Yay Club Monaco

I recently received this email from Club Monaco, which in the past couple years has become my favorite place to shop for clothes. This, due to their rich color palette, nice fabrics, and reasonable prices (especially on sale), as well as the clean, modern design of the brand and store. I joined their email list several months ago, and I have found it to be one of the most well-managed company-customer relationships I have ever experienced.

The emails come occasionally, but with enough frequency to stay on my radar. Usually they are announcing sales, or, in the case of this one, a whole suite of services. To do something like this in an economic atmosphere that is wreaking havoc on apparel retailers is a wise move indeed. Customers want to save money, of course, but also to find brands that treat them as people, not wallets. Services like extended shopping hours, stylists, free alterations, and event hosting are great ways of endearing customers in this difficult time.

Yay Club Monaco. Keep reading...

Cool Internet Things

Recently I've enjoyed two very different sites online:

Durchzug.info is a collection of hundreds of German/Swiss/Austrian Bahn (train) announcements. As a Europhile and someone who is eager to return to the land of pretzels and beer houses, I loved how easy it was to close my eyes and imagine myself pulling up to Berlin Hauptbahnhof. Whoever put all the time and effort into compiling this collection, thank you!



This site is much more well known. Sponsored by Burger King (and produced by the bete noire of advertising, CPB), Whopper Sacrifice is a Facebook application with a simple premise: defriend 10 of your "friends," and get a coupon for a free Whopper. It's funny, it's viral, and it's a great use of social networks. Keep reading...

My First Aphorism

I came up with what I hope is a witty, insightful aphorism. Hopefully it will one day appear in Bartlett's Quotations:

"A page is easily bent, but hard to make flat again." Keep reading...

What January 20 Means to Me

On January 20, the world will bear witness to the most significant presidential inauguration since George Washington took the first oath of office in 1789. This day will mark the culmination of half a century of fighting for equal rights, and the beginning of a new age of equality in America. It will be the end of an era of fear, and the start of an era of hope. Barack Obama will face an array of domestic and international challenges, but he brings with him the promise of a more progressive plan for ensuring the continuing success of our nation.

It is clear how significant this inauguration is to the country at large. But that leaves the question of what it means to me personally. When I cast my vote on November 4, I did so with anticipation coursing through my body. With Obama having gained momentum in the polls during the previous month, I knew that this time, for the first time, I was likely voting for the winner. The idea that the candidate who I had supported with donations, volunteer time, and enthusiastic writing was on the verge of winning the presidency was a thrilling thought. The economy in a tailspin, foreign relations tense, and equal rights once again a divisive issue—the time was ripe for someone with a broad and measured worldview to rise up and do something. For me, Obama was this man.

As the youngest president since Kennedy, he is the voice of a new generation. A generation that is technologically savvy, comfortable with people from different backgrounds, and conversant in the international language of the 21st century. I consider Obama, a biracial man born in Hawaii and raised in Indonesia, to represent me better than any other candidate who ran for president this year. His victory has reinvigorated my interest in politics, and has got me rethinking my current advertising career path in favor of something more beneficial to society. This is the power Obama has; to inspire a generation to action in the same way JFK did, to bridge all sorts of demographic barriers and bring citizens together.

I have no doubt Obama is the right man for this delicate time, and for the future. He listens carefully, he speaks carefully, and I am confident he will govern carefully. To say I am excited about the next four years is an understatement; though America and the world face many urgent problems, I feel we are at a turning point in history, beyond which we will emerge stronger, wiser, and more united. On January 20, I will be immensely proud to call Obama my president.


Keep reading...

Kooza....Wow

Today I was lucky enough to see Kooza, the Cirque du Soleil production that is in Atlanta through March 1.

My jaw stayed shut for about three minutes the whole night (the intermission notwithstanding).

Each piece was stunning in its spectacular choreography, daring, and imagination. From contortionists twisting themselves into human Möbius strips to a man doing vaulted flips while wearing eight-foot stilts, Kooza has tricks of all sorts. The constant characters throughout the show are The Innocent, a boyish pajama-wearing character, and The Trickster, his silent, Willy Wonka-esque guide through the world of Kooza. Together they experience the stunts and wonders of the other performers along with the audience.

I highly recommend this incredible show; the scale of the sets and skill of the cast members is just as stunning as anything in Vegas. You’ll leave the tent with open eyes, an open jaw, and a renewed sense of wonder in human ability. Keep reading...