when I grow up, I want to work in advertising...

So true. So true.

Rend the Heavens in Concert TONIGHT!

Come check us out if you're in the Nashville area in the Wallace Chapel Building at Christ Church in Nashville (really close to the new Target in Brentwood). The address is 15354 Old Hickory Blvd. We're playing a full set. The show starts at 6:30 and is FREE! Can't beat that, now can ya?

DIRECTIONS:
::: Christ Church is located at 15354 Old Hickory Boulevard in South Nashville, between Nolensville Road and Edmondson Pike.
::: From I-65, take Exit 74-A onto Old Hickory Boulevard going EAST. The church is located 3.5 miles on the left, one mile past Edmondson Pike.
::: From I-24, take Exit 59 onto Bell Road and go west approximately 4 miles to the church. The church will be located on your right.
::: NOTE: A new traffic light has recently been installed directly in front of the main entrance to Christ Church. The street name beside it is Woodlands Avenue.

See ya there!

Countdown to Norway: 12 days!

Today's weather in Norway...Hello 60s!!!

Right Now for Oslo, Norway Save this Location
Light Rain Shower 63°F Feels Like 63°F Updated Aug 28 03:50 p.m. Local Time UV Index: 1 Low Wind: From E at 8 mph Humidity: 82% Pressure: 29.29 in. Dew Point: 57°F Visibility: 6.2 miles

Look, Daddy. Kittens!

my struggle with football

I don't know what it is, but I think I was denied the football part of the male genome.

All my life I have had little or no interest in football (or any other sport for that matter--unless it's a live game...and there's beer). I don't know any player's stats or life history. I don't keep track of how many touch-down passes they've made. I have nothing to contribute when it comes to sports. Part of me really struggles with that, but part of me doesn't.

It's well known that the common denominator amongst men is sports. They talk about offense, deffense, how Joe-Basketball should play the game. I just don't get it. But it's not my fault. Like I said, I was denied that gene at birth. I did play T-Ball for two seasons when I was little. But I have to admit that the part I looked forward to the most was the snacks at the end of the game. Will it be Little Debbie today? I wonder what they have for drinks. I hope it's grape cool-aid.

My dad tried, but to no avail I landed and found myself in the theater.

I do hate that for my dad. He loves to watch football, but I just have a hard time sitting there infront of the TV when a game is on. For me, it's like watching TV in Albanian. I have no idea what they're saying. Something gets lost in translation.

Last year all the guys at the church I work at created their own fantasy football league. By peer pressure and the natural tendency to just "be one of the guys" (it seems I'm always "one of the girls"...that's a post for another day) I created a team. I had no idea who was who, or what they did. I didn't know how many line backers I needed on my team, or how many quarterbacks. I DID, though, have the best team name: The Nashvegas Bloggers. (yeah, baby!) I never watched a game to see how my guys were doing. I didn't do a thing. All the guys would tell me what to do; who to trade and I just didn't get it. I had no clue what I was doing. I tried to hide my ignorance of football, but it didn't last long. I was "outed" by the end of the season.

Does not liking sports make me any less of a man? No. It just means that I don't like sports. That's all. I hate that a man's masculinity (by society's definition) is determined by how much he likes sports.

My wife can attest that despite my lack of interest in football, I am still very much a man ;-)

The Advertising Artwork of Dr. Seuss

Before Theodore Seuss Geisel found fame as a children's book author, the primary outlet for his creative efforts was magazines. His first steady job after he left Oxford was as a cartoonist for Judge, a New York City publication. In 1927 one of these cartoons opened the way to a more profitable career, as well as greater public exposure, as an advertising illustrator.

According to an anecdote in Judith and Neil Morgan's book Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel (Random House, 1995), the wife of the ad executive who handled the Standard Oil company's account saw the cartoon. At her urging, her husband hired the artist, thereby inaugurating a 17-year campaign of ads whose recurring plea, "Quick, Henry, the Flit!," became a common catchphrase. These ads, along with those for several other companies, supported the Geisels throughout the Great Depression and the nascent period of his writing career.

See them all here.

need I say more?

well...except for the nude part ;-)

chocolate is brown

Just like roses are red and violets and blue, chocolate is brown. Not black.

Why didn't Verizon make their new phone brown? They named it "chocolate" and in all the ads it's wrapped up like a chocolate bar. So why isn't it brown?

Where does it say that all cell phones are supposed to be black? If you ask me (which you didn't, but you're here so I'll tell you anyway) it looks an awful lot like the U2 iPod with the black body and red lights.

Hello?! Orginality, please. Would it have hurt you to do something different? Maybe brown with white lights? It would be way cool if it even came packaged as a candy bar. Foil and all. But somehow I doubt that's how it's packaged :-/

Don't name it "chocolate" and make it black.

Leeland...a MUST HAVE!

The much anticipated record drops TODAY and I would suggest you pick it up! seriously this is one of the best albums in my itunes right now. Nate describes them best:, "Leeland is Copeland, Coldplay, Keane, Travis meets Jesus.

(HT: Nate)

tasty type

I love good packaging. Packages are proof that good type can make anything look delectable--even puffed corn or sugar water. It's a curse, really. Instead of just picking up any canister of allspice, I get distracted by the pretty colors and fonts that incase it. If I see a canister that looks better than the one in my hand, I put it back and go for what caught my eye. I hate to admit, but I often judge the food by its packaging. Here are just a few of some blog-worthy packages:

Package: Izze Juice
Typeface: Trade Gothic & Adobe Caslon

Izze Beverage Co®. doesn't boast their nonprofit mission on their label, but the design’s simplicity hints that they are a different kind of company. Izze’s sales grew 450% per year over the first two years without any TV, print, or online advertising. Surely their success is due in part to the bottle — clearly branded with Trade Gothic™ caps and a clever use of a Caslon™ asterisk, emulating a cross-section of the fruit contained therein. (HT: Fontshop)


Package: Simply Organic Spices
Typefaces: Sabon & ITC Giovanni

Simply Organic’s® packaging lives up to its name. The clear glass bottle is adorned only with its logo (a carefully customized ITC Giovanni™) and feel-good copy (in Sabon™), revealing the product’s natural goodness. (HT: Fontshop)





Package: Tazo Tea
Typefaces: Exocet, Nuptial, & Nicolas Cochic

There are few food identities as recognizable as Tazo®. Tea wasn’t very hip until the mid-’90s when tea master Steve Smith came along with his “Marco Polo meets Merlin the Magician” concept. The foundation of this antiquarian style is the Tazo logo — based on Jonathan Barnbrook’s Exocet™. Antique types Nicolas Cochin™ and Nuptial Script™ complete the look. (HT: Fontshop)

26 days to Norway!

Septmember 6th through the 9th marks the 7th edition of Numusic, Scandinavia's leading club based festival dedicated to the advancement of new, alternative & electronic music and underground arts.

The West Coast Festival of Numusic features record label showcases, over 70 club / dj events & live concerts, workshops, discussions, installations, exhibitions and artistic showcases from a diverse range of independent artists.

This year also sees the expansion of Nuart into a truly international affair with renowned artists from the US, UK & New Zealand joining in the action. A new addition to this years event is Nuphilosophy, an attempt to clarify both numusic's and others take on what music was , is and could be. The series will be presented by several national & international contemporary philosophers.

The event is situated in Stavanger on the West coast of Norway and takes place in various venues throughout the city.

Expect: friendly crowds, unique concerts & great club nights covering all aspects of progressive, alternative & electronic music and art.

You can also check them out here on myspace. Sadly, we will miss this by one day :-(

Celtic Woman makes history

It's offical. Celtic Woman has been number one on Billboard's World Music chart for 68 weeks in a row. A feat accomplished by no other artist or group.

They are getting ready to film they're next DVD project in Ireland in late August. Hopefully that means a CD will be coming out soon.

Check them out if you've never heard of them. They're amazing.

some creative animation:

Rend the Heavens now on iTunes!

The wait is over. Rend the Heavens is now available for download on iTunes. $6.93 buys you the whole EP! Go check it out.

I hate cats, but this is pretty funny...

Taken: winner of eight awards in the 48 hour film festival

"Taken" was created for the 48 Hour Film Project in Nashville, TN by Radiate Films.

Radiate had an amazing team of 15 crew and cast that gave up sleeping and eating for 48 hours.

To keep the teams honest, the genre, a line of Dialogue, a prop, and a character were given at the start of the 48 hours:

Genre: Romance
*Line of Dialogue: Go ahead, walk all over me!
*Prop:a wagon
*Character: Fred Maloney, Kleptomaniac.

(*Were the same for all films.)

Watch the entire six minute movie HERE NOW. (You must have Quicktime-if you don't have it-you can download it at the "Taken" site above.)

HT: Ethos

new medium for book readers: the e-novella

Injecting a new element of intrigue into the traditional mystery novel format, The Daughters of Freya is a buzzed-about e-novella chronicling a journalist investigation of a California cult that believes sex is the answer to the world’s problems. (The book sounds a bit smutty, but the delievery is way cool.) Unlike conventional literature that is read page by page, readers of this cyber book receive 4-5 email exchanges per day that allow the story to unfold bit by bit, over a 3-week period. Each email is sent as if written by a character from the book, with the readers cc:ed.

With storytelling being such a well-received promotional method lately, this delivery method could ultimately become an interesting vehicle for brands and marketers to keep their story alive and their consumers engaged.

(HT: Trendcentral)

a day trip to chattanooga

Yesterday we took a little day trip to Chattanooga. What a wonderful place. We stopped to see Ruby Falls and Rock City. Oh my goodness...

Having previously worked in tourist traps (The Track in Destin, FL and Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA) I hate doing anything remotely touristy, because I know how the industry takes advantage of everyone. There are gifts shops around every corner and prices are sorely inflated. I Hate it. So I was a little reluctant to "see rock city" and Ruby Falls.

After about a two hour drive we get out on Lookout Mountain and head inside the Ruby Falls...building (for lack of better word). $28.95 buys us each tickets to the falls and rock city. Not really knowing anything about rock city, we ask. "It's a rock garden" I'm told by the man behind the counter. Great...we've just been raped by the tourist industry once again, I say to myself.

A freight elevator takes about 12 of us at a time down 1,100 feet in the moutain. From there we walk about 2,000 feet to the falls. Ruby Falls is the highest underground waterfall open to the public. Along the way are rock and cave formations that have been named according to how they look...pretty cool stuff. It's a constant 60 degrees with relatively hight humidity, so it feels more like 70. There are of course, the usual bad-tour-guide-jokes.

The waterfall comes complete with it's own light show set to music...very cool. The water is a constant 50 degrees and there's a walkway that allows you to walk all the way around it.

Back above ground we head father up the mountain to see Rock City. I was kinda tired, and probably would have opted out of that one had we not already purchased the tickets. "Alright, time to see gravel art" I say as we park in the car.

Oh my goodness...let me just say that this is one of God's coolest "art galleries". These aren't just rocks...they're boulders. We walk along an enchanted trail between moss covered rocks and 100 year old trees. There's a faint sountrack playing that fits the scene perfectly. There's a swing bridge that spans across a vast void between boulders. You can see for miles...on a clear day you can see seven states!

The end of the pathway leads to a magical cavern that's been taken over by gnomes. Second only to Disney, this cave portrays all of the Mother Goose fairytales that we all grew up with.

So needless to say, if you're in the area, or even looking for something to do for a day...you've got to see Ruby Falls and Rock City. They are unbelievable.

A few facts about Norway:

Countdown to Norway: 35 days

Galdhopiggen is Norway's highest mountain.

Mjosa is the largest lake in the Kingdom of Norway.

The Sognafjorden (Sogne Fjord) is Norway's longest and deepest fjord.

The Jostedalsbreen is the largest glacier in Northern Europe.

Harald the Fairhaired gathered Norway into one kingdom (900).

Before Norway converted to Christianity in 995 pagan gods such as Odin and his son Thor were worshipped.

In 1262 Norway annexed Greenland and Iceland.

During the Second World War thousands of Norwegians joined the Norwegian Resistance Movement. Many Norwegians joined the Allied Armies and the Norwegian merchant fleet provided assistance to the Allies fight against Germany.

For over fifty years the City of Oslo has sent a Christmas tree to the UK which stands in Trafalgar Square in London. The tree commemorates the protection given by Britain to members of Norway's royal family during the Second World War.

Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite, founded the Nobel Peace Prize. Nobel decided that the annual Peace Prize should be awarded by a Committee in Norway.

Someone keeps stealing my letters...

Remember those magnet letters we used to play with on the refidgerate when we were little? Well this web site is deticated to just that...only everyone is using the same letters. You'll have about 15 people stealing your letters to try and make their own words at the same time you're trying to make yours. It took me about 10 minutes to spell "utobia". Try it. But beware...it's addicting.

Norway in: 37 days!

Let the count down begin. 37 days until we go to Norway!

We'll be there September 8th (my birthday AND the one-year anniversary of Utobia) through the 16th. We will fly out of BWI (Baltimore-Maryland) and have a layover in Iceland before coming into Oslo. I've never been overseas before. This will be one to remember.