"I'm not gonna take a GST hike off the table.""I'm not gonna take a GST hike off the table.""I'm not gonna take a GST hike off the table."
I'm sure you've all heard Ignatieff say this a thousand times by now. From where? Well from every ad the Tories put out this federal election.
My heart kind of wrenches every time one of these commercials comes on. My understanding of political campaigning, which is very little, tells me that parties should be instilling confidence in Canadians so they'll give you their trust and their vote. But it seems like all the Tories and Liberals are doing is trying to knock each other down a peg. They're not trying to one-up each other, promising bigger and better things. They're not trying to make us excited about change or make us realize how things are great the way they are. They're just trying to turn us away from the other.
I'm not saying this isn't an effective tactic. If you can deter someone from voting for a different party, there's a better chance they'll vote for you. But I think if you focus on showing Canadians what you plan to bring to the table and how it's going to be better for the country as a whole, they won't even care about what the other guys are doing.
Basically I just think this game of ad hominem is tacky and doesn't require much effort at all.
So, please remember to go vote this election day and make it count.
A "significant other" and I went to the "Starbs" at Polo Park Shopping Centre to quench our collective thirsts with a refreshing, revitalizing, and red, Tazo® Shaken Iced Passion Tea Lemonade.
I think I need one after that first sentence.
As we were waiting for our kind barista to bring our summery beverages to a full blush and bloom, this caught our eyes:
58 per cent? Pft. You should see my high school transcript. Boing, zing, fawoosh!
Other than the single extraneous apostrophe that found itself between an 'A' and 'S', we both agreed that we really liked what we saw. This simple company procedure makes every chump that spends 4+ bucks on a cup of joe, feel like the company really cares about them. I would say that it's almost beneficial to them that the percentage is so low because this gives them an oppourtunity to show how transparent they are with their customers.
If we would have seen this sign with a 97 per cent instead of a 58, I'm sure we'd have glanced over it and thought nothing of it. In any service industry, good service is expected, so it's not a surprise when people are satisfied. It's when someone says, "Hey, you guys said we suck. Sorry." that it gets your attention.
As far as Starbucks chalk board messages go, I've seen better. This one here sets a bar. A bar that one could say is, 'out of this world'? A bar...abar...
About two years ago, Mike Tyson went from munching on these:
Even McCoy's thinking about them.
To these:
Apparently carrots have trouble seeing sometimes too...
Level 3 vegan, "Iron Mike", has now teamed up with Last Chance for Animals, an organization that advocates the inhumane act of denying tasty meals to people all over the world, and unveiled a billboard that will probably baffle more people, rather than get them to switch their eating habits.
Uh. And by 'love' you mean...
This is another case where you wonder if a celebrity endorsement really works. According to Tyson, he's been feeling a lot more healthy and in a much more positive state of mind ever since he changed his diet. He said he felt "weighed down" when he ate meat, and that he's only ever felt at 100 per cent after the switch. This is evident by a simple before and after:
Cheese-filled Franks vs. Tofu Dogs
Okay, okay. I know it's not a fair comparison at all, but teeth vs. ear wasn't that evenly matched either. What I'm trying to get at here is that just because you have a well-known face and name to a message, doesn't necessarily mean that message is going to ring any louder or truer than it did before. Again, this isn't always the case though. If the spokesperson is a widely known and respected figure, I'm sure they're going to have some pull...
For my TV Documentary class I took this past semester, we were given three months-ish to find, film, and edit a 5 to 10 minute documentary. Making any sort of documentary is quite a large task to begin with, but with the time frame given to us, it seemed more than reasonable to do.
Enter procrastination. Two and three quarter months later, there was no documentary.
The Sunday before the Thursday it's due arrives, and I wake up feeling quite helpless. The following is how I completed my documentary:
1) Boot up my computer, log onto Facebook.
2) Check the events page, and find this:
(Local? Experimental? Juxtaposition? Cool.)
5) A show was happening that night at the Lo Pub, with a local act, Spirit Children, opening.
6) Documentary subject chosen.
7) Facebook creep the band members and send them a message that can be paraphrased as: "Hey, I know this is weird, but can I film you for school?"
8) Within fifteen minutes, I received this message:
(Awesome.)
9) I roll over to their jam space to film their rehearsal, pack up, set up and show at the Lo Pub.
10) Monday, I edit the entire documentary in five-ish hours, hand it in and never think about it again.
Without the immediacy and efficiency of Facebook, I wouldn't have ever found out about the gig, nor got in contact with the band so quickly. Most of the time, Facebook uses its power to embarrass and humiliate, but sometimes, it uses its power for good.
Though it seems like I threw in the towel for this assignment, I was actually quite proud of the outcome. I've definitely spent a lot more time on assignments that were worth less, but the amount of effort I put in was just the same. I believe I had good content, and a story with a concise beginning, middle and end. I feel that I represented the band and band members genuinely and showed the process of a up-and-coming local band playing a live show.
But, that's just me. See for yourself and let me know what you think.
In my third semester of Creative Communications, each advertising major was assigned to create a promotional campaign for the spunky, charismatic, wild-haired Kitty, owner of Berns & Black Salon on Main Street.
My peers came up with some great creative and strategies for the salon, all of which I'd love to share with you, but if I did, this post would simply be just too long.
After sharing our ideas with the class, our instructor ran the plansbooks down the street to the salon and gave them to Kitty and the staff to flip through, read and cut apart. Kitty was given the task to pick five from sixteen, which would decide who would get to pitch to her and her colleagues.
A week later.
Four talented peers and myself get chosen to pitch our campaigns for Kitty. Nervous and excited, we prepared ourselves for the first real client pitch in our professional careers. Looking sharp, and with sweat collecting on our collective brows, we presented our campaigns to our client.
We pretty much killed it.
She loved our work and she grabbed it all to keep to use in the future when the time was right. Luckily for me, she loved the simplest aspect of my campaign and wanted them produced right away.
These loyalty cards are now being handed out to every Berns & Black client that comes in for a style or cut, and they were made by none other than your modest and attractive narrator.
Funny story. A couple weeks down the line, I went in there for a haircut myself and as I was walking away from the register after paying, they stopped me and said, "Oh, I almost forgot. Here's your 'stache card".
I just realized that in the two years I've had this blog, I've yet to post anything I've produced. This. Changes. NOW.
The following spot was produced for Portage Place Shopping Centre during the 2010 holiday season. During this time, they were trying to promote the Globe Cinema, IMAX and Prairie Theatre Exchange all at the same time, calling it the 'Portage Place Theatre District'.
When talking to the client, she said that she was aware that Portage Place definitely wasn't the first choice for people when they wanted to go shopping, and that they've accepted that fact. Instead, they wanted to market the shopping centre as an entertainment hub where people could see a wide array of movies as well as live theatre. They also wanted people to know about their free validated heated underground parking.
I scripted and produced the spot which was approved by the client, and it aired on KICK-FM in December 2010.
When was the last time you played Monopoly? Yeah, that's what I thought.
If you want to start making some ROI again, go open your closet, reach high up for that dusty top shelf and shimmy the Monopoly box from in between Operation (which you stopped playing after it got too easy [only because the battery died]) and Mouse Trap (which you never played because the dumb contraption never worked).
McDonald's Canada ran a promotion last October for their age-old Monopoly game where customers in BC and Alberta could bring in their worthless, faded Monopoly money and trade it in for an order of large fries. Though the bills weren't worth their face value, customers benefited regardless.
People always give Mickey D's a hard time because they think the company isn't concerned about people's health and well-being. Also, there is probably a super-sized amount of people that think MacDougall's advertising towards children is slimy, deceptive and wrong. But I don't think you should connect company morals and values with an agency's.
Cossette has been delivering some great creative for Ronnie's Playhouse over the years and, believe it or not, the creative has been successful because it's been, well, creative. There hasn't been any top secret brainwash strategies put forth, or some youth-oriented marketing campaign where they said eating their food gets you better grades and makes your pimples go away.
People are going to McDonald's because tactics like iPhone apps, installations, and experiential marketing make it fun for them and give them something interesting to go in for, not just for the gross drippy "food".
There are some people who get tattoos to commemorate a family member or friend who has passed away. Some get inked to mark a milestone or chapter in their life. And then there are people who get tattoos to save $2.50 on their next purchase.
(Branded. Literally.)
Marc Ecko is offering his customers a 20 per cent discount for the rest of their lives if they have the cojones to roll up their sleeves and put a needle to their skin. Er...to get a tattoo. Fans can either get the Ecko rhino or the Cut & Sew shears, both clothing lines owned by Ecko.
While this lifelong promotion is redefining the terms 'branding' and 'customer loyalty', I think the most peculiar part about this is whole ordeal are the people who are actually getting these tattoos. Look at it this way:
1) Tatts cost hundreds of dollars, and most parlours have a $100 or so minimum that you must spend. 2) Ecko is definitely not a bargain line, so it can be safe to assume that someone who shops at Ecko might spend somewhere near $80-$120 per visit; an average of $20 in savings.
So, you throw down $100 to get the smallest, simplest tattoo you can get, but then you'll have to spend an additional $500 at an Ecko store to break even on that cost. So, it's not until you spend an initial $600 until you can start "saving" money. Now you have to start thinking how much/long it would take if you got a more elaborate tattoo with colours and intricate designs to go along with the logo (you can redesign that tattoo whichever way you want, s'long as the logo stay intact), that will cost another couple hundred, which delays this saving process even more.
If the financial aspect isn't a concern to you, I hope people realize that they'll have a logo tattooed to to their body. No cool story or special meaning behind it. Those who give up their skin are basically converting themselves into living, breathing ad space and a meaty mobile coupon.
To me, it's just not worth it. But I guess this promo is for the more audacious, seat-of-one's-pants individual. At least it's not as embarrassing as this:
Around this time last year, the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada came out with a fantastic campaign to get people to take off their pants, and show people their butts.
(Is it weird that people with no pants can be frequently seen on my bus?)
While some agencies choose to show skin based on the fact that it will make people turn their heads, this campaign idea for the CCAC makes showing people's "cabooses" relevant. Along with the advertising, which ranged from print, TV, out of home and online, a micro site and Facebook page were created encouraging people to post photocopies of their "seat cushions" to spread awareness about this disease.
Whether people actually sent in photocopies of their "ba-donka-donks" or not, this "cheeky" (I'm sorry if someone's made this joke before, ugh) concept that Ogilvy Montreal developed was refreshingly creative and a step in the right direction to get younger audiences to listen to what the CCAC had to say.
But, with colorectal cancer affecting people when they start creeping around the age of 50, one could ask if this is an effective campaign for the older audience that this disease directly affects. I say yes. Some may say that older people would be put off by this youthful campaign of exhibitionism, but I think it makes a serious topic less intimidating to approach. Even if some business executive didn't put his "rucksack of cottage cheese" on the glass to share with the world, I'm sure he appreciated the friendly reminder. And that's my final rebuttal.
As I was lounging away the afternoon at a friend's house this weekend, I flipped though a home improvement magazine that was lying around. Within said magazine, I found this gem:
Brutal.
But the point of this post isn't to show you an awful ad. I'm actually showing this to you because I empathize with the sorry sap that had to make this. With everyone waiting for the account that'll give them the opportunity to create the campaign that'll make them famous, it's always a bummer when your boss tosses you a brief for a product like this instead.
It'd probably be hard to stay sane if all you did was write ad after ad, each one as insipid and uninspiring as the last. I imagine whoever wrote this ad was feeling a bit cheeky and decided to hand this off to proof, thinking it wouldn't even make it past the person sitting over at the next desk. But, to their surprise, the client approved it and it went to print.
That might have been the case, or it could simply just have been a bad ad, written by a bad copywriter. Either way, there's still an attempt at creativity there, however effective or ineffective it is.
When working as a creative, there's a possibility that you won't be doing anything that requires much creativity at all. I think this is something that people should consider, especially when you're about to take your first step into the ad world like my classmates and I will be doing in a couple months. But you have to start somewhere, right?
So, I say do the work of a peon and do it without complaint, but when you get an opportunity to be creative, take advantage of it and create something fun, different and will make people stop and look, no matter how fowl it may be.
You may have been wondering where I've been for the past month or so, other than at the bottom of your blog rolls. For the first three weeks of January, I was at Velocity Branding for my work practicum.
Velocity is a local advertising agency that's made up of three account executives, three designers, and one writer. Jarrett Moffatt, a former CreComm who was in my position last year, took me under his wing since he knew exactly where I was coming from. You could say that I was like his son for a month.
(I thought this would be funny but now I realize it's just creepy.)
At my placement, I got to see the entire process that an agency goes through, from first meeting a client, to sending them proofs of their work. Luckily for me, I was able to dabble in a bit of everything. From those client meetings, I was able to write up creative briefs, conducted some research, and give Dad (Jarrett) something to start off on. As for writing, I had the opportunity to write copy for sell sheets, newspaper ads, in-store flyers, as well as radio spots.
One of the best things about my placement at Velocity was seeing the interaction and relationship between designer and writer. To see how closely they work together made me realize how important it is to start fostering this relationship as soon as humanly possible, and only reinforced my belief that CreComms and Graphic Design students should be working on projects together, right from the get-go.
On that note, I found that a lot of Velocity’s work was design based. Their designers were always click-clack-clackitting away on their computers working on websites, print materials or iPhone apps. Seeing the sheer amount of work that was always coming in and going out made me wish that I was a better designer because I can see how much more of an advantage you would have if you were able to both write and design.
Something else that I noticed, was that there was no suit vs. creative hippie separation. Now I'm not saying that they were all hippies or all suits, but rather everyone there treated each other equally. With ad agencies, there's always the stigma of mean business-type account execs looking down on and stifling the freedom of creative teams, at least that's how it seems like it is in the books I've read. At Velocity, there was always a fun, positive vibe in the office, which may or may not have been caused by the 90's hip hop that was blasting some days.
As for how this placement affected my career plans, I still would like to try my hand at being a writer for an agency. Though I realize now how small the Manitoba market is and how hard it is to try and convince people to take risks here, I foresee some sort of mini revolution in Winnipeg's ad/marketing world. At least I'm hoping for one.
Though I may not have come out of my work placement with a lot to put into a portfolio like some of my other peers, I found this to be a great learning opportunity. During my three weeks, I got to see the ups and downs of an agency. I got to witness the blood, sweat and tears that a team must shed to come up with a successful campaign. I got to see the real thing.
Thank you (in no particular order, and because I'm a gentleman, ladies first) Jarrett, Karla, Colette, Olga, Lee, and Chris x2!
First off, I want to give mad props/kudos/praise to Robert Carlyle, of Trainspotting and Full Monty Fame, for his amazing, brilliant, magnificent performance, the director Jamie Rafn and the steadicam op George Richmond for the making this nearly impossible shot look like it was a piece of rhubarb pie, and Justin Moore for writing one of the best pieces of copy that will ever pass through my ears.
'The Man Who Walked Around the World', developed by Bartle, Bogle, Hegarty (BBH), received second place at this year's Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. At least I think it did. Some weird ad that wasn't in the program snuck its way in after this showed. After it finished and the credits rolled (yes, this spot did have its own set of credits afterwards) I was still basking in the brilliance of what I just watched when I heard:
"Ugh, finally."
Wait, what?
Some other comments I heard were, "That was so long", "What was that?", "I was bored the entire time."
To each of these people, I say this: That's what she said.
Just because sexy ladies aren't polishing soccer balls with their tongues firmly pressing against the inside of their cheek, doesn't mean it's not a good ad. A laugh should not be the only pay off that an ad should offer.
These are my reasons for why this was one of the best things I've even seen:
1) A thirty-second single shot is hard to do. A six-minute shot with no cuts or edits whatsoever is hell on earth. They pulled it off flawlessly.
2) It's not just a man walking. It's a man walking and talking. This is hard. What's harder is when you add things he has to interact with on the way without stopping. The sheer amount and precision they had to plan out for the blocking, and that Robert Carlyle had to execute, is almost unbelievable. One step too fast or one sentence said to slow can ruin an entire shot. In this case, 40th time's a charm.
3) Keeping hold of a viewer's attention for more than 10 seconds is also hard. Now I can't say that this ad kept everyone's attention, which is obvious because of the comments I heard, but if you did start listening right from the beginning, then I know you couldn't stop. It was engaging, it was interesting, it had a strong flow to it. You wanted to hear what happened to little John, the local farm boy.
4) Robert Carlyle, again, was amazing. He had a massive presence on screen, as massive as the location that it was shot in. As soon as he walks close enough to the camera for us to recognize who he is, he gives us a bit o' sass and attitude, telling the bagpiper to "shut it". Awesome. I hate bagpipe too. He then tells us a story. I emphasize 'us' because you feel as though he's talking to you. By the end of it, you notice that six minutes have passed, and as you look at him waking off into the distance, you want him to come back and tell you more.
5) It's just something you don't see anymore. Everyone is trying to be louder, brighter, and wackier than each other. It's nice to see something so simple and elegant. Beautiful.
But what do I know? Tell me what thoughts you had about it.
Cheap laughs and even cheaper jokes. Though this ad may not be the most clever, or had the most thought put into it, it still managed to get an award at this year's Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. I can see why though, it's a simple idea that would be understood by the mass public. Everyone understands dirty humour and, like it or not, will giggle at it. During the viewing, a majority of the audience laughed. Solid, audible, undeniable proof that this ad works. Good job, AXE.
I wonder though, if this ad had run years and years ago, when the Alec Baldwin skit was still at its popularity, would the AXE spot be praised or dismissed for its unoriginality?
I had the pleasure of watching it at the Winnipeg Art Gallery this evening and it will be running from Dec. 1st to 10th. Check it out, there were some great spots this year! I will be blogging about one of my favorite picks from this year's batch later on this week.
Now, I've tried to do some research on this commercial, whether it actually aired or not (I don't recall ever seeing it), and didn't find much. Here's the run down of what I did find:
1) Made by an independent film studio, Turnpike Films, in 2003. 2) Directed by Justin Reardon, whom apparently worked at DDB and also worked on the "Whassup" campaign. 3) Was not produced for Kellogg's, but merely produced to put in their demo reel. 4) Four other, equally as funny and well-produced, spots were produced for their demo reel. Again, not for the actual companies themselves. 5) The spots got really popular on the net, but then Turnpike Films just disappeared.
Why they disappeared? I do not know. The humour used in this, I feel, would bust guts today. It has the off-the-wall humour that a lot of spots try to unsuccessfully incorporate right now. After watching it, I got the message that if I eat Nutri-Grain bars, I will feel great. Really great. The spot stuck with me because I remembered what product it was for, and I remembered the benefit it offered me. The whole package. I wasn't left telling my friends about a commercial and trying to remember whether it was for a energy drink or cereal.
I know I always say this, but a lot of ads today aren't doing their job. Their messages get lost in the creative and no one on either side really gets anything in the end.
Take this for example:
Sure, it's definitely off-the-wall, to-the-max, but what does it mean? I understand there's a new flavour, but how does that make my life better? The only thing that I'm getting from it is nightmares. Terrible, terrible nightmares. After an awkward laugh, which only comes out of confusion, the commercial passes.
Okay, maybe I'm being stuck up. I agree that if watch the commercials objectively, they're both funny. So that's all that matters in the end. I just think that one works better than the other.
What do you think?
PS. If you're interested in their other "fake" spots, check them out here:
I was at school this past Saturday night when, in a moment of procrastination, I logged onto Facebook to see what was up and happening that night whilst I slaved away at an ad campaign. This caught my attention:
Hmmm. I decided to investigate this claim by going over to Twitter to see if anyone could confirm this.
It was then I saw this tweet from none other than George Stroumboulopoulos himself:
The rumours must have been true considering that place looked awfully like the King's Head Pub. I felt as though I needed to offer Strombo some sound advice about the pub:
Minutes later, I received one new tweet:
Huzzah, an @mention from Strombo himself. I felt blessed and burdened. Burdened by the question he posed me. Unsure of myself, I posted the question as my status on Facebook. Within seconds I received 14 responses. Here are some of my personal favorites:
Using my better judgement I decided to reply with this:
Playing it cool, I decided to leave it at that and return to my campaign. After getting nothing accomplished, I felt faint and parched. The cure? A beer at the King's Head. While I was there, I might as well peek around to see if George did in fact take my advice, right?
I strode over a street and entered the overflowing King's Head. Surely this wasn't because of George. Alas, it wasn't. Some band was playing. Anyways, I went up to the bar, purchased a beer, and poked my head around the corner. Strombo and friends. Wait, what? Those are my friends! As I stood, dumbfounded by this coincidence, Esther, Jamie and Liz waved me over to sit. Uh, yes.
"Hey man, are you Mike Choi?" is the first thing he said to me. I watch Strombo Tonight and listen to his radio show whenever I get the chance, so it didn't surprise me that he knew my name without me having told him. A telltale sign of a prepared and professional interviewer: knowing everything about the person you're about to talk to. Turns out they had just returned from an adventure in Churchill, and had one night to kill in Winnipeg before returning home to do the show Sunday.
We chatted about how Twitter was a great communication tool, and the effectiveness of social media in general. He then offered insights to professional relationships and how keeping a positive and cooperative attitude in any work place benefits you in the long run. He also told me that he had touched some polar bears.
I then had an opportunity to speak with Darby Wheeler, producer and video journalist extraordinaire. He was very warm and amiable as well, telling me about his career experiences and offering some great advice. I also learned that he recently broke his tailbone from an incident with his bike which led to him having to sit on a donut at a friend's wedding.
From Twitter mention to having a beer, this story proves that social media works.
Do you watch Mad Men? If you answered "no", please stop reading.
Seriously, you're not going to get anything out of this.
Fine, but I warned you!
For those of you that do watch Mad Men, and maybe some that don't, you'd probably be able to recognize the iconic opening title sequence anywhere.
Here it is for those of you who don't watch it. Tsk.
According to a source (Wikipedia), it was inspired by Hitchcock.
His movie poster for Vertigo:
And the opening sequence for North by Northwest:
I think that one of the biggest reasons why the opening is so good is because of the music. The song is called "A Beautiful Mine" by RJD2, an American hip hop producer. It sets a mischievous tone, making us ask ourselves whether we are about to be hoodwinked a group of chain smoking, whiskey shlucking ad men.
You can listen to the full, unedited version of the song here if you'd like. If you play percussion, you'll definitely appreciate it!
A group of folks loved it so much, that they decided to cover the song themselves. When trying to think of lyrics for it, they realized that a famous melody could be sung over top of the music. So, they rounded up a bunch of talented musicians, a studio, and a full crew to do a full out production of this. It's really something else, so check it out.
Nat King Cole? Yes, please. Hot lady singer with pretty voice? Yup.
Watch Mad Men! Season 4 ended just a couple weeks ago, so now is a great time to catch up!
You are quite a well-spoken individual. Thank you for approaching me in the manner that you did. If you were to have any other way, I would have probably just deleted your e-mail immediately.
Ba'qubah? I've never been. Do they have donairs there? They're quite similar to the Arabic shawarma or Greek gyro, but with a Canadian twist. If you do find a donair place there, please let me know how it is.
Wow! That sure is a big number. With that kind of money, you could probably eat donairs for the rest of your life! Unless you got married of course. Then you would have to consider your wife's tastes. She might not like donairs.
I am honoured and quite surprised that you want me to help you receive this sum, seeing as I have no experience in handling business relating to crude oil. I deducted that you must have been sitting in your canvas tent in Ba'qubah when the short Halloween radio drama two other peers and I produced, came on your radio, which was coincidentally tuned in to KICK-FM, my college's radio station. You were so impressed with the quality of radio drama, that you immediately stood up from your seat and announced, "I've finally found the man who will help us recieve this sum of money that we made off a crude oil deal!"
Alas, though I am extremely interested, I am a full-time student and am not able to assist you at this time. I'm sorry to hear you cannot "keep this funds", because you are there on "Official capacity". I wish you the best and hope that things go smoothly there.
Tonight was the second and final night of CreCommedy. 21 of the greatest and funniest CreComm minds came together to perform five minutes of stand up to an audience of 100+ people at the King's Head Pub.
All I can say is: WOW. I can't believe how proud I am of everyone! It already takes a lot to stand up and speak in front of people, but to try and make a group of people, who are expecting you to be funny, laugh...well, that's a whole different story!
During the day, my heart was constantly beating as if I was walking up flights of stairs all day, and my right eye was twitching something fierce. I felt uneasy. Sick. And it was because of the anticipation of being unfunny.
In ad class, we had to make a quick presentation on why a specific ad was bad/ineffective. During my presentation, I was calm, collected and concentrated on trying to convince my peers of my opinion. But, as soon as I was finished and my mind got to thinking about stand up again, I started hyperventilating. What a terrible day! And I can confidently say that other comics that went up tonight were just as wrecked as I was.
Fast forward to 8PM.
Everyone got up there and killed it. Jokes were told, and laughs were had. All the insecurities and feelings of uneasiness were left at the bottom of our empty beer glasses. All six of them...
Anyways, I just wanted to give kudos to everyone who went up!
Alexa Lacroix Michael Fleischman Tiffany Lachuta Chase Gouthro Aggie Semeniuk Jerrad St. Germain Jennifer Hanson James Hawboldt Jessica Cable Kevin Hirschfield Jeremie Wookey
Jeremy Giacomin Steve Dreger Jeff Ward Caitlin MacGregor Adam Smitzniuk Berea Henderson Maeghan Heinrichs Sean Angus Jeremy Williams
Also, a big thanks to Dan Verville and Cara Lytwyn who headlined both nights, and everyone who came out and helped with set up, or just came to laugh.
Sometimes I have to write things. Even now, I am writing things. I mean, can't you tell? You're reading my blog things right now, you dummy!
Sometimes I'm bad with words. Sometimes, I use the same words too much and my things seem really amateur. This is when I consult the online Thesaurus.
It makes you feel a little bit sad to find this funny, eh?
Please, let me restate what I meant to say before, but a little more eloquently.
Ahem.
Occasionally, I have to compose written materials. Even now, I am formulating information. I purport, can't you recognize this? You are deciphering my web log at this moment, you ignoramus!
I am intermittently ghastly with letter combinations. Recurrently, I employ like words most copiously, thus my properties appear to transform me into an abecedarian. This is when I beseech the sacred digital tome of alternative written fricative and vowel amalgamations.
(I almost died writing that)
Of course, I'd never ever write like that. Word barf to the X-treme! But I do use the online thesaurus every so often, as should you! If you are every luck enough to visit the website and see this, you have been blessed by the touch of advertising in new media.
80% off AND fun little illustrations? Yes, please.
Pretty fancy business eh? Like I've said time and time again, ads are sneaking into every nook and cranny. Don't even try to wash between your armpits, it's useless!
So this is obviously an ad. Blatant promotion for CS5 that takes up an entire page. But, is it distracting? Does it block and obscure what you came to the website for? Nope. It's just kind of in the background doing its own little thing. Admire it if you want, or don't.
Compared to YouTube ads that get "all up in your grill" and won't let you watch your baby drummer video unless you invest 15 or 30 seconds of time to ignore an ad first, this is fantastic. It's taking advantage of the new ad spaces that people are selling without annoying the people you're trying to get to like you.
There's also a strategic element to this too. Students and teachers alike use a thesaurus to sound smarter. And what's this selling? Student and teacher editions of CS5! Smart. Very smart.
Anyways, I'm going to stop writing things (D'oh) because I know all you're thinking about is that baby drummer video I talked about. Here it is:
If only it were a beauty contest...
