Living the Dream....Are We ?

This film about the situation in Iceland through the eyes of the creative community starts to really ring true on a broader perspective in what is supposedly seen as the western world. Money, growth, power are they morals that people really want to live by.

We have been living 'the American dream' which is exactly what it is, not ours. Its that lifestyle that is played out in every American movie and TV show that sweeps the world. Work hard, love your country, get married, buy a house, have kids buy that awesome car and keep spending.

The interesting thing is our safety in and understanding of what morals is being thrown into dishevel or are they ?. Are your morals about how much you earn or your monetary value. Surely your morals are the things that you believe in. The things that guide the life that you choose to live. What if this American dream was that of your parents that they bestowed upon you. What if the more they pushed it, the more you realised it was wrong.

As my friend's start to hit their 30's and have been working hard like we were supposed to often ridiculous hours to buy the houses and the cars. Many of them, me included have started to ask one simple question. 'Is this it ??'

There was always something quite wrong about the situation that didnt feel right. Its not that i dont believe in a hard days work. But all those hard days to make that little bit more money for those companies who will treat you more like shit, doing something you really dont enjoy. Just seems wrong to me.

A bit of big thinking

I had a lovely day today, it wasnt directly because of work as I promised myself I would never talk about that on here. It was during a work like experience that I had a real revelation about my life. I didnt actually go into work today. I got to go to a cool event by the APG which is a group of all the thinky people from advertising (known as planners) talking about things that interest them. Guess what it was called... the battle of big thinking.

Sometimes it can be quite an egoboo and naval gazing event. The great thing was that it actually brought up some very interesting topics for everyone not just advertising people. Im not going to get into what the day was about, you can read my 'work' blog for that. But during a little bit of an energizer after lunch. They had this wonderful musician play (see above). During this I had my little revelation. I love living in London because it gives me the freedom to think big.

It made me realise that all the supposed big thinking Id done elsewhere was nothing. As I had no one to truly share it with or people that pushed me further to think harder and bigger. The 'positive friction' I have had with many different types of people has lead to even more interesting thoughts. It is probably also a somewhat sense of maturity but also a better knowledge that being mature doesnt mean you should lose the curiosity and naivety of being a kid as we saw today with a younger presenter who was brilliant.

I was given a pretty good education and got pretty good marks but only because I figured out how to play the system. Not because I truly saw the relevance or value of an education that in hindsight I feel somewhat bad about. But anyone my path I felt was that I would much prefer to experience life and learn as I go in the real world and not be forced into reading something about it. Its funny how things changed. But the value of education as a whole has started to really resonate with me as Ive realised it means much more than I was supposedly taught. I can experience things, I can read things, I can share things I can discuss things. I hated all the discussion when I first arrived in the UK. But I have started to gain an understanding of its value. So I have been able to start to mix it up. Read this, share this, experience this, share this. Then start to reach out to different people but also take the time to listen to different people. I can often be brash and harsh. But I need to remind myself to bring back that childhood curiosity and realise you can truly learn something from everyone not just the ones that are obvious.

All in all the more reading, talking and experiencing you do the more you understand what you are apart of and what you want to take from that... but also what you want to give back. Because at the end of the day we are all just looking for some fulfillment and Im realising this is a great way to get it. (for me anyway)

Full TRON Legacy Track Found

A few new tracks to share....

An old favourite chromeo are back with a new video and collaboration with La Roux. Lots of nice synth.

Expressway Mix Pt.2 by Russ Chimes

Here's another old favourite with a new mix track. Russ Chimes bring us the French stuff... a little run Mahogany Blog.

If you ever wanted to know how the advertising system works... this is it

Great article on the future of our industry from fastcompany.

But if your out there dad or any of my friends who dont know what I or any other advertising people do. Here you go

The ad business became an assembly line as predictable as Henry Ford's. The client (whose goal was to get the word out about a product) paid an agency's account executive (whose job was to lure the client and then keep him happy), who briefed the brand planner (whose research uncovered the big consumer insight), who briefed the media planner (who decided which channel -- radio, print, outdoor, direct mail, or TV -- to advertise in). Then the copywriter/art director team would pass on its work (a big idea typically represented by storyboards for a 30-second TV commercial) to the producer (who worked with a director and editors to film and edit the commercial). Thanks to the media buyer (whose job was to wine-and-dine media companies to lower the price of TV spots, print pages, or radio slots), the ad would get funneled, like relatively fresh sausage, into some combination of those five mass media, which were anything but equal. TV ruled the world. After all, it not only reached a mass audience but was also the most expensive medium -- and the more the client spent, the more money the ad agency made.

A little taste of whats to come on TRON...

We all know I cant wait for TRON to come out.... but thanks to Mahogany Blog who passed on this awesome video. It looks like its only going to get better.

A different type of Italian

I have been a bit crap about talking about my food expeditions namely because I havent really been going out enough. The whole point of this blog was to push me to do things more. So I better go out more.
Anyway... moving right a long to a great Italian place I went to a few weeks back for a friends birthday. I often avoid Italian when I go out, as I often feel that it is not a 'dining experience' type meal. How wrong I was. Polpo in Soho tags itself as 'a baraco in Soho'. A baraco is actually a venetian style restaurant with the small plates like tapas. But oh my god was the food great.

So many different types of mixes. I wish I remember more. I am going to go and check out the little sister polpetto... I promise to remember more.

Everyone loves the hipstas...

So we all love a good hipsta. Great video above on the east london tribe. But I had the chance to go and hang out in Williamsburg in NYC. I am forever amused by the concept of 'same same but different'. It felt very similar to Hackney the hipsta hangout in London in so many ways. Style, bars everything. Met a cool guy who took us up to his cool loft which I took a few photos of. Just a great space of artists similar to when I went to the Hackney Wicked Festival and walked through people's lofts there.

Check it out if you can. It was awesome. I will have to head back there again and have a few nights out.

A little bit of design...

I havent been writing for a while which is stupid as I have been up to quite a bit. Checked out a couple of things at the London Design Festival last month. I spent saturday hanging around redchurch street in Shoreditch. I love this street as the more and more I go back to it the more gentrified it seems.
I took some photos above at an 'antidesign' even which was pretty cool. Walking into some studios to see peoples work and some interesting stuff. One of the exhibitions was people answering questions posted on the wall. ' what cant you live without' everyone put material goods... I said 'friends' ... cause they probably have all the material goods so I can borrow them. Chick working there loved it. Nice people
I do feel bad as I always get excited about design festival and only go to a couple of things. The V&A still has an illustration exhibition on. So maybe I will go and check that out.

Its confusing to be a man

Quite a cool little video on a subject that continually changes. From metrosexual to ubersexual to whatever sexual we are up to next. I think we all feel similar pains.