picturing myself.

i stole this from a "friend" on myspace. i thought it was an interesting way to understand my past and my life. or open it up to interpretation. i won't do all of them. just a few.

the rules:
1) Answer the questions below
2) Take each answer and type it into Photobucket (www.photobucket.com)
3) Take any picture from the first page of results and post.


1. The age you will be on your next birthday:


2. Your favorite food:


3. Your favorite color:


4. City where you live now:




5. Name of someone you love:



6. Your nickname or screen name:


7. Your current job:

talk about connections.

Part 1 in a series of good and bad CRM stories.

Thank you, Verizon FIOS. Our relationship started pretty horribly. Yeah, remember? I sought you out, read about what you had to offer, and we made a date. I was so excited. You promised me faster Internet speeds. And, oh, the TV options. The N! Three Nickelodeon stations, every news station I could imagine. Oh, man. I had found my soul mate. Then, you flaked on me. Bastard. Typical. As it got closer to our exciting, all-day rendezvous, you forgot. You “lost the date” or something like that. I don’t believe you. I should have dumped you then.

But you redeemed yourself. You called me and apologized. You sweet-talked me into setting up another date and still managed to give me the same deal. Then, when it was time, you called to let me know you were on your way. You brought me cable. You brought me Internet accessibility. You stayed with me until it was all working correctly. Six whole hours. And you never complained. The next day you called me to see if it was working. Not an operator, mind you, but the installer. Then you called me a month later to make sure everything was still ok. We may have had a rough patch, but we’re blissfully happy now.

silent.

currently seeking my voice. it's funny how when you think you need it most, it disappears.

up in smoke.

smokers have always played an interesting role in my life. for years before i popped out, my mom counted her cigarettes as a closer friend. my uncle, my cousins, teachers, bosses - they lit up, too. every person i've dated has been a smoker to some degree (whether habitual or strictly social smokers). even i dabbled in the art before i decided going to ask for a pack at a convenience store required more effort than i was willing to give.

in my lifetime, it's been a relentless assault against smoking. campaign after campaign touted tobacco's ills on personal health and the social fabric of the united states. though i escaped the scapegoating attack on joe camel and the utter collapse of the marlboro man, i've witnessed the appropriate vilification of the tobacco industry. i'm talking lawsuits, movies, lobbying efforts, spoofs on family guy, the truth campaign and movements to reduce hollywood's glamorous use of smoking. at least, that's what the pundits say. i've been privy to smoking bans in new york, and i watch with baited breath to see if virginia follows others' lead. will old tobacco be so bold? though it is nice to go out to a club and not come home spewing in smoke.

but it's all made me wonder, as i scan this article about the new iteration of the truth campaign, what does it mean to be a smoker today? what are the generational divides? the motivations to do it? is it a rite of passage for underage rebels? it is parental rebellion? or does it have any parallels to the good old days when tobacco sponsored radio and television content? what are the barriers, the emotions and the stigmas surrounding today's smokers? and does anyone care anymore?

hmm. there may be a thesis topic in there somewhere. but, until then, here's an article:

---

New Anti-Smoking Ads Turn Marketing On Its Ear

by Karl Greenberg, Monday, Jan 21, 2008 5:00 AM ET

THE AMERICAN LEGACY FOUNDATION (ALF), an anti-smoking fund funded by tobacco companies following a late-1990s settlement agreement, is launching a new campaign in its eight-year-old "Truth" campaign aimed at keeping kids away from cigarettes. The effort, launching this week, comprises TV ads, an Interactive campaign and a summer tour. It is also the last "Truth" campaign in which both Arnold Worldwide and Crispin Porter + Bogusky (the latter is departing the campaign) participated. The campaign aims to alert teens and twenty-somethings to the dangers of smoking without sounding like their parents. The new push, "The Sunny Side of Truth," is a tongue-in-cheek effort that matches Broadway-style music and lyrics in ads--some of which are animated--with a satirical spotlight on marketing practices by tobacco companies. Actually, the musical-theater tone is not happenstance: the music is by David Yazbek, who wrote Broadway shows "The Full Monty" and "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." The five TV spots initially follow a motif that "Truth" has used in documentary-style ads in the past, with young people gathering in places like the edifice of a tobacco-industry headquarters. But suddenly the group breaks into song and dance when they realize the "sunny side" of smoking and Big Tobacco tactics. In one, teenagers in front of a tobacco company HQ are unrolling a banner with "Tobacco-Related Deaths" written on it. One says: "Wait until we show tobacco executives the 5 million people around the world who died from their products last year." Another responds that he's being, perhaps, a bit negative, suggesting that the 5 million statistic is actually a typo. Then, animated typewriters and accessories accompany the teens in a song and dance about how the statistics are the result of a clerical error. In another spot, teen protesters are setting traps in a NYC park using cigarette packs as bait to demonstrate how Big Tobacco has manipulated levels of nicotine in cigarettes to keep people addicted, but not enough to make them sick. As he speaks to passersby through a megaphone, suddenly a unicorn and other fantastical creatures appear to launch into a musical number about "the magical amount," which explains in saccharine tones why it is so wonderful that the tobacco companies are so precisely regulating nicotine dosage. The TV elements will be supported by an interactive campaign comprising a Web site and a campaign on social-networking Web sites like MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Hi-5 and Xanga. There will be Web-based games, like one modeled on "Guitar Hero," called "Key-Tar Slayer," where participants can jam to the music in the TV ads." Another element called "The Useful Cigarette" shows how ingredients in cigarettes and cigarette smoke are found in things like toilet bowl cleaner, nail polish remover and rocket fuel. Patricia McLaughlin, senior spokesperson at the ALF, says the music theme is central to the effort. "We are trying to use music as an asset across media." She says the campaign also marks the first time that ALF has used animation in ads. "It's designed to be over the top." She says the TV spots will air on cable channels like MTV, VH1, Fuse, and ABC family. She adds that the effort will include advertising in cinemas in April and September. The ads will be in 2,065 Screenvision theatres nationwide. Later in the summer, there will also be radio ads. "The target is 12 to 17 year olds," she says. "We are going for edgy kids--those likely to rebel with sensation-seeking behavior." The effort will also include a summer grassroots tour. The Truth Truck will have music-themed events at such venues as the Vans Warped Tour.

Source: Marketing Daily via MediaPost

photo launch.

as this semester gets underway, this blog will incorporate some of the projects i'm tackling. first up, the entry below about the film there will be blood. in that vein, this photo launches another assignment for a class - take a photo every day and post it on flickr. it seems fitting that my first photo is of my sleeping cat. because i'm incredibly jealous of the bugger.


i won't post them all here, but you can follow my attempt to be a photographer here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/callmeroo/

oil!

the innocent beauty of greed exploded into the sky. it sliced through the sun and stole the moon's midnight show. it seduced religion. it founded false hopes and corrupt partnerships. it killed lives, yet saved a town. in the selfish pursuit of greed, never doubt that there will be blood.

at shutter speed.

i have a date. in a little under one hour i embark on a journey millions before me did years ago. i'm finally buying a digital camera. i'm already years behind, and, honestly, months behind when i said i would originally grab the thing. i'm not sure why i waited so long. laziness? probably. sometimes in my life i have to wait to have the one that seduces me into investing. i mean, think about it. as i search around the stores, i'm speed-dating different digital cameras.

one might impress me with its skills. others, the sleek design. if it's tiny, it wins cute bonus points. and nothing brings a bigger smile to my face than something red. wow, that's a way to win my heart. sure, i've looked around on the internet. i even interviewed friends who already found their camera mate. you think i would have taken good notes. or jotted a useful fact. nope. why? because i know me. i'll wander around that store, and i'll wait. i'll wait for something to jump out at me, screaming that it's the one. i'll place it in my hands, hold it, play with it's buttons. i'll check myself out in the mirror. let's face it, the camera has to compliment my style.

and no matter what a camera pimp tries to do, the chemistry between me and the metal will decide the victor. unlike some friends, i won't name this device. we're not that close. but this will be one of the more important relationships of my life. i will take it on trips. it will spend time with some of my closest friends and family. it will capture the moments i'll relish to relive. or scratch my head in defeat, asking "what was i thinking?" we'll head to different states, bars, countries, altitudes. we'll witness impeccable beauty and human disgust. we'll document everything we see.

gee, this sounds like i'm getting married. maybe i need counseling.

threading a revolution.

is it a company that truly wants to make change? or is it a publicity stunt? either way, it fits within the edgy, sometimes awkwardly bold nature of american apparel. i think the end is interesting, a campaign designed to champion employees. i wonder if it makes the ones working away in the bubbly world of carytown feel special. in a store decorated by trendy, white kids in tight clothes paired with expensive sunglasses, i wonder if they even know about the immigration battle. or if they care.

---

The New York Times
January 18, 2008
Advertising
Politics Wrapped in a Clothing Ad
By LOUISE STORY

IT is not often that a clothing advertisement includes the words “apartheid” and “purgatory” along with a quote from President Bush, but American Apparel has always been different from other consumer brand companies.

The clothing company, known for its tight-fitting jersey T-shirts and brazen attitude, regularly runs advertisements showing scantily clad young people, photographed by the company’s founder and chief executive, Dov Charney, that some critics say border on the pornographic.

In a new series of ads, American Apparel is moving in a political direction. The cause is immigration reform, and the ads say in part that the status quo “amounts to an apartheid system” and should be overhauled to create a legal path for undocumented workers to gain citizenship in the United States.
•
The black-and-white quarter-page advertisements show American Apparel employees of Guatemalan origin — fully clothed. The ads have run in newspapers like The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times over the last month. Like the company’s usual sexually charged ads for T-shirts and leggings, the political ad bears the imprint of Mr. Charney, himself an immigrant from Canada.

“These people don’t have freedom of mobility, they’re living in the shadows,” he said in an interview. “This is at the core of my company, at the core of my soul.”

Most advertisers try to steer miles away from controversy, particularly avoiding political issues that are as divisive as immigration. Benetton and Nike have run ads about social causes, and scores of companies today are addressing environmental change in their ads. But, advertising executives said, those issues were not the lighting rod that immigration tends to be.

“This is an issue that elections are being decided on,” said Greg Stern, chief executive of Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, an advertising agency. “But, of course, they’re a very radical company.”

The company is used to publicity, some of it unwelcome. Mr. Charney has been sued on accusations of sexual harassment by several employees, who said he had created an uncomfortable work environment. The company denies the accusations and is fighting a case in Los Angeles, where the company designs and manufactures all of its clothing.

The ads have already generated attention for American Apparel, and the company has received letters of support, Mr. Charney said. Other large companies privately lobby the government over various policies, but he said he would rather be open about his position.

“Let me be clear who makes our clothes. It is a collaboration between American-born people and non-American-born people,” he said. “I don’t think supporting immigration reflects negatively on my brand, and in fact, it makes it look like we’re a responsible business.”

American Apparel, which operates the largest garment factory in the United States, has long advocated fair treatment of workers and in the past has run ads in local publications about immigration. American Apparel went public in December, and Mr. Charney said that has allowed him to take the company’s advocacy to national outlets. He said he planned to continue to try to spark debate on the topic.

Some immigration experts criticized the advertisement and said it amounted to an admission that American Apparel uses illegal immigrants.

“It is self-serving propaganda to perpetuate cheap labor policies that are in violation of American law,” said Vernon M. Briggs Jr., a professor emeritus at Cornell who specializes in immigration policy. “This is not ‘apartheid.’ This is simply law-breaking. ‘Apartheid’ is an emotional term that is designed to inflame the issue.”
•
Mr. Charney said the company was careful to make sure that its workers presented the necessary documentation for employment.

Alicia Schmidt Camacho, an associate professor of American studies at Yale, called the advertisement “brave” and said she largely supported its statements.

“What I think is startling is that this is a partisan advertising campaign that advocates for workers and is not advocating for the consumer,” Ms. Schmidt Camacho said. “It’s an appeal that is based on their brand and identification with particular values.”

Mr. Charney said American Apparel’s customers appreciate the company’s views on immigration. He said his customers were “borderless.” He named the company American Apparel, rather than “USA Apparel,” he said, on purpose.

“I think my Latino workers are American workers,” he said. “They’re from the Americas. We’re all here together.”

what do you know.

sitting in the uncomfortable seats of goldstein auditorium, dean david rubin said times were changing. media consolidation was just about to explode. the big 20 would become the big 10 then the big five. cell phones were about to infiltrate our lives. and Napster loomed on the horizon. social networking meant mIRC chat rooms and message boards. myspace didn't exist. facebook's founder was a teenager. that was 1999.

it's 2008. and what we know will be nothing like what we knew. or thought we knew. boyko showed us this today as he heralded the same idea. times are changing. and you can change with it. be changed by it. or be shortchanged out of it. you decide.

she's touching me.

declaring something a favorite is no easy task. i remember failing to explain why fargo tops my list of favorite movies. and i'm still searching for the words to the pitter-patter in my heart that makes juno a close second on the list. stories that transform my hope and viewpoints. that place me somewhere i want to be. or, sometimes, perfectly tap into the emotions of my heart.

i struggled to explain one movie when i applied to the newly-minted brandcenter almost two years ago. i had to justify a cartoon. in the past two weeks, as i've made my boyfriend watch all of the lilo and stitch entries, i'm thinking about their meaning again. about hope and the search for a friend soul mate. about the meaning of family. and finding our right place in the world. to do, audaciously enough, what we're best at doing. it's oddly optimistic, but strangely familiar from the company the dares you to dream. so many animated tales rely on enchanting our dreams of what, honestly, never can be. isn't that why we call it a fairy tale? this one, though, is just plain human. told through the eyes of a little girl and her alien experiment. and as i've learned from my nephews, kids and lilo - they are the best strategic thinkers around.

from the application: list your three favorite movies and why.
2] lilo and stitch
after one piece of garbage after another, lilo and stitch restored my hope in disney to tell meaningful stories. little human lilo is desperate for friends. stitch, the dog-like alien, is a fluffy, coffee-drinking, destructive, spaceship-driving maniac unsure of his surroundings. beneath the chaos of alien invasion, this story reminds me of my (and their) journey at that age looking to belong and seeking friends. i value this film because it conjures my past. i remember quite vividly feeling awkward in my neighborhood, at school, in life. i remember my tantrums, my fantasy worlds, my inane attempts to be like them. and i remember the day that changed. when my stitch named jeremy arrived across the street. unfortunately, he was not an alien.

the technology wardrobe revisited.

i'm sitting here with my little LG phone to my left. an iPod sits dust-covered on my fireplace mantle. i have a TV on, powered by Verizon's FIOS network. and my little MacBook lets me type away while listening to the random sounds of sirens and drunk people stumbling past my block. i faced a crushing defeat by the computer during another round of Wii Tennis. i hate that as i get better, so does the computer. technology outfits most of my life. it always has. even if i have this random sunday newspaper sitting on the floor. (i'm seeking a new camera).

last semester ended with a presentation on examining a personal technology wardrobe. we focused on this idea of modifization, a meeting point where modification and personalization unite to create a new hybrid, perhaps synergistic relationship between tech manufacturer and end-user. on the search, we noticed an intriguing trend of technology and fashion colliding together to create super-premium status devices. for example, the Prada LG phone, clocking in at about $900. when all was said and done, we delivered an interesting trend with future merit, but lacked the closer. so, in a way, i'm taking my stab at it.

i'm prompted by the idea of emotional design, or as other companies might call it, the moments of truth. emotional design pulls three ideas together - visceral, behavioral and reflective - to create a possibly unbreakable affection and connection with a product. technology, for all its advances in form and function, neglects this emotional tie that makes something more than its pieces. visceral is the gut reaction when you first see the product. behavioral deals with the actually function and use of the product. and reflective makes the end user assess what the product means to them. what does it say about me? separately, each piece segments an audience based on aesthetics, ease-of-use or personal expression. together, they bond the user to the brand. technology, especially cell phone manufacturers, have yet to pull all three together. which is why, when a new model comes out, we're quick to dump whatever we have to seek the new. we have no bond to the phone other than the credit card line item on the bill.

but high-end fashion started making phones. and other technology devices. witness samsung and armani joining forces to create an entire electronics line. or tag heuer turning its equity in watches to phones and other devices. as a culture, we're constantly upgrading to better and sleeker things. is a fashionable TV really different from a fashionable purse? isn't it all part of the outfit?

i'm revisiting this idea because, apparently, the Prada phone worked. nearly 700,000 units later (in under one year), Prada and LG are about to release the first limited edition run of the already limited edition phone. the silver Prada phone, full with QWERTY keyboard and more features than you can figure out how to work with, drops in the stores within the next few months. the essential dilemma remains, which brand wins in this co-branded tech environment? we didn't pick a winner back in december. but i can now. emotional design argues that the emotional aspect is the key to transforming the product into something extraordinary. and, perhaps, to generate a higher price point. in this equation of fashion + technology, the emotion rests in the fashion brand. it carries social capital. it has social and personal value about how we see ourselves and how we want to portray ourselves to the world. with exception of apple, it's hard to find a technology company that fully understands this deeply personal emotion and embeds that within the design functionality.

the future means that a Prada LG phone will become simply the Prada phone, and LG (as will be the case with other manufacturers) will bow to the emotional branding power of its partner. the fashion brand will also have to incorporate the same customer service experience and expectations into tech support. this should be a terrifying prediction for technology companies. they, most likely, won't own the tech conversation when it comes to these specialty devices. and they will reap the steepest penalty if the devices flop. because electronics is their currency. the fashion brand only has to lend its name to make the device emotionally appealing. if the device fails, it's a testament to the development and brains of the tech company, not the fashion brand. and if it succeeds, the fashion brand continues to be fashion forward on the runway and in personal electronics. the tech company becomes a third party innovator destined to need the fashion brand more than the fashion brand needs the tech company. and, in that scenario, the tech brand might simply vanish.

there's a scary thought.

flipping for my matchbook.

well, it sure has been a while. consider tomorrow the spark to starting over. since this is no longer a requirement. blogging, for me, has never been an assignment. i speak when i have something to say. and in these final months before i'm launched into the much vaunted "real world" again, i suppose it's time i focused my voice.

we'll see how brave i am.

______

shades of life are ringing through my open ears.
december.24.2007

according to the news reports, a giant fat man in a red suit is making a perilous trek across the nighttime skies as i write this. delivering smiles and magic to people who, most likely, need them. deserve them. i'm sitting here at the kitchen table, flooded by two decades of memories. i'm eagerly awake, but not for the impending arrival of santa and my deepest desire: a shiny g.i. joe box. yeah, talk about weapons of mass destructions.

it's funny to be in this house tonight. to witness, maybe more so than last year, how we grow up. how it's eerily quiet as i count down the minutes to a midnight episode of family guy. how i'm not bursting with curiosity at what i might get. about how i'm more entertained and excited for spencer to get here tomorrow and pull apart the blue plastic bag hiding his new batman bed. god, that thing is fucking cool. in many past eves, i've spent these last minutes before my eyes fell to dreams hoping the cookies tasted well enough. that i had been a good enough boy. that, maybe, miracles come to those who wait. that the stars held this strange kind of magical power to crisscross the universe and unite people. no matter how far the distance separated them. by space. or by hearts.

i think, most of the time, i forget the call of magic. or faith. or whatever it is you want to call it. maybe it's just blind hope. especially when i'm surrounded by point-of-sale displays and pop star versions of classic holiday tunes. but maybe it's the allure of the three movies i saw in the past three days, weaving three very different stories about love. about power. and, ultimately, about hope. three stories that restore, in some little luster, a glimmer in my heart when you wish upon a star.

my wish for you is that you believe who you are is exactly what my heart has always searched for. my wish for you is for you to be fully happy. my wish for you is for your demons to go away. my wish for you is for your doubts to subside. my wish for you is for someone to unlock your heart. my wish for you is for your ambitions to shine. my wish for you is for you to know the best is yet to come. my wish for you is for the strength to deal with what's ahead. my wish for you is to find the love you've always been seeking. and my wish for you is that the smoke finally clears.

wishes, after all, are just a spectacle of magic. a cannonball shot with a hectic direction. so i'll just sit here in my childhood home on the eve of another christmas. oddly eating cookies. take that, jolly fat man. and hoping that magic touches those i love the most as they scatter across the universe.

merry christmas.