Coachella

Coachella is coming up this weekend. How sad I am to not be going.





Some of my most memorable music experiences were at Coachella:
• Jeff Tweedy singing from Jesus Etc. "...Everyone is a setting Sun" while the sun was setting

• Probably the best DJ set EVER from DJ ZTrip

• Probably the other best DJ set EVER from Daft Punk

• Wandering in the desert heat, passing out in the Lounge Tent

• Hearing Kanye giving all us white folks (or Asian white folks) permission to say the N-word

• Discovering countless other great acts, art, and people

When I'm Feeling Low...

Two favorite videos, from one of my favorite DJ duos, Lemon Jelly:

Graphic Nature

Perfect Day

Once in a great while, life hands you one of those days... perfect weather, beautiful friends, lovely times...

Fruitvale Bridge

There are four bridges connecting Alameda to other parts of the East Bay. I'm in love with all of them.

You can't see them, but there were a bunch of fishermen casting off the dock below the bridge. Apparently, the fish in the Alameda Channel are edible. Who knew?

Paso Robles Wine Country

Another Bay Area Sunset

I think watching the sun set over the Pacific is neat. There's something cool about being practically one of the last people in mainland America to see the sun for the day.

Happiness

Loving this:

... for its shot of the kewt kitty kat at the start
... for its washed out retro 70's era photography
... for its 'how the hell did he do that' intrigue
... for its inside-baseball references to really old movies, that I never would have figured out, had I not gone here
... for its cheery, happy London atmosphere
... for the awesome doggie at the end!

Plus... it's freakin' Goldfrapp, for crying out loud.

Interactivity Takes to the Streets

(photo credit: Damon Castroviejo, via Flickr)

I don't know if this campaign is 'seeded' in other cities, but for some reason the SF Bay Area seems to be Media Market Number One for the Forgetting Sarah Marshall 'viral' campaign - an UBER ANNOYING attempt to make me think that there's something clever coming to a theater near me, via slightly misogynistic billboards with scrawled missives towards the poor character of the movie's title (real-life Sarah Marshalls, apparently, totally disregarded).

/Film.com, while misguidedly calling the campaign 'brilliant', has the scoop on the actually brilliant backlash - someone out there is as annoyed as I am.

It got me to wondering, has today's digital age - enabling anyone to comment on the commentary in virtual time - influenced our offline behavior? Street graffiti in reaction to its environment is, of course, nothing new (see Banksy, et al.), but lately, I've been noticing a lot more subversive detournement and offline comments on the commentary...

(via Wooster Collective)


(via Wired)

I'm a sucker...

... for marketing. As an advertising professional, I should be savvy to blatant attempts by marketers to win my loyalty - the obvious faux-cool facebook friend-ing requests, the free schwag given out at Sundance, the 'by invitation only' parties thrown at Coachella (which, when you get there, are packed to the gills). Anyone with half a brain in our cynical 21st century recognizes marketing for what it is: a shallow attempt to get something without giving too much in return (great brands, like Apple, excepted).

But as my friends can attest, I'm pretty shallow myself. So when an invite for the "Tanqueray Style Sessions: An Evening of Art, Fashion, and Music" landed in my inbox - well of course, I accepted, went, and will now probably become a loyal Tanqueray drinker. I have to admit, a Tanqueray No. 10 martini is pretty damn good, even when it's served in a cheap plastic cup.





Plus my friend Terry got to meet Tony Sinclair - I'm not sure why that's a big deal, but apparently, according to Terry, it is.