Friday, February 25, 2011

Tom Hanks Gives Great Speeches...

In anticipation of this weeks Academy Awards I would like to share his acceptances speeches for Best Actor (won in back to back years '93 and '94). While enthusiasm (Marion Cotillard, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) is great, I love Oscar winners who mix raw emotion and honesty with the poise and class that we attribute to old Hollywood.

embedding is disabled but you can follow the links to Youtube:

1993 Philadelphia

1994 Forrest Gump

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Sex In Public Is Legal...

...in one Amsterdam park it is atleast. Vondelpark, a park in Amsterdam is going to allow public sex to occur in the wooded area of the park. The park apparently has been famous for having same-sex and heterosexual couples engaging in sexual activity for years. But rather than fight it the local lawmakers have decided to legalize it. As long as the acts do not occur near the sandboxes, playgrounds, and open theaters that attract families and tourists it will be all good for those who choose to get down at Vondelpark.

Ah, but before you think that Amsterdam is a place that legalizes anything you should know that local authorities have decided to add stiff penalties and fines for dog owners who allow their dogs to run free without a leash. So if you are scoring at home - Amsterdam is OK with smoking pot, prostitution and public sex in a park; but they are putting their foot down when it comes to dogs running without a leash.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Regrets...


I hate when people say they have no regrets. I guess I dislike when people say stuff like that because I find it hard to believe that people can actually feel that there is nothing in their lives that they regret doing, or not doing, saying, or not saying. I know that it feels like we should say we have no regrets. It feels better to say that there is nothing we would change about our lives. But I think people are being dishonest when they say something like, "I have no regrets. Everything I've done, good or bad, has made me the person I am today." Really? I understand that I am the sum of my experiences and choices but not everything in the equation that is my life is of such value that I can't go back and say, "oh man, i would love a do over of that" or "I wish I hadn't done this". In looking up regret I saw this:


When I saw this I thought, "Are you serious? People want things all the time. Just because they want them doesn't mean the desire was justified or wasn't a mistake/destructive."

For example, in college I was infatuated with a fellow student. She did not reciprocate. Do I regret the pain of not being loved back, or the sting of rejection or the awkwardness of trying to hold on to a friendship with this person after we both let our feelings known? No of course, not. It was an important life experience and taught me a lot about myself, what I value and how to deal with other people. What I do regret is spending the next year in a half in this dumb game of still trying to see if I could get her to like me! It led to a lot of misplaced emotions, time and energy. That is something I regret. I wish I would have just gotten the message right the first time instead of constantly putting myself in the same situation over and over and over again.

I regret things all the time. I think regret can be a good thing as long as you don't get hang up on it or if you can use the regret to inform future decisions. Regret shows thoughtful and careful inspection about your life choices and evaluates those decisions meaningfulness and impact on your life. If I had to do it all over again i would try and pursue a more artistic line of work. I regret not taking advantage of the opportunities I had as an undergrad to take more art classes. I can use that regret to push me towards going to a local community college to take a graphic design class or something.

I don't know why it bugs me, I just think people should have regrets. When it comes to having regrets, I have no regrets.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Stepping on Snails...

Stepping on snails is really sad. These are super defenseless animals. To make it worse, when you step on a snail not only are you killing the snail, but you're destroying their home. That's just insult to injury.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Depositing Rolls of Change...



Recently I ran into some financial trouble and I realized that I was going to have to deposit rolls of change in order to make sure some checks didn't bounce. There are few things in this world more embarrassing than having to deposit rolls of change at a bank.

First off, you are forced to get into a line where people are making legitimate financial and business transactions. Meanwhile you have a deposit slip in one hand and 18 dollars worth of quarters, nickels and dimes in another. You're literally holding your shame in your hands and everyone else in line can see it. Nobody in any kind of good financial standing stands in line at the bank with 14 dollars worth of change. That whole Coin-Star thing was built around the simple fact that people were so ashamed about depositing change that they would rather have a machine charge them than take it to a bank teller.

Second, when you finally make it to the teller you have to plop down the rolls of change, and it makes that loud clunky sound. It's the sounds of change and desperation. You just have this unrelenting sense of shame. You know that the teller is just judging you as they ask you how they can help you. "Hello sir, how can I help you? Oh I see that you're depositing 7 dollars in change. I am sure this is in no way a reflection on your ability to manage money...you loser!"


Here is why dealing with the teller is so embarrassing. It's one thing for you to know that you're broke and being forced to deposit change, that's embarrassing and shameful enough. But in a few short moments - the teller is going to see exactly how broke you are too! Even if the teller is a wonderful person who has convinced themselves that you're not a broke loser they have to deposit the money into your account and that's when they see that you're deposit of 20 dollars worth of quarters is increasing your balance by 200 percent.

Depositing rolls of change is really just sad. I know because I am forced to do it atleast twice a year. So lets hope that someday in the future they will have some kind of anonymous backroom in the bank that people like me can slink into. This backroom can have some kind of coin counting machine where I can deposit my rolls of change and try to hide my shame from the rest of the bank customers. Now that makes cents.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Look On The Bright Side...

Whenever I feel bad about my job I think to myself, at least I don't have a job where when I am done I look like this:

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Chrysler: Imported From Detroit Commercial


I was blown away by this ad. It was a tremendous use of 2 minutes from the one Detroit automaker that we have heard little from since the auto industry bailouts. Chrysler was in the worst shape of the big three (GM, Ford and Chrysler). It was so bad that they were forced not only into bankruptcy but a partnership with Fiat before they could even recieve the bailout money. Reintroducing and reconnecting with the american people is a big part of Chrysler's 5 year plan which was announced in late 2009.

This ad was 25 percent about the Chrysler 200 and 75 percent about reintroducing the Chrysler brand. The music fit that message. Lose Yourself is about having one chance to prove yourself. Chrysler has one chance to prove itself after the bailout. It must now follow through on that promise by making great cars. The words fit that message. The narrative is all about resilience. The visuals are used to reinforce the idea that Detroit, and Chrysler, know about luxury, class and aesthetic beauty. By using some of the great visuals of downtown Detroit (the Fox Theater, The Joe Luis statue, The Spirit of Man statue) it challenged our thinking of Detroit as a dead or dying city. As a city gloomy pace filed with boarded up industry and run down vacant houses.It reminded us of the uniquely American beauty of Detroit and thus the unique American aesthetic of Chrysler.

This commercial was Chrysler trying to mirror its story to that of Detroit (people think we're dead. we're not. We're alive and we are going to thrive again). It was about reaffirming it's ties to Detroit and at the same time tying Detroit to the way most people in this country feel (i.e. "don't count us out, and those that do don't know us and what we are about"). I thought it waspowerful. This was, in my opinion, super effective advertising. It creates a hope about the company, hope about the city, about the country and thus about ourselves.



photos are from my 2007 trip to Detroit.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Super Bowl 45

Why the Packers Will Win:

The Packers are the younger, healthier (and that is using the word loosely), and more athletic team. Even though the Packers are famous for the power sweep and playing in cold weather, this Packers team is built like a turf team. They are athletic, quick and built to march down the field on long passes or slants that lead to mismatches with safeties and linebackers. Aaron Rodgers is a great passer, who is also capable of moving out the pocket and making something out of a broken play. The Green Bay receivers can beat you deep (Greg Jennings) or eat you up all day with slant plays (Donal Driver).
The Steelers are a great defensive team against the run, Green Bay is a bad running team. So who cares. Green Bay is a pass first team and the Steelers will have to prove they can stop the passing game.
The Steelers linebackers and ball hawking DBs will have a tough time dealing with the receivers speed and will be forced to play physical, which may lead to penalties. Defensively, B.J. Raji should be able to eat up the Steelers back up center, Doug Legersky. When a front line can get penetration on a QB it makes it easier to use your LBs in disguise blitz packages or to have them cover the Steelers' check down options, Rashad Mendenall and Heath Miller.
Lastly, Hines Ward has had less than 3 catches in each game he has played against an elite team this season. If he doesnt have at least four catches it's hard to imagine the Packers defensive backs not being able cheat on Mike Wallace and thus stop him from making a big play.
Best case senario for the Packers is that they shake off the two week rust and put some early scoring drives together. The Steelers aren't built to come from behind in games - they are built to win close grind em out games. If they jump out to an early lead this could be a route.

Why the Steelers Will Win:

Though they are an injured mess, the Steelers are the veteran, championship tested team, who has been here before. Defensive players like James Harrison, Lawrence Timmons, James Farrior and Troy Polamalu don't just stop drives; they help win the turnover battle that often gives the Steelers offense a short field.
The Steelers offensive line has been decimated all season. The fact that the Packers are the healthy team going into this Super Bowl is an indicator of how badly hurt the Steelers are. So how do the Steelers score enough points to win? Ben Roethlisberger. As good as Aaron Rodgers is out of the pocket, Big Ben is the Picasso of turning a broken play into a big play.
Another reason the Steelers will win: The Packers always let other teams hang around. With the exception of the Atlanta playoff game the Packers let the Bears hang around two weeks ago and in week 17. In both cases they had to rely on late game interceptions to seal the deal. Same goes for their game against Philly. They let Philly hang around and had to be saved by a game saving INT. If the Packers let the Steelers hang around there will be no saving them. The Steelers love close games and have the experience to win them.
I feel that the real key to the Steelers success will be four fold. Cause at least two turnovers, will the penalty battle, use Heath Miller on first and third downs and lastly, have Rashad Mendenhall gain at least 80 yards on the ground. If the Steelers can run on the Packers it will force the Packers to play more conservatively on defense and that will allow the Pittsburgh offensive line to give their QB time to find his receivers.

Final Prediction:
If they can avoid crumbling under the spotlight of the super Bowl, the Packers are just too young, too quick, and too athletic to be stopped; especially on turf. There is only one way the Packers lose this game: they commit multiple turnovers and commit dumb penalties. Although part of me really believes that Pittsburgh can really win this game (especially if they establish a decent run game). But I think the probability of that happening with a weekend offensive line is slim. So I say Packers 28 - Steelers 17.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Racism On The Family Feud...

I don't get to watch daytime TV very often. So during my winter vacation when I saw the Family Feud I was surprised to see that Steve Harvey now hosts that show! I started watching the show midway through and saw that an African-American family was playing a latino family. The question they asked them to answer, I shit you not, was: "how do you get a bill collector off your back?"

My head almost fucking exploded!

By the way, what the hell was with the phrasing of the question!? The question wasn't, "how do people avoid bill collectors" it was, "how do YOU get bill collectors OFF YOUR BACK!"

Just the fact that a black and a latino family were on TV and being asked how to avoid a bill collector was funny/shocking. I had to watch how this played out.
Here were some of the answers that were given:

don't answer the phone,
screen your calls
have someone else answer,
change your number,
tell them your not working
disconnect your phone
move and,
tell them the person is dead!

Unbelievable. Who thinks to tell a bill collector that the person is dead? Who moves? how can you afford to up and move but not afford to pay a bill.

Well, if the unintentional racism couldn't get any worse/funnier there was one answer left on the board and neither family could correctly guess it. The answer was: "Pay the bill".

Of course, the people of color wouldn't ever guess to actually pay the bill...Jesus Christ! I couldn't believe what I had just seen. Maybe I need to buy a Tivo and record some more daytime TV.