45 Years And 1,700 Miles

History has a way of repeating itself.




This time that's a good thing.


dubs. out.

Ohhh Those Crazy Account People...

My mother actually sent this to me over the summer.

Now that my vow of silence has been lifted, I share it with the world-- if you haven't seen it already.

There is truth in exaggeration, and 4:32 of time is a small price to pay to witness it.



dubs. out.

Quote of The Week, Cole - 8/24/08

Creativity is playing with freedom.

-Glenn Cole, Co-founder/CD, 72andSunny LA

It's a funny thing to leave a year of school making fake ads, take a summer internship making real ones (or trying to), and return to a year of school to make more fake ads, in between returning to a lifetime of making real ones (or trying to).

Some might say it's difficult, frustrating and stupid to come back to fantasy when you've spent time in reality, but it's not. This place isn't about making fake ads. It's about showing what you can do with the freedom to do whatever you want, before a lot of that freedom is taken from you.

What can you do when there's no boundaries? When there's literally nothing holding you back except your own imagination? When the only opinion that really matters is your own?

It took me an entire summer of rules and restrictions and briefs and planners and Creative Directors and real jobs and money and stock prices on the line to realize we have it pretty good in this fantasy world.

And yet why is ad school still more stressful than the real world?

Because with the freedom to create we have the freedom to scare ourselves into not letting ourselves down.

dubs. out.

Dinner And a Forsaken Movie

A few of us got together tonight for a welcome-back, night-before-first-day-of-classes-mildy-expensive-dinner. Afterwards, I saw Iron Man at the Byrd Theatre.

It was the first movie I ever went to alone.

How I ended up by myself is pretty simple, really. I heard good reviews. I like Robert Downey Jr. films. It cost $2. Everyone else was busy. I said fuck it.

Yes, I'm here by myself, my eyes said to the ticket lady as I pulled my hand out of pocket to pay. Yes, these are 8 quarters. No, I didn't have a chance to go to the ATM today. Yes, I apologize. No, I will not make out with you.

It was weird being by myself in the theatre. Sort of lonely. But there was something liberating about it, watching the herds of people come in together, loud and obnoxious and calling out to one another. Something almost, unexplicably, superior-feeling, but not in a superior way, just a self-righteous one. I can do whatever I want whenever I want. I can go wherever I please. I don't really need anyone else. I can keep myself company.

It's a powerful feeling to realize that you can and should be your own best friend.

There was also something humorous about the whole situation when it was over. How the people around me got up quickly as the credits rolled. It wasn't until I was outside that I realized the 5 or 6 guys I was walking out amongst were also here alone. Like me, they had sat in the back for a quick exit, and like me, they hurried out of there, anxious not to be engaged in some forthcoming awkward conversation with a couple or a group they would undoubtedly know.

Richmond, after all, is a small place.

Tonight I was alone. Tomorrow we're all in this together.

dubs. out.

Quote of The Week, Keller – 8/17/08

When I feel most successful I fear death. When I have a great idea… Or something really big happens, I think I’m gonna die instantly. And I won’t be there to continue to experience that feeling of what that is. Or see how it ends up manifesting in the world. So I fear death intensely at the moment of success.

-Andrew Keller, Co-ECD, CPB

So I graduated from Crispin's Internship program. Good Lord. What a ride. Without saying too much, this summer:

I watched Whopper Freakout 10 feet from Rob Reilly and Jeff Benjamin.
I wrote about 100 scripts, half of them for Coke Zero.
I wrote about 1,000 lines, a third of them for Compass Bank.
I experienced what a 100-hour work week feels like (once).
I experienced what 2 all-nighters in a row feels like (it hurts).
I concepted until my brain tapped out.
I threw 2 pens in frustration.
I lost one pair of sunglasses.
I accidently sent out a blank agency-wide e-mail.
I literally got kicked in the ass by Rob Reilly.
I pet Chuck Porter's dog.
I made a drunken ass out of myself in front of Andrew Keller.
I talked about the internet with Jeff Benjamin.
I stared at Alex Bogusky, 50 feet from my desk.
I ate enough Special K and drank enough protein shakes to last several lifetimes.
I tried the gigantic new Steakhouse Burger from BK.
I almost threw up the gigantic new Steakhouse Burger from BK.
I saw Microsoft's new tagline.
I signed a piece of paper promising I wouldn't say what Microsoft's new tagline is.
I listened to a shit-ton of Pandora.
I read a shit-ton of The Onion.
I watched a shit-ton of Hulu.
I ate a shit-ton of catered food.
I drank a shit-ton of Emergen-C.
I wrote a shit-ton of copy.
I lost my entire harddrive.
I went biking (once).
I saw Denver (once).
I saw the Rockies (twice).
I saw Girl Talk live.
I got caught in a hailstorm.
I got a mile-high sunburn (twice... it's no joke up there).
I hiked (thrice).
I made it to the gym (5 times).
I saw Dee Snyder on my flight home.


I asked him if he "wanted to rock" as I passed his seat.
I lied on my blog about asking Dee Snyder if he "wanted to rock."
I met some of the smartest, humblest people I think I ever will.
I realized I can do this shit.
I learned more than I ever thought I would.

I realized how much more I have to learn.

dubs. out.

Loss

About a month ago, my Mac was giving me some problems. It would take about 20 minutes just to turn on, and when it did, it was slow and none of my files were there waiting for me on my desktop.

And I like it when my files are there waiting for me.

So I took my little guy (he was only 10 months old) to the Apple store, got him checked out, and heard the words from one of the 15-year-old Mac Geniuses that every computer owner will someday hate to hear.

Your hardrive is done.

Are my files alright? My 4 years of transferred undergraduate work? My 2 semesters of Brandcenter? My book? My years of collecting articles and tidbits and quotes and how-to-pdfs? Sir, are my two weeks' worth of continuously-playing, illegally-downloaded music alright?

Nope. All gone.

Fuck.

Did you back up anything to an external HD?

Fuck.

Sorry, brah.

I suppose that having my hardrive melt down was the best thing that could have happened to me. Because it put my life into perspective. In the 1 minute of my mind going blank, my hands balling into fists, and the waves of flipping-outage breaking over me, it took an equally short time to realize that it was just computer files. Nothing really so bad. Nothing that can't be replaced.

Nothing living or breathing.

It got me thinking how foolish we all are about things like this. That maybe we should look at these situations as opportunities. A way to start fresh and new and with nothing holding us back from whatever we did before, only optimistic interpretations of what we think our minds can feed our computers to hold for us in the future.

Perfect timing for a new schoolyear.

Because pretty much nothing before now will count after now.

Starting now.

dubs. out.

Quote of The Week, Anonymous - 6/1/08

Losers find themselves stuck in rush hour traffic. Winners drive home in the dark.

-Anonymous

Found this one in the latest edition of Sixty, the magazine Brandcenter puts out every Spring after the schoolyear is over. It's one of the most badass quotes I've ever heard, and I felt I had to share it.

Especially after spending a week at Crispin and witnessing firsthand some of the most hard-working, humble people I've ever seen, people who know that their careers can flourish or falter by either following or neglecting this mantra.

Alright, now I'm leaving for real.

dubs. out.