iPod 'nanner, nanner, nanner'

Last weekend I received an iPod Nano for my birthday. It was a great gift. And I'm sure I would love it even more if it was compatable with my G4 iMac, but alas it's not.

The new Nano requires USB ports that are USB 2.0. The G4 iMac has UBS ports that are USB 1.1 Why would anyone (or any company for that matter) upgrade the USB port?! It's like GE saying, "Oh, now we're to upgrade all of our power cords so they're not compatable with your home outlets. Sucks to be you." I thought that Steve Jobs and all the folks at Apple were above that, but I guess they're not.

Just when something new comes out, whatever it is you have is now all of a sudden too old to be compatable.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but I've tried everything I can to make this thing work. So until I have a chance to take my computer in to get a new USB card my lill' iPod Nano is just sitting there. Teasing me.

'Idol' spots are breaking the bank

Heading into it's 5th season, FOX's "American Idol" had hit a mile stone for network TV: a record high price tag for a 30 second commerical unit. For the new fall season, the cost of a 30 second spot has SURPASSED the $700,000 mark! That's first for any network program. Ever.

This is the second season in a row where American Idol has taken the award for most expensive advertising. And rightly so. It was the highest rated show of the 2004-2005 season across most metrics including adults 18-29, the most coveted demographic out there.

Cingular Wireless, Cocoa-Cola, and Ford (last years heavy-weight advertisers) are back again this year after having renewed their sponsorships.

The 2005-2006 season will be the 3rd in a row in which the most expensive network series is a reality show. Two years ago, "Survivor" topped the list with a price tag of $425,000. That last time a scripted-entertainment series (sitcom or drama) was the pricest show was during 2002-2003 when "Friends" too in $420,000 per 30 second unit. And people talked then about how that was a crazy amount.

Here's a breakdown of the average cost of a 30 second spot during network primetime:

::CBS::
-CSI: = $465,000
-Survivor: $350,000
-CSI: Miami: $295,000
-Two & a Half Men: $293,000
-The Amazing Race: $275,000

::NBC::
-ER: $400,000
-The Apprentice: $350,000
-The Apprentice: Martha Stewart: $310,000
-Medium: $270,000
-My Name is Earl: $220,000

::ABC::
-Desperate Housewives: $560,000
-Grey's Anatomy: $440,000
-Lost: $380,000
-Monday Night Football: $375,000
-Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: $355,000

::FOX::
-American Idol (wednesday): $705,000
-American Idol (tuesday): $660,000
-The Simpsons: $390,000
-24: $360,000
-House: $256,000

So, for every commerical you see, that's what's being spent depending on what you're watching. Man, I'm in the wrong business.

as I was saying...

Don't get me wrong. Doers are good. There's a place for them. Many of us naturally reward doers; they roll up their sleeves and make things happen. In a culture that values activity, these are the people who get promoted and praised. Whereas in a culture of people development, those who get rewarded are not the ones who "do things" but those who "empower other people to do things." They see it as their role to equipe others. --Foreman, Jones, and Miller.

Speaking of rewarding, it's so important to reward good work. This could be as simple as a "thank you." When people are motivated and encouraged they're more likely to do good work, and be less likely to look for work elsewhere.

All of us desprately need people to believe in us. What's keeping you from encouraging those who work for you? It's amazing how far so little can go.

There is no "I" in "Team"

Over the weekend the Creative Arts team had the chance to escape the daily rush of life and retreat to a beautiful cabin the woods about two hours away from here. It was a time of relaxation, prayer, brainstorming, killing man-eating spiders (thanks, Randy) and eating WAY too much. On the way back I was thinking how great it is to be part of a "team" and not just an employee. I realize that last sentence is a bite trite, but this is what I mean...

Working at my church is unlike any other place I've worked. Here there isn't a heirachy of titles, nor is there any seniority. It is the most level playing field I've ever been on. Granted, there's a team leader, but that's about it. There isn't a ladder to climb or people to step on. But there's still opportunity to succeed and get ahead (just not at the sake of anyone else).

The other day I was talking with said team leader and this is what he had to say: Businesses who don't have this philosophy will not be successful. (We're talking long-term success: 30+years) Sure, things might be great on the front end; lots of money coming in due to a successful client; however, if there isn't an infrastructure of solid, commited, and unified team mates to support this "flash-in-the-pan" success then the company will not profit. Period.

How you treat the people who work for you will determine how good they are to you and to the company they work for. Basically it all goes back to the golden rule: treat other how you would like to be treated. But unfortunatley, the bottom line comes into focus and leaves the team to dissolve and fade away leaving only a cycle of doers to follow them.

...to be continued.

fall font 2005

Here it is! The font of fall 2005. It's everywhere, and it's called, Zapfino. Last year was the kick off for scripts. Everyone was using them. But it seemed they were ones that no one else had. They were more old-quill-ink-Thomas-Jefferson and kind of hard to read. Plus, they only came in the expensive font suitcases. But now, there's one that's more readily available and everyone's using it. You may or may not agree, but just look around. It's everywhere.

Steven Wright

Those of you who work with me, know that I sometimes put random sayings on the bottom of my emails; my "tagline" per se. I wish I were as witty and tweaked to come up with them on my own, but alas, I am not. They are the product of the creative and somewhat oddSteven Wright.

A few words from the visionary Steven Wright:
-All those who believe in psycho kinesis raise my hand.
-The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
-Support bacteria--they're the only culture some people have.
-When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
-Ambition is a poor excuse of not having enough sense to be lazy.
-Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
-Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
-I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.

Read more here.

mixed medium collage

I was in the art section at Borders yesterday when I came across a book in the design section on the topic of making collages. Seeing as how they are huge now, I took a gander at the book and instantly fell in love with the style of Claudine Hellmuth. Her style is one of time, memory, and dreams. Very captivating. I was so inspired by her artwork that I decided to give it a try yesterday. To the left is what I came up with. Not too shabby for a first time.

I've never been able to draw people so the use of a mixed medium, such as collages, was very appealing to me. You can use whatever you want. Here I cut out a floral bouquet from the newspaper and colored in a few flowers. The words read, "A few crystal clear moments of grace."

the coolest art direction

In looking over the catalogs my wife brings home, I couldn't help but get sucked into looking at them. Not because I'm in the market for gauchos and wedges, (I promise, I'm not) but because the art direction was so cool. Having majored in Creative Advertising Art Direction at VCU, I was more or less conditioned to observed and analyze this kind of stuff.

Anthropologie (a woman's and housewares boutique) and Urban Outfitters (a more edgy-urban store that services both men and woman as well as housewares) caught my attention, and I need to mention that both's art direction (even though different from each other) are driving the bandwagon that everyone will be on.

Anthropologie has a more Victorian, 30's-old-estate feel to it. Good use of texture and props. I love the pictures here the best. Especially the greenhouse ones. Very old-elegant; old money.

Urban Outfitters is more "student film" and in-your-face, if you will. Lots of texture with the cut outs. They've kind of taken the last century, really, (with the use of old graph paper and what could be your grandmother's wall paper) and have made a montage of everything.

If you have a chance to go in any of these strores, do it. Even if you don't wear women's clothing, I think it'd be good to peek inside to see what's ahead of the curve.

Heeeere's Johnny!

Johnny Depp is probably one of the most if not THE most talented actors in Hollywood right now, but no one seems to notice! He has gotten nothing. But yet he keeps 'em coming. He's got another one (yet another Tim Burton film:) ) Corpse Bride coming out soon and is in production for the next TWO Pirates of the Caribbean. The world needs more of Captain Jack Sparrow.

Kudos and accolades, my friend for doing what you love (and doing it well)...even though Mr. Oscar hasn't graced your mantle...yet.

on communicating to the masses...

"The art of communications is complex...it is a world that defines boundaries, rules, theories, formula and conventional wisdom...the possibilities are wide open, the boundaries are less rigid and the rules are being rewritten everyday."--Rick Boyko, managing director of the adcenter.

"A field of academic concentration vital to the world's progress, especially today."--John Paluszek sr. councel at ketchum.

"The exchange of thoughts, messages or information, as by speech, signals, writing or behavior."--american heritage dictionary

"Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood."--Leo Rosten

Oodles of Doodles

This is a great creative exercise when you're in a bind, or you need a fresh perspective on things. Draw a few random abstract lines on a piece of paper and then see what you can find. The sky's the limit.

floodweiser

The King of Beers is helping out with the relief of Katrina by providing people with drinking water. It comes in cans looking like beer, but is actually water. Kudos to them for helping and putting a creative spin on their efforts.

(HT: VCU Adcenter's blog, rm116. To learn more about HTing go to ethos under September 9th.)

Heyyyy ewes guyyyys!

I was at church today ready to enjoy the service and worship; something that I had not been able to do in a while because I was always working behind the scenes. I was just thinking how nice it was not to have any "live" responsibilities this morning. (All my work is the week before in preparation for the services) I had just sat down when one of my colleagues, Kari, came up to me. I was very anxious to hear how the morning had gone. I wanted to make sure that everything was running smoothly. (I always have this fear of forgetting something huge)

"Yeah, it's been a crazy morning." Kari said. She went on to say that they had a question about a lyric on power point.

(Back story: We were doing a brand new song, so I had to type up a new file for it. There is a break in the song that had some spoken word in it and Randy wanted it to be typed so he could say it while the song was being played. Well, CCLI (the source for most of our lyrics) didn't have the spoken word on the lyrics sheet. So I had to sit there in my office and listen very carefully to what was being said.)

Apparently, there was some discrepancy over what the lyrics were. I had down, "even ewes grow tired and weary; young men stumble and fall". Made sense to me. I thought it was some deep connection with a ewe being a lamb/sheep which represented Christ and so on and so forth. So I didn't really question it. That's what I heard. Well come to find out through Kari and other members of the band, the lyrics were supposed to read, "even youths grow tired and weary; young men stumble and fall." And hearing it in the entire song, it made more sense being "youths" rather than "ewes". Thanks for keeping me humble, guys.

I can't say this was the first time this has happened...when Aaron Neville's "Everybody Plays the Fool" came out, I thought it was, "Everybody Plays the Flute." :/

The New Jetta

Now, I realize that this is a little late in the game to be blogging about this, but I didn't have a blog back then to blog on.

Those of you who know me, know I love my 2000 Jetta. I'm a big fan of Volkswagen, but I'm not a big fan of the new jetta. In fact, I hate it. I know that's a strong word, but it looks an aweful lot like a Neon, doesn't it? I think what they (VW) are trying to do is stay with the original demographic that they had from the begining. It may be nice on the inside, but I'm sorry...I just can't get past the outside look of them. Call me shallow, but that's what everyone else sees, right?

Long blog short: I think VW missed the mark here. They had what WAS a really cool and distinctively German-esque looking car and have completely Americanized it. Shame, shame.

Does this make me look fat?

Like it or not, the metrosexual craze is not just a fad. It's a lifestyle that men across America are embracing. And it's not just hip, urban, 20 somethings with faux-hawks either. Now it's reaching beyond into the strata of 35 and betters. This is apparent by the release of Vogue's new men's magazine Men's Vogue.

Say good bye to the skinny (EAT A SANDWICH!) dressed-in-sex women that cover other mags such as Maxim (I'm not linking to it because it's trash).

"The demographic being sought are men over 35 with incomes of more than $100,000. These men are presumably ignored by such magazines as the service-oriented Men's Health or beer-and-babes Maxim and FHM (the latter of which has an article this month on a day in the life of Tera Patrick, one of the world's top porn stars - accompanied, of course, by photos)."--Read the entire article here.

Can a men's magazine survive without selling sex? I would love to see it.

You are a Vogue man if ...
1. You shave - and not just your face. In fact, a real Vogue Man is not afraid to wax.
2. You agree that facials are not just for girls.
3. You think yachts and rare whiskies are potential purchases.
4. You buy wine by the vintage, not the price tag.
5. You care about the world of interior design.
6. You think fast food is something Other People eat.
7. You have your suits tailored.
8. A six-pack is not something you drink, but sculpt working out at the gym.
9. You care about shoes as much as Carrie from Sex and the City - and you are not afraid to show it.
10. NY-LON is your transatlantic route, not a pair of synthetic tights.

To win the world you cannot add. You must multiply.

Last night Colleen and I departed from our small group only to form our own next week here in Spring Hill. It has been a great time. One filled with laughter, tears of joy and sorrow, prayer, fellowship, and food. The group that met every Tuesday night at 7:00 started out with just 8 people. At the time of our departure, there were 15. What growth!

It's been amazing to see God move in every one of our lives. We've seen new jobs aquired, new relationships made. We've heard stories of India, and seen pictures of Egypt. (How many people have seen Beth Moore on a camel? We have.) We've made friends and memories to last a lifetime. So why leave?

Richard said it best last night when he said, "To win the world you cannot add. You must multiply." I had never heard that before, but it makes so much sense. The essence of small groups is to train up future leaders and multiply and create new groups and train up leaders and multiply and on and on. Our prayer is not that people would come to our group and be our friend. Our prayer is that we may have an impact in their lives as Richard and Mary have so deeply impacted ours. This is a whole new chapter for us; one that is a little scary at first, but that's what's so exciting about faith. The unknown, the untraveled. We will definately need your prayers. The experience with Richard and Mary Barns has been like no other. And to those in our group we say this:

Thank you for loving us. Thank you for serving us. Thank you for blessing us. We love you.

In, But Not Of

I just finished reading my first book all the way through; front to back. Ever. I'm turning 23 this week and that is a pretty sad statement. Sure, I've started books, but I've never finished them. I guess it was my A.D.D. that didn't allow me to ever finish anything when I was younger. I think I only finished one song in my piano lessons; model air planes and ships were started, but never completed; it took an entire day to clean my room because I couldn't stay focused on one task at a time.

Even now, I'm getting off onto an entirely different subject. More on this later.

Randy Elrod,the creative arts pastor at The People's Church, gave me a book by Hugh Hewitt called,"In, But Not Of". It's been a great read. The first three chapters are a bit rough. Lots of big words and history, but the rest is a gold mine for anyone called into leadership. Not only is he a great writer, but he's a great communicator. A lot of people may have something to say, but it gets lost in translation. Hewitt connects with his audience and makes sure the reader gets what he's saying. Even if he has to spend 4 chapters saying the same thing. As my father-in-law says, "Repetition in the foundation of learning. Repetition is the foundation of learning."

Although, I must say there's one thing I don't agree with in this book. Rock Climbing. Hewitt thinks it's a waste of time to be cliff hanging and scaleing rocks, but I see it as an escape from the world. (Although the climbing I do is indoors at the moment) Get out side and go hiking, scaling, running. In the words of the Reverend Mother from The Sound of Music, "Climb every mountain." Enjoy what God has created. Just don't be foolish.

Sorry, Hugh, but Colleen gave me a harness and a chalk bag for my birthday. I promise I won't be long.

the end of summer

When I was a kid, reading the comics was an everyday occurance. It was the only part of the paper that was fought over between me and my parents. We couldn't wait to see what our favorite characters were up to that day.

It's been a while since I've read the newspaper comics. Yesterday I read, Non-Sequitur. You can read it here.

Today marks the end of summer. Back to school for some, back to "normal" working hours for others. But with the end of summer comes the fall. Crisp, cool nights; pumpkins; apple picking. I hate to see the summer go, but I gladly welcome the fall.

No rules. Just right? I don't think so.

Imagine a place where rules didn't exist. To many, the idea of not having an authority figure sounds nice; come and go as you please, do what you want; you could get away with anything. William Golding thought of such a senario and chose to write about it in his book, The Lord of the Flies. It is a tale about a plane full of choir boys that crashes on a remote deserted island killing only the pilot and the choir master (the only two adults). What began as fun and games quickly turns into a primitive struggle for survival. Survival of the fittest.

The entire world got to see a real-life senario of this down in New Orleans. No cops, no one to force rule on anyone, no consequences. The result? Complete anarchy; looting, rape, killing, vandalism, suicide...the list goes on and on. People kept asking, "Where are the local police? Where are the firefighters?" They, just like every one else, were getting out of dodge. People who haven't been through hurricanes (growing up on the Gulf Cost, I've had my share) don't realize that when there's a mandatory evacuation, that EVERYONE leaves. The police don't stand on the streets in 160 mph winds.

This whole ordeal has brought to light the fact that we are born into sin. We are, by nature, sinful people. You have teach people morals and how to be good. You have to teach kids not to steal, not to lie, not to kill. Somehow, we already know how to do all that, but it's our upbringing that teaches us different, and it's only by the Grace of God that we stay there. When authority goes away it's interesting to see all those things give way to our sinful nature.

Ok, ok, enough on that...I could go on and on about all this (Lord knows there are plenty of blogs out there that do that) I just wanted to bring about a social psychology aspect to it. Read "Lord of the Flies". You'll love it.

tap, tap, tap...is this thing on?

So this is blogging, eh? I'm not sure what I'll write, or who will read this, but I'm just happy to be here.