Stina Persson

What an amazing talent. This artist first caught my eye in a Nike campaign. The vibrant water color made the copy sing.

But it is such a delight to explore this artist outside the confines of advertising. On her own turf.

Edgy. Unique. Real. Alive. Art.

The Risk is not to take The Risk

Kerri Martin came to speak to us on Friday.

She told us that the riskiest thing to do is not to take risks.

Which is how she approaches the clients she chooses to work for and the subsequent way she carries out her job.

Throw away the stale titles that label our work (VP of Marketing and CMO) and lets substitute them for a few Kerri has had (Guardian of Brand Soul and Director of Brand Innovation).

Lets Rub Elbows

http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/oct2007/id2007104_575219.htm

INTO THE WILD

As a general rule, I refuse to a see a movie based on a book before actually reading the book.

But rules were meant to be broken and we went ahead and saw Into the Wild anyway.

First of all. Excellent, excellent movie. One of those films that follow you to bed that night and creep into your thoughts intermittently throughout the days to come.

Then I tried to read the book and remembered why I established the rule in the first place.

more

love life.

Fenske's favorite holiday

The annual Brunswick Stew Festival is a Richmond staple.

There is a lot of sampling and double fisting stew.

I've never seen Fenske happier.

If Diddy can do it...

So can I. Came across this article today. While we try to prepare ourselves to compete with traditional MBAs for marketing positions, it is comforting to know that Diddy has stepped into the role of Brand Manager.

http://adage.com/article?article_id=121489

Only Losers Don't Dress Up

Halloween is one of my favorite Holidays. Initially, when I was small, it was because it fell a few days after my birthday and Halloween preparations always indicated that Danielle Day was approaching. As I grew older though, it was a way to gage the people around me. See how creative, adventurous, and even how smart people were.

For three consecutive years I dressed up as a Freudian Slip, which really gave me a good sense of where people stood on the intellectual totem pole. I was mystified by the number of people who couldn't even pronounce Freud correctly.

This ecard from someecards.com is not only a funny example of the cards this site offers, but also an indication of how seriously I take the act and art of dressing up.

SKY LINE DRIVE

In the Shenandoah Valley there is an amazing and unique road that entertwines through the hills and valleys of this scenic region. It is called Sky Line Drive. I expected to see beautiful landscapes and changing leaves, what I was least expecting was exposure to an automotive culture unlike anything I'd ever been exposed to. While we were winding along the twisty roads, all of a sudden I noticed that there was a string of cars coming from the other direction... They were ALL Pontiacs or Saturns. It was a chain of these vehicles, and if there was another car brand interspersed, it was quite clear that they were not part of the pack.

It dawned on me that this was an opportunity for car enthusiasts to come together and not only enjoy their vehicles in a gorgeous environment, but with people who felt the same way about their cars. Brands are a very intersting thing, and I can tell you that I never thought Pontiacs were remotely cool, until I got a glimpse of this...

One Year Ago Tomorrow

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/08/opinion/08shaplen.html?ref=opinion

ONE year ago tomorrow, North Korea conducted its first nuclear test, a small explosion that established it as the newest member of the world’s nuclear club. Strangely, since then, the prospects for peace and stability in northeastern Asia have never been better. North Korea’s agreement, last week, to disable all its nuclear facilities by year’s end is the biggest step so far in the right direction.

BIKE GANGS

While indulging in a pineapple bacon burger my eye strayed to this napkin dispenser. What I had coined bike gangs in my head seems to be quite close to the "proper name" of this sub-culture, CUT THROATS BIKE CLUB. I want to know more about it....

CONDOM COUTURE

A model parades in an outfit made of condoms during a fashion show at the 4th China Reproductive Health New Technologies & Products Expo in Beijing July 11, 2007. Condoms of all shapes and sizes were used to make dresses, hats and even lollipops. Models fought through extravagant soap bubble special effects to show off tight-fitting wedding gowns, scaly-looking evening dresses, outrageous bikinis and other garments made entirely of condoms. (Reuters)

Hipster Olympics

Silver is the new gold... Empanadas are the new cupcakes.

When Pages Speak...

The more you read, the more you subscribe to the notion that sometimes books pick you, just as much as you pick them.

September 11th came and went the other day.

I made a mental note not to comment on it that day. Instead I paid homage to Pavoratti who lost his life a few days before. I knew I would return to this subject, just not on its anniversary. Because, as with most traumatic events, the days that follow are even darker.

It so happened that I had more time than usual to leisurely read. Draped in a thin hospital gown waiting my turn to be put to sleep for an endoscopy, I ingested pages in an effort to forget why I was actually there and what was about to take place.

As I anxiously inhaled and exhaled Benjamin Kunkel's, Indecision, it started to feel like the pages were coinciding with my subliminal thoughts. The main character, Dwight B. Wilmerding, in the midst of a midlife crisis, flashes back to that September morning hungover from ecstacy on his rooftop in Manhattan.


" At least there's two of them, I said. In a leftover effort at optimism I was trying to look on the bright side. 'With any other big building, there's usually only one, so--' Then I saw some white projectile streaking in from the southwest.

'Hey! Another plane!' I was delighted.

'They've sent it to rescue the other--or it must be coming to help all the..."

Ode to Pavarotti

First Friday

A peculiar phenomenon takes place in downtown Richmond on the first Friday of each month. Throngs of hipsters, intellectuals, and even the "token tall guy" emerge from the woodwork to satiate their thirst for something cultural.

This blog is dedicated to experiencing and exploring these types of organized events. It will also be a place to comment on those random, interesting things that happen in between.

Welcome to what looks like crazy on an ordinary day.




(Karen asked if Jews believe in Hell, Debate ensues)