As cool and hip as I claim to be, at core I’m still a geeky political nerd. I follow the elections, make damn sure I vote, and I even pay attention to state and local races. I love having a voice, and I truly believe that my vote counts. Lately though, negative campaigning, baseless posturing, and hateful attacks are becoming the norm. What absolutely fries me though is that the general...
An early Thanksgiving
Today I took a pretty bold step even by my standards. After a gentle prodding from a former coworker, and after having had a series of insufferable bosses/VPs/CEOs, I acted on the best advice I’ve gotten in some time: be your own boss. Without going into the details of the business itself, what gave me pause was how simple it was to get things off the ground. To that end, I’m in...
A Long Distance Dedication (Snuggles the Dog)
OK, so this has been around for a bunch of years, but it’s still fascinating to listen to. Kasey Casem voiced American Top 40 for roughly 1,000 years. He was considered the consummate radio professional. Then this tape got out. I guess there’s something to be said for pacing and professionalism. I just didn’t know it was this…
Cynicism is earned.
Despite what others may tell you, I’m the eternal optimist. The glass is always half full, and anybody can become President of the United States if they study hard and eat their Wheaties. I prefer to see things for what they can be instead of shooting down ideas before they’ve had time to fully ripen. That being said, I’ve been doing what I do for a good long time now. And...
Hello Reality!
I got a message the other day from one of my clients. I had submitted a marketing plan which met existing budget, staff, and timeline limitations. Admittedly, it wasn’t the most exciting and groundbreaking campaign, but it maximized every existing opportunity. The response I got was “I hired you ‘cuz you think outside the box. Give me something that delivers that…and go...
Dorothy Parker lives on – sort of.
Criticism, in its best and worst form lives on. The late, great Dorothy Parker wrote some of the finest, including: “This not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force” (The Algonquin Wits, 1968) “Katharine Hepburn delivered a striking performance that ran the gamut of emotions, from A to B” (Review of Katherine Hepburn in “The...
Turn me on, Deadman
Once a month I go out and buy some music. You know: in the store, CD in hand, and actually purchase items. While it’s a longer discussion, I really do like having a physical product and an interaction with a real person when I buy music. Call me crazy… Anyway, here’s what I bought, and they all come VERY highly recommended: Belle & Sebastian – LateNightTales (2006)...
What aren’t you telling me?
I’ve noticed a growing trend in online music sites. They’re free, FREE, FREEEEEE for everyone, and they’re gonna make all kinds of money for artists. How is this possible, and if it’s such a great deal, why aren’t musicians making millions of dollars? Here’s the common example (taken from an actual website called jamendo): Can the Artists earn money with...
Wow! A good idea …
In my haste to race back into town yesterday, I didn’t notice the yellow “you need gas” light until it became a blinking yellow “you need gas NOW” light.” Looking for the nearest gas station, I came across something new to me: Stop ‘n’ Shop gas. The same place that’ll provide your groceries has apparently stepped into the gas biz. I was...
Anything you can do, I can do better…
I work in marketing. It’s what I do. A long time ago, I realized that I’m pretty good at “reading” people, figuring out what motivates them, and being able to focus that understanding toward promoting a product or idea. Ultimately, that’s what marketing is. And as such, a lot of it is a very “soft science.” Certain jobs have very specific skill sets that...