Friday, January 27, 2006

Party like it's (almost) the Year of the Dog

Went to an opening last night at P-13, a shop on the LES near my apt. The theme was Chinese New Year, since the new lunar calendar starts Sunday. Swag included tonics, funny fortune cookies, and coupons for $ off future purchases. Will need to go back soon to stock up on smart-ass T-shirts. Anyway, it was a good downtown artsy crowd - much more fun & friendly than the SEC alumni party I went to Wed. in Midtown (which had too many guys in suits discussing hedge funds).

auf Wiedersehen

Who else likes Project Runway? Nick is my favorite designer this season.

I've always considered Fashion and Advertising to be very different industries. And they are, but I suppose they're more similar to eachother than to something like Aeronautical Engineering.

This show made me realize how similar the creative process for fashion is to advertising: the brief, the concepting, the scramble to finish under deadline, the overall drama. Sometimes watching episodes is like watching a replay of a day at the office. It also reminds me a little of my copy/layout days at UGA.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Migratory patterns of the Snow Bird

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I have more market research in Ft. Lauderdale Monday & Tuesday, so I'm heading down to South Beach for the weekend. Highs in NYC will be in the 40s this weekend (not bad as far as winters here go). But how can I refuse a weekend at the beach where it's 30 degrees warmer??

"Exceeds Expectations"

Received the 2005 Year-End evaluation from my old Client this morning. It worked out to be 4.1 on a 5 point scale. Apparently very few Agencies are ever scored above a 3. Client service is a pretty thankless business, so it was nice to be recognized for our efforts. I can't say this justifies working many early mornings, late nights & weekends, but it should pacify me for a week or so.

Marketing Humor

Yes, I'm an ad geek. Here's an email forward I got from my friend Joseph:

The buzzword in today's business world is "Marketing." It is a very complex industry, but here are simple examples and explanations of common marketing terms.

You're a woman and you see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and say, "I'm fantastic in bed."
This is Direct Marketing.

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy. One of your friends goes up to him and pointing at you says, "She's fantastic in bed."
This is Advertising.

You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and get his telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm fantastic in bed."
This is Telemarketing.

You see a guy at a party, you straighten your dress. You walk up to him and pour him a drink. You say, "May I?" and reach up to straighten his tie, brushing your breast lightly against his arm, and then say, "By the way, I'm fantastic in bed."
This is Public Relations.

You're at a party and see a handsome guy. He walks up to you and says, "I hear you're fantastic in bed."
This is Brand Recognition.

You're at a party and see a handsome guy. He fancies you, but you talk him into going home with your friend.
This is Sales.

Your friend can't satisfy him so he calls you.
This is Marketing Support.

You're on your way to a party when you realize that there could be handsome men in all these houses you're passing. So you climb onto the roof of one situated towards the center and shout at the top of your lungs, "I'm fantastic in bed!"
This is Spam.

Pacific NW shout-out



Tina just returned from a trip to Oregon and Washington state. I'm definitely an East Coast girl, but freely admit the West Coast is beautiful. The above pic from Tina is of Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach near Portland, Oregon. Biniak took me there several years ago; it's one of the most stunning places I've been in the US. Posted by Picasa

Monday, January 23, 2006

Big Easy comeback

Sure, Katrina was no joke, but New Orleans is definitely not down for the count. There was a nice article in yesterday's NY Times Travel section about the situation down there ... hotels are open and lots of the well-known restaurants are up & running as well. This intelligence has been verified by my friend Eric, who returned to his house Uptown in early October.

Put NO in your travel plans for 2006!! We've had fun times there in the past, and now's the time to make some new memories while pumping some tourist $$ into their economy.

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while we were eating brunch...

Had late Sunday brunch with Jen & Scott at Libations on the Lower East Side. When we came out of the restaurant, we were greeted with major FDNY action. The roof of a synagogue around the corner had collapsed & there were fears the whole building could go. Ran into Niall and Enda amid all the madness; they were having brunch downtown as well.

When Karaoke singers attack

After drinks at Trailer Park, I cabbed to Koreatown for Aimee's birthday party. The karaoke junkies were in rare form. However, the evening turned into an episode of Jerry Springer/COPS when Aimee was involved in a melee in the ladies' room and management called the police! We wound up going a 2nd place though. The karaoke must go on...

Was there a full moon? Gawker reported a similiar incident happening Sat. in Chinatown.

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The fuss over Gay Cowboys

Went with the crew early Sat. night to see Brokeback Mountain in Chelsea. Then we headed across the street to Trailer Park to debate and discuss the movie (and listen to Michael impersonate Jake Gyllenhaal's character: "I wish I could quit you.")

As we sat under the Tonya Harding shrine enjoying tater tots and nachoes with Velveeta, Ethan Hawke plopped down at the adjacent table.

Deep in the heart of Texas

Following market research in Dallas Jan. 12 and 13, Sarah & I went to Austin for the MLK weekend. What a great city! I feel like it's a hybrid between where I grew up in south Georgia and NYC.

I hadn't been to Austin since my Dell days (over 6 years ago). We stayed at the Hotel San Jose , a former motel that's been renovated into a boutique hotel.

Ate plenty of artery-clogging food: Tex-Mex, BBQ, and chicken fried steak. Heard tons of live music, most notable was Heybale Sunday night at the Continental Club.

Since we were in town for 4 days/3 nights, we ventured into neighboring Hill Country Saturday to visit a winery & go to the Enchanted Rock park.

On Sunday we toured the State Capitol. It's a very pretty building. But since we're in a post-9/11 world, I found it shocking that there was zero security. I had a Youth Assembly flashback when I walked onto the floors of the Senate and House!

We enjoyed seeing the "He Ain't Kinky; He's my Governor" bumperstickers around town.

Main drama of the weekend occurred when Sarah wrecked Mario's rental car during a driving lesson! Thank goodness we were only in a parking lot.