Note to self: Write this post approximatley 2 days ago

Okay, so…I admit it.  I’ve been a major slacker, and today I got had.  I’ve been moving in to the new NW Portland digs and haven’t spent much time working the blog muscle. Normally, a month between blog  posts would be okay.  A little lame…but still okay.  But today Grady Britton shone a little bit of light on this little narcissistic little niche in cyberspace I have carved out for myself in their blog.

So, little bit embarrassing to not have posted in over a month.  Nevertheless, the people that I have been in contact with seem uber cool, and want to welcome me into their “nest”, how cute :).  One of the resons they are one of the best companies to work for in Oregon, per chance? (5th best to be exact)

Portland has been my second home for over a year now.  I really thought I had a handle on things.  I was going to stoll in, and act like I knew my shit.  Seasoned veteran of the urban landscape, I envisioned.  Well try telling that to my abandoned bicycle, two parking tickets, numerous overpriced drinks and my now deflated ego.  Don’t get me wrong.  Portland is still one of my favorite cities.  I heart the bike-friendly, more refined older brother that Portland has been to me, now I just have to live in a two bedroom apartment with him.  I’m sure we’ll be fine.  Let’s make beautiful things together.  Godspeed.

an inspiration, as of late

Been super busy. Getting a good amount of work done, and I’m pretty proud of it so far. I’ll let you in on my new favorite band. The Bowerbirds are an amazing trio out of North Carolina. They have been stuck in my head, so I demand to cram them into your head as well. The next Arcade Fire? Nah, too minimalist and quirky. But, they’re great, and have been weaving themselves into my consciousness. The Bowerbirds are re-releasing their album Hymns for a Dark Horse sometime in June. I’ll be getting the vinyl. You’ll just be picking pieces of your brain off the floor because they just blew your mind.

p.s. - read a review by some body who knows what the hell they’re talking about here.

gritty, beautiful videos here.

photo cred: Ian Merrit

MUTO - It won’t be the last you hear of this

If you don’t already know about this by now, you’re probably not cool enough. Try harder to be cool. This stop motion/graffiti/wall art is mind blowing. The only reason I can get away with posting this about 10 days after it was posted to you tube is that nobody actually reads my blog…yet. Yeah, I can see the numbers of visitors, where you live, who you voted for, and if you’re a jackass or not. If you’re not a jackass…then you already know this is good. Good shit. The world needs more brains like this man.

I would love to see what this man’s creative process was/is. The flow and rhythm of the animations made it seem that it was all improv and he just kind of let the art grow organically. Is that possible? From my experience, execution that looks like it authentically lacks planning and grew without a game plan or a map, takes so much more planning. Take my hair today for example. I like to think I have a nice head of straight-enough and dark-enough hair. Nothing to write home about, but hey. When I am faced with the difficult task of styling my hair, I have two options. I can spend ten minutes in the shower washing my hair and other human things, and five minutes getting my hair ‘just right’. Just right entails looking like I try hard enough at my hair to make it look like I rolled out of bed, but I’m put together enough not to care (but I do). Confused yet? Or, I could just actually roll out of bed. But, then it would look like I actually rolled out of bed. Ew. There might still be drool.

So:

a) I like this guy. He can be my friend because he is good at art and I like people who are good at art.

b) It takes infinitely more effort to make it look like you don’t care, as opposed to actually not caring. I have a feeling this was a well planned, strategized and researched project. Creativity takes a lot of planning, a lot. Just ask any art student in Kinko’s at 3am.

PAF: CoLaboratory

I guess you can say I am excited ecstatic. The intense application and the rush to print my work at the last minute was worth it. I was accepted today for the Portland Advertising Federation’s CoLaboratory internship. I thought the work I put forth was thoughtful and maybe just a little awesome, and for some crazy reason…they agreed. I will be working as a copywriter at 3 different Portland agencies all while working on my pitch to the “mystery client”. If this sounds ambiguous to you, you are not mistaken. The details will work themselves out, as they usually do.

This is a great chance. A chance to see what the magic little element that takes rough, tired ideas and makes them new…hip even. I’m sure it will be different for every agency. Some may have giant foam bats and trampolines (or something similar) and others will probably be a bit more straight laced. Nothing matters but what comes out of the other end of the magic black box of the agency. Which black box furniture and culture is the most effective at producing unexpected and effective client solutions. Of course we can’t forget that the ideas coming out have to be brilliant and “get-behind-able”. I mean, when I get done with work, and I see my non-advertising friends, I have to be able to tell them what I did that day without having to feel embarrassed or like a politician.

In other words: No “Head-On” spots…no matter what they pay me. (Which isn’t much right now)

great idea and a coffee date

This. is. big. This sort of creative problem solving is something I strive for. This bike is so simple, and so easy. It is not the complexity that makes it revolutionary, it’s the idea.

I want to drink coffee with these crazy inventors all day. Maybe they can put some of my ideas to life, and reject my more ridiculous ones. It is this kind of creative problem solving I strive for. They took a difficult and very real problem to heart. Thought about it. Rinsed and repeated. Then, they hatched this beautiful idea that solved this problem in a simple but fresh, original way.

I think GE or some other mega-corp. should throw a few engineers and Benjamins their way to make this idea a more viable reality for the third world. Think of all of the slow, piano music that could be set to images of happy children and their newly available clean water. (ineffective probably, but I can just see GE eating it up)

I am in the process of trying to befriend these geniuses via Facebook stalking, but I guess they are too busy being important and making me envious. If anybody out there has digits, tell them I’ve got approximatley $1.50 for endless coffee at Denny’s with their name on it.

The Next Level

Ah, my friends at 72andSunny have produced another gem. This is my opinion, but I think it is brilliant. The idea is beautifully executed. I guess when Guy Ritchie is not having breakfast in bed with Madonna or otherwise making me jealous, he is busy directing beautiful spots for Nike.

The spot follows a young football player through his carreer. (Football=soccer for us yanks) The general theme of the narrative is perseverance and dedication. Nothing new, but Nike really gets you to imagine that it is you in those boots, kicking game winning PK’s. I think this aligns with Nike’s brand quite nicely. Nike has been having a hard time displacing Puma and Adidas as the premiere brands for football apparel and equipment. This won’t magically change this situation, but it is a positive step in the right direction.

The first person perspective give the whole piece a certain urgency and intensity that cannot be ignored. The first time I saw the piece (which I haven’t seen on TV yet) I was entranced by the visuals. The images of the player vomiting and losing teeth are especially jarring. However, these images just seem to work with this gritty, dirty filming style.

Where this ad really hits the mark is how it depicts the life of a football superstar. Throughout the game-sequences, there is not a focus on the audience, only on the other players and field personnel. I get the sense of actually being on the field, as is if maybe…for just a second…I had made it. I wasn’t the lanky keeper that was never going to be tall enough. This piece connects with my mental space because of my predisposition to football. I see what could have been, and this is where it is genius. This ad is for every guy like me, who had their little pipe dream when they were young. Nike may not yet be synonymous with football, but the next time I have a PK with the game on the line (which is oh so uncommon), that commercial will snap into my consciousness.

This ad doesn’t look like an ad and doesn’t feel like an ad. That is where brands must be willing to go. The only logos were on the equipment and at the very end. There was no explicit product or benefit depicted. All of the benefits were implicit, and Nike treated their audience like they were intelligent. Everyone hates being sold at. Bravo 72andSunny for making me entertained, and maybe a bit inspired.

circular square

circular square

Originally uploaded by wvs

I have been following this photographer for some time now. His innovative techniques compliment his wonderful eye. The way the composite panorama is used to create an alternate way of looking at the scene is genius. I feel like I’m laying down in some futuristic silo, with the urban giants closing in on me. Inspiration to look at the world around with a different lens at times (perhaps a fish eye?)

Great stuff. If you don’t know Sam, check out: http://wvs.topleftpixel.com/

It’s like rocket fuel for your brain if you’re into photography.

…who spiked it?

You may (or may not) know that feeling. The feeling where it seems everything seems like it is so easy. That cute girl seems to really like your stories, and she didn’t even notice you spill your punch. After all, you’re the DD, and it is usually so difficult to talk to the cute ones and avoid the drunk ones. So, you make your third trip to the rest room in as many impromptu dance-offs. It seems possible to brush off the burning in your chest as heartburn and the flush cheeks as merely side effects of kicking so much ass on the shag-carpeted dance floor. Everyone knows you can’t resist Prince. After missing the door knob twice, the slow tide of realization is turning.

oh. my.

Everything that didn’t make sense, does. Your frame of reference is shifted, and you’re forced to take a closer (albeit wobbly) look at what you thought you knew about the situation. Yet, at the same time, a whole new set of problems have just made themselves apparent. It’s the stupid punch.

This is it. The big idea. A moment where fear and rationalization come together to make the most beautiful solutions. But, they are not all solutions, some are bad ideas; some are not attainable with my feeble mind. Perhaps it is this disruptive and mentally jarring moment where creativity lies. On the margins, and maybe a bit crazy.

…………….

I want this blog to be a way for me to keep track of the multitude of beautiful, insane and (most likley) irrelevant thoughts bouncing around in my head. Maybe this will grow into something magnificent, and maybe I will just look like an idiot. Either way, this is the jump-off.