“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” So started Frank Stasio’s radio intro for the 6/23/09 The State of Things show on Positivity. Featuring Barbara Fredrickson who is principal investigator of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab at UNC-Chapel Hill, her “research examines how cultivating emotions such as joy, gratitude and awe can improve relationships and make us better people.” Positivity = Complex mind and body experiences within micro-moments. Some may say that the concept of positive thinking yielding happier people is common sense or belief, but the scientific research and conclusions help further form some context to work with and advice on how to apply it more consistently. According to Fredrickson, “Be Open” > “Be Positive”.
Vince Offer has become a household reference as “The ShamWow! Guy” but this reworking of the Slap Chop infomercial into “Rap Chop” is a work of art – it may have to be watched multiple times to appreciate the level of remixing dedication – silly fun. The breakdancing sequences featuring the Breakin’ movies bring back memories of when hip hop was spreading its cultural ground. It’s funny to see that Jean-Claude Van Damme appeared in that movie as a background extra. So how many breakdance moves are there? They range from the lighthearted to incredible displays of athleticism. I recall we kids goofing around the gym floor in the 80s, but nothing like these relatively more recent competitions: Chicago 2005 Breakdance Competition, 2006 Red Bull Competition to highlight a few.
This YouTube clip that shows Vendor/Client relationships in real world situations is cheaper than therapy. Having been in the business for many years, it immediately brings back a number of people who’ve tried the same line and when one jumps on that train, nothing goes quite as it should. Every time I’ve hired a plumber*, mechanic or visit a doctor, it bewilders the mind because these professionals put their price out there, take it or leave it. So we realize there is a longtime behavior and culture in our varied professional services/businesses where this video is pulling from. Not every Client is like this of course, but enough to make one laugh and cry simultaneously. Although direct and unapologetic in tone, it reminded me of an old evolt.org posting where they tried to “inject some reality into the fantasy.” Like anything, these are just growing pains one has to go through in getting better in business and life.
* And although we’re somewhat generalizing, we realize that most professionals struggle with customers/pricing in their own ways, as found within this Seattle Plumbing Company’s article.
Twittering has it’s proponents and detractors, but it’s hard to ignore it one way or the other. Celebrities grow followings (Ashton beats CNN) while on the more serious side, it was reported that during the 2008 Mumbai attacks, eyewitnesses sent an estimated 80 tweets every five seconds as the tragedy unfolded (Wikipedia). But if we keep it to how it’s most commonly used, this micro-blogging service relays folks’ every day living and thoughts in 140 characters max. All that said, CollegeHumor takes Twittering to the streets of New York City showing us “WHAT IF we walked around twittering in daily life OUT LOUD! A fun stroll to hover around.
With an extensive photography career still going strong, NC-based James Bridges’ portfolio glows and inspires. Motion pictures, directors, actors, portraits, forms, furniture, he can shoot about anything and sometimes, on anything to get the winning shot! Having to showcase hundreds of photos, we worked to create a website that is modular, flexible, and allows his art to be the star. A visitor can navigate linearly via “back/next” buttons or non-linearly via bottom-anchored thumbnail navigation. Images scale to fit the monitor/resolution size which allows for some large photo renderings. It was a fun Flash challenge.
Viewing scenes of this show over the years, it’s always had something to lighten the mood or shock the retina. However watching Current TV’s Conor Knighton cover Univision’s tela novelas and Sabado Gigante in a rapid four minutes produced plenty of memories that’ll linger for weeks!
“Now from the soil and climate of the Yadkin valley comes a selection of wines that could be easily confused with the wine from the Rhone River Valley in France. Surprising? Not when you compare the Yadkin Valley with the south of France and Michael and Amy Helton’s love for Old World wines.”
So one day a client visiting our downtown Greensboro studio comes across an empty bottle of Michael’s Blend and comments how Hanover Park is great and a favorite – talk about brand support. The wine is great, the people warm and knowledgeable, and the farmhouse a peaceful departure from the every day. We enjoyed redesigning their website (learn more and plan a trip).
Yes, there are others that feel our browser pain and the official saveIE6 site is quicker and cheaper than therapy. According to W3, IE6 is still fighting to stay relevant at 17% as of March 2009. While the deep and expansive Google April 1 hoaxes bring smiles, saveIE6 is the gag that keeps on giving.
Filed under: Logos
We came across this collection of logos of every day brands feeling the now-a-day recession pains, it’s been circulating around numerous sites and worth a look. Makes us glad our logo can still stand on one hand.
Filed under: History | Tags: History, Ken Burns, military, Video, West Point, world war one, world war two
West Point’s Center For Oral History says that “Every Soldier Has A Story…” and is working to document experiences of soldiers from World War II forward through film and publishing projects. After watching Ken Burns’ The War last year, hearing of how few World War One vets are left, and the rate that World War Two vets are passing away, documenting these stories moving forward will surely offer exponential learning opportunities for all types of interests and curriculums.
Filed under: Environments, Technology | Tags: CNN, magic wall, Minority Report
Yep, Minority Report technology, here we come! Between CNN’s iPhone like magic wall and this interactive mirror from Lit Studios’ Alpay Kasal, it’s just a matter of time before we implement iris scans for security purposes?
Filed under: Data Design, Flash, Politics | Tags: Data Design, electoral map, interactive Flash map, New York Times, Politics
The New York Times consistently reminds us that information and data design can be beautiful and engaging. I imagine Edward Tufte is proud to some degree. Recently, we’ve found ourselves playing with their interactive electoral map. See the states geographically or proportionally by electoral votes. Click on “Your map” and click on states to change the winner and watch as the candidates’ electoral votes move between camps. Ah, and to push it further, data below is a crash course in recent political history.
Filed under: Advertising, Online | Tags: bmw, brawny, fallon, georgia pacific, innocent escapes, juxt interactive
Newport Beach, CA based Juxt Interactive site for BMW is a fun and memorable experience. The Relearn To Drive website brings back memories of parallel parking in vacant parking lots, pulling into and out of every convenience store within reason, over and over and over again.
The first-person camera angle reminds me of other memorable online experiences, a familiar one that comes to mind is Brawny’s Innocent Escape campaign from 2005 (“Your Hair, It’s Perfect” still rings in my ear occasionally) . In my pre-MadMonk days, we worked some online collaborative initiatives with Georgia Pacific while their ad agency (Fallon New York) created a series of memorable video shorts with a central character talking to the camera. Paper towels went online viral.
But back to BMW and its commercial, goal: To inspire us to “Undo the damage” by participating in a BMW Performance Driving School.
Filed under: Human Rights, International | Tags: Amnesty International, Anti-Slavery International, Cattle Call, human slavery
“Every year an estimated two and a half million human beings are trafficked worldwide. Amongst them, 80% are women.” So begins the website for the Euro 08 Campaign against Trafficking in Women. In a powerful commercial spot, they state that 500,000 girls are sold into the sex industry every year, while the spot’s subjects are worked through an eerie cattle call. Well done spot.
We’re touched slightly by the presence of human trafficking through documentaries, news features, and movie story lines (two that come to mind are Crash and Eastern Promises), but it’s still shocking to hear that estimates of modern virtual slavery range from 27 million to 200 million worldwide. More information at the Anti-Slavery International website and for some history on human slavery, Wikipedia offers a launch pad for research.
Filed under: Economics, Shopping, Uncategorized | Tags: eating out, Fresh & Easy, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, grocery shopping, supermarket, to-go food
Written in the April 7, 2008 edition of USA Today, Fresh & Easy, the world’s third-largest retailer, is working on a supermarket British Invasion (video clip featured). “The WalMart of Britain” has plans thru 2020 aiming at giving grocery giant Safeway a run for its money. Research firm TNS Retail Forward details that their most important selling point is price as they claim to be up to 30% cheaper then conventional U.S. market chains. But they insist they are dedicated to being “neighborhood grocers”.
The story covers flagship stores in California, starting with one a few doors down from the world-famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Before Safe & Easy started working the states, they spent a lot of time examining the lives of 60 U.S. families, following them through their day and more importantly, through their retail shopping activities. Thus far, overall sales don’t meet projects, but sales of “to-go” foods have been more than double of expectations which supports the ongoing debate of cooking at home versus eating out, with “to-go” the in-between.
Reminds me of a past bookmarked article titled “For not that much more, Americans opting to eat out” which dances in and around the debate, whether eating out is really more expensive then eating in. One interviewee said “It’s this cellphone generation that’s too busy to cook…” It’s interesting how people disect the economics of getting food on their plate. Value and savings are in the eye of the beholder.
