One of those really bad mistakes...

My friend gave me a YouTube link to a video with U2 & Green Day singing a song called "The Saints Are Coming". The music video is awesome and it highlights the devastation caused by Katrina, something I don't think we think about enough. Yet there was one thing that ruined my experience and that was the ad next to the video. It's a rotational 300x250 but it's one ad I don't think should be rotated next to a video about the pain, loss and heartache that resulted from the hurricane:

You can view the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seGhTWE98DU

Sometimes we as advertisers royally f**k up. And for this I'm sorry.

Mob Mentality

When leaving the OutsideLands Festival on Saturday night a good majority of the 60,000 in attendance had to exit the polo field through a tunnel. The tunnel was about 30 feet wide and 15 feet tall and with thousands of people trying to get out, it was a bit congested to say the least. As we walked shoulder to shoulder like a herd of cattle entering a coral for the night, I had myself a moment. It may have been the half bottle of vodka I'd consumed or the slight vertigo I'd developed after 12 hours of eardrum shattering music; whatever it was it lead to a hilariously dark realization.

As we shuffled towards the tunnel, people on top of the tunnel would yell and cheer (god only knows why) and people in the crowd going through the tunnel with me would yell and scream back (once again, god only knows why). In addition to the periodic cheering (for god-knows-what), we were moving at a snail's pace and had to stop every couple steps. As I stood there squished like a panini in a press wondering who was stepping on my foot, why the guy next to me was trying to hold my hand, where my friends had disappeared to and why the hell people were yelling, I couldn't help but think:

"This must be what it's like entering hell"

A bunch of fools cheering for no reason, as they shuffle to an unknown destination without giving a second thought to the ridiculousness of the situation. We will cheer like buffoons as we enter the darkness and then as we arrive and realize where we are, the heat beating against us like an open oven in a Louisiana kitchen during summer, we will all think to ourselves:

"God dammit. I've been had".

Things that make me smile

• Fog/mist early in the morning or late at night
• Walking alone late at night in the city
• The sun on my face
• Happy couples (not sappy couples)
• This song:
  

• The smell and warmth of a campfire
• Waking up early and knowing I have a few more hours to sleep
  
• The sound, smell and breeze from rushing water
• Swings
• Watching the rain fall on a tree lined street through a screen door or from a front porch
  
• Long road trips
• Hot chocolate with whipped cream
• An open sunroof
• The sound of waves splashing against a boat as I drift to sleep
  
• A full moon
  
• Picking fruit
• Riding with the windows down
  
• Walking through a dark field on a warm night
• Puppies (not babies or kittens, just puppies...and maybe baby lions)
  
• When Katie writes "SOaB!!" on IM
  
• The smell of wet cement in the summer
  
• Drunk texts which imply nothing
• Thunder storms on a warm evening
• Watching an amazing runner smash world records
  
• Knowing that someone thinks I look beautiful in the morning
• Hearing a group of people burst out in laughter
• Listening to the seals as I lay in bed
• That point at the beginning of a book when you realize it's going to be good

Thank You Country Inns & Suites

I think we may actually be starting to get there...

50 Reasons Why Katie & I Should Go Back To College

In Absolute Awe...and then disgust

Seriously?! SERIOUSLY!!! A freakin' lightning bolt isn't as fast as this kid. OMG he's incredible...and he can be as cocky as he wants. I'm in absolute awe.


100m Final. Olimpics 2008. - Funny bloopers R us

If you would like to see a better version that isn't a result of a camera phone aimed with a shaky hand at a tv screen go here:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/share.html?videoid=0816_HD_ATM_HL_L0686

...which brings me to disgust.

Currently NBC still has all rights to Olympic footage and they aren't sharing. You can send your friends the link or link directly to the video, but other than that, you're SOL. I work in interactive advertising. I understand the value of having content that no one else has. You can charge a lot of money because you're going to have a lot of traffic. But part of the reason I work in interactive advertising is because I love the space and I love the space because I'm amazed by the sharing capabilities it offers, the community it creates and the creativity it inspires. The internet has made the world much smaller and has connected us in ways we never would have thought, with people we never would have expected. The Olympics has accomplished the same thing for centuries and in my opinion can be thought of as the real life event equivalent of the internet. It brings different people together from all over the world and unites them in their excitement, support and love for athletics. Given this I have no problem laying the claim that the Olympics belong to the world and not a network. Therefore, even though I understand where NBC is coming from I don't respect it, I don't condone it and I am disgusted by it. Let us have, share and unite around the content that is ours to begin with.

Why I hate Jon Guidroz

He knows how to spell "holes".