one last post!

Over Thanksgiving I was playing Malarky with my brother and others over for the holiday. I had never played it before, it was a very interesting game. The concept is that a question is asked to all the players, such as, "Why is there both dark and light meat in only turkeys and chickens, but not in other fowl?" Then cards are past out and one player has the real answer, while everyone else has to make up whatever they can think of. After all explinations are given, all the players vote for who was right.

I was personally very impressed with how creative the answers were. People drew from all knooks and crannies in their brians to pull out any related fact to reinforce their proposed reason.

I only voted for the real answer about 70% of the time, which is an attest to how creative the answers were.

What's the drive?

I'll try as much as I can to avoid the dear diary aspects of this entry, and focus on the psychological aspects instead. But I'm trying to work through and find the reasoning, or motivation or logic behind my pursuit of dating the same person after 4 attempts and failures. It seems we simply do not have the ability to effectively communicate. But after taking a step back, I'm seeing that it hardly about the person anymore, and now just about the game. It has become a challenge. And, the biggest part is that it is a challenge that all odds point to my success. Yet, time and time again there is little progress, and eventually only failure. It turns out that after nearly a year, we still know very little about each other. At this point I am trying to answer why, why come back to square one again? Unfortunately I believe my drive for ultimate success has overhauled my actual attraction to this relationship. Now it's like an experiment. I hypothesize why the last test did not work, and change the approach and test again. It is mostly the problem solving. At this point, I just simply need to find out why can we not put together this puzzle to solve the problem? Ultimately, I see a 5th attempt in the future, because still, questions must be answered!

celebration of lights

Celebration of lights was a very wonderful start to the Holiday Season ahead. As I was headed to Hughes Trigg for cookies and hot chocolate afterwards, I passed a large group of students yelling excitedly for Kwanzaa. And it brought to my attention how Christmas oriented the Celebration was. I am in a debate with my self going over why and why not Celebration of Lights should encompass more than just Christmas. Obviously we are founded with Methodist beliefs, thats a big one for. But we are so big on attempting to be diverse and all, why not acknowledge other celebrations? If Celebration of lights were to encompass other Holidays, I feel like I wouldn't mind, but I would question why. Why include it in this Celebration for Christmas? They have every right to celebrate any Holiday they wish and arrange it together.

A few years ago I got into a debate about the greeting, "Happy Holidays." Why can't I say, "Merry Christmas", my father asked. It quite surprisingly turned into quite the heated debate about this being AMERICA and CHRISTIAN! And I have the feeling that most Christian students that attend here have the same notion regarding SMU and Christmas.

A loss

A year ago today I lost my friend Jake Stiles. It is truly hard to believe it has been a whole year. A small gathering of his close friends was held earlier today at the flag pole. It was wonderful to see so many people attend. We brought flowers and laid them down next to his picture. I wrote a letter to Jake and left it under the flowers. It is hard to comprehend still that Jake is no longer here. Last year I spoke at his service. It was very hard because I was not very familiar with Jake's friends, and from speaking I sat next to President Turner and his SAE brothers. It was hard to allow myself to grieve fully in that situation. But in the last year I have met so many great people who also share in the loss of Jake. It's wonderful how you can meet people like that just out of the blue. Its amazing how far a person's reach spreads.
The most memorable quote I took away about Jake that people shared was, "He never met a stranger." What a wonderful thing, and how fitting. That is something to aspire to be said about all of us.

Ogilvy

My sister works at Ogilvy in Chicago. She just sent me some very neat things. Including, the book "Ogilvy on Advertising", and "The Creative Companion." Ogilvy's book seems to be his personal bible to successful Advertising, and the Companion is written by David Fowler. Each page gives at most 2 paragraphs of a guide or insight into creating advertising. I am terribly excited to read these.

almost there

This Slam Poet has a lot to offer.
"There’s a hundred ways to do it right
And none to do it wrong
Cuz you’re starting out with what’s already been given up upon.
You can’t DO ANY WORSE."

This is one of my favorite poems. It has so many metaphors so well polished. It takes some time to really study it. Just take a look and a listen and see what you pull out of it. I read that its about giving children tomorrow and aiding their hope.

2 Girls One Cup.... WTF

Well, there is a giant uproar about this clip "2 Girls, One Cup." I was nearly forced to watch it, then thankfully I was able to leave the room. Still, I didn't know what it was all about. Then my sister sent me this link of a Grandmother watching the video. I went to you tube, debating whether this is something I could bare to see. And when I searched for 2 Girls One Cup, there were pages and pages of video submissions of people who video recorded their own reactions when they first saw it. Before I actually committed myself to any horrible sights, I thought of the helpful tool Urbandictionary.com. So I looked it up there, and after I found out what the video was about, I couldn't believe it. And people watch this?!!? Really now, what the hell? It's really awful how far people have to go to create an uproar on the internet community any more. I might sound like a grandmother in saying this, but I remember when the Mia Hee video with an over weight teenage guy dancing to a song in a different language was all we talked about. But now we have this subject matter?! It's just really repulsive.

Ludacrismas

ludacrismas
Well, Ludacris has out done himself. He has finally released a Christmas song. But really, did you expect anything else? I mean, how could the man resist a song in which he can have the lyrics "Ho, Ho, Ho" mean more than one thing!? That opportunity simply does not come along everyday. It is really quite comical, and unfortunately, also very catchy.
And speaking of Ho, Ho, Ho. There has been a recent movement in Australia to encourage Santas not to say "ho, ho, ho" but rather, "ha, ha, ha." I think this has gone way over the line. It has nothing to do with a degrading term for a woman, its Santa's catch phrase if you will. Ha, ha, ha? Now kids are just going to think that Santa is high on marijuana and has the giggles, and all the cookies they put out are for his munchies. Okay, so maybe not really. But how far do we need to take political correctness?

The lonely glove

I came along a glove laying lonely on the boulevard, and this is what I believe came about that glove.

Quidditch!

article link
The Muggles have finally come around to start up Quidditch! A college in Vermont, avid Harry Potter enthusiasts, drafted a gravity-friendly version of the well known wizard sport. I think its historical how Harry Potter has effected people literally all across the globe in so many facets.

god bless america

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21973378/?GT1=10547
That is a link to an article about a woman who was arrested in Sudan for allowing her kindergarten class to name a teddy bear Mohammad. What a blessing it is to live in America. She has been charged with blasphemy for insulting Islam's Prophet. She is being held in jail while there is more investigation.
With all my posts about legality of prostitution, and girls being pregnant at 15, and political dealings, the scale between our country's issues and right to speak on them are greatly separated. So yes, God bless America, who ever your god might be.

power naps

Did you know that drinking coffee before you take a nap is a very effective way to power nap? It takes about 20-30 mins for the coffee to kick in, just long enough to finish that power nap. Then you wake up rested and with a new kick of energy! I don't think I would have thought of that if I hadn't read it. It seems counter productive at first. It also insures that I won't over nap because my body wants to get up and use that caffeine.
Insight of the day!

craigslist

A tragic event has just happened. A woman was just murdered after responding and communicating about a job listing on Craigslist. She went to interview and the man brutally murdered her. That is a scary wake up and continual reminder about internet safety. Craiglist is a tool I use very frequently to find items I need. For my apartment this year I acquired my dining room table, my desk, my dresser and a coat rack from craigslist. And on top of the things I actually purchased, I inquired about countless items. I don't find that craigslist holds any responsibility for this event. They post warnings about online transactions and communication all over their site. It is sad that this happened. I wouldn't normally think it necessary to bring a person along with me when meeting for a job interview. Of course when picking up items from strangers you would always want to bring someone with you, it seems a given. But with a perspective future employer, you would not presume you would need someone to watch out for you. It is just tragic.

Another topic about craigslist: You can find whatever you are looking for... be it a free pile of bricks, a house to rent, a garage sale to browse, and apparently even find people for sexual encounters. Now this I was not expecting in the personals of Craigslist. They have listings for every combination of men and women seeking each other. Curious to see what people write on these postings, one day I clicked on a personal ad for men seeking women. Somehow I missed the indication on that post link that indicated it included a picture. OH MY WORD. I was not expecting that, there was a picture of a man's "region" largely displayed on the page. Who knew that craigslist is a forum for these kind of connections. I am personally a little disturbed, but I see now that they also have a section strictly for platonic connections. I did not risk browsing any further, but I presume that those postings are more censored. So be careful next time on craigslist, you never know what might be posted.

clever

9/11 beliefs

It's funny how family and politics seem to run together, at least in my experiences. The most heated political discussions seem to always be between families. After Thanksgiving dinner, the 9-11 attack was brought up after a discussion of presidential candidates. It was very interesting to hear what all different age groups and people of different professions had heard and believed about the attacks. Some thought that the Twin Towers were really bombed, that the plane was not the cause of their fall. Another theory was that the gasoline from the plane leaked into the insulation and when that started on fire it became so hot that the steel framing of the building melted away. And even after all this time, there does not seem to be real concrete knowledge on all the events that day. I learned once one of the hijackers was pulled over for speeding the day of, on his way to the airport. And as a man on the most wanted list, he was let go with a warning. Of course everyone's facts have simply become hear-say. But again I am astonished at expanse of the theories behind the attacks.

15 and about to give birth

I just spent my Thanksgiving break out in Lubbock with my brother. His girlfriend's family joined us, including her niece. Her niece was 2 days away from labor, and oh my word pregnant.

I was in complete awe over everything surrounding her pregnancy. I was impressed at her strength to carry the child to term and then put it up for adoption. My god, if I were pregnant at 15 I wouldn't know what to do. I barely knew much about myself, let alone know enough about the world to raise a child. And the strain it puts on her body! At 15 a woman's body is still developing, and to create a child at the same time, my word. Even if I were to be in a strong long term relationship at this point of my life, being 20 years old, I don't know what I would do if I became pregnant. There is no possible way I could raise and care for a child. And everyone has opinions on abortion, but to be in that situation in real life, I'm sure its a new realm. And it would be so tragic to hand over your child to someone else. The whole thing just screamed "use every kind of protection" as if it were a flashing billboards surrounded by clowns on stilts yelling the same message through a microphone.

In a related topic, there was such an uproar when Texas made the new HPV vaccine, Gardasil required for all young women starting at the age 15 (I believe that was the age). Families were offended viewed it was an encouragement for their daughters to be sexually active. I suppose they were teaching abstinence due to fear to their daughters as well.... very healthy and effective. But what could it harm? And the vaccine will be just as effective protecting against cancerous forms of HPV when the person is 30 as it is when its completed at 15. And at the very least, the shot is the first approved anything that prevents cancer! What an advancement for science, and for our health!

A few more Photos

Here are a few more photos I've taken. Last year instead of going home for Thanksgiving, I went to my Grandfather's Best Friend's Brother's Ranch in East Texas. It was truly a new experience. The farm was expansive and was home to a few race horses. I spent a lot of time on my own wandering the property, just exploring. That's one thing I rarely get to do... just set out for a few hours and see what happens, as well as have time alone to just take things in and think. It was an even better experience since my surroundings were so lovely.

A new horse was let into a pasture with 3 horses that had already been there. Immediately they began to run. But they weren't running away, they were running to each show their power and find who was to be the new dominator. They continued to run past each other for a bit, and then finally ran together in a line. I suppose that's a bit like what may happen when we meet someone new. At first you need to appear as strong and impressive as possible until you run together. Anyway, enjoy the photos.

The Red PenIs Your Friend

In high school I was introduced to slam poetry, and was honored to meet Taylor Mali.

This man is truly a genius and an inspiration. I strongly erge you to look up his performances. It is so entertaining, yet smart. He always makes a very strong message in each of his works. In "What Teachers Make" he slams those who put down others for choosing to be teachers. In "Like Lilly like Wilson" he talks about a student changing their mind after researching about homosexuals adopting children. And in "Totally Like Whatever" he makes points to the terrible speech patterns we are falling into. Here is the first stanza:

"In case you hadn't noticed,
it has somehow become uncool
to sound like you know what you're talking about?
Or believe strongly in what you're saying?
Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)'s
have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences?
Even when those sentences aren't, like, questions? You know?"

I was able to perform in a Slam Poetry Night my senior year. It was a one of a kind experience. And Taylor put me in touch with the poet I performed, who then sent me a disc of all his work.

I try to write a bit myself. There is not anything yet I'd particularly like to share. Always works in progress. But I continually promote Taylor Mali to my friends to stimulate interest into something so intelligent, smart and still entertaining.

non traditional advertising

Funny that I ran across this after my post about erotica and prostitution. This ad for Studio Relax Erotik Massage advertises with napkins that create an illusion of a hand in the fly. It is really quite clever.

prostitution

I'm not really sure what prompted my thoughts on this, but I was having a self debate about how the government can justify ruling that prostitution is illegal. Of course I am not promoting it, but I don't promote watching Flavor of Love with Flava Flav either. It is your choice to chose what and how to live your life as long as it does not directly interfere with the safety and wellbeing of others, as well as their right to chose. Prostitution, sex for money, pleasure for money. Why should that be illegal? We pay comedians to make us laugh. We pay for massages. We pay for therapy. We pay for cotton candy. Why should it be illegal to make money off of offering sex? Of course I understand the moral reasons behind making prostitution illegal, as well as how it is generally unsafe for the participants. But, adult people can make adult choices. If we pay to watch sex via video, or for nudity at strip clubs and for lap dances... how much different is prostitution really?

Ad Week Best Ad Sept 07

I think this is a very genuine and heart felt commercial. Even though many people who see it might not play football, they can relate to his story. I like that we aren't sitting there watching 'The Great Reggie' talk about his troubles and triumphs.
It is also different that Adidas chose Reggie Bush, a football player to be a spokes person. Reebok always sponsors NFL and is pretty much the official maker of everything having to do with football and the NFL. We normally associate Adidas primarily with soccer. Again, this is a good change to see.

cabaret

As in Cabaret, "money makes the world go round," but coincidently it can make it stop too. I’m surely not from a very well off family, especially by SMU standards. But we have done all right for ourselves and I’ve still been afforded great privileges, including a private high school education. I have to be very conscious about money all the time. It’s pretty much always on my mind. I think often about people’s personal spending. I wonder if people think about how they could help aid others by spending less on personal luxuries and contributing more to charity and different donations. Many students at SMU are very comfortable financially to spend a few hundred dollars on a purse to carry their books in, or sunglasses, or even just on rainboots. Of course I can understand that its nice to have nice things (credit the movie Blow), but I feel like if we all could just do without one of these luxuries and contribute to the Red Cross to aid those who can’t afford or don’t have access to healthy food and water, or even to a fund for abused children if you think those people should fend for themselves, whatever your politics, there is someone you can find to help.
And we all avoid the tables like the plague outside Hughes Trigg that are raising money for various causes. But what are you going to really miss out on by donating a dollar? A dollar truly is so minute in your scale (I presume), but can be such a large contribution in the long run towards a project, perhaps for Darfur. So much needs to be done across the globe and within our own country. I was personally very impressed with McKenzie’s hard work in pulling together such a large and effective fundraiser for Darfur. Truly impressive what one person can do.

colbert as pres

With a comedian running as president, what's next? And is he serious? Most think its just another comedic act. But, I think that he's really in it to expose the truth, or more so, the lies behind the candidates and their positioning. With no real intent to be elected, but with his strong backing and fan base, he may be extremely effective in bringing a whole new exposure to an election. He also would be a big pull for younger citizens to get involved with politics and educate themselves enough to vote. But, at the same time, if he takes votes away from honest (oh the irony) candidates, it could cause trouble. At the very least, it’s great exposure for Colbert. Some might take offense to his running, as an insult to the political system. I don’t really think it is something that one should get worked up about. He couldn’t do too much harm beyond bringing humor, pop culture and a little exposure of truth. He gets my laugh.

Plum Punner

It is a little amazing how advertising influences our culture and vice verca. We can talk about a commercial and imitate characters and actions very frequently. Most often it is younger audiences that adopt what they see. I even find myself imitating what one would think of as common commercial dialog when talking and making jokes. Today I made a long commercial-like speech about the "Plum Punner". Any thing you can think of, she can make it into a pun... about plums. Infact, I would give her two plumbs up! haha. It resembled the copy write of the beer commercials where they salute heroes.


For AT&T's run of commercials of what happens when a call is dropped, it would be funny if a son was calling home from the jail for his one phone call asking to be picked up, and the call is dropped after he asks his mom to come get him. So, he ends up thinking she is just going to leave him there and she doesn't know what happened to him.

thought of the day & Cheese

muffin and cupcake tin are the same thing. i suggest we call them muffin cakes. - thought of the day

But on a different note, I was recently introduced to the fact that there is a new drug spreading quite rapidly through middle school and high school aged kids called Cheese. It apparently is a mix of heroin and over the counter drugs like Tylenol, ground up to be snorted. There have been handfuls of youth overdosing on this and dieing. It seems to be mostly concentrated in the Dallas area for now, but I've been reading that the police are concerned it will spread throughout the nation quickly if it is not controlled right away here. The most startling thing I read was that police found usage in kids as young as 10 years old. TEN YEARS OLD AND DOING HEROIN! I feel like they don't have any idea what heroin is at 10 years old. Not to an educated extent to be aware of how serious and dangerous it is. 10 years old, that puts them in about 4th grade. I still thought boys had cooties then. I am just vastly disturbed. I imagine they have noo idea what they are doing to themselves and the danger they are putting themselves in. How does this happen? And now that it has, how can it be stopped? I'm afraid it is going to be near impossible.

Print Advertisement

Assignment: Upload a print ad to your blog and identify at least one signifier & explain it's signified meaning using Pierce's semiotic categories of meaning.

This ad is meant to have you compare the audi to the camel, even though nothing about the camel is stated, its clearly the focal point. The comparison is the distance an audi can go on a full tank of gas and how far a camel can go on one "tank" of water. The camel is a symbolic sign.

Unsettling Spoof

So speaking of not wanting your advertisements to become available to the public for their own editing use. I came across this Bryer's spoof. A bit disturbing and a good example of why it is important to be precautious about how accessible your brand images/ads can become.

As you can see this pushes a lot of buttons by what it suggests.

B Happy?

Throughout Dallas on the sides of the Freeways are Billboards that I cannot place what they are marketing. The billboards are solid Black with a White (or maybe yellow) block font that reads "B Happy" and there was also another that encouraged you to "B" something. Every time I see them I try to find an indication of what it represents, but we are driving past and still I do not understand. I've seen at least 3. I don't understand why a series of billboards would be purchased when the source does not come across. If you know what they are for, PLEASE help me out here.
This reminds me of very first reveal of cingular. As I recall, for a month or so at least, Cingular ran ads that never revealed it was a cell phone company. It would run a happy spot, then show the orange icon guy and maybe even say "raising the bar," but it wasn't until the Superbowl that they had a big reveal to show what cingular was actually a cell phone service provider.
Anyway, back to the billboards... let me know if you seen them or know anything about them!

Time is not your friend, or mine

I cannot find this commercial on the internet because it was a small spot ran just for a specific Chicago area... but man oh man did I hate it. It had the premise of Psycho... a woman showering and someone coming into the bathroom with creepy noises. Except, it was a grandfather clock they would shoot coming closer and closer to the bathroom and then finally once in the bathroom, it flushed the toilet. The woman screamed and words flashed "Time Is Not Your Friend". I don't even recall what the ad was for (not good), but it was for some sort of sale that they were marketing you were running out of time to get to. I'm not sure what I disliked about it so much. It wasn't until the second run that I could understand the clock flushed the toilet, causing hot water to skald you in the shower, therefore it is not your friend. I mean, the idea itself isn't fantastic, but it could have been developed much better than it was. When ever I think of the commercial I can't help but to slightly cringe.

Vegetarians are getting Provocative

This ad for PETA was designed by one of India's biggest advertising agencies. It is supposed to remind us that humans and chickens share the capacity for pain. I like how the leg can slightly resemble a chicken wing.


This commercial for vegetarianism was banned in Houston, TX for its content. It was banned to avoid upsetting viewers. It was chosen to first air in Texas because Texas is repeatedly ranked as one of the least healthy states. Could their also be reason for Houston banning the ad because of their beef industry and cattle raising?
It's Tejas, and it's beef... what's for dinner.

just bought a cadillac

When I walk home past the soccer intramural field, I always pass a row of rather upscale cars parked in-front/near the fraternity houses. The other day there was both a Cadillac Escalade and another fancy 4 door Cadillac. I couldn't help but to think about how when I was younger, a joke was always made about how old people (little old ladies) drive around in their big o' cadillac. Now, Cadillac is an image of a more youthful high class. People 20-50 years old are eager to drive a Cadillac. Rappers are even proud to sport and flaunt this vehicle... even rap about them "just bought a cadillac." They have really been able to reinvent their market. I think by doing so they have increased their sales potential immensely. Their iconic nature has total been reformed. I'm very impressed they've been able to do this.

Screened Tees and Eating Babies

I really like this. It's a design for a child's screen print tee. I'm not entirely sure why. It makes me laugh, and it has a certain sadness to it at the same time. The monster is all alone and its snowing, not to mention he's wanted!
Screen tee's have become really popular. In most cases they make people walking billboards.
My old manager in chicago runs a website for offensive t-shirts that he finds so hilarious. I still can't get myself to laugh or understand this one...

One of his other favorites is...

Regardless of what message is displayed, screen tees give a lot of exposure to whatever it sports.
What would you do if you saw someone in a t-shirt that said "I eat babies"?
I saw a man at O'hare airport once, and his tshirt had a superman symbol that had been made to resemble a wheelchair handicapped symbol. My friend I was with got really offended by it.
This kind of extreme slightly twisted humor should probably be avoided in campaigns... never a good idea to offend your audience. But the people wearing the t's are just trying to spread their opinion and/or humor. And what the heck, we have that whole freedom of speech bit right?

Creativity in Cooking

Living in a townhouse this year, without a campus meal plan, I have begun to cook many of my meals. However, I have a very interesting selection of items in my fridge, freezer and cupboard. From this I've found I have to be very creative to make a good meal, even more creativity to make it appetizing.
I am impressed with chefs who can creative an unconventional dish. I once had a pasta dish containing only long macaroni noodles, olive oil, feta cheese and cinnamon. The combination was revolutionary. And I am a little proud of myself for choosing it as my entree.
I also looooove to watch the food channel's network challenges for extreme cakes, as well as Ace Of Cakes. I cannot believe the concepts they come up with. It is really hard to believe that its a cake at all. Take a look at this one, it won a wedding cake competition and $10,000. My favorite is when they have to represent disney characters. AMAZING

Watch your dogs! I'll watch ur dogs here!

So tailgating (or excuse me, boulevard-ing) today before the UTEP game, I was overwhelmed with the amount of people who brought dogs. What do they do with them before the game? With parking being such a huge issue I doubt they drove them home quickly. And I saw most dogs out and about up until people were heading over to the stadium. Do people only tailgate then so they can bring their dog home? I guess its not that big of a deal to only tailgate, that's what I did today.
I think it would be a profitable and helpful business to start a doggie daycare at the football games. Like how Ikea has childcare right at the entrance. Except u would pay maybe $20 to leave your dog. Why not?
We yell out like ball park hotdog men, "Watch your dogs! I'll watch ur dogs here!"

Calendars and Calculators

I've always been annoyed with our country's calendar. Why does the week start on a Sunday when it is considered part of the weekend? In Spanish countries, they have got this all straightened out and start the week on Monday.
Also, why do calendars and Calculators reverse the rows of their numbers? On calculators the number one starts in the bottom left corner. But on phones it is in the upper left. I don't understand a reason for this.
Any help?

Drive through and get your Dragon Bag

So sitting late night in the Creative Studio, I have become very hungry. And I've finally determined my craving to be chinese food. And it occurs to me... why is there not yet a drive through late night Chinese Food business? The closest we've come is Panda Express with making it a quick chinese meal... but I've never heard of a chinese drive through. And why not? We can get hamburgers, mexican, italian, pizza, coffee, fried chicken, alcohol, icecream and more through drive throughs... why not yet chinese!!? It could not be much more difficult, especially with how Panda Express has been able to make it such a quick yet very delicious process.

I think I'll go into business. Would you like to be my partner or investor? Someday soon we can be on The Big Idea being glorified for our entrepreneurship. think about it....

Intertextual Title

I hope that some find my blog title to be intertextual. I named it after the movie Batteries Not Included. Did your cranium make that vertical intertextual process?




Of course the general phrase of, "batteries not included" applies as well. I just felt the urge to clarify that I'm not being left out, so don't feel sorry for me! The idea is that although this blog is an idea blog where my thoughts go SPLAT on the web-page like a bug to a windshield on the highway, I myself do not come with the insights described. I ended up sloganizing my own blog title.

I remember watching Batteries Not Included when I was very young. Only scenes come to mind now. But I very vividly remember a man trying desperately to tile a floor, and something/someone always messed up his work. I think of this scenario whenever I've almost finished with a project and something trips me up.

Dot Draw

When I was around the age of a kindergardener, my favorite pass time is what I liked to call dot-drawing. I would take a piece of paper, close my eyes, and stab dots wherever my pencil would land. Then I would connect the dots (eyes open of course) and form from that shape whatever I could. I remember one in particular was a large man reaching up and over to scratch the upper part of his back. It think thats pretty clever. I don't think today I would come up with that concept, and run with it none the less. Of course there were also birds and witches and all the sort. But it was so neat to develop a random blob shape and see what could emerge from it.
This reminds me of the amount of unsuppressed creativity children have as we talked about in class.

intertextual tv ad

Assignment: Upload/ Embed a TV ad to your blog and discuss the intertextual connections that it presents for you. Identify vertical/horizontal/tertiary texts as applicable.
I searched long and far for this spot!
I found horizontal intertextuality because it reminds me of the movie Transformers how the cars transform into a large robot. It also reminds me of the Beastie Boy's Music Video from the robot dancing in the city. The robot seemed to be doing an exact replica of the way John Travolta danced in Saturday Night Fever.

Where have all the pillows come from?

So here's an idea about how/why the pillows appeared in the lecture hall for our Intro Ad Creativity class.

4 people were misbehaving. one at each corner of the lecture rows. Team at the top is Team Argon dressed in ripped tied die and cowboy boots, Team Billy Goat Gruffs at the Bottom. Goal: To smother the person above/below you with green slime shot from a giant super soaker. It turns out team Billy Goat Gruffs won (good old gravity), but they both left a huge mess! The chairs at the end of each row were permanently smothered in green glob (much like that of slime from the old Nickelodeon TV shows). To hide the remains of their battle, they went to the local thrift store and took up every last pillow then returned to the scene of the crime where they swiftly affixed them with Mary's pointe shoe sewing kit. They plan to return one year later and sew on a few buttons to commemorate the anniversary.

Sisters from the same mister! (and misses too)

My sister is a very important person in my life. She is only 3 years my elder and we have gone through the same path growing up. On that path, we have each tripped at different places and the sunshine came through the tree tops at completely different points, but we made the journey one after the other. We grew up sharing a room and during those early years we rarely got along. Then her senior year in high school, I joined her at Culver (our boarding prep school) and we finally clicked. Its interesting for me to see where we have lead ourselves. She just graduated from Columbia College majoring in photography. Here is some of my favorite work of hers.







She graduated this summer then picked up an internship at Ogilvy.. She has since been hired as a Junior Engineer Flash Developer. Her description of her work place sounds fantastic. It has the modern attributes of a more conducive work environment that we've talked about in my Ad class (not to mention a never ending supply of Ben & Jerry's in their cafeteria). Her boyfriend works for a small company right now, but is applying at Leo Burnett Chicago (how cool huh?).

I recently realized how my sister, my mother, and I have all ended up pursuing a career in the same field. My mother's first profession was working with an Ad Agency for many years, where she met my father. My sister now works on web ad banners for Dove and the likes. Her *potential* husband is also in the works of working at a highly regarded firm. And now I am pursing a degree in creative advertising through Method. Maybe one day I'll be working alongside my sister... even shooting her the creative ideas.

heres the whole damn fam. myself, my brother, father, mother, sister's bf, and my sister!

brother, sister, me

Originally I planned focusing on business as my degree. But I have seen learned that I would not be able to personally fulfilled without a creative outlet (as I have posted about before). So here we go!

A Mental Morph

I'm not sure what this is.
It makes me think of how fast your emotions change in response to something, or through a flowing thought. One thing makes you cringe, but then it reminds you of something you are on edge about, and so on. I think of it as a graphic representation of our unexpressed mental emotions, flowing and morphing into the next.

Doodle on Dude

Do you ever doodle in your notes? I love to abstract doodle. Some people claim that doodling helps them concentrate. That is not the case for me however. I get engrossed in my doodles. Every new press of the ink must contribute in a needed fashion to the image.
Every shift that I work at Jimmy John's I doodle something different to signify that the cup belongs to me. Over the summer I would ask my coworkers what they saw in the abstract shape. One brought about a different response from everyone. They saw a speaker, a jelly fish, wind blowing through an open door, a potted vine plant, and a sneeze.

Of course when it is football season, the subject matter tends to be less abstract... here is my cup from Sunday's shift. DAA BEARS

Creative Outlets

I thought I would share some of my photography. Through high school it was one of my creative outlets. I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of it. Most of these photos are from a project I did focusing on the creative space. Others are portraits, and some are from Chicago. Plus, there is one of me with 5 sets of arms!!! Way to go light tricks....!
Here is a link to all the photos I scanned and uploaded, please excuse the condition of some. They've become a bit scratched and dusty. But don't worry either, the best prints are still safe at home.
http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee52/CarynNotIncluded/

Creative outlets are very important to me. Oddly enough, I tend to dabble with strange expressions to somehow keeps me sane. One of the most difficult changes I've had to go through to transition to college is losing dance as a focus in my life. I've danced since I was only 5 years old. I've been trained in nearly every style you could name, all except tap. I won every award fathomable for dancers in HS. But I was definitely not built to dance as a profession. However, I would choreograph as a profession in a heart beat. But, its very difficult to get the proper credentials without majoring in dance.
So now my creative outlet will be focused on creative advertising. I look forward to the journey.

Let me Borrow that Top

If you have not yet exposed yourself to the wonderful videos of Kelly, you are definitely missing out. Kelly has forever changed my pronunciation of "bitch". 'Her' videos might not be everyone's cup of tea, but they sure tickle my fancy... catchy too. Text Message Break Up, Shoes, and Let me Borrow that top have taken young adults by storm. The other day I actually saw a guy wearing a t-shirt with Kelly's face on it. Even better, he was a 17ish year old boy wearing skinny skinny jeans and a hairstyle even more styled and layered than my own. However, I find that Kelly's muffins is a bit under par to her other contributions.

In terms of YouTube stars, Kelly is definitely not a one hit wonder. The videos actually play off of current topics that seem a bit absurd in our culture. I'm really sad to say I've actually experienced a text message break up. :( So much of our communication nowadays is through small technological channels. I absolutely detest people who try to have conversations through text messages. If it requires more than 2 replies, that transaction should be made over the phone or even email!!! I feel there there needs to be a TRUTH campaign about the proper use of phones. With so many cell phone carriers making unlimited texting easily available and affordable, the poor communication is only going to grow. What are we too expect with communication practices in the future?

But don't let it get you down. Just watch some more Kelly!

Hold on spot

I found this tv spot the other day. Its new for a Cadbury's campaign. The first time I watched it, the first minute I thought... now is the pay off really going to be worth this wait? And indeed it was. But I'm not sure I would wait it out if I was browsing through television.

The slogan of "a glass and a half full of joy" is the only correlation to the product. I personally don't know the Cadbury's brand well enough to make such a lose connection for the whole 1 min 30 sec commercial. If it was more established as a staple for chocolate buyers I would have felt more comfortable taking this creative risk. None the less, I'm glad the advertisers made this spot and took that risk... its a very entertaining commercial. I don't know that I would be more prone to purchasing Cadbury's now, but I might recognize it more.

Flat Buns and a half assed remake

This tv spot for the 'Flat Bun' burger is being edited for its use of a racy teacher. After many complaints about the gyrating teacher and her male students rapping about her body, the ad is going to be edited. It seems the creative message doesn't rely on the teacher, and the company admits to just missing their mark.

"The ad was intended to be humorous and irreverent," Brad Haley, CKE's executive vice president of marketing, said Wednesday. "Since it seemed to be missing the mark with too many people, it justified making a change."

This ad personally didn't phase me, but I did not enjoy it at first view either. More of an "uhh. okay" reaction and just slightly entertained. It seemed to be a "cheap shot" using the teacher. But the song is clever with the grade of butt minus for anatomy class, and I also like the use of Flat Buns for brass knuckles. I respect the decision to recut the spot since it was more of a creative mistake then just sending a controversial message for the product. They just used a sexy teacher to have a sexy teacher, not to have any direct statements about the product. So with the negative uproar, it might actually be smart to remake the video since they missed their target.

BUT..... here's the remake.... do you think they actually did much? All I can notice is she doesn't distinguish herself as a teacher as much in this cut by removing the "okay class" line followed by her climbing the desk. But I do see and extra shot of her butt with her caressing it. So.... where's the big change? any improvement at all?

Well it's SPROUT time

Incase you were wondering, I do indeed work at Jimmy John's. It can be an enlightening place, really. It can also be the biggest pain in my ass ever... but either way I do enjoy tasty sandwiches todos los dias.
So, running the line the other day (whipping out freaky fast subs) we ran out of alfalfa sprouts. Naturally, I restocked the cold table.
Sprouts come in a plastic box and compressed into a little block. I noted how they were indeed "bricks of sprouts." I wondered, wouldn't it be cool to make an igloo of sprouts? How odd would that be... wonderfully odd. I posed the question to my coworker (Gustavo), and he didn't understand my vision, sadly.
This image has stuck with me since, and I keep playing around with where it can go further. I see an animation of sprouts, building things then turing into another (somewhat of the flow of the Target ads). An igloo of sprouts into a hill that sprouts flowers and further sprouts a slogan... about sprouting something. Perhaps sprout over kill, but we'll let the idea simmer for a bit.

On a side note, I always also get a personal kick out of costumers that request not to have brussel sprouts on their subs... DUH, how gross would that be?

hmm, I like this idea of sprout. Perhaps It will be my mind map center.

Me as An Artsiechoke

I have this thing about Artichokes...
wouldn't you?

Who?

I'm Caryn (no-middle-name) Jendro. I was born and raised Naperville, IL (recently rated the #1 place in America... then we dropped to 2 and had to take our proud banners down). Naperville is a suburb of the great Windy City, Chicago. You might have heard of it, its home the unparalleled football team DA BEARS. I haven’t lived at home for the past 5+ academic years. I attended Culver Academies, a boarding prep school in Indiana, and then of course I came to SMU.

A short synopsis of me: I am people impulsive, I have the most ridiculous laugh you’ll ever come by, by the end of the year I hope to have performed stand up comedy, I’ve danced since I was a wee little tot and even auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance, I make math jokes, and I have a thing for Brian Urlacher.