I am the antithesis of a morning person. Every morning I wake up and have to hit the snooze a few times before I'm actually ready to get out of bed. I've always been this way. In high school and college I would doze off to sleep during class - not because I was completely disinterested - because I just couldn't keep myself awake. You can probably see my natural connection to Red Bull somewhere here...
I've tried solving this by going to bed earlier, but even on the mornings when I've gotten a nice 7-8 hours of sleep it doesn't seem to help much. Well, the other day, BoingBoing, a blog I read from time-to-time - and probably the quirkiest one on the web - had a post that covered a "How to..." article someone had written on another site about how to become an early riser. I was a bit skeptical at first, but read on. The approach detailed by the author (who seems to have had the same plight as me) is actually pretty simple. In the author's words:
The solution was to go to bed when I’m sleepy (and only when I’m sleepy) and get up with an alarm clock at a fixed time (7 days per week). So I always get up at the same time (in my case 5am), but I go to bed at different times every night.
I go to bed when I’m too sleepy to stay up. My sleepiness test is that if I couldn’t read a book for more than a page or two without drifting off, I’m ready for bed.
So simple, but I can see how it might be easy on the body clock. So I've decided that I'm going to try this out starting this week. We'll see how it goes. If it works out you'll know. You'll start seeing more posts with a timestamp around 7:00 am.
CURRENT LISTENING: Matt Pond PA - Athabasca
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Counting down the hours
Approximately 6 hours until tip-off of the first game of the NCAA's Sweet 16.
About 9 days until the Major League Baseball season opener.
36 days, 20 hours, 30 minutes, and 42 seconds until the 2006 NFL Draft.
Guess which one I'm anticipating most?
About 9 days until the Major League Baseball season opener.
36 days, 20 hours, 30 minutes, and 42 seconds until the 2006 NFL Draft.
Guess which one I'm anticipating most?
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
This is where I want to be right now
Well actually it ended a few days ago, but Austin's annual music industry SXSW (or South by Southwest) took place March 15-19 and it sounds like it was bigger than ever this year. Now in its 19th year, SXSW has been known for rockin' showcases that put bands on the map and create a buzz, and of course rockin' parties. As someone who interned at a major music distributor and once dreamed of being a record label exec (before I realized the only way to get hired was to be an unpaid intern for 3 years), this would be a dream environment to me. This year the conference expanded to include interactive and film components, most likely only exponentially increasing the fun.
I do have to say that last weekend was quite a blast. I spent two days consuming large amounts of basketball and beer in the company of some friends. I've come to the conclusion of no matter how much basketball you watched the first two days of the NCAA tourney, you still want more. Those upset moments are just addicting.
And of course march madness brings the ubiquity of NCAA pools. While they're usually referred to as "office pools," that term holds no significance to me because when you work at a 22-person industrial design firm there's none taking place. Luckily, I managed to enter three different pools with groups of friends. After sitting in the middle of the pack at the end of round one I've moved to the top three in each thanks to some nice sweet 16 picks. Gotta love having extra incentive to watch the rest of this thing play out.
I wasn't planning on talking about anything marketing-related in this post, but I just read about one of the coolest online marketing initiatives I've ever seen. Nike and Google have quietly launched the first invitation-only Web site for soccer-mad fans around the world. The site, Joga.com, went live late last week and will be running in 140 countries and 14 languages. It looks like the site will be incorporating profile pages, forums, video and rich media conent, and more. It sounds very similar to MySpace, but the bigger thing here is this is the first example I've seen of a brand getting the social marketing thing right. If the content is as good one would expect from these brands, this thing could really catch on with soccer hooligans worldwide and provide an authentic, interactive brand experience for Nike (not to mention further cement Google's reputation for amazing content). If it does catch on, we're also going to see A LOT of shitty, contrived attempts at the same sort of thing. Gotta love clueless marketers.
Alright, I'm out. Go UConn! (Daddy needs a new pair of shoes)
CURRENT LISTENING: White Stripes - Walking With The Ghost cover
LAST MOVIE SEEN: Good Night, and Good Luck
Friday, March 10, 2006
Meet idiot #2
Not to be outdone by Mr. Culpepper's idiocy, the most notable athlete to score under a 10 on the Wonderlic test since Vince Young is also demanding a trade: Javon "I wear my own jersey to the the club" Walker.
As reported by ESPN.com this morning, the Packers star receiver who sat out most of the 2005 season with a torn-ACL in the first game is seeking a trade due to what he views as "unfair treatment" stating that he has "no interest in being in a Green Bay Packers uniform or playing for Green Bay again." But it doesn't stop there. He even goes as far as to say that he'd rather retire next season than play for the team he has no desire to be a party of. Quite a threat for a guy who has no leverage considering he's coming off a major injury and has only performed at a Pro Bowl level once in his career.
Of course the Packers could not less let this mess pass without commenting. GM Ted Thompson issued the following statement:
"During his time as a Green Bay Packer, Javon Walker has been well thought of by everyone here. I like Javon, certainly as a person and as a player.
That said, Javon is under contract, which he signed as a 2002 first-round draft choice. That contract is governed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was negotiated between the National Football League and the National Football League Players’ Association, and we expect him to honor it.
There have been several highly publicized cases of player discontent in the National Football League. I don’t anticipate us making any concessions in this matter.
We will continue to stay the course, and the Green Bay Packers will have no further comment on this topic."
Javon, meet brick wall.
All kidding aside I think the Packers will probably end up trading Walker as it would be more of a detriment to have a tantrum-throwing player like this around to become a cancer in the locker room. It's too bad. I used to really like Walker. He seemed like a hard-working player and improved each of his first few years in the league. But he's not the player he is in his own distorted, little mind and for that, I hope he gets traded to some team with a shit QB and learns how good he is when he isn't catching passes from a future Hall-of-Famer.
As reported by ESPN.com this morning, the Packers star receiver who sat out most of the 2005 season with a torn-ACL in the first game is seeking a trade due to what he views as "unfair treatment" stating that he has "no interest in being in a Green Bay Packers uniform or playing for Green Bay again." But it doesn't stop there. He even goes as far as to say that he'd rather retire next season than play for the team he has no desire to be a party of. Quite a threat for a guy who has no leverage considering he's coming off a major injury and has only performed at a Pro Bowl level once in his career.
Of course the Packers could not less let this mess pass without commenting. GM Ted Thompson issued the following statement:
"During his time as a Green Bay Packer, Javon Walker has been well thought of by everyone here. I like Javon, certainly as a person and as a player.
That said, Javon is under contract, which he signed as a 2002 first-round draft choice. That contract is governed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was negotiated between the National Football League and the National Football League Players’ Association, and we expect him to honor it.
There have been several highly publicized cases of player discontent in the National Football League. I don’t anticipate us making any concessions in this matter.
We will continue to stay the course, and the Green Bay Packers will have no further comment on this topic."
Javon, meet brick wall.
All kidding aside I think the Packers will probably end up trading Walker as it would be more of a detriment to have a tantrum-throwing player like this around to become a cancer in the locker room. It's too bad. I used to really like Walker. He seemed like a hard-working player and improved each of his first few years in the league. But he's not the player he is in his own distorted, little mind and for that, I hope he gets traded to some team with a shit QB and learns how good he is when he isn't catching passes from a future Hall-of-Famer.
QUARTERBACK FOR SALE
If you give a rat's behind about the NFL offseason, you've probably noticed that everyone's favorite Sex Boat Captain, Daunte Culpepper, has been part of an ongoing soap opera thus far. Said soap opera also stars the Minnesota Vikings front office, including owner Zygi Wilf, and carries a varying plot-line based on the Quarterback being on the trading block, off the trading block, receiving his soon-due roster bonus, to finally demanding for a trade or release. The main catalyst for all the controversy has been e-mails to the media, who seem to be the only people in Minnesota who still love Culpepper.
Had Mr. Culpepper not suffered a major injury or been involved in the lewd acts of that Lake Minnetonka boat cruise last year, he probably would've been gone by now. But it turns out, while there has been interest for the QB, the Vikes haven't exactly been offered the type of value that they're expecting. But never fear Vikings fans, for one of your sharp-thinking faithful has found the solution: send Culpepper off to the highest bidder...on eBay!
The bidding starts at $1 million and the questions are already flying in like the strippers were last October. Damaged? Only slightly. Young? Definitely. Talented? That's debatable.
If only it were this easy (and fun!) in real life. In reality, it turns out the Vikings have found some offers and are getting ready to pull the trigger.
Speaking of trades, Green Bay bonehead receiver Javon Walker is seeking one for himself now as well. More on this crap later.
Had Mr. Culpepper not suffered a major injury or been involved in the lewd acts of that Lake Minnetonka boat cruise last year, he probably would've been gone by now. But it turns out, while there has been interest for the QB, the Vikes haven't exactly been offered the type of value that they're expecting. But never fear Vikings fans, for one of your sharp-thinking faithful has found the solution: send Culpepper off to the highest bidder...on eBay!
The bidding starts at $1 million and the questions are already flying in like the strippers were last October. Damaged? Only slightly. Young? Definitely. Talented? That's debatable.
If only it were this easy (and fun!) in real life. In reality, it turns out the Vikings have found some offers and are getting ready to pull the trigger.
Speaking of trades, Green Bay bonehead receiver Javon Walker is seeking one for himself now as well. More on this crap later.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Are we ready to see it on the big screen?
On Saturday afternoon I went to see the movie 16 Blocks with my girlfriend. It was a great action flick with an outstanding performance by Mos Def, but that is not the significance of this post.
About halfway through the previews, I was completely taken-aback by the start of a preview that featured the visual of an airport flight-tracking grid that seemed to be depicting something eerily similar to the events of 9/11. It turned out, that's what it was.
The movie is called Flight 93. The trailer was not very telling, mostly omitting any actual film footage except for a small, blurred segment. But the audio told the story. It was filled with air traffic control checks, passenger phone calls to loved ones, talk amongst themselves and screams. And paired with the simple, but chilling digital depiction of the planes changing course on a monitor, it was enough to get your heart racing.
The first thing I thought to myself upon seeing the preview was "holy shit." The events of that tragic day are less than 5 years behind us. The movie comes out in April. Is it too soon? How soon is appropriate? This is the debate that's sure to be all over the media within a few weeks. Given that the movie comes out in April (the 28th is the release date I found upon some research), I couldn't believe I hadn't heard a thing about the film yet.
I'm completely compelled to see this movie. In fact, it's the only situation where I think someone could be moved to tears seeing and hearing a preview, as I almost was. But for how many people is this situation going to be the same? I remember that day as clear as any of my four years of college and maybe as clear as any day of my life. But I was blessed enough not to suffer the loss of any family member or friend, or anyone I knew for that matter. Many people were not.
As intrigued as I was by the preview, the first thing I did when I got home was jump online and do some research on the film background. Somehow I had missed this New York Times article that was published on January 1st (though I can imagine why I was not reading any newspapers that day). From this article, I not only learned more about Flight 93, I found that there are three other films in the works with storylines related to 9/11, including a picture by Oliver Stone. Not only is this arguably going to be too early, it could be too much.
The question must arise whether Hollywood studios are capitalizing off of America's pain, or if there are just too many Producers/Directors with a desire to show the world these events in a different way and spread larger messages. There isn't much information on the other three films yet, but I can tell you that Flight 93 fits the latter. The movie is being directed by Paul Greengrass, best known for directing The Bourne Supremacy and the less well-known, but more intention-showing Bloody Sunday, a 2002 movie that depicted the 1972 incident in which 13 unarmed civil rights demonstrators were killed by British soldiers in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Upon reading even further, and discovering this website devoted to the movie, I am convinced that Mr. Greengrass is serious about magnifying the true story of what the individuals on that plane experienced, and creating a dialogue about how these people were really the first conversation in how to deal with terrorist attacks in our modern world. According to the website, the movie "tells the story of the day through a meticulous re-enactment of events surrounding United 93, the last of the four hijacked aircraft, in the belief that by examining this single event something much larger can be found - the shape of our world today." The film run in real-time of the 90 minute flight with phone calls to loved ones and conversations between passengers, pilots, etc. being as authentic as possible. That being possible from the two dozen phone calls and 30 minutes of cockpit recordings that stand as the only true records of the events.
I'm preparing myself for an intense, emotion-wrenching viewing experience. Will you be going to see it? (View the teaser trailer here)
Speaking of movies, I just got done watching the Oscars. If it wasn't so inappropriate this would be an easy time to make a joke about a looming Armageddon after members of Three 6 Mafia won an Academy Award for "Best Original Song."
About halfway through the previews, I was completely taken-aback by the start of a preview that featured the visual of an airport flight-tracking grid that seemed to be depicting something eerily similar to the events of 9/11. It turned out, that's what it was.
The movie is called Flight 93. The trailer was not very telling, mostly omitting any actual film footage except for a small, blurred segment. But the audio told the story. It was filled with air traffic control checks, passenger phone calls to loved ones, talk amongst themselves and screams. And paired with the simple, but chilling digital depiction of the planes changing course on a monitor, it was enough to get your heart racing.
The first thing I thought to myself upon seeing the preview was "holy shit." The events of that tragic day are less than 5 years behind us. The movie comes out in April. Is it too soon? How soon is appropriate? This is the debate that's sure to be all over the media within a few weeks. Given that the movie comes out in April (the 28th is the release date I found upon some research), I couldn't believe I hadn't heard a thing about the film yet.
I'm completely compelled to see this movie. In fact, it's the only situation where I think someone could be moved to tears seeing and hearing a preview, as I almost was. But for how many people is this situation going to be the same? I remember that day as clear as any of my four years of college and maybe as clear as any day of my life. But I was blessed enough not to suffer the loss of any family member or friend, or anyone I knew for that matter. Many people were not.
As intrigued as I was by the preview, the first thing I did when I got home was jump online and do some research on the film background. Somehow I had missed this New York Times article that was published on January 1st (though I can imagine why I was not reading any newspapers that day). From this article, I not only learned more about Flight 93, I found that there are three other films in the works with storylines related to 9/11, including a picture by Oliver Stone. Not only is this arguably going to be too early, it could be too much.
The question must arise whether Hollywood studios are capitalizing off of America's pain, or if there are just too many Producers/Directors with a desire to show the world these events in a different way and spread larger messages. There isn't much information on the other three films yet, but I can tell you that Flight 93 fits the latter. The movie is being directed by Paul Greengrass, best known for directing The Bourne Supremacy and the less well-known, but more intention-showing Bloody Sunday, a 2002 movie that depicted the 1972 incident in which 13 unarmed civil rights demonstrators were killed by British soldiers in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Upon reading even further, and discovering this website devoted to the movie, I am convinced that Mr. Greengrass is serious about magnifying the true story of what the individuals on that plane experienced, and creating a dialogue about how these people were really the first conversation in how to deal with terrorist attacks in our modern world. According to the website, the movie "tells the story of the day through a meticulous re-enactment of events surrounding United 93, the last of the four hijacked aircraft, in the belief that by examining this single event something much larger can be found - the shape of our world today." The film run in real-time of the 90 minute flight with phone calls to loved ones and conversations between passengers, pilots, etc. being as authentic as possible. That being possible from the two dozen phone calls and 30 minutes of cockpit recordings that stand as the only true records of the events.
I'm preparing myself for an intense, emotion-wrenching viewing experience. Will you be going to see it? (View the teaser trailer here)
Speaking of movies, I just got done watching the Oscars. If it wasn't so inappropriate this would be an easy time to make a joke about a looming Armageddon after members of Three 6 Mafia won an Academy Award for "Best Original Song."
Thursday, March 02, 2006
It's that wonderful time of year
When I was at the peak of my sports-crazed youth, in junior high, I once declared that March Madness was the second best time of the year only to Christmas. While I no longer devote quite as much attention to college basketball as I once did when I was playing the sport, I'm still a fan and the upcoming start of the greatest tournament-style playoff in sports still gets my blood rushing. I can hardly wait for that first day of simultaneous and back-to-back-to-back hoops contests. I even heard something on the radio the other day that with all of the people watching the games or checking for score updates online during the first two days of the tournament, U.S. employers lose something like $3 billion in productivity. Bummer.
Although the NCAA tournament is still a couple weeks away, March Madness officially started with a BANG yesterday with Florida State upsetting #1 ranked Duke at home, after arguably getting a Duke upset stolen from them earlier in the season with a lack of an apparent foul call. As any jacked-up fans would, members of FSU's student section rushed the court. The one tiny detail they overlooked was that there were still seconds on the clock. I could really care less about this. It happens all the time and the game was realistically out of Duke's hands. But the downside of this is, Coach K got the opportunity to take attention away from FSU's performance by acting all miffed about the whole thing. Sorry Coach K, but there are bigger fish to fry, such as is your team even going to beat North Carolina and when is J.J. Redick going to get his stroke back?
Unfortunately I will have no home team to root for in this year's tourney. While my Minnesota Golden Gophers have been playing their best ball of the season in the last month and beat several ranked opponents, they also started the season 0-6 due to injuries and an overall lack of identity. Thus, my loyalty will probably be turned to my home-state Wisconsin Badgers (and of course whoever I pick to go far in my bracket).
Anyway, it's been a while but I gotta get back on track with the Top 5. Here goes for March:
1. March Madness
2. St. Patty's Day - to steal from a sports blog I read I'll be "0% Irish, 100% drunk"
3. A big tax return
4. My new Panasonic digital camera (in the mail!)
5. Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Be cool.
Although the NCAA tournament is still a couple weeks away, March Madness officially started with a BANG yesterday with Florida State upsetting #1 ranked Duke at home, after arguably getting a Duke upset stolen from them earlier in the season with a lack of an apparent foul call. As any jacked-up fans would, members of FSU's student section rushed the court. The one tiny detail they overlooked was that there were still seconds on the clock. I could really care less about this. It happens all the time and the game was realistically out of Duke's hands. But the downside of this is, Coach K got the opportunity to take attention away from FSU's performance by acting all miffed about the whole thing. Sorry Coach K, but there are bigger fish to fry, such as is your team even going to beat North Carolina and when is J.J. Redick going to get his stroke back?
Unfortunately I will have no home team to root for in this year's tourney. While my Minnesota Golden Gophers have been playing their best ball of the season in the last month and beat several ranked opponents, they also started the season 0-6 due to injuries and an overall lack of identity. Thus, my loyalty will probably be turned to my home-state Wisconsin Badgers (and of course whoever I pick to go far in my bracket).
Anyway, it's been a while but I gotta get back on track with the Top 5. Here goes for March:
1. March Madness
2. St. Patty's Day - to steal from a sports blog I read I'll be "0% Irish, 100% drunk"
3. A big tax return
4. My new Panasonic digital camera (in the mail!)
5. Dave Chappelle's Block Party
Be cool.
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