Am I the only Sour Cherry on your fruit stand?

So, there's this show Gossip Girl that has had consistently great advertising, imo. The spots always portray the show in the most favorable light, given its content. The music is always excellent, as well.

Season 2 just recently started and there's print ads for it that are really great.






The ads use a racy image from the show and a line from seemingly negative reviews. But, the negativity of the line only helps the ads. This is so well thought out. Lightyears better than Microsoft's attempt to discredit negative reviews of Vista with the Mojave thing.






Later

Wanted Posters Banned in UK

Apparently, a lot of complaints were made about the posters "glamorising the use of guns and violence".

The story is kinda shocking to me. I've seen some pretty out there advertising from the UK (in terms of content that may not be suitable for children) and ppl are upset about Wanted posters?

I saw the movie when it first came out and thought it was surprisingly really good/entertaining/worth-the-money. I don't think the movie or posters glamorize anything. That word 'glamorize' kinda irks me because many films/TV shows/ads speak to our understanding of fantasy. We enjoy watching something impossible/improbable/exaggerated because it's not the mundane, it's not something we [can] do. We don't walk around curving bullets. So, whenever I spot that word 'glamorize' I automatically feel that the complaining party has lost touch with their sense of fantasy and reality.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

In its adjudication, the industry watchdog ruled: "We acknowledged most viewers would understand the posters reflected the content of an action film. However, we considered that because the ads featured a glamorous actress, action poses, several images of or related to guns and aspirational text, they could be seen to glamorise the use of guns and violence. We concluded [they] could be seen to condone violence by glorifying or glamorising the use of guns."

This whole thing just bugs me. Things like this make me feel that "industry watchdogs" feel the public is too stupid to make responsible decisions for themselves and that the watchdogs themselves are afflicted with a serious case of boredom.

Later

Moments in My Life I

So, I had quite the weekend. I could be certain that many people had interesting weekends, with the holiday and all.

So, in an effort to let a little more of me shine through this blog, I'm debuting some crazy moments in my life.

6. Good Moment - Surprisingly, having no problems getting into and out of Canada this weekend.

5. Good Moment - Discovering the duty free mecca in Canada.

4. Weird Moment - Getting trashed on shitty boxed wine at my cousin's open house.

3. Disgusting Moment - Convincing myself, "That's not puke on my tie."

2. Calming Moment - On Labor Day with the fam, eating lots of good food, kicking my shoes off, and watching the seemingly endless U.S. Open.

1. Funny Moment - In the car (en route to Ohio where the fam gathered), reading my bible, GQ Magazine, while my brother sits next to me reading his bible, as in the actual Bible.

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I Don't Want to Work for Diddy

Don't you hate when something makes you really angry yet you still indulge? That's how I feel about a lot of television shows, particularly VH1's I Want to Work for Diddy -- a reality show in which people compete to work for Sean "Puff Daddy... Puffy... P Diddy... Diddy..." Combs.

Why do I hate that I love this show? The show kind of makes me sick to my stomach yet I DVR it every week. First, I'm not the biggest fan of Diddy. I don't have any real hatred for him. I just feel like he's put up on this pedestal. Yeah, he's really successful for exploiting facilitating the talent of others -- but, correct me if I'm wrong here: he's not God!

Second, last night's episode (where his mother and children's mother decided which team were better slaves assistants during the challenge) just made me wonder if there's an inverse relationship between wealth and humility. Is it necessary to be arrogant or rude because you make lots of money... or you're somehow connected to someone who makes lots of money?

Third, the assistants are so subservient and so ecstatic to be put through ridiculous things. I'm not naive. I'm sure that Diddy and many other successful people need assistants, but I'm also certain that there's a line between assisting and doing something simple you could easily do for yourself or doing something incredibly ridiculous to abuse your celebrity and/or assistants.

But, hey, it's not my dream to work for him and I'm glad so. I've been fortunate enough to not have any difficult bosses. And I'm not saying I won't. I just hope they won't have the attitude that they're God's gift to humanity -- or God Himself.

Later