Nike Runs the World

I was so enthralled with this Times Square advertisement and was almost run-over while while staring at it and crossing 8th Ave. So naturally, I have take a picture and share! How did I not hear about a world-wide 10K run put on by Nike? The concept - 25 cities around the world will hold a 10K race on the same day. The outcome - over 1 million runners will compete as a city and raise money for the charities Livestrong, Onemillion.org, and WWF. Being Nike, their website is full of cool training gear, training tools like Nike+ Coach, music for your running playlist, and runners profiles. A must see for marketing campaign lovers like myself!

The run is 08.31.08 and I just happen to be in Kansas that day and not able to witness it with my own eyes or participate...oh, who am I kidding...I would not be able to run this thing in 5 days! I can barely stomach the thought of my Turkey Trot 10K coming up on Thanksgiving - got to get back in shape. Registration closes on Wednesday the 27th if you are in the participating US cities: New York, Austin, Chicago and Los Angeles. Good Luck Runners!

Gaf-bye Zach!

By the end of this month my best friends and couple-icon, Zach and Carren, will be moving to the Big D - a.k.a Dallas, Texas. On the eve of Zach's departure, we headed out in the HK for one last drink - IN! Now, while I'm sure Zach was sad to say goodbye to me, I'm pretty sure he was more sad to say goodbye to The Gaf! To pay tribute, I give you pics from our last night all together in the best bar in NYC!

Zach - Best of luck buddy! I am still due a dead-leg and pretty sure you still owe me my winnings from the KU National Championship bet!


Darts! Can you see my winning score in the background? Bring it!


CB & Z!

Fake Plastic Trees

Like most people, I was rocking out to the song "Creep" in '92 (Radiohead's first single), but I can't say that I ever gave the full album a chance. Later in my high school years OK Computer was released and I fell in love with songs like "Karma Police" and "Paranoid Android", but again, I never really got into them. Fast forward to Fall of '07, sitting in Inkstop Tattoo on Ave B watching my dad get his ink worked on and listening to Radiohead's new album In Rainbows - start to finish, I was hooked!

So when I heard that Radiohead was headlining the All Points West 3-day festival in August, I had to find a way to go. Lucky for me, my co-worker and Royal Flush Publisher/Art-Design-God Josh Bernstein (many thanks) was able to hook a sister up with tickets to the Saturday show! I really didn't know what to expect...I honestly didn't want to get caught up in the hype and left disapointed. The verdict: best live show I have ever seen. I was amazed by the stage lighting, how unbelievable they sounded and how many great songs they have. Afterward, I immediately started to download albums that I have missed through the years, like The Bends and Kid A.

In case you want to take a listen for yourself, here's the set list from the Saturday August 9th show:
SET LIST
01 "Reckoner"
02 "15 Step"
03 "The National Anthem"
04 "Kid A"
05 "All I Need"
06 "Nude"
07 "Weird Fishes"/"Arpeggi"
08 "Where I End And You Begin"
09 "The Gloaming"
10 "Faust Arp"
11 "No Surprises"
12 "Jigsaw Falling Into Place"
13 "The Bends"
14 "Bangers & Mash"
15 "Everything In Its Right Place"
16 "Exit Music (For A Film)"
17 "Bodysnatchers"
----
18 "Pyramid Song"
19 "Videotape"
20 "Airbag" (for Kings Of Leon)
21 "Fake Plastic Trees" - About cried, this song was so great live!
22 "There There"
----
23 "House Of Cards"
24 "Planet Telex"
25 "Idioteque"


Trying to get a close up of Thom Yorke


View of the festival (in New Jersey) with NY in the background


Josh and I at the show


And, of course, check out Josh's article and the Royal Flush website:
http://royalflushmagazine.com/2008/08/16/a-tale-of-two-festivals-mayhem-vs-all-points-west/
http://royalflushmagazine.com/

Closet Chaos

I've been meaning to blog about my amazing time at the Radiohead concert (two weeks ago!), but it's been pretty chaotic lately. Busy at work, busy with friends, family, life, drama, the usual things that get us stressed out. It can always be worse and to prove that point in a non-life threatening comedic way, I give you a picture of what chaos looks like in a day in the life of my closet.

About 2 months ago the bar broke in my closet and left me with this mess. You could say it was the straw that broke my closets' back. Dear Closet, what had gotten you so stressed? Do I weigh you down with unnecessary jeans that I still have since college? Are you upset that you have to live with my hamper filled with sweaty yoga clothes? I am so sorry and have gotten our uber-creepy Cuban super Abraham to come fix you up and reinforce your bar. Ah, just think of all the new clothes possibilities now!

The moral to the story is 'don't stress or you'll end up a mess!' Hope everyone is having a good week! xoxo

Almost Famous at Mayhem

Team Revolver!

This September will mark my 3-year anniversary at Future US working on Guitar World and Revolver. There have been some pretty good perks working on these music titles, such as free CDs, Guitar Hero in the conference room, and late hours of arrival to work (love that I get to sleep in). For me, one the the coolest things is to see and sometimes meet musicians in the office like Lenny Kravitz, Dave Mustaine, Buckethead, Down, Charo, and (my favorite run-in) Rev Theory. On Wednesday, I experienced the biggest perk of all time at the Mayhem Festival in Uniondale, NY.
The Mayhem Festival has over 30 show dates featuring a line up of 13 different bands playing on 3 different stages and this year Revolver is a sponsor. So when I was asked if I wanted to join the staff outing to go to the NY show, I was immediately IN! We took off around 2 pm (my boss in California was very willing to let me leave to join in this fun, which I was very grateful of) in our rented van and hit the road. We checked in and headed over to the Revolver Tent to see our marketing guru Mario who's been on the tour for over a month now. Next we took advantage of our ALL ACCESS PASS and watched the Walls Of Jericho show from back stage. Before they took the stage we met their lead singer Candace and I remember thinking to myself "she's sweet" and then moments later she gets on the stage and wails on the mic like a badass! I'm talking the metal stereotypical "raahhh" screaming - it was impressive and their fans get so in to it! Afterward we took a look at the tour bus which was pretty decent, minus the coffin like bunks they have to sleep in. We went to the main stage to watch the Mastodon show (again from backstage) and then back outside to watch Machine Head.
The heat and beer finally started to get to us, so we headed down to the VIP area to the catered (and delicious) food for the bands and promoters. This whole time I was having a bit of a Wayne's World moment as we flashed our All Access Passes to get into these locations and get by the security. Recharged, we went back to the main stage for the headlining shows Disturbed and Slipknot. For those not familiar with the later band, it consists of 9 guys (from Iowa) who play all of their shows with these crazy masks. They put on quite a show and have a huge fan following. We were in the back hall of the stadium on our way out for the show when Slipknot made their way to the stage with their bodyguards. Silence fell upon all of us as backed up to the hallway wall and watched these 9 (and some of them huge) masked dudes walk by...it was intense! We moved to seats on the right side of the stage to literally watch the Mayhem. Even though most of these metal bands are not on my regular playlist, I have to say that I enjoyed ever show. Afterwards we went to the after-party BBQ with the bands to eat and drink some more. A special shout out to Mike from Walls of Jericho, my new best friend. Overall I had such a blast and the greatest concert experience of all time! I hope you enjoy some of the pictures from the show! Rock on!


Kids hanging out by the tents (the bright yellow one is the Revolver tent)


Backstage watching the Walls of Jericho show


Last outdoor show of the day - Machine Head


Mastodon!


Disturbed!


Taking a break outside and making friends with the Uniondale PD


Corey Taylor (lead singer) and the rest of the masked men of Slipknot!


Afterparty with Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Bill Kelliher from Mastodon!

You'll never forget your first!

On Thursday, after my volunteering shift at MSKCC, I decided to enjoy the evening and take a stroll down 2nd Ave to my old hood before getting on the subway to return to Hell's Kitchen. Most of the new additions are trivial to most, but to me a year ago they would have been life changing: a working and non-sketchy laundromat, a place to get my eyebrows groomed, a dunkin donuts, etc. I took a moment to take in the nostalgia of my old hood in the finally finished park area across the bridge entrance. The picture you see is looking east toward the 59th street bridge to Queens. If you look at the right between the trees, there is a white building next to the orange construction signs. The top two windows from the right are my old apartment...tear...how I miss that place! My first New York apartment! It was ridiculously small, up a killer flight of stairs, with a leaning foundation and a non-existent closet, but I heart it still! I hope someone else is loving it as much as I did.....even if it is for 40% more than I paid - suckers!

Can I get a witness?

As some of you may know, I was summoned by New York Country two weeks ago to serve jury duty. No doubt this entry into the selection pool was due to my registration to vote - damn you Democratic election! Anyway, I went in thinking I would sit around for 2 days and get dismissed like most of my fellow NY friends had told me from their experience. But since my luck ran out a long time ago after a little win on the Price is Right, I was of course selected for a trial! To my dismay, this meant a full week and a half of court during one of the busiest times in our fiscal year at work - boo. There was no way out of it, so I sucked it up and did my civic duty! Even though the trial is over (not-guilty, in case your wondering), I won't publicly post any details. I will say that after it was all said and done (in less time then expected), I was really glad that I had this experience. Not to get too politically sappy, but I love America and to see our justice system at work and to be a part of the process was pretty cool! I feel 100% sure about my verdict vote. And while there were disappointments exposed regarding our legal structure, I'm still glad we have the right to fair trial of our peers....even if that meant me spending a week trucking it down to City Hall and eating Chinatown noodle soup for lunch every day. I leave you with a few pics of downtown from the first day (after I was reprimanded for bringing a camera into the courthouse)....a beautiful area if you are around during the Mon-Fri daytime. I love the building and history of it all and I might have to come back to explore some more!

Seeing all the signs

When you're in Times Square it's hard not to check out the advertising in the area (even if that puts you at risk of looking like a tourist with your head up and your camera out). I think there are some old school New Yorkers out there that hate the bright lights and commercialism that has taken over the 42nd to 49th street triangle. Me, well...I love it! I think NY has some of the coolest examples of advertising! When I was in college studying "strategic communications" we planned our ad campaigns with the following media: t.v., radio, and print. While those mediums still hold true in the big city, there's additional avenues to take those campaigns. I have seen ad campaigns specific to a subway cars, bus stop benches set to a t.v. theme, CD sampling stations in the waiting area of a subway, ads on the sidewalk, ads of my coffee cup, and even petty-cabs dressed like a great white to promote shark week (man, I wish I could have got a picture of that one!). What I'm saying is that NY isn't the only place for innovative ad campaigns, but it's definitely a mecca for it. So, a new post category of my blog will be designated for ads that I think are funny, unusual, awful, or just plain cool. The first I start you with is a Times Square billboard that made me do a double take because I actually thought they men were real hanging up the "R". If you've seen a chick-fil-a billboard you know this isn't really breaking the mold, but I definitely think it gets points for creativity. Enjoy!