Check out this great presentation about generation Y’s perspectives and attitudes towards marketing and globalization today. Designed as a response to NASA’s strategic communications strategy released in ‘07, the presentation outlines the importance of engaging generation Y, and how organizations like NASA have, as of yet, failed to do so.

NASA Gen Y PDF (2.4 mb)

For more info, visit opennasa.com

Thursday I had the opportunity to tag along on the New Mexico Ad Federation’s luncheon with advertising legend and well-known author of “Hey Whipple, Squeeze This,” Luke Sullivan (a must-have book for anyone interested in not just advertising, but creativity in general).

Sullivan gave a presentation called “How to Suck Less,” formally titled “How Not to Suck.” Given that we’re all mere humans with a tendency to suck, Sullivan said he thought it more appropriate to retitle his presentation to something more realistic.

He described his transformation from a construction worker to Group Creative Director with more than twenty medals to his credit in the prestigious One Show, some of the more interesting adventures he’d had in his twenty-plus years of advertising experience and some tips on how to be better at anything. Yes, anything.

Among his tips; get rid of things that cause you to suck. Certainly tips we all can learn from, here are those he specifically pointed out:

• Laziness - although seemingly a no-brainer, Sullivan did point out that when you’re working a job you care about, this almost never comes up.
• Arrogance - don’t look down on the little jobs that come your way; they’re another chance to hone your craft.
• Get over yourself - if you believe that you’re a god in your field, it just becomes an excuse for complacency, and ultimately to suck.
• God is in the details - this is the sum of all the details put into a creation; make every little part better than it has to be.

So there you have some points to ponder. Go get his book if you’re looking for some inspiration mixed with humor.

(The picture up top is my freshly-inked copy of “Hey Whipple…” In case you’re wondering, it says “Go ye forth and rock!” Amen, Sullivan…)

Cookie Monster recently appeared in a candid and compelling interview on NPR, describing his nights freebasing raw dough, the days chasing Prarie Dawn and roughing up Elmo for lunch money… just kidding. The video’s pretty funny and definitely worth a watch:

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Over at Time.com you can take a look at what President Bush said in his final State of the Union Address delivered Monday night.

Each word is scaled in proportion to the number of times it was used. Roll over a word for its frequency.

Economy: 9
Iraq: 39

I see a problem here…

At a time when journalism is playing a more prevalent role in the information we have access to than ever before, it’s interesting to take a look at some of the new challenges facing the profession.

While the average person is more likely than ever before to be plugged into current events through journalism on the web, radio and in print, an interesting problem for the media as a whole has arisen.

As noted in this article that appears on fox news.com, “A new Harvard University study says nearly two-thirds of Americans do not trust campaign coverage by the news media — and more than 60 percent believe it is politically biased” (which is ironic enough given fox’s reputation for undermining the basic tenets of good journalism).

In other words, the main stream media is by and large distrusted by their audiences.

A multitude of factors have lead to this, not least of which is the conglomeration of the media. Now more than ever before, the nation’s news outlets are run by a small group of powerful corporate entities (i.e., Rupert Murdoch).

As the consolidation of the media occurs, the quality of the news we receive drops off because the reporting presented in the articles we read and view are more reflective of the corporate policies of the media outlet owners and advertisers.

On a smaller scale, this is demonstrated by the recent allegations of malfeasance and misconduct at the FCC in which the government agency is said to have destroyed a 2004 study on the implications of local media ownership. The study, which revealed that locally owned television stations provide more local news coverage, blatantly contradicts the FCC’s assertion that “commonly owned television stations are more likely to carry local news.”

Finally, if any one national event draws attention to this phenomenon more than any other, it is the upcoming presidential election.

The debates, which have been more like a circus act than an intellectual forum, are a strong example of how the media coverage often favors certain candidates over others in terms of time.

For example, take a look at the figures for the NBC GOP debate — some candidates weren’t even asked a question for a good 30 minutes into the debate.

illustration by Paul Gilligan

Watching the republican debates, the one impression I’ve consistently come away with is the lack of actual debating the politicians do. Where’s the open and respectful exchange and discussion of ideas and policy? Instead, it’s like first grade all over again with snide and irrelevant remarks shot back and forth again and again.

There is perhaps no better example of this than in the case of Ron Paul. I’ve found it remarkably disgusting how anytime Ron Paul speaks, he’s immediately talked over, the candidates sneer, the audience laughs, and the moderators make fun of him.

Even in this clip, Paul is posing a very valid argument, and we are subjected to a split screen of John McCain jeering at Paul. When the commentator asks Paul if he is “actually electable,” there’s no mistaking his mocking tone and hints of laughter. Then the audience took their turn laughing.

Even if you don’t agree with the guy, at least treat him with some dignity and allow him to voice his stance on the issues — the Republican party as a whole has come to be defined as such an ignorant and vicious mob.

Ok, I’ll put my soapbox away now…

You never know what you’ll run across while browsing the magazines in a doctor’s waiting room…

TIME magazine: Posted Sunday, Sep. 10, 2006

When George Adams lost his job at an Ohio tile factory last October, the most practical thing he did, he thinks, was go to a new church, even though he had to move his wife and four preteen boys to Conroe, a suburb of Houston, to do it. Conroe, you see, is not far from Lakewood, the home church of megapastor and best-selling author Joel Osteen.

Osteen’s relentlessly upbeat television sermons had helped Adams, 49, get through the hard times, and now Adams was expecting the smiling, Texas-twanged 43-year-old to help boost him back toward success. And Osteen did. Inspired by the preacher’s insistence that one of God’s top priorities is to shower blessings on Christians in this lifetime–and by the corollary assumption that one of the worst things a person can do is to expect anything less–Adams marched into Gullo Ford in Conroe looking for work. He didn’t have entry-level aspirations: “God has showed me that he doesn’t want me to be a run-of-the-mill person,” he explains. He demanded to know what the dealership’s top salesmen made–and got the job. Banishing all doubt–”You can’t sell a $40,000-to-$50,000 car with menial thoughts”–Adams took four days to retail his first vehicle, a Ford F-150 Lariat with leather interior. He knew that many fellow salesmen don’t notch their first score until their second week. “Right now, I’m above average!” he exclaims. “It’s a new day God has given me! I’m on my way to a six-figure income!” The sales commission will help with this month’s rent, but Adams hates renting. Once that six-figure income has been rolling in for a while, he will buy his dream house: “Twenty-five acres,” he says. “And three bedrooms. We’re going to have a schoolhouse (his children are home schooled). We want horses and ponies for the boys, so a horse barn. And a pond. And maybe some cattle.”

“I’m dreaming big–because all of heaven is dreaming big,” Adams continues. “Jesus died for our sins. That was the best gift God could give us,” he says. “But we have something else. Because I want to follow Jesus and do what he ordained, God wants to support us. It’s Joel Osteen’s ministry that told me. Why would an awesome and mighty God want anything less for his children?”

In three of the Gospels, Jesus warns that each of his disciples may have to “deny himself” and even “take up his Cross.” In support of this alarming prediction, he forcefully contrasts the fleeting pleasures of today with the promise of eternity: “For what profit is it to a man,” he asks, “if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” It is one of the New Testament’s hardest teachings, yet generations of churchgoers have understood that being Christian, on some level, means being ready to sacrifice–money, autonomy or even their lives.

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from

December 24, 2006

What’s Wrong With Cinderella?

By Peggy Orenstein

I finally came unhinged in the dentist’s office — one of those ritzy pediatric practices tricked out with comic books, DVDs and arcade games — where I’d taken my 3-year-old daughter for her first exam. Until then, I’d held my tongue. I’d smiled politely every time the supermarket-checkout clerk greeted her with “Hi, Princess”; ignored the waitress at our local breakfast joint who called the funny-face pancakes she ordered her “princess meal”; made no comment when the lady at Longs Drugs said, “I bet I know your favorite color” and handed her a pink balloon rather than letting her choose for herself. Maybe it was the dentist’s Betty Boop inflection that got to me, but when she pointed to the exam chair and said, “Would you like to sit in my special princess throne so I can sparkle your teeth?” I lost it.“Oh, for God’s sake,” I snapped. “Do you have a princess drill, too?”

She stared at me as if I were an evil stepmother.

“Come on!” I continued, my voice rising. “It’s 2006, not 1950. This is Berkeley, Calif. Does every little girl really have to be a princess?”

My daughter, who was reaching for a Cinderella sticker, looked back and forth between us. “Why are you so mad, Mama?” she asked. “What’s wrong with princesses?”

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“Skateboarders jeopardize safety of UNM pedestrians”

Daily Lobo, Issue date: 2/12/07

Editor,

This past Friday, I was walking past the Duck Pond on the way to teach in Dane Smith Hall when a student on a skateboard ran into me. He continued down the sidewalk. I called out, “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” He responded, “(Expletive) you,” and then he flipped me off.

I once considered students on skateboards as an amusing, albeit destructive, part of campus life, but no more. They should be totally banned. They destroy property on campus. They are dangerous, and those who ride them are offensively rude. Other campuses have banned them. Why not UNM?

James Burbank
UNM faculty

The band (me included) played an awesome show Tuesday night at Ralli’s in Albuquerque. Much to our suprise, the place was packed out — no small feat for a bar off the beaten path on a Tuesday evening.

We played with the Seattle group, the bradbury press, which is always a fun and talented bunch of guys to jam with.

The crowd was pretty much made up of college students, and they were really a great bunch to play for. It’s always encouraging to have your audience respond to you positively, and even more so when there’s a lot of them.

The set of music went awesome, and aside from our bass player’s rig dying (I felt its pain) in the middle of the set, it really was a blast.

I don’t have any pictures from the show on hand (I know… I’m a slacker…), but I’m trying to track some down, and when I do, I’ll get ‘em up here.

Until I do, here’s a copy of my set list (pretty much my cheat-sheet which tells me what song we all agreed to play next) that I tape to the floor during shows:

If you didn’t get to come see us play, you can check out the set list and pretend you were there.

Besides our own stuff, our set included covers of Radiohead, Switchfoot, and the Foo Fighters.

We dedicated “My Hero” by the Foo Fighters to our friend, Jeremy Aranda who is leaving later this month to do another tour with the Army, this time in Iraq.

Stay safe, bro.