting’s first appearance in a WCG major tournament.
In the list of oddly cool web sites I’ve visited lately is the Candy Wrapper Museum [9]. For those who want to take a nostalgic walk down Candy Lane, this site offers a look back at both the mundane and totally weird products which have been marketed to satisfy the sweet tooth everywhere. Although the site is not Canadian, there are even some Canadian candies featured.