Barack Obama encounter, part 2
RandomWell, my dumb luck led me to my second encounter with Barack Obama in as many months. On my walk to work this morning, I happened to walk by the Benson Hotel just as he was walking out. About two months ago I saw him at the same place, around the exact same time but this time I got to shake his hand. Pretty exciting. Here are a couple of pics that I snapped really quick with my iPhone.
The Battle at Kruger
RandomI came across this video a couple of months ago on YouTube — apparently, about 26 million others did too, making the “Battle at Kruger” the winner of the 2007 YouTube Video Awards. Honestly, it’s an 8-minute long real-life Universal Studios ride. A buffalo strays from the herd and is dragged off by a couple of lions, then plays the part of the rope in a game of tug-of-war between the lions and a freakin’ crocodile, then manages to get away after the herd returns to mount the “mutiny on the savanna” against the lions. It’s pretty intense.
After the video became so popular, the filmmakers, David Budzinski and Jason Schlosberg, were sent back to South Africa to film a documentary about it, and on National Geographic’s dime. Not a bad gig. So, while your scrubbing the kitchen floor and making an attempt at cooking dinner for your mom this Sunday, tune in to the National Geographic Channel at 9pm EST.
Radiohead “All I Need” music video
Recent PostsI was really moved by Radiohead’s new music video for “All I Need” from their In Rainbows album. It’s not the most impressively produced piece of work that I’ve seen, but it has such a powerful message. We take so much for granted, but we can’t blame ourselves. The idea that kids make our shoes in sweatshops overseas is so abstract because we’re not exposed to it. We can’t witness it ourselves so we can’t sympathize. Well, it’s real, and that’s what the video is trying to show us.
Will the video make a difference? Doubt it, but it definitely has gotten me involved. I’m spending some time tonight looking to see how I can make a difference toward ending exploitation and trafficking of children. If you wanna learn more about how you can help, I added a link in my sidebar to MTV Exit, the organization that sponsored the video above.
Wahl’s rogue mustache
AdvertisingThis spot for Wahl hair trimmers is definitely a bit strange, but pretty funny. Comes from Leo Burnett, the very agency who grew manly ’staches of their own to raise money for prostate cancer research.
Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival
AdvertisingThese promo spots for the Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival, which just past last week, are pretty awesome. Can’t say that I’m surprised. They were done at la comunidad, Buenos Aires under former W+K (my agency crush) creative director José Mollá and brother Joaquín Mollá from Ratto/BBDO, Argentina. The two started la comunidad (known as la comu) in 2001 and became one of the 20 most-awarded agencies in the world in just two years. The brothers’ backgrounds undoubtedly helped them land some killer clients through the years, including Rolling Stone magazine, Miller Brewing Company, MTV, VH1 and Volkswagen. Didn’t know very much about these guys before I came across these spots, but I’ll definitely be paying more attention to them from now on.
The rebirth of the mixtape
MusicThanks to Scott — the Scott who got my blog back up and running last week and brought us sites instantrimshot.com and thepennyjam.com — I’ve been acquainted with what I believe will be the next-big-thing for digital music: Muxtape.com.
Think del.icio.us meets your iTunes library. Muxtape is a site where you can make your own online mixtape that’s accessible to anyone via a web browser or iPhone. It allows you to upload your music (up to 10MB worth, or 15 songs total at a time) to be streamed on your personalized muxtape page. For example, check out mikevitellaro.muxtape.com to see my personal mixtape. Uploads are quick and streaming is instant. So awesome.
Think about the possibilities — portable playlists that require no tangible media. That has both convenience and eco-friendly implications. Awesome on both fronts. Say your iPod Touch or iPhone is out of space, but you wanted to bring some more music along with you. Add the music to your muxtape profile to be streamed instead. This is just the half of it.
I’m thoroughly impressed and look forward to seeing where this goes.
Human Movement
ArtAwesome moves, man. Awesome editing and camera work too.
Human Movement from Jordan Clarke on Vimeo.
White Gold IS White Gold
AdvertisingThanks to Scott, who seriously knows his shit, I am back in action.
And in celebration, I want to share the most precious thing I have come across since my absence from the blogosphere — White Gold. In short, I now only drink delicious dairy when I’m thirsty. Call it good advertising, but I think it was the vicious shredding of the milk-filled guitar that sold me. Goodby keeps coming up with some awesome stuff for the milk campaign.
