Archives: Randomness

Just a couple things that I have recently noticed near the end of 2011 that would be nice to see less of in 2012.

The Emo Hipster Beanie Look.

YES H8. I've been seeing way to much of this look, and I'm not claiming to be fashion police but either wear the damn thing or not. You don't have dread locks and unless you are going for the Pappa Smurf look, STOP! On a side note, only guys wearing this style is annoying to me, for some reason girls can get away with it.

People with Clipboards, aka Chuggers.

No, I don't want to shake your hand. I'm tired of wasting energy trying to avoid you. You're like a real life version of that annoying advertisement before a video I want to watch on You Tube. I don't mind it in Vegas because they are at least handing out something worth looking at.

Once a month, the Madrona neighborhood of Seattle gathers at St. Clouds Restaurant to cook for some less fortunate folks. I have the honor of doing all the dishes for the cooking process. We feed 450-500 people at 5 homeless shelters. As the head chef (and St. Clouds co-owner) John Platt says, "We invite any and all of you to join in. We hope by the act of creating a meal together, we can build more connections among ourselves and provide an hour of dignity and good food for those who find too little of both in their lives".

I am always amazed at the quality of the food we produce. People bring whatever they want and John decides what the menu will be on the spot. I asked him for the menu of this last cooking day...

Halibut, Brown Rice and Mint Summer Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce and Carrot-Cabbage Slaw

Wild Shrimp Skewers with Wasabi Mayo

Herbed Roasted Chicken

Vegetarian Stuffed Yellow Squash

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Herb Roasted Potato Skewers

Jalapeno Pepper Poppers

Spinach Salad with Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Garbanzo Beans and Balsamic Herb Vinaigrette

Spring Pasta Salad with Asparagus & Truffle Oil

Mixed Fruit Salad with Mint (apples, strawberries, apricots and pineapple)

Homemade Cookies

It is always a long day but always worth it. It's also fascinating how many dirty pots, pans, etc. can get produced by 40 cooks.

Since we are going to be around for at least another year (the rapture last weekend not having taken place, the one in October being a bunch of hooey, and the Mayans being a reasonably intelligent group), here’s what I see happening.

Everyone’s life is going to be wrapped up in one little box. I say little, because data can be compressed into surprisingly small areas. And when I say box, I mean a server. Or any data hardware in general. I’m not especially hardware savvy, so forgive the terminology.

Our lives are online! We socialize and have friends online. Meet people. Order food. Pay bills. Engage in entertainment of all kinds. Virtual realities, even. You barely have to leave your house to have a 'full life’. Many people don’t! If all this data is out there, it’s only a matter of time when we all just have our own little box with all of our information in it. (Or perhaps a card would be better so it fits in your wallet.) It’ll be tied to your SSN and phone number, I imagine. It’ll plan bus routes for you, create your shopping list, schedule meetings and more. It can do all these things because it knows everything about you. So you don’t have to think about it. So it’s automatic.

This is all starting to sound very Matrix-like, which isn’t what I intended but it was the natural thought progression. Interesting, isn’t it? Perhaps that really is where we are headed, even if we are arriving there naturally. In this case though, the Matrix would be voluntary, and it would be our real lives. Augmented reality? Hmmm.

What does this mean for our businesses? For humanity? Both are making a push towards being a fully integrated information society. For better or for worse, that is where the opportunities lie. But companies have a responsibility not to abuse it. It isn’t a power tool, it shouldn’t be treated that way. But it should be used to supplement our lives for the good.

Challenge: How can we create more integrated data tools that will augment our lives in a positive way?

And…. Go!

I am old enough to remember the early days of digital; when 14.4Bps dial-up was your only gateway and terminals and AOL defined your experienced on the web. It was an age where fear and desperation were equal industry motivators to curiosity and pride, where creative was an adjective and delegation was just another word in the dictionary. Then, most of our tools were free or pirated and we invented the future simply because there was no past to steel from -- at least none that any of us had learned about. We were a collection of individuals. Rejects. We turned our backs on the expected rules and pat solutions and made our own way. It was a time of narcissistic fulfillment. It was digital's Iron Age. What greater magnet for people who think?

Flash forward to today. Having survived manic economic swings and political environments akin to big agencies, I'm older, in some ways wiser -- perhaps a little harder -- but at my core, I believe that work that isn't creative doesn't work, and creative that doesn't work isn't smart.

In most agencies, creative is an entitlement bestowed upon writers and art directors. To me, nothing could be further from its meaning. I have learned to respect ideas, wherever they come from. Often they come from clients. Account people often have big creative ideas, regardless of what some writers think. As an industry, our job is to constantly peer around the corner in everything they do, because nothing erodes client-value faster than falling behind. Conversely, nothing builds value faster than inventing the future.

I have always held that the most interesting companies share a common cultural thread: Curiosity. Curiosity is a meta-descriptor of the many individuals I've had the privilege of working along side as well; inspired people who have pushed me and provided a framework for me to grow professionally and personally. Creative people. Dreamers and the thinkers. These individuals routinely break free of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. They straddle the intersection where science and art break even and who see every turn as an opportunity to grow beyond their own conventions; and in doing so, inspire those around them. At the end of the day, I believe curiosity in all aspects of life is still the secret of creative people.

Why are alliterations so appealing in copy and naming?

"Bob's Burgers" - Yes!

"Dollar Days" - I'm sold!

"Super Sunday" - Tell me more, master copy writer!!

Such Wacky Words! I agree they're appealing. I blissfully fall into the trap myself time and again. But it bothers me on some deep level and I don't know why. Maybe it's just too easy, feels wrong. Tune in for next weeks Random Rants, when we explore why is it that if something rhymes, it is considered a great truth.

"Beer before Liquor? Never sicker!"

Sounds like it MUST be true. It HAS to be true. You can just tell. It rhymes, after all!

I'm relieved Osama bin Laden is gone. He was a murderer. But I'll skip the oversimplistic demonstrations of elation. Let's remember who we lost. I just think we're better than this.

Here at the House, there's a large mural in our conference room. The mural—designed by an Intiman set designer—is pretty dramatic and features a pastoral scene . . . I think. There's a narrative happening within it, and I've tried to decipher the story on many a Monday staff meeting. Anyway, we're refreshing the ground floor space with some expansive new whiteboards so we can use the room even more effectively in ideation sessions (the downstairs and upstairs meeting rooms have already added whiteboard amenities; you can never have enough whiteboards—I want whiteboard clothing!). Have a look at some possibilities created by designer Dave Cole.

Which one is your favorite?

Artist: Sophia (age 4)
Title: "A Dress"