Lists

Great ads

I like to save great ads. I guess I’ve always been interested in cool advertising — the kind that gets the message across in a catchy, entertaining sort of way. Here are a few of my favorites. I’ll probably post more like these in the future.

This one’s for Ameriquest Mortgage. The title on YouTube is “I’m Her Daddy”.

This is a Women’s Health ad filmed in Australia and shown in Germany. A phone rings in a woman’s purse, and she… answers it.

This next ad is for the classic VW Beetle, and it’s from South Africa. Although very touching, the concept isn’t new, and is likely inspired by an old Disney cartoon. I have it at home, and I’ll try to look for the title.

A funny ad for L’Equipe, a French sports newspaper, actually asks parents to spend more time with their kids.

This next ad’s been making the rounds since last summer. It features a dancing midget. I can’t figure out what it’s advertising, but that dancing midget makes the ad really sticky. Just try and turn away while it’s playing… Overall, high on the weird factor.

This is an unfinished ad featuring 3D animated rabbits. It’s not in any language I know or understand, but I think it’s one of the Nordic languages. Great atmosphere, good warmth and the animation works very well.

Yes, I know, alcohol ads push alcohol, and that’s not cool, but this Bud Light ad is pretty funny. You’ll think the ending is predictable, but there’s a nice twist.

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Places

A more rounded point of view

This tiny little flower graced the forest floor somewhere off River Rd in Potomac, MD. Ligia and I were walking through that forest (which we love), and I was taking photos, as usual.

A more rounded point of view

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Lists

Music videos

This is the original Jerry C video. For those of you who don’t know about it, he’s a teenager from Taiwan who plays the guitar. It goes without saying that he’s good, or else he wouldn’t have gotten over 20 million views. Judging by his later videos, he favors rock pieces, but fortunately (for him) he decided to play a classical piece in his initial video.

The wonderful combination of a classical score with a rock guitar struck a chord with people, and he became famous overnight. He’s gotten invited on TV shows, and also held concerts. If what I heard was right, he’s also been offered record deals. Here’s his official site.

Richard Hyung-Ki Joo and Aleksey Igudesman are a funny musical duo. They do stuff like this in their shows. Their site is here.

Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand band that likes on-stage banter just as much as playing whimsical music.

Quinn Sullivan is a little boy that can play the guitar and sing. It’s funny to see him sing adult lyrics. I have to wonder if he knows what they mean.

The Yoshida brothers play the Shamisen, which is a traditional three-string Japanese instrument related to the guitar. But they play it very differently, and that’s what sets them apart. They’ve got a TV show appearance video here, but I prefer the more polished music video below.

This pan flute music video from the Andes, called “Espiritu Andino” is pretty cool.

The pan flute is also a traditional Romanian instrument, but the playing style differs there. Here’s one of the undisputed masters of the instrument from Romania, Gheorghe Zamfir, in concert.

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Thoughts

Fruits of my desire

In spite of the title, don’t think I’d eat these. I have no idea what they are, but since I care more about shapes and colors than I do about names and such, I do desire their texture and rich reds.

Fruits of my desire

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Lists

Condensed knowledge for 2007-05-14

Today’s calorie-free serving:

  • Clive Thompson from the NYT has a detailed write-up of what’s involved if small bands want to get their name out there these days. The almost-requisite MySpace page is a given… But while the web makes it easy for them to get their names out there, keeping up with the fans becomes a full-time computer job — just what they were trying to avoid when they became musicians. And at some point, the relationship reaches a plateau. A single human being can only keep up with a limited number of fans before they are overwhelmed. But the fans don’t care, they each want personal interaction. Sounds like a very non-fun experience for the musician.
  • Mandy Sellars in England suffers from a very rare condition called Proteus Syndrome. She will likely lose her legs. The article talks about her desire to experience life, and daily struggles.
  • This is good reading for us IT geeks: Top 7 things system administrators forget to do.
  • The NYT has a great profile of Walt Mossberg. The article not only talks about his career, but also about where things are going in terms of journalism when you factor in this “new media” we keep hearing about…
  • Mental_floss talks about the world’s most wanted (and expensive) poo. It’s ambergris. Yuck.
  • Look At This has posted a full-length movie called “When the Wind Blows“. It’s about an elderly couple who build a bomb shelter. When nuclear war breaks out, they survive, but unfortunately succumb to the fallout radiation while waiting for the government to help them. Here’s a direct link to the video.
  • According to this article, Bill O’Reilly uses old propaganda techniques to bias his listeners toward those he doesn’t agree with. Interesting stuff.
  • A pair of falcons has made their nest in the building of the San Jose City Hall, and they’ve installed a falcon cam for us web visitors. Neat!
  • Some charlatan who claims he’s Jesus Christ incarnate is fooling plenty of people down in Orlando. Don’t these people bother to read the Bible?
  • A brave little terrier saved 5 New Zealand kids from being torn up by violent pit bulls. Unfortunately it ended up so injured they needed to put him to sleep, but the children weren’t hurt.
  • Apparently ceiling height can affect how people think and act. A taller ceiling can make you more creative and artistic. Very interesting stuff!
  • Weirdomatic has a post with examples of old, creepy ads. I don’t know, Max Factor’s beauty micrometer seems reasonable enough, given the need to look fairly perfect on screen. Have a look and decide for yourselves.
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