I Take My Coffee Black...

I started this blog in hopes that people wanted to understand how I think and what I think about. I wanted this blog to reflect my personalities, my values, and my life and so far I think it has. I've relized though that in order for those people who do want to know who I am to get to know me, they need to know other things about me as well. Other things such as how I take my coffee, what my favorite color is, what kind of music I'm listening to right now, and other little quirks about me. So today I'm going to take the time to let people know more about me.

1. Obviously I take my coffee black

2. I play guitar (Creating Self on Myspace)

3. I'm the oldest of my brothers

4. I like sunsets more than sunrises

5. Greece is the most beautiful place I have visited so far

6. Steak medium rare is the only way you should have it prepared

7. I paint when I have time

8. My favorite color is white (I know technically it isn't a color but what ever)

9. I'm 5'8" with brown hair and brown eyes

10. I have a love for art

Ok so I know this sounds like a crude online dating format but really I just thought that you, my readers, needed to know more than just my thoughts. So I'm sorry if you were hoping for a deep reflection on my life, advetising, or design. Next post will be much more like my previous posts.

White Gloves are a Nessecity

As I'm grearing up for graduation, I am recieving countless pointers as to how I should prepare myself fo the coming real world. Some are telling me to take the summer off because this is going to be your last summer vacation, others say that you'll be in disastorous debt and you should try and squirm your way out. I think the most crucial information that I have come upon is the advice to make sure that I have a clean digital image. No .. I don't mean a nicely resolved picture for my resume.

What I mean is that I should be aware of what I have on the internet. More and more employers are starting to use the internet as a reference on young applicants. It gives them a way to see the social person that they are comtmplating. Most likely you are going to be more yourself amungst your friends and what better way to see how you interact with people than to check out Facebook or Myspace.

But is this really ethical. Where do we draw the lines on our private life and our work life. Does what a person do with his or her friends on the weekend really reflect their work ethic and deteication to the job. I'm not sure. I haven't been in the position to where I have felt the two crossing paths. I'll admit that I am young and there is much out there for me to experience and I'm sure somewhere along the way I will have to deal with this question.

In a world fastly becoming digital, we need to be more globaly concious of our actions and the possible publication of pictures, quotes, actions, who knows. It is almost like we should wear white gloves to make sure our image is squeaky clean.

Your Reflection is Never Black and White

Here is something I bet not very many people have taken the time to really notice. You will never see your reflection in black and white. Take some time to really let that sink in... Kinda strange to think about that but that is how my mind has been working lately. I've been taking the most common occurences and trying to scew them, re-invent them, and view them from a completely different perspective in hopes that it will cause me to think in a few different ways.

First, I've noticed that just like everything else, you need to practice your creativity in order to get better at it. What better way to stir up the creative juices than to take the most mondain event and cause it to be something exciting. It's like areobics but for the mind.

Secondly, the world has become less dull. I'm starting to realize that my little slice of the world has so many intertwining elements that go unnoticed unless you make the effort to notice them. Take the title of this little blog; I sat and really thought about the different ways I've seen my reflection for at least forty five minutes. To be entertained by that little curious thought shows me that there are countless bits of entertainment lurking around every corner, I just need to be actively seeking it.

Lastly, I've been reminded of how much I have lived and how much I have left to live. I'm starting to really become aware of who I am and what I am surronding myself with. Your surrondings make you, create you, and define you. So take time out of your day today and look around. Find the charm in the life you live in. I garuantee you that just like your reflection, it is sitting right under your nose.

A Black Day ... for all apparently ??

Yesturday Anna Nichole Smith died. Yes death is tragic. Especially when it happens to a young woman such as her. But is it nation wide news worthy and should it be deliberated on for two whole days?

I think the media is going way overboard with this story. She was a public figure who was having trouble with legal issues but comparing her to Princess Diana (which i heard on CNN yesturday) is just too much for me. It seems to me that everyone is making her out to be some great American figure.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me remind you of who Anna Nichole Smith was. She was a stripper, an obese televsion personality with a horrible show, and plastic pinup. Do we as a nation really need to be caught up in all of the issues that surrond her and then also raise her to a platform of excellence. I don't think we do. I think that we should re-examine the comments that are being made and make them more true to life and not some false coverup to fill the newspapers and draw readers.

A Black Heart

In honor of the greatest marketing achievement in all of communications history, I would like to take time and congratulate Hallmark on successfully creating a timeless occasion where they can almost guarantee a jump in sales. Yes, I am talking about the much covenanted, respected, and hated holiday of Valentines Day.

While i was growing up i would always here my parents refer to Valentines Day as a Hallmark Holiday and yet my father would go out and buy a card and some sort of gift for my mother. It was almost expected. Even if you are only casually dating someone, Valentines day is a day where you are expected to exchange gifts and spend money you don't have on your significant other.

If you don't have some one special in your life, you wind up hating the day because you are reminded (on an almost hourly basis) that you are either lonely or socially inept (i mean this in the nicest way).

But still, I think congratulations is in order for who ever was brilliant enough to think up a day where people would show their significant other how much they loved them with a folded piece of paper that has a cute, quirky, or loving saying on it. Nothing says I love you like a $4.00 piece of paper with a a lame excuse for a pick up line and your signature on it. It makes me all tingly with excitement(sarcasm).

Don't think me bitter. Valentines day is a great idea and is a perfect time to show someone how much you care but i can't understand how a folded card got put into the mix. To me, it says - look how much i care, i drove to the nearest Walgreen's and spent 5 minutes trying to find the perfect card for you. Aren't you impressed.

Maybe I have a black heart. Or maybe I expect too much from myself and the rest of the male population (because lets face it, it is mostly the men who are scrambling to find some kind of Valentines day gift and a Hallmark card is the easiest option). To me, the expressing of your feelings to the ones that you care the most about shouldn't be some sort of mass produced, cheap cop out but instead it should be creative and deliberate. Your present should show them that they are important to you and that you spend hours think about them.

I don't think that i am the only one with a Blackened Valentines day heart and for Hallmark to realize, convert, and capitalize off of people like us, they deserve a round of applause. So cheers to you Hallmark for helping our nation cheapen our love for others to the point it is worth $5.00+tax.

Staying in the Black

Recently I was watching the television and it occured to me during one of the comercials that I was witnessing a new era of Advertising. It was something so suble that had I not just been talking about advertising with a couple friends, it would have most likely remained aware to me only in my subconcious.

I'm not sure how to refer to is so I'm going to give it the name of "2X Advertising." It is still the traditional advertising but with a little twist. An Ad within an Ad.

It happened while i was watching TBS and an ad came on for the television show Monk. Nothing out of the ordinary took place in this commercial but i noticed the purposeful positioning of Windex throughout the 30 sec span. It seemed like TBS or whom ever was responsible for the making of the commercial went out and got Windex to pay for product placement with in their own ad.

If this is the case, then i think this could really affect the way we approach commericals. With the ever rising price of the Superbowl Commercial slot and television commericals in their own right, smaller businesses need to find a way to make tv commercials more affordable. This could be the answer. Business might not have to break the bank and stay in the black for the quater.

Soon we could be watching a commercial and not have any idea who they are advertising for. Only time will tell.

The Brighter Side of White

It's a common occurence during the winter months up here in Moorhead, MN. The wind is blowing and the snow darts around trying to cover every last remnent of the earth. Still i fear that there might be an end to the blissful dream of waking up to a winter wonderland. I know this subject has been visited more times than a confessional recieves visits from a devoute catholic prostitute but i worry about my winter mornings.

Global Warming is officially a problem. If you haven't seen the movie "An Inconvenient Truth," go rent it, it will be well worth your time. I'll warn you though, if you drive a big SUV and never recycle, get ready to feel horrible. But seeing it snow for the first time in a month really made me think.

Maybe you don't know what winter was like or should be like up in the fridged north. I've created a little snipit of info for you who are unaccustomed to the Moorhead climate.

-It's cold ... real cold ( months after months of below freezing temps.)
-it snows ( a winter sports heaven)
-it's windy (it's always windy here but it just stings more with the cold)
-It's white (every where you look, everything is covered in snow)

These are the elements that make a winter a winter for Moorhead, MN. but recently i've noticed that we are missing some of those elements. It's still cold but not as it used to be. I think we've gone a couple weeks without coming above freezing but that's no where near where it was. The snow comes but maybe once a month and there is no where near the accumulation we are accustomed to (we don't use snow plows up here, we use front end loaders ... you know, the huge construction machinery that mines use to lift tons of rock ... yeah thats how much snow we used to get.) I wish the wind would leave but it hasn't and i don't think it every will.

I'm not saying that i think Moorhead will become a tourist trap because of the warming temperatures and changing weather conditions but i think it is a cause for concern. The future could be a completely different world and not just in my little nook of the world.

I'm not so worried about my future. I know that we'll run out of oil within my lifetime and i'm sure a few other natural disasters will shake things up a bit but who i really worry for is the generations after me. My generation and the generations older than myself have all been blessed with a great period in time to live. We have seen miricles happen in all manners of speaking. The first moon walk, the first personal computer, and the new global backyard are just a few to speak of. But what good will these miricles do for the generations to follow if there is no planet left for them to live?

Snow is truly amazing. Not one flake the same and their existence so fragile but also so peaceful. I think if i were to have to chose my favorite day out of the entire year, it would be the day of the first actual snowfall. You feel refreshed, alive, and everything and everyone around you seems to be ... relaxed.

Life as a Blur...

I never have really sat back and thought of all the things that i have accomplished. Not until today. I was sitting at home over lunch break and it occured to me that i am 22 years old. Now to anyone out there that is evern remotely well passed that age, 22 years does not sound that old. But then add 22 years to your life and think how old you will be. Yeah ... it's old!

So where has all the time gone?

We'll there was my infancy which most of us never remember. But how i wish i could. Think about all the challenges you faced and overcame with limited help. Speech being a big one and granted you didn't master the english language right away but, even learning how to force your first words is a huge accomplishment. Walking follows along with countless other little things that we take for granted once we are old enough to forget.

Adolesence tails infancy and we begin to truly experience the world. We are able to run around, talk to people, we are a sponge absorbing all the worlds knowledge. i wish i could back to that time where i had complete faith in the world and trusted everyone. Ignorance is bliss ... what i would give for that again. But really??

The more you learn as you grow, the great life becomes. All of lifes little idocincracies make it worth the ride. Now i'm am old in a way. i have brothers who look up to me, i am entering the real world, and i am bound to face lifes most difficult questions. Questions like: where do i live, is she the right one, is this the right job for me, how do i say goodbye? But i'm not scared. I look back at my life, blured by the speed that it has taken, and see the brief seconds of security and the moments of triumph and i know that this is going to be one hell of a ride!

Nothing Should be left Blank

In honor of my new blog, i thought it appropriate to discuss the void that is present today. I know what everyone is thinking, "What void?" isn't there an overwhelming presence of information and communication in our newly technological world? To those people, i can only offer you a simple "yes." Still i feel obligated to bring to the front the quality of the substance we feel so overwhelmed by.

I've heard it over and over again, it is not the quantity but the quality that is important, and i can't help but want to apply that notion to my everyday surroundings. To that idea i ask the question, why are we the way we are? The world has become saturated with advertisements, jingles, slogans, interfaces, mobile communications, promotions, pop-ups, and everything else under the sun. So how are we as a growing community (not just local but global) going to sift out the good from the bad?

The World Is No Longer White and Black, But EVERY SHADE OF GREY!

The question can not be: is this advertisement good or bad, is it worth listening to or drowning out, or should I ignore it or dive in? There is just too much of out there. We have to be a more conscious and intelligent community of consumers and providers. We need to answer the calling from both the corporate community and the community only we can answer to, ourselves. The responsibility that I place on you (and feel i don't have the right to charge everyone with this responsibility but I'm going to anyway) is to become the informed consumer that everyone in the advertising community hopes you are. Surprise yourselves and us ... we know you have it in you.

On a more personal note, this is my first blog entry ever. So there could easily be somethings that i could improve on but i plan on commenting on the countless thoughts that float through my mind on a daily basis. So if for some reason this entry didn't resonate with you, check back soon because I'm sure I'll have something that will either make you hate me, love me or find that middle ground (that space between black and white that I live my life) that I have so affectionately dubbed the SHADES OF GREY.