Geldof and Bush in Africa

You couldn’t find more awkward bedfellows than Bob Geldof and President George W. Bush if you tried. In the new Time Magazine, Geldof follows Bush around Africa aboard Air Force One and shares Bush’s only great legacy besides Great Moments in Presidential Speeches: his work for Africa. I got in the delicate discussion with friends the other day about how endearing President Bush has become in spite of the atrocities he’s committed against so many people. His heart seems to be in the right place in so many ways and yet he’s missed so many cues during his presidency. Anyways, I loved this article so much if only because it’s nice to see the humanity in the face of a man that the world by and large hates with impunity. Check out the article on Time Magazine Online here.

p.s. I just learned that Bob Geldof was the music editor for the Georgia Straight here in Vancouver in the 70’s…WTF? Crazy.

Virgania Horsen

Can’t get enough Virgania Horsen

Bert Rodriguez

The Whitney Biennial 2008 is just a little over a week away for you New Yorkers out there and I was just taking a look at this year’s artists. I saw Bert Rodriguez on the list and recognized his name from the fact he was also in the Miami Art Basel this year.

As someone who works in advertising I’ve been toying with making art the way I approach a brief and exploring the aesthetic of logos and how they can be used as commentary, not unlike what Michael Bevilacqua does with all corners of pop culture. Bert Rodriquez takes this one step further and seems to approach concepts as well as the practice of creating mock advertising without much interpretation or deviation from the concept–he just lays it all out to speak for itself. I’m not a big fan of Bert’s work, it feels way too sterile and the concepts feel too rigid but I think his is an interesting angle and one that should be explored by more artists. Here’s a video from his installation at Miami Art Basel 2007.

Check out Bert’s website here for a better idea of his range of work. This stuff reminds me so much of the case I always try to make about how in advertising concept can’t reign alone, execution matters just as much. Ask the nihilists out there how they could ever appreciate post-modernism and you might just find execution counts for more…at least in the art world.

Smuggler’s eBay Film

A seeing-eye minature horse on a mission for sneakers? SOLD. Randy Krallman at Smuggler has been doing some amazing work of late. He’s the guy who did the Ecko ‘Still Free’ viral hit from last year for Droga5. This short film he’s done for eBay is total magic. Beautifully shot, great story, I love it.

Check it out on Creativity here.

Spike Jonze’s ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ screen test

Wow wow wow, as if this isn’t just going to make the wait that much harder. Just found this clip of a test shooting for ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ done back in 2005. Apparently this isn’t Max Records who will be playing the actual Max but it’s still a great find. Click here to be taken to film ick where they’re hosting the video.

W+K Seeking killed me today and Sean picked me up

Well for those who don’t know anything about Wieden+Kennedy’s Seeking project here’s a little background.

I’ve wanted to work at Wieden+Kennedy more than anything. The work that comes out of there is amazing and it’s a global creative culture that you really don’t find anywhere else. From “The Rules” and Mark Fenske’s 14 Anti-laws to the W+K Air Force 1 and embracing Failure; I never knew members of “the establishment” could be such shit disturbers and could create such a wonderful home for creativity.

I’d been sick with anxiety for the past week waiting for news on whether I’d been invited to Portland or not and then news started to trickle onto the blogosphere last friday about people receiving FedEx mail with invites inside. I figured I didn’t get one Friday so that was that. Then this guy in Belgium got one today and I thought maybe, just maybe, I’d get a FedEx visit. I never ever get parcels I’m not expecting, then today after lunch I walked by the mailboxes in my lobby and I couldn’t believe it; I had a sticky note saying I had a delivery. My heart started racing like I’d won the lottery, I was literally on the verge of losing it. Just once I thought I’d have a dream come true like some copywriting Rudy Ruettiger. My doorman went into the closet and as I expected an envelope, he pulled out a big pillow shaped package. I looked at the label, it was from my friend Sean in Montreal that I’d first lived with when I moved to Vancouver 7 years ago. I smiled because the timing of this package was just so unbelievable, the one unexpected package I’d get this year and it happened today of all days. I was sick.

I came home from work tonight still so bummed I hadn’t been invited to Wieden but when I opened that package I found the sickest wool/cashmere blend jacket that the always talented great friend of great friends Sean Mackinnon had made for me. Sean is such an amazing friend and has been since high school. It was a pretty great reminder of where I was when I first moved to Vancouver and when we lived together how I had zero idea what I wanted to do with my life. I may not have cracked W+K this time but I couldn’t be happier about how things have gone the past few years and how I’ve found what I love. I love creativity more than anything: advertising, fashion, painting, writing, music, all of it. I have a reason to love it because of the friends around me that partake in it everyday and continue to inspire me. Thanks Sean for a great birthday/xmas present, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Biggest douche bag in the world

It’s nice to know that being a vain douche bag isn’t just a North American phenomenon. Some guy in Abu Dhabi bought the vanity plate ‘1’ at a charity auction in the UAE for $14 million saying “I bought it because it’s the best number…I bought it because I want to be the best in the world.” I seriously can’t stop laughing. This is one of those guys that if you met him, his douchebaggery would undoubtedly drive you to a fit on the floor and his only retort would likely be some variance of “I could buy you” or “you’re just jealous”. Read the AP article here.

Become Legendary

Wieden + Kennedy New York’s work on Brand Jordan yields the absolute best writing time after time. This campaign is beautiful.
“I’m scared of what I won’t become”
Yeah, goosebumps.

From Love Comes Paine

If you grew up watching skate videos there was no bigger east coast spot than Love Park. It was Mecca. Love Park in Philly was what the pit was to Venice Beach. It rose to prominence as a skate spot and pretty much died as a spot because of it. Enter Philadelphia ad agency Red Tettemer. Joining a group of skaters who started Franklin’s Paine they’ve launched a campaign with the help of Stevie Williams to make a new downtown park, Paine’s Park. They’ve got a poster campaign going and they’re selling t-shirts at Urban Outfitters (I guess West 49 wasn’t “core” enough, wait…what?).

Check out the site here.

via Creativity

Spike Jonze does Kanye

Hey what’s up, I’m the new Kanye West video for ‘Flashing Lights’. I’m the sexiest music video you’ve ever seen. I’m so sexy in fact that I don’t even leave the house. I just laze around in my underwear and eat Pepperoni Combos all day. Toodle-ooo friend, I’ve got muffins to make.

Chanson de Ronson

The Ronson clan…What can be said? They’re more talented than the Osbourne kids or the Hiltons and regardless of Samantha’s bad influence on LiLo they’re generally very well behaved celebuspawn. Talent-wise Samantha is probably still the weakest link but she’s still somewhat endearing and I suppose this could pass as proof. ps.Charlotte makes some serious babewares.

via Nylon TV

Shangri-La Vancouver

Kinda stands out.

There’s hope for anyone with the right words

I have loathed David Duchovny forever, seriously FOR EVER. From the moment I first heard him speak on the X-Files I hated him. He was always so smug and had the lips of a geriatric vageen (sic!). Then there was Natascha McElhone (I had to look the name up), I loathed her in The Truman Show and was always happy she never made it big. She reminded me of a less attractive Jane Seymour.

Then last night I was given a new TV gift, Californication. I shouldn’t have liked it. It had the cards stacked against it. It all seemed so painfully obvious. Deadbeat dad tries to make right. Washed up writer trying to get back on his feet but his rounded heels double not only for his man-whorish ways but are the result of a corporate machine keeping him downblah blah blah…Fuck it. Great show, great writing. It gets out of its way and doesn’t scream look at me. Oh yeah and to the point, Duchovny is fully in my good graces and I’ll go so far as to say McElhone is hot. Amazing what the right words can do when you’ve given up on people. Big recommend.

Seawall reopens

My friend Jodi and I went for a ride around the recently reopened seawall today. Vancouver had a series of storms in January of 2007 that destroyed part of the wall and uprooted nearly 10,000 trees in Stanley Park. Check out the NY Times article here. Anyways, it was good to have a sunny day and even better to have the best part of the wall re-opened.

Pacifico.

Jodi.

Speed hair.

Breakthrough

Ellen Page shot by Ryan McGinley for The New York Times Magazine

UPDATE: Here’s a link to the full Ryan McGinley NYTM portfolio on Tiny Vices

Fifa Street 3 ‘Roofball’

New EA spot for Fifa Street 3 by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam. I love reading the YouTube comment debate about whether the spot is real or not. That’s true CGI, when people can’t tell the difference. Reminds me of the Ronaldhino ‘Touch of Gold’ spot but it’s even more believable. Too good.