Mia Sorella

I briefly mentioned my sister in my last blog, and I feel as though I did her a great injustice by making her appear silly and stuck-up. She is not. My sister baffles me. My one goal in life is to move people to action to benefit my client. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing depends on who you're talking to. If you're talking to my mother then it is a very bad thing. My sister's goal in life is to make everyone else happy. She actually wants to be a doctor and has wanted to be a doctor for the sole purpose of making children feel better, and removing the stress and panic of their parents. Unlike other applicants who just want the money. She has actually developed axiety-disorder because she is so concerned about the well-being of everyone else.
I have never met a person more considerate or caring. Yet, she is having trouble getting into medical school. She actually deserves it and really wants it, and some shmuck from Harvard with an outstanding GPA is getting in before her. He'll probably get sued for making some stupid mistake because he doesn't actually care about the patients. Anyway, the point is, that in the creative world you have to be the best. The proof is in the pudding. You either do great work and get the results that you need or you don't. Medicine isn't so clear-cut. In fact, it's a murky, confusing, and disturbing line of work and in some ways, I have it easier than her.

She always says exactly what I need to hear (even if I don't want to at the time) and she is brave even though she doesn't think so. I want nothing but good things for her and I can't wait to promote her private practice someday.

The Middle East has never been greener

The Middle East has never been greener 

Looks like we aren't the only good civilians attempting to "Go Green."Israel actually started their going green campaign back in 1975! If every mother would just recycle their children's dirty diapers we could make the world a greener place.

Imagine recycling your babies diapers after they soiled in them, barf.. right? Thats what the Israeli's have been doing for years! If you are interested there are two easy steps (to read more go to greenprophet.com). Look at the bright side, it saves money AND helps the environment.

Smoking is my Yoga... sorry this is so long

Growing up sucks. As you get older you have to stop indulging and give on things you onced loved to be “responsible”. Recently, I “grew up” and quit smoking.
I hate it. I loved cigarettes, but I know it’s time to “grow up” and be responsible, but I wanted to write this to stick up for smokers everywhere…

Reasons to smoke:
1) social:
I’ve met a lot of great people through smoking, hell it’s practically networking! Do you feel comfortable walking up to a complete stranger and starting a conversation? I do… Smokers love other smokers… I’ve meet a lot of people by asking them for a lighter, it’s people that otherwise I’d be to scared to approach (professors, bosses, hot guys, etc) But when you’re a smoker, it’s you guys against the world, and you know you’ve automatically have something in common. On top of that, you now have them trapped for 5 min (usually they have no where to go)
On top of that, when’s the last time you honestly sat down and took 5 minutes to talk to somebody… not just the hi how are you, blah blah, but truly talk to them. When you smoke a cigarette with somebody you usually talk to them alone outside, and have a real conversation. Each cigg takes about 5 min and you can find out a lot about somebody in 5 min, but if you don’t like them, it’s not painfully long, so really, it’s the perfect networking length! (and when your out you usually have to step outside to smoke, therefore you can officially talk with out screaming and actually get to know each other –crazy concept…)
Which leads me to my next point:

2) Nature:
Have you sat on your back porch lately all alone and looked up at the sky? I have. When I was in high school I would sneak out to my back stoop and smoke a cigg every night. I watched trees grow, bats fly, and was totally alone outside with nature. I loved those moments… if I hadn’t been a smoker, I would have been on the phone, on the computer and I would have never have been in my backyard and appreciated all it had to offer.

3) YOGA… what’s the difference?
Stressed out… do yoga… what actually is yoga… breathing in and out, alone, outside, and thinking… GEE SOUNDS LIKE SMOKING A CIGG TO ME!!!
You breath the smoke in and blow it out… it’s the only time I ever take the time to stop and breath… it allows me to collect my thoughts, brain storm and remain calm cool and collected—people say it’s expensive, ha! I buy 1 pack a week (that’s 3.50) how much does your yoga instructor or your therapist cost?! That’s what I thought…

Ok, ok before I go get assassinated by the “Truth” campaign, I just wanted to say that yes, smoking is bad for you, but so are a lot of things. Tobacco is always viewed as the big bad wolf, but I just wanted to say thanks Marlboro.
You helped me meet my first boyfriend, then you were there when he dumped me, you where there when my mom yelled at me, when I got into college, you helped me make friends at the dorm, get out of lots of sketchy situations, got me breaks at work, and inspired so many of my creative ideas… It’s been fun, and I’ll miss you.

This One's for the Boys

I was recently hired as a brand ambassador with Fuse, a youth marketing agency. They focus on creating brand awareness amongst people our age by creating buzz about their clients on college campuses. So now, the point of this post is to get the word out that they are looking to hire a talented, dedicated guy to be a brand rep for the FSU campus. I've done this type of marketing before with StudentUniverse and it was a lot of fun and great learning experience. If you are a guy with time on your hands, some marketing experience and this sounds like something your interested in here is the website to apply http://www.fusemarketing.com/ Look under jobs and internships and you will see the info, or you can email me at lad05c@fsu.edu and I can forward a resume to my event manager. Thanks guys!

Livin in a Dumpster

Going along with the theme of Justin's post I decided to also share something really cool and creative that I thought everyone would enjoy. I was surfing the web two weeks ago and stumbled over an old email my dad sent me about some guy who transformed an old dump truck into a fully functioning home on wheels. After some investigating I found the pictures and I would just like to say... Winnebago eat your heart out!

The power of emotion in marketing

I don't know how long these signs have been around for, but last night (ok, 2am this morning) was the first time I had seen one. I was on my way back from Jacksonville, traveling west on lonely I-10 at 2am. As many of you know, there is alot of construction going on as you near Tallahassee. I'm used to seeing the usual orange diamond construction signs "slow down-workers present" (or something like that.) However, last night I saw something different: "Pleaze slow down, my daddy works here."

I was shocked at how much more powerful and, hopefully, effective the message was. It's amazing how the message reaches the drivers in a more meaningful way when people are reminded that a worker someone's "daddy," and to be careful. After some quick research, it seems this campaign began in Sacramento, California.

Strangely Interesting Microsoft Ads

So as we all know by now, Microsoft is in the process of running a new $300 million ad campaign to compete with the "Get a Mac" ads that have boosted Apple sales. Jerry Seinfeld is supposedly making about $10 million for his part in them. When the first commercial came out, many people thought it was very different from the usual Microsoft campaigns. Many people thought that it was stupid because it had nothing to do with Microsoft at all.

I personally love the new Microsoft ads even though I admit that I am an avid follower of whatever Steve Jobs tells me to do (aka Apple user). I feel like Microsoft has never ventured in this direction before. Their new ads are funny, witty, and have nothing to do with Microsoft at all. And even with this, I feel like it changes Microsoft's brand image from somewhat of a stuffy corporate one, to a new young, fresh look.

So while many people look at these commercials as weird and strange, I see them as doing exactly what they're supposed to do. They have successfully made news shows, bloggers, and many other people talk about their product and that is what advertising's all about.

Where to get creative ideas

It may sound kind of clichè, but a lot of the things I come up with are from stories about my dad's life. He tells the most interesting stories I have ever heard. I remember in high school people would come over even if I wasn't home just to listen to my dad talk.

He is from a small town called North Jutson, Indiana, but he didn't live there forever. When he was like 16 or 17 he moved out to California to "just do something exciting." He always talks abotu being homeless and living in a church for a while but doing crazy things all night and day, but the real creativity happened when we was in his mid to late 20's. Having an interest in the music business he wanted to being signing bands as their manger and doing road tours. Not having the financial backing for this he new to get talent he'd have to be creative. So he went out and got business cards made with his cell phone number and an address that did not exist (this is the days before map quest). The address was an office building complex next to a bar called The Brown Derby, so since he did not own an office, when people called he said "oh it's hard to find just meet me at the Derby." I thought that was the coolest thing I had ever heard. This is actually how I came to get my last name. My father was born Tom Smith, but he thought that was too boring. He had gotten a job with a real record company (Square Deal Records) and they advised him to change his name. Well that ngiht the DJ he was listening to on the radio was "Dan the man Steele." My dad liked the way it rang and changed his name to Tom Steele. So yes, technically my name should be Savannah Nicole Smith. And I've heard the pun about Anna Nicole Smith, thanks. It is stories like these that really inspired me to want to be creative. My dad always just flew by the cusp and he makes decisions about 15 minutes after hes started doing something. This can be a bit dangerous when he is doing stuff like...painting the grage neon orange but as far as his professional life went it was amazing. He always taught me that people know nothing about you, except what you tell them. His clients never had any idea that he didnt even have a real office and that he would go on tour with them because he had not much else going on. So even if you find yourself completely down and out on your luck, remember people don't have to know it. You don't really have to lie either, simply act the way you want to be perceived and people will follow along. another story was a friend of his, Terry Giles, was a lawyer and when he first started out he wanted to look prestigious and have a large library in his office. He didn't yet have the money for the tons of law books he wanted so he got cardboard and pictures and set them up in his bookshelves (far away from any clients reach) and gave off that appearance.

We may be new students just starting out in the field, but with jsut a little creativity and imagination I'd bet each and every one of us could make someone believe we'd been doing it for 10 years....you jsut have to put your mind to it.

Please excuse my ranting.

If people in Tallahassee only knew the time and frustration, not to mention the money, that they could have saved themselves at the gas pumps over this past weekend...

With hurricane Ike bearing down on the Texas coast Friday, most oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico were evacuated and several refineries along the coast also were. So allll of a sudden, somebody hit the panic button in Tallahassee on Friday afternoon and we had ourselves a huge run on gas (mind you that Florida's fuel reserves were at 100% capacity). Also, take into consideration that the majority of Florida's gasoline supplies, to my knowledge at least, do not come from those refineries over in Texas, but rather it is imported from other countries. And what port does Tallahassee's gas come in from you ask? Well, that would be Jacksonville...

With this knowledge I decided not to rush out to a gas station on Friday and wait in line at Shell for 2 hours to pay $5.50 a gallon. Especially considering the fact that this happened a couple years ago in Tallahassee - everyone panicked, but the following day everyone (including gas stations) went on as normal with no sudden shortage of gas. I listened as the Governor and numerous state officials continually stated, "There is no reason to panic," but here we are no gas all over town except for a few inconvenient convenience stores located all the way across town.

My frustration level was about through the roof as I found myself driving all around town at 11pm last night on E - with that red gas light glaring accusingly at me - just to find enough gas to get into work Monday morning. And who knows when all these gas stations will fill back up because the owners are certainly in no hurry to pay their suppliers the inflated price of gasoline right now. So when everybody blames the gas station owners and says they are just ripping us off, think again friends, because all of those who bought into this unnecessary hysteria that started Friday afternoon are clearly the ones to blame in this situation.

And that's my two cents.

On a Sunday...

Typically, Sundays are when I sleep in and just take it easy for the day. To kick this Sunday off, my roomies woke me up early to get breakfast at IHOP! I remember when I first moved to this town as a freshman, I was upset that there wasn’t an IHOP or a Denny’s in town. Back home, we spent a lot of late nights at those places. And I love to eat breakfast any time of the day. I decided it would be worth waking up at 9 to trek over there. I guess since this IHOP is fairly new, the place was packed! It took a total of 3 hours to get a table, eat, and the check. But oh was it worth it..pancakes easily brighten up my day..as long as I don’t eat too much.

Of course I ate too much, so once we got home, I was too stuffed to move around. I grabbed a book to read, but after an hour of pleading with me, my roommate convinced me that we should wash our cars on the lawn. She had also invited friends of hers to wash their cars as well, so there was a few of us out there. My sponge must’ve gotten mixed in with other sponges because after drying my car, I noticed white swirl marks all over the surface, as if the paint had been scratched. Feeling exhausted and drained, I went to the auto store to purchase a polish that would remove the marks. So now I’m in my room, waiting to apply this polish (the instructions say not to apply it in direct sunlight AND I have to wait for the surface to cool!) when all I want most is to just relax, and take it easy. At least I got some great pancakes out of this.

Battle of the Cartoon Generations

I was watching Enchanted the other day at my sorority house. For those of you who are not aware, Enchanted is a montage of fairy tale movies about a storybook character, Giselle, who falls into New York City. At one point in the movie Giselle decides to call upon the New York animals to help tidy up. We were all freaked out when rats, mice, pigeons, and flies swarmed the room. However, words could not describe our disgust when cockroaches crawled out through the drains. As multiple people in the room asked "This movie is for children?" I suddenly remembered the generation lesson from last year.

I thought of the generation gaps and differences of how the X and Y generations were raised. So then I began to think that generation X is now in the work force and must be creating these horrific children's tales. Yes, I understand the baby boomers are also in the work force; however, the Lion King played down the disgust and perversion more than fairy tales of today. Perhaps the Lion King did sleep out "sex" in the clouds, but that was always up for debate and children watching the movie were less likely to see it. However, children's movies today such as Shrek and Enchanted are set for a more adult friendly audience, and cockroaches are not easily missed like spelling a word from clouds.

The more I thought of who was to blame, I realized that my sorority sisters are all from Generation Y. We did not grow up with these sort of fairy tales and are shocked when cockroaches crawl out from the drain. On the other hand, my brother from Generation X found this part of the movie to be the best idea and entertaining. I truly hope that in the future we will see more child friendly movies that bring cartoons back to the days of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Perhaps, Generation X can help reduce the vulgarity of cartoons.

Not a blog

Hey CYL,

I'm up trying to work on my website that I told myself I would have up before the end of the semester. I went to the CYL website because making my website made me curious about the design of yours. Under your blog section you have it linked to our class blog. How do you set the site up to post the recent blogs? or are you copying and pasting? Also, how can I make my site bloggable? Any answers?

All I have done so far is basic navigation and some backgrounds designed... this one here is a sneak peak, haha. Took it back to kindergarden on the backgrounds

Evolution can be tricky...

So sometimes I just find random stuff on the internet. Now, I know that that in and of itself isn't so amazing, but some of the stuff I find is (Well, it amuses me for at least a little while.) Now I remember seeing one of these one day and thinking "Wow, that's pretty impressive." Today I decided to find a few and share them with the class. I know we've all had to use Photoshop a time or two so I thought that this would be pretty relevant. Plus some of them are just cool.

Blah Blah Blog

As I was preparing for my weekly post I couldn't help but think of an old theory of mine, "If your being forced to write something, how can you enjoy it or rather say whats really on your mind". With blogging that statement isn't completely true because yes, you can write whatever you'd like on this website. What if I'm just not down with that? To me blogs are glorified Myspace accounts that don't have your favorite Kelly Clarkson song playing in the background with thousands of pictures of you and your friends 'Wild n Out' and the utmost task of labeling your peers into some for of a Top 8 list. Now this may sound extreme but blogging just seems like a cry for attention by some. Ive come across blogs (accidentally mind you) of people who will never get off their keyboard, go outside, stare at the sky and write what they truly feel is meaningful and life changing in the notebook of their mind. Who cares if millions of others read it, it means something to YOU. I know this is a medium for our class and that's cool, I enjoy seeing whats going on in the mind of others and quite honestly if we didn't have this little online journal I probably wouldn't hear about them at all. Though if something did happen in the previous week that was so enlightening and life changing, couldn't a raised hand in class accomplish the same thing and get instant feedback and perhaps a comforting hug for a rough patch of life? This blog has been fairly entertaining though. I can always look up to Scott and know that if a fine gentleman such as himself can secure a job with the great Catch Your Limit team without signing his life away to a blog then maybe I have a chance in the business world. The story about Spryte did cheer me up though, I am big dog fan and I'm glad you could finally be reunited! I added a neat image Ive held onto for awhile.

In Response to Justin's post

Warning: May contain inappropriate language, but a very funny explanation of the end of the world!

The End of The World

Plugging In, Tuning Out

That's the title of a disturbing article by Don Campbell in today's USA Today.

Don teaches journalism at Emory University in Atlanta.He not only gives his take, but quotes from two books on the state of learning, today. You can guess what the focus of his article is just by the title of one of the books, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes our Future.

The books author, Mark Bauerlein, admits the title is a "little bit over the top," but don't let that put you off.

The call to action is to get off your self absorbed social sites that blocks out virtually everything else, learn how to really write (not text-message-writing) and use your brain instead of your fingertips.

Campbell quotes a Midwestern high school student who gave this response on why social networking held such an attraction for her.

"It sounds stupid and everything but like once you get into it it's really like addicting -- just like everything. Like you have your song and like you write like all this stuff about yourself and like all my friends basically have it. So like we always like read each other's pages and like call each other and like kind of, and like you put like 300 pictures up so .. people's pictures and stuff and comments."

Campbell writes, "Sounds stupid? Why in the world would she think that."

My take is that after thirteen "likes", like I am really sad. Really, really sad.

My Fahja is a GENIUS!

Hey, Friends! (Just as an FYI--I address everyone as "friends" even upon first meeting that person. If this is wrong then I don't want to be right.)

I don't really know how to start off this blog without jumping right in...I had a HORRIBLE DAY! I mean, bad news bears. Basically, my office is extremely understaffed at the moment so my co-worker and I (her name is Shandrea, my name is Andrea--pretty cool!) have been picking up the extra slack. Well, I don't mind this part at all. The only issue is my boss of doom! I won't go into the nitty-gritty but basically she is a fool. Exhibit A: She forgot to turn in our time sheets(old school, whatttt) so now Shandrea and I won't get paid this Friday like the rest of the College of Law employees. Don't worry, though--she will still get paid. Whew, now I can sleep at night. (That was her comforting me, telling me she will still get her paycheck).

Well, on my drive home, I was a bit upset with how my day was going. I was sick of work and just wanted to go home to attempt to relax before our lovely class. Alright, I'm driving home and turn onto Ocala. Some mean soul apparently thought I was going way too slow(5 miles over the speed limit, I'm a tortoise), so he switches lanes and proceeds to shake his head at me while he passes me. On any other day I would just brush this off and feel sorry for the person for being so negative. Well, not today! I decided to retaliate! I gave him not just one, but TWO birds! Now please don't judge me for showing a bit of hostility but I rationalized it in my head for my bad day, haha. The funny part about all of this, though, is that when we got to Tennessee Street, it was a red light! Way to speed up to make it to a red light, guy! He was literally the straw that broke this camel's back!

All of this road rage got me thinking about an idea my Dad had back in the day. His idea was to have a "Worst Driver of the Week" website where people would nominate horrible drivers and then everyone else could go to the website and see the pictures of these bad drivers! He said he would then send the bad drivers a t-shirt, something to put on their car indicating the lack of driving ability, and sign a promise that says they will be a better driver. When he first told me of his idea I was immediately wearing my black hat...I was full of concerns! I didn't know how he would take their picture, why people wouldn't sue for having their photo on this website, etc. etc.

The more I think about it, I love the idea! I would definitely nominate the old man of hatred that shook his old man head at me today! What a jerk!

Hmmph!

ps--Any future possible employers who are reading this, I swear I don't go driving around flicking people off! I am a JOY in the workplace! : )

Car Troubles

So I'm supposed to be on my way driving to class at the moment, but as soon as I tried to start it...nothing happened and it became apparent I must wait for AAA assistance, so I figured while I wait for them to come save me I should blog.

People are always looking for what their strengths and weaknesses are, even if it is subconsciously. One of my personal strengths is knowing random useless facts. My weakness is technology. It is interesting to see how people can turn their personal interests and strengths into a career. When picking a major it is always important to think what kind of job you can get with that kind of degree. However, it is also important to look back at what you really enjoy doing. If you can not stand doing math problems, you probably should not be an accountant (no matter how much money you might make). If you cannot stand children, you should not be a teacher or a pediatrician. If you are really unorganized you should not be a secretary. If you thrive on structure you should not be a creative in advertising firms. The decision of life after college is something which plagues all college students. There are the few which simply say "I want a degree" and pay little attention to what it is in, as long as they can write BA on their resume, but all the while they are still thinking where they want to turn that resume in to. It seems like my whole life has been one preparation for the next step, pre-school to elementary school to middle school to high school to junior college and now to FSU, where I have to start looking at "real" life and from then into my family's life and retirement. It's almost as if you have been planning to retire since birth. I always wonder if there will be a time where you can stop looking for the future and just really enjoy what you are good at doing.

And Still waiting for the AAA man to arrive. He called saying he was on his way 45 minutes ago. My roommate dropped her car off at the mechanic's today and I was supposed to drop her off there on my way to class. So now we are both stranded transportationless.

Meet the Fockers is on TV. Robert DiNero did a really amazing job as the father in this movie. It begs to ask who really has these big extravagant houses and crazy cool family outings though. Well I guess I'm going to go wait for AAA again. Have fun in the first part of class tongiht, hopefully I can join you soon!

HELP! I'm SICK!

Help me!!! I don’t know what is going on with me! I just can’t seem to care about anything!!!
I’m like wow I have class in an hour; eh I’ll get up in 30 min…
30 min later… ehh I’ll wear my PJ’s, I can wait 15 min extra min…
15 min later… ehh I don’t want to park and walk maybe my room mate will drive me…
Then 5 min before class I leave!
I mean look how late I’m posting for class! Do you know how hard it was to stop watching Opera to do this!
Ladies and gents, I have been diagnosed with SENIOR-ITOUS! I have a very serious case… SENIOR-ITOUS is when you decide that you can do, or not do whatever you want, you think the rules can be bent, and of course: I’m better then you all due to the pure fact that you are a senior.
But guess what… I can have senior-itous b/c IM A SENIOR! And ps: you can do pretty much whatever you want, the rules can be bent for you, and well frankly FSU 09 is better then you… so I guess the only medication for it is to LIVE IT UP.
Tom: if you ask me to do something, I’m going to tell you I can’t b/c I’m highly medicated.
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IDEAS NEEDED!

Hey All,
I just wanted to let everyone know that Ad Club's frist meeting will be on Monday 15 at 7PM in Diffenbaugh room 128. However, before we have our first meeting I will be putting together our SECOND EVER newsletter. The newsletter is designed to preview the meetings, announce internships, jobs, ect. and tell about new or "creative" ways that advertising is surpassing all others. I thought, since you are our targer, in the advertising world and students of FSU's Advertising major, that I should see what you have to say. Therefore, If you have heard of anything that seem interesting or just some suggestions to improve our newsletter, such as story ideas, PLEASE REPLY TO THIS POST! Thank you; hope to see you all at Ad Club on Monday Night. :)

Spryte!

So after spending my Saturday in the pouring rain (in which I proceeded to sell my student ticket AND student ID to some chick from Penn State-thank you Jack Daniels) I went on a mission Sunday. So for the past few months I'd been in a custody battle. I know what you're thinking-what Whitney has kids? Well sort of-my child is my adorable border collie named Spryte (no, not like the soda-yes, like the fairy). My ahemCRAZYahem ex-boyfriend acquired her after our messy break up. Spryte was rightfully mine, though-I rescued her from an animal shelter when I was in high school. I let him know that she was mine quite frequently too. So after some persuading (and probably enough complaining) he finally relinquished custody! So I made my travels on Sunday to Tampa for the rescue mission. I brought two friends with me-just in case any back up was needed. Luckily, things went smoothly. The picture above is from our ride back. So I know that everyone says they have the coolest, smartest, whateverest dog in the world-but trust me I really do! Border Collie's are known for being extremley intelligent dogs, and very capable of learning. I found a video on YouTube a while back and I am determined to teach Spryte to do all of these amazing tricks. She's not quite there yet, but it's so cool to see the creative things that people can teach a dog to do. Here is the video-and you guys can look for Spryte to be doing cool stuff very soon :) (i also don't know how to post youtube videos on here so you have to follow the link-but trust me..it's worth it!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1lO6HQZdsk

It's Senior Year:(

Hey everyone!! I hope your weekend went well which for most of you it seemed to! So I know some people have been talking about their problems, well sorry I am too:( I am in this huge dilemma right now because I really don't want to go back to my old job. Its actually a really selfish reason, but the fact that this is my SENIOR year I feel that I am allowed to be a little selfish. So I really don't want to have to work on weekends and besides that I have been working in retail my entire college life and I am so over it. Working at Gymboree is actually quite easy, but I'm so sick of the unmotivated and horrible work ethics that people have. Yes, I know that I want weekends off, but I was probably the hardest worker at both of my retail jobs. (How do you think I moved from Sales Associate to Assistant Manager in 6 months and then to Co-Manager another 3 months after that..its really sad actually considering I was only 19 at the time) So like I said I really don't want to go back to work, well the one thing I hate about Tallahasse is its so hard to find a job here. And its really hard to find a job where I work only 2 or 3 days a week(since I am taking way more credits then I ever have) and preferably on weekdays. Think about it though..there are 8 home games this year and one in Jax, then if I can even scavenge up enough money to try and go to New York, Halloween(on a Friday!) is during FAMU Homecoming and all of my friends won't be here and I always have to work since everyone else I work with goes to FAMU, and not to mention if my parents come up here or I want to go home a weekend. Its just that I will be (hopefully) working in a year or so what I will be doing my whole life so this is the time to do what you want! Go crazy. I always told myself that my senior year I would do it all so yes I want to! It would be nice to have a meaningful job though. I know I'm being very selfish, not to say though that I'm not a hard worker cause if I have a job I do it right. I've been working since I was 16 so I have a great work-ethic. I know your saying why not work, I've already had to take out a loan this last year just because I can't work as much as I used to. Why does college have to be so expensive? Sorry, but this has just been on my mind like crazy. I did have a great weekend though. In addition, I was thinking that maybe our client could be a deodorant. Have you ever seen commercials for them..its horrible. There is on creative thought in it at all! The only people who I think have gotten it is AXE and Tag which are both for men.  I have tried to look online for the Secret Flawless one where the women is walking around New York City with her arms raised the whole time. I think the worst part in it is when she hails for a cab and then says "I'd rather walk" with her hands in the air pointing to the direction in which she is going. I know you all have probably seen it. But I have seen it all weekend and it annoys me more and more each time it plays. I just think it is so pointless and I would rather turn the channel then watch that horrible commercial one more time. Sorry I couldn't find it. But now that I have said that you are all going to notice yet. Any by the way when I was looking for it online there are many blogs and forums dedicated to how much people hate this commercial. Which says something..Secret please take it off air!!!! 

PS: So if anyone knows of a good job let me know!!!! Lol 

Baby Ninja sworn to protect all that is honest and creative.

A point made in class has inspired my Baby Ninja. We discussed how kindergarten students in comparison to sixth graders still demonstrate vitality for life, an endless pool of energy, and a free flow of expressive emotion opposed to the much more subdued, cool attitude of an average middle schooler. The kindergarten student has yet to be affected by the pressure of social conformity and it results in an honest and free reign of creativity.

This thought is particularly disturbing to me. It triggered a nostalgic quest of my own, through the depths of my childhood memory to find when, where and who stole my kindergarten essence. I’m disappointed to report back that it was a combination of many of the people that I hold in high respect. Family, Friends, and school teachers evaporate our creative juices at a very young age.

As young toddlers we fight the conformity, the restrictions and we are all……baby ninjas. As young children we are known to defy our parents and listen only to our inner artist by creating crayola masterpieces using our bedroom walls as our canvas or creating grand sculptures from mounds of toilet paper. As a baby ninja we are responsible to fight against all the social norms and express ourselves anywhere, anyhow, and anyway we can. However, after time and continuous verbal reprimand, pressures to conform to society eventually defeat our baby ninja and our kindergarten essence is slay. In order to restore our creative spirits we must invest in our baby ninjas and allow them to emerge once again. We must relearn free expression of thought and abandon our current social restraints, fears and inadequacies or we as creative students will never reach our full potential.

Why not us?

Next week, six of my best friends from Tallahassee and I are having our first ever 'Black Book' session. This meeting is the first of many designed to come up with ways of getting rich quick. We have all been envious of the mastermind known as Mark Zuckerberg, and we hope to follow his innovative lead. For those of you who aren't in the mix, Mark is the creator of Facebook. What started as an idea has become an epic empire across the world. Now, my friends and I are realists, and we know that taking the time and the effort to create another "Facebook" just isn't going to happen. What we do know, however, is that we plan on seriously getting our feet wet, and ultimately, filling our pockets with cheddar. That's what these meetings are all about. That... and discussing world domination, of course. Last week, we all received our "Little Black Books." These are weekly journals for us to jot down any ideas that come to mind. Once a week we get together and share our "Little Black Books."After presenting our ideas, we brainstorm, discuss, argue, laugh, cry and anything else that we think might help come up with that one gem that could change our lives forever.
We'll keep you all posted on any breakthroughs....

" A double macchiato with a side of debate"

So here's an interesting fact for all you Starbucks and/or politics lovers. Starting on Thursday, Starbucks will be offering a free weekly paper called the Good Sheet. Each week will focus on a different political topic surrounding the upcoming election. The good thing is (no pun intended) that it is a nonpartisan paper...just simply stating the facts-statistics, graphics and McCain and Obama views. It's perfect for us busy students who don't have much time to be reading 6 page long articles about the issues and are bombarded by the very biased media. With school, work, and studying for the GRE, I know it has been really hard to keep up daily with what is going on. Although I am guilty of not being up do date with my politics, I have actually heard people base their decisions on ridiculous claims such as"Obama sounding too much like Osama" or "McCain is too old", which freaks me out a bit that they are contributing to the decision of our future! Oh the ignorance!

For many of us, this is the first time we are voting in the election so it is important to make an educated decision. So next week when the semester load starts piling up and you head for a nice grande or venti cup of coffee, stop in and pick up The Good Sheet to stay informed!

Here is the article if you want to know more about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/business/media/08good.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss


p.s. I love that we can post pictures!

Pandora Please

I wanted to share this site with everyone because I love it! Its perfect if your at the office or in the library wishing you had your ipod. Basically, you create an account for FREE...type in some of your favorite artists and then it creates and saves a "radio station" that only plays music similar to that of the favorite artist you indicated. When you get a minute, def. check it out because its worth your while! http://www.pandora.com/

Charge it out your a_ _

This week has been hell for my mind. I'm exhausted with the run around. My old apartment is keeping the $300 deposit, plus wants an additional $85 for move out fees, painting, and carpet cleaning. To be honest its all bullsh**. We scrubbed that apartment to the bone, but I don't have the energy or the patience to contest it. I try to convince myself to just fight it out because I know they charge so ridiculously hoping you don't have the know abouts or the will to dispute it. And for this case I guess I'm going to let the man win. Wai there's more.... I come home to my new apartment and there is a fee for $10.50. After 10 minutes on the phone with the leasing office, she tells me the charge is for an utility service. My roomate called the office to check to see if our gas stove was working properly and we got charged for it. Add these BS (not bachelors of science) charges in the mix with tuition and high gas prices, all these charges out my a_ _ make me want to put my foot up someone else.

P.S Jeff can you send a blog invite to this email address alucci1988@gmail.com. I want to use that email address, but I dont know how to add myself in.

Simple.Creative.Amazing.

I stumbled upon a blog earlier this summer that had some simple and yet wonderfully creative logos. I had to share this with you all so that we all remember the importance and power of a great simplistic design. Here's the site www.cleverthink.com/2007/12/logo-palooza.html ....there's only a few logos on there but they're really cool once you take a second look and read more about them.

But for now...case in point: FedEx

I don't know about you all but I never noticed that the designers of the FedEx logo cleverly created an arrow between the letters 'E' and 'X'. I adore that little arrow. Once you see it you'll always see it. Its clever,subtle, and represents their speedy, direct delivery.How perfect! Now it's forever the first thing I see whenever I see a FedEx truck or package...it's haunting. Sometimes I wonder if people notice it without being told. I sure hope so....

I also love the logo for amazon.com. Partly because as much as I've been on that site and have seen that logo, I've never thought to really look at it....until now. It's great in that within the design there's an arrow that represents that the company has everything from a to z. BUT they took the idea even further by turning the arrow into a smile thus promoting the notion that shopping with amazon.com = a good time!
Last one. No explanation needed. It's for the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team

See you all in class!!!!

P.S.
I hope you always see the arrow... ;-)

Cakes

Today was my roommates birthday. Ironically, when I walked into my 19th Century British Novelists class there was a quote left on the board by the previous class. It said, "The arts are not the frosting, but the baking soda." I have no idea who said it since that was the only sentence on the board. For those who have not taken a home-ec course, baking soda is what makes the cake rise. The metaphor struck me. I have been writing and performing since I was three (well I didn't start writing until pre-K and even then it was mostly shape sentences like "I 'heart' U"). Going to Christmas parties with my pre-med sister became less enjoyable as soon as someone would ask, "So what are you planning to do?" After she said "Become a pediatrician," (which she had decided on at the impressive age of eight and a half), my lack of an answer, usually a fumbling of words that somehow emerged, "Something creative," always struck my attorney filled family and friends as "interesting" "unique" and "different". Well, I like to think I am "interesting" "unique" and "different". I suck at math, I only use science when it helps me prove my point and I hate the sight of blood. I love writing stories, I love performing and making people feel good and it makes me feel good to know that there is someone out there who actually appreciates it. Without comedy, movies, novels, video games, life is lackluster. There is nothing to inspire or say what others can't. It is through the arts that some of the greatest revelations in life have been expressed.
When I switched from theatre to advertising I was expecting a huge reaction from my family. "Wow, something she can use," but instead I was hit with the same old "interesting" "unique" and "different". All I can really say to them now is, "Yes, I like to think that being different, interesting and unique is what allows to world to evolve. Everything else is simply frosting."

Bad Fans

I'm so OVER rude fans. From any team ranging from little league to professional the "teams behind the team" need to learn to be supportive. It's fun to win, but it sucks to loose, and its unnesecarry for fans to make it even worse. Really, no athlete ever goes completely without any fault and to make fun of them for making little mistakes SUCKS. Like half the hecklers could perform anywhere near as good as the people on the court anyway. It is just so frusterating to see people behave so obnoxiously. I've never really been into any for of slapstick comedy and laughing at other people's misfortunes, and when someone goes out of there way to jeer and put down someone else it is infuriating. Seriously people, grow up...or in fact grow down and remember the lessons of Thumper...

"If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all."

Fair-Weather Fan

I am the definition of a fair-weather fan. Florida State is known for having some of the worst fans in the ACC, I definitely contribute to this bad reputation. I barely made it to the stadium on Saturday. I HATE the rain. The only time I semi like the rain is if I am cuddled up in my bed watching a movie. For some reason the rain has power to ruin my afternoon. Who wants to walk around soaking wet, make up smeared and above all stand in the stands amongst other drunken college students and cheer. NOT ME. I will say though that I made it into the stadium and stayed for a good 20 minutes before I couldn't stand the rain any longer and went home. 

This sign is proof that I made it to the football stadium and attempted to wait out the game. Go ahead ESPN... talk about how awful Florida State fans are, we still won 69-0!

Football Overdose

I am a female, and yes, I absolutely love football. College football is my true love, but, I am willing to watch the NFL if there is no college football on. My overdose began on Thursday night when I watched Vanderbilt beat the the South Carolina Gamecocks. This of course was a very exciting game since Vanderbilt was the underdog. The highlight of my weekend was watching my Seminoles shut out Western Carolina 69 to 0. All Seminole fans can agree that we have not seen our team play that well (whether or not Western Carolina is a bad team) in at least two years. We can thank this guy: 

Along with Christian Ponder, we can thank many other Seminole players who started their first college game and showed how great they already are. Today I have been feeling pretty sick but I have been watching the Packers and Vikings whenever I randomly wake up. 

Now, you all may wonder where I am going with this topic since this is an advertising blog. Not to worry, I already thought about that. While I have been overdosing on football, I have repeatedly found myself annoyed by the fact that there are no advertisements aimed towards females. I understand that men may enjoy sports in general more then women, because I know that the only sport I love to watch is football. But, I know MANY females my age and even much older that watch football. These females watch it on a regular basis since they are usually following their favorite team. It absolutely blows my mind that advertisers have not caught onto this yet. Or maybe they realize that many women are watching and they are just taking the easy and lazy way out? Either way, I find it quite bothersome and I am confident that one day I can help change this absurdity. I hope to help put advertisers in a position to make much more money then they already are off of football. I envision marketers creating advertisements aimed towards the women that love football. Trust me, there are many of us.  

FreeRice.com

As I was sitting here playing on FreeRice.com trying to find inspiration for what to post about in the blog, I was motivated to share what a neat site FreeRice is. I'm not sure if most people already know about it, but as they market, "FreeRice has two goals: to provide education to everyone for free and to help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free".

Here is how it works: (I borrowed the directions from their site to help best explain it to you)

"In the middle of the FreeRice Home page you will see something like:
small means:
little
old
big
yellow

To play the game, click on one of the four definitions ('little,' 'old,' 'big,' or 'yellow') that you think is correct. If you get it right, FreeRice donates 20 grains of rice to help end hunger. In the example above, you would want to click on 'little,' which means 'small.' You will then get a chance to do another word the same way. You can play as long as you like and donate as much rice as you like. When you are finished, you do not have to do anything―your donation is already counted."

The words/definitions start getting harder and harder and the levels go up and up until you get one wrong. When you miss a word, you go back down to an easier level but it takes getting three words in a row right to move on to a harder level.

I did some research into to make sure that it was a legit organization and found that the site is sponsored by advertisers which is how it works for "free". "The rice is paid for by the sponsors whose names appear on the bottom of the screen when you enter a correct answer; and all money raised by the site goes to the UN World Food Program to help feed the hungry. Sponsors make all payments to the UN World Food Program directly."

If you are curious or want more information check out http://www.freerice.com/faq.html.
And while you are there, give it a try - it's an addicting, fun way to help out other people (while helping yourself out too :]).

"It is every man's obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it." -Albert Einstein

Oak Tree From Tuesday’s Class

Remember that oak tree that Tom spoke about last class? Well, I think I found it! Thursday morning I stepped out of the Student Life Building on campus and directly in front of it was a GIANT oak tree being relocated. It was a big affair--there were guys in hard-hats everywhere, even President TK showed up to watch. If you look closely you can see the logs underneath it. I drove by the SLB again this evening and the tree is still there… it’s going to take a while for them to move it, so if anyone wants to see it, there’s still time!

And to answer Craig’s question, my weekend was fantastic! I was home in Miami. I learned how to put shutters up, visited family, and enjoyed an early surprise birthday dinner.

First Post Make-Up

I missed the first post due to technical difficulties with my username and password so here it is. I enjoyed learning about everyone so i thought i would also share a little bit about myself.
My full name is Craig Martin Costigan and i was born and raised in Tallahassee. My birthday is 8/23/86 and I have an older brother and older sister. "These are a few of my favorite things." My favorite sports are soccer, surfing, and snowboarding. My favorite color is green. I love chinese food, particularly sesame chicken. My favorite animal is a Golden Retriever. My Favorite hobby is traveling. My favorite band is the Beatles and my favorite quote is "an eye for an eye makes the whole world world blind" - Gandhi.

How was your weekend

My weekend went well. Didnt get to go to the game because hey, someone has to stay behind and make pizza. Though from the look of the weather I may have had the better seat. The power going out was not fun however. Maybe one of these weekends I'll catch a game. Ive also been stuck in a waiting battle with UPS for some parts I ordered for my new bike. Its almost like christmas when then big brown truck shows up except I already know whats inside the box. Having seen one package be sent back to the shipper for an 'insufficient address' has put me in a very cautios mood but I suppose with enough perturbed phone calls to the company anything can get settled. Though this still doesnt let me ride my new bike any sooner. Jerks. Hope everyone elses weekend went well and you stayed relatively dry on saturday.

Mondays I hate Mondays....

*this part of my blog was supposed to be at the bottom after the main text, but I couldn't get it to move...sorry!

Btw I saw that someone blogged about yearbookyourself.com and I couldn't help myself, so I put up some pictures of me back in the day. The first one is from 1976 and the second one is from 1966. Its actually pretty quick and easy to use the site. Go ahead try it...I know you want to!

I can not believe this past weekend has come and gone already! Where does time go? Seriously I feel like I have absolutely no time left in the day to finish everything that I have to get done. This is probably because I have to plan out my schedule to the minute! Sometimes I feel like I need to schedule in time to eat or I just won't get to it. In my pursuit to graduate on time (which I have come to realize that most people don't, probably because it's almost impossible) I am taking 18 credits this semester and let me tell you that 3 weeks in, I am already exhausted. My problem isn't that the work is hard, because it is manageable (except for my Italian III class which I am suspecting will eventually bite me in the @$$) there is just not enough time  to do everything I need to do. I've noticed that this time management problem I have has also been worsened by the fact that we have 3 home games in a row! How is this even possible? In all the time that I have been at FSU that has never happened, but of course the one semester that I am extremely busy we have a million home games. Even though I know I shouldn't waste my entire Saturday on game day activities and Sunday recuperating from game day activities, I cannot seem to force myself to stay in and study when I can pretty much hear the entire town partying from my house. Anyways....I just had to let some of that pent up frustration out. Other than that I look forward to seeing you all in class on Tuesday!

Talkin' 'Bout Creativity

When most people think of creativity, they usually think of crazy and wild things. They think of off the wall colors or off the wall topics. I think creativity can be shown in many different ways. Sure, there are the ways that we have all heard before such as thinking outside the box. But I think that creativity comes in many different forms.

Many "sane" people look at creative people in life and just laugh. Well, I think that creativity is something much more than what some sees at first glance. I'm sure that some of the most creative people in the world have gone unnoticed because they simply never expressed themselves in a creative way because they would be thought of as strange.

I would consider myself someone who doesn't need much in an ad to appreciate and enjoy it. I can find some of the smallest and most simple things to be the best part of a campaign. In my opinion, these are the most creative things in the world to me. Some things that are so obvious and right in front of you, but only a certain type of creative person can point them out to you.

When trying to find a good image to add to this post, I went to Google images and typed in creativity. A bunch of light bulbs came up as search results. I don't know when the universal symbol for creativity became light bulbs, but I think that it's outdated and boring. However there was one interesting image that I chose to use in this post that I thought was good. This ends my rant on creativity... I don't think I have ever used the form of the word creative so much in my life.

At least it's not a Solaranite bomb

So there are a few things in life that I am vehemently against: Billy Joel, the colors orange and blue together, shows like America's Next Top Model (I know this is a gutsy thing to say given the demographic of most of my fellow bloggers here, but I stand beside it.) Now I have found a few new things to add to this list: rapping scientists, micro black holes, stranglets, vacuum bubbles, and magnetic monopoles.

Now honestly most of this stuff is way above my head, but upon some investigating I found that yes they could in fact cause the end of the world. I mean a black hole of any size is not a pleasant thing to think about:


Stranglets could cause the Earth to turn into "a hot, large lump of strange matter." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strangelet#Dangers[Yeah, I'm referencing Wikipedia]).

Vacuum bubbles which would end life as we know it, but don't worry some other form of life might show up (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_bubble#Vacuum_metastability_event), and well I'm not even sure what a magnetic monopole might do....

Now the cherry on top is that over in Europe CERN has decided to build a Large Hadron Collider which could have possible effects such as, you guessed it, micro black holes, stranglets, vacuum bubbles, magnetic monopoles. An unknown side effect to creating a LHC? Rapping scientists.



Now, don't get me wrong I'm all about scientific experimentation, but this seems oddly similar to a movie I saw at 3 in the morning on the Sci-Fi channel....and guess what? It didn't end well for them and it doesn't exactly infuse me with confidence when I see it and it reminds me of the Death Star:


Now I'm not saying that they are going to create a vortex to another universe/dimension that will in fact come and try to enslave our entire race or that Earth will suddenly one day turn into a "a hot, large lump of strange matter." or even that the Earth will be sucked into a black hole.
I mean for all I know this process will have no strange side effects and when the LHC is started up we will just learn a lot about particles and how they react....














but it starts up on Wednesday and I'm stocking up on shotgun shells, bottled water, and spam....just in case....



PS: If you want to learn more check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider

Dangerous Flip Flops?!

Hey everyone! I came across this article on wctv.com, and being that we live in Florida, I thought I would share it. I am a flip flop queen, myself, so I could be at risk! I copied the article below:

("I know I have at least two pair at all times.")
It's Summer footwear that feels like fun.

("When it's time to relax and get laid back, definitely put flip-flops on.")
("I think there's an attitude that goes with them. Yes, they feel like summer. They're very comfortable to wear.")
("They seem comfortable.")


But could flip-flops be a bad thing? Auburn University Researchers placed reflective balls on key points of people's legs, then videotaped them, measuring vertical force and stride. They found flip-flops significantly changed how people walked.

"All the variables that we looked at, there were several that were different between when people walked in flip-flops and when they walked in tennis shoes."

Computer analysis found flip-flop wearers took shorter steps, their heels hit the ground with less force, and they didn't bring their toes up as much. The same toe grip action that keeps flip-flops from falling off may not be so good for you.

"What we found is you do change the way you walk, so if you do have lower leg problems, if you do have foot problems, pain, and you wear flip-flops a lot, then maybe reconsider wearing them all the time."

But if you can't bear to give up the shoes for good, choose flip-flops with arch and heel support, only wear them for short amounts of time, don't wear them if you have to walk far, and when they start to wear out, throw them out.

"Once you blow that flip-flop out, don't break out the duct tape and try to fix them. Get a new pair."

For More Information, Contact: Auburn University Auburn, AL http://education.auburn.edu/news/2008/june/flipflop.html

Box it up!

Hey guys! I wanted to tell you all about the new online file storage company I am interning for. Ever hear of googledocs? Well this is better. The new site is called Box.net, and it provides a safe place online for you to save your files. Think about it, how many times have you had to send an email to yourself because you weren't at your own computer? Or think about how pissed you were the first, second, and third times you lost your flash drive, or worse, think about when your hard drive crashed. Worst news ever! Well save yourself the pain, you won't have to burn your hands with an iron to have a good excuse for not having your papers in on time.

Box.net is a secure place for you to save your files, and it keeps all kinds of files, from jpeg to doc to psd. Its a great way to work on group projects when not everyone can meet every single day. PLUS you can set up your files so that those you invite can view and edit them from their own computers. AWESOME!!! So... calm down, stop stressing about not being able to pick your own group on Tuesday. Box.net will take away like 12% of the stress. (Sign up with your fsu.edu email address and they will upgrade you to 2GB of storage space, and it's all for the free!!)

TGIF!!!

I've been trying to figure out how I can post videos from youtube.com onto my blogs. If anyone knows how, please let me know. I tried clicking on the icon, but the site just traveled off onto something else.

Have a great and save weekend everyone =). Can't wait to see all of you on Tuesday!

The LOVES of my life

Even though my two dogs, Muffin and Peanut, reside at my home in Vero Beach, they are always on my mind. I actually thought of being a veterinarian at one time because I LOVE animals, especially dogs.

Muffin is a 10 year old Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier who is the laziest and sweetest dog you'll ever meet. She will lick anything and loves to lay on laps (She's the bigger, fluffier one).

Peanut is a 4 year old Chihuahua-Jack Russell Terrier mix that is crazy and annoys Muffin all of the time.

The first picture is of Muffin & Peanut in mid-action kissing/licking each others faces.

The second picture is both Muffin & Peanut with my older sister Robyn.

If anyone else has any pets, I would love to see them:)

Happy Friday everyone!