I had heard that this was on exhibit at the MoMA:

Initially, I had wanted to look at innovative architecture- something I’ve always found intriguing….

A couch/bed of the future?

as well as envisioning the furniture prototypes I’d include in my ideal home..

In truth, though, I was really there to check out (and play) the video games.

Anyone remember “The Sims”?

All my friends would play in middle school. Usually characters would be substituted by favorite and disliked teachers. Hilarity ensued as game progressed.

All I’d play in grade school.

All I’d play in middle school.

Unfortunately, the time spent there only helped me reminisce of how terrible I used to be at both Pacman and Tetris- since I had never successfully beaten both games. Instead, I watched a 7-year old boy seamlessly navigate his way through Portal. To my surprise, I didn’t see Minecraft (watch Harlem Shake versions here, if you’ve got free time to waste on YouTube).

In animated .gif form, here are a few of my favorites back in the ’90s:

Doom II

Sonic the Hedgehog

Starcraft

{This post’s title lyrics belong here on Pandora}

Brought to you by:

Original video: 

In photos, here are a few hand-picked ups-&-downs, lessons, thank-you’s, and goodbyes in 2012.  (Not owned by Instagram- sorry!)

Woman in Champagne Glass/ Howard Redell:”Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop” (Metropolitan Museum exhibit)

Dream No. 1: Electrical Appliances for the Home/Grete Stern:”Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop” (Metropolitan Museum exhibit)

I’d like to dedicate this post to a close friend who passed away in 2012, and to those with illness who will hopefully make 2013. If this is your last year, please enjoy it.

The Cinnamon Snail

Fig pancakes

Phil’s Steaks

The sequel started and ended yesterday on Governor’s Island- with fresh rounds of food truck and flanks of new faces (certainly a lot more volunteers this year- as well as meeting a couple from 2011).

Way better than last year.

But no fail is complete without a #win: The delight from searching for “Lionel Richie” and seeing the Knowledge Graph results. And who can forget Bing’s new social features as well? (Word on the street is that its search engine market share is slowly creepin’ on Google’s. The exact percentage is unknown, however, as I’m sure it varies from media source to survey statistic. Does it matter? Or is it garbage data?)

This brings me to my next point- we all like data. Next to dogs, it’s man’s best friend- there to back up arguments or to make us feel better about ourselves (Klout scores, anyone?). But how will we know which are the right numbers, or how much of Klouchebags we really are?

(Speaking of which, I guess this is how I measured up. No offense taken, though!)

Sort of like the challenges digital advertising is facing. Since it’s harder to re-brand, selling’s been tougher due to swatting hordes of competitors. It’s become more about fan count, page views, web rankings, and a show as briefly entertaining as the Superbowl- and well, being really, really ridiculously good looking. Not in a Samantha Brick way, but having worked in social media and SEO, I admit I still feel like I”ve barely scratched the surface- like this sometimes:

So, I changed clothes and hopped on the 7. Since it was Internet Week in NYC, I dropped by the Instagram exhibit at the W hotel in Times Square:

I realize the irony of how unsuccessfully I tried to escape the inevitable grasp of technology, yet again. Don’t get me wrong, though. As much as I battle internal urges to soak up the latest happenings of all that’s going on(I hope I’m not the only one getting peeved if I miss out on a news article or meme that’s more than 2 days old), I still struggle with the fact that I can’t read everything. (But thanks, Twitter, for trying anyway.) And somehow through the ‘net, I’ve also managed to reconnect with at least 5 good friends (and not even through Facebook!).

It’s hard to believe that after a year since I graduated college, I’m where I want to be (maybe not exactly, but pretty close)- and the funniest part is, most of this was unplanned. I’ve been fortunate to meet roommates and landlord who have been like family to me, and regretful in passing up opportunities that I thought weren’t “serious” or “career-related” (to NBCUniversal and United Airlines, eternally indebted!) . I used to stress about finding a “real” job.

But really, what does that mean? The more I’m un-learning everything I’ve learned, I’m discovering what I don’t want- to what really gets me to stay in one place.

Even if it entails dying in a gasoline fight accident with a bunch of male models. At least we had our orange mocha frappuccinos.

Observations While Aging +1

1. Expectations vs. Reality:

 2. #shestooyoungforyoubro‘s just a Jersey Shore thing. (Decided it was time to give up GTL after watching 5 seasons.)

3. The majority of my friends fall within the 25-30 range and happen to be either 1) artists on the side (film or DJs), 2)  working in the science (engineering or computer) or education industry, or 3) were marketing or math- related majors in college. All of my supervisors have been female, in their 50s, and graciously offered me much advice (especially with relationships).

4.  I don’t know why the above tends to happen, so I’m working on diversifying. That said,  ”how can you avoid becoming too close-minded as you age?” (See Quora answers)

5. The picture below belongs to Tribune Media. Copyrights are very, very important (like, for Pinterest).

6. Dunning-Kruger Effect: which can probably best be described by this:

This just in though: M&M’s won the viewer vote in YouTube’s Ad Blitz 2012 Contest (yet the real winner was decided by whichever marketing survey you decide to believe):

I’m not sure whether the hype-kilLing was attributed to brands’ decisions to pre-release the Superbowl ads a few weeks before (and maybe I should have waited too), the global economy’s state and thus less budget to work with, or just playing it safe- but in that process, I think the level of creative efforts went down as well.

My dad, who’s definitely not as sentimental in that space, asked: ”Why do companies spend more (average of 3.5 million for a 30-sec. spot ) promoting a product when they should be improving product quality?” Typical cynical response (and Asian perspective)- but honestly, to this day, I don’t know the answer to this question.

To a lot of questions, actually:

• Is there such a thing as a stupid or a dumb question? 
• Why is Google everywhere on the subway?
• Where is mobile advertising traveLing, especially next month?
• How loud will a Mountain Lion roar?
• Or this one upon stumbLing on Pinterest:

Sorting through Linty data is sort of like the feeLing of pure childish delight from peeLing the Elmer’s glue off my fingers. What to do with the vanity metrics, though, is another story…

And the science gets done.
And you make a neat gun-
for the people who are still alive.

]]> http://vforvoraciousbobcat.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/you-just-keep-on-trying-til-you-run-out-of-cake/feed/ 2 Van11 Am I? http://vforvoraciousbobcat.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/an-absolute-value-equation/ http://vforvoraciousbobcat.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/an-absolute-value-equation/#comments Sun, 08 Jan 2012 23:43:27 +0000 Vannie http://vforvoraciousbobcat.wordpress.com/?p=1191 Read more.]]> The fascination started in high school – on a browse for “surreal desktop wallpapers”. One day, I stumbled upon a decent jpg, and then before I knew it, I began collecting and saving Absolut ads on my computer.

So, here  begins an: (kudos if you can read the fine print [no pun intended]) 

Over the years, I’ve been trying to figure out why I’ve loved them so much- whether they were genuinely generated by Absolut or by other artists putting their own spin on the ads.

I think it stems from the belief that I’m as adept as a 2-month old baby when it comes to drawing. In kindergarten, my arts and crafts teacher told me she was disappointed with my lack of skill during an origami session, since I’d ask her for help every class. Therefore, since I was “bad” at art, I hated it as a kid and dismissed it as boring. It wasn’t until I took an art history class (why? I still don’t know to this day..probably because I was suffering from extreme senioritis)  that I began reconsidering. It’s why I admire copywriters and graphic designers who are good at their craft: it’s a combination of both intuition and craft one needs to execute and perfect.

One thing remains, however: when the brand name comes up, my mind automatically gears to the ads. It’s like the ads  have transcended the logo- by becoming the logo itself.

These are the ones I keep coming back to:

Nevertheless, I think Absolut’s one of the few consistently impressionable brands out there, next to Coke’s “Happiness“,  that have established themselves via print (nowadays, it’s mostly commercials you remember products for).  It’s probably interesting to note this phenomenon only in the food/drink industry, unlike the fashion world (where print still reigns) or maybe tech like Apple.

Maybe it’s also because the ads that suck me in tend to envision an alternate reality or parallel universe. Like these:

Call it idealistic. The first one is a little radical; the second, slightly achievable (“Iron Man” much?). But with science picking up the pace  and filling in empty pages these days, who or what’s to say that nothing is impossible?

So there you have it: a verbal proof of the absolute value equation for creative ad thinking. No matter how “real” or “complex” the number is, the destination will be far from zero. Its value is always positive- and Absolut[ely] Brilliant.

it’s time to rewind:

realign, reassign, recombine

the DNA from scene of my crimes.

[And yes, I'm doing this in rhyme.]

Let’s start from Cloud 9:

From Earth's birth, I remember last year when-

Dishing here with Red Sox fans at college in 2010;

Now living in fear of not paying the rent.

 I used to stick this in my “quotes” store:

But I realized more here-

to truly hear=

only you can adhere

to the words you pioneer. So:

My ex-wallpaper on my desktop.

The fresh wallpaper to be next swapped.

“This is Not the Net You Knew“:

The new Twitter frittered the nightly news.

We paid Steve Jobs his knightly dues.

Google ‘s newest doodle ooh’s-

while Android’s Ice Cream Sandwich stews.

It’s sugar, and spice, and everything nice-

Thus, a New Year's resolution: cure sweet tooth.

 But it comes down to stop sugarcoating the truth-

a countdown to a year with all & nothing to  lose.