slange70’s posterous

I never could have imagined...

When I was regularly going to Putt n Games in Farmington, MI to play arcade games, I remember crowding around this game as a 13-year-old boy to watch some pinball wizard perfectly time his "moves" at decision points. We were captivated by the animation while Robotron blurted out "RED ALERT, RED ALERT!" to deaf ears in the background. 

I fantasized about growing up and being "rich" so I could have a house filled with these giant pressboard and CRT consoles that no one would have to drop quarters in. Free games for everyone! Very altruistic.

Fast forward 26 years. I have an xbox 360, a wii, several computers, and an iphone that can now play dragon's lair. 

Thanks to @madsound for the find.

Dock Ellis & the LSD no-no by James Blagden

Thanks to Tim Winters for this snag. Take four minutes and thirty-two seconds out of your day to watch/listen to this. It's worth it.

Ford Fiesta: the mall chase is worth the watch

I hadn't seen this review of the euro-spec Ford Fiesta before. Top Gear is priceless and this review is thoroughly enjoyable. The NA version of the Fiesta is on its way next Summer. I am biased, but this is a hot car. It represents a lot for Ford, and their entry in the b-segment here in North America.

The Fiesta Movement is concluding in LA as we speak. The benchmark for automotive social programs has been set, and the next phase of this program will be coming soon.

I found the video above in Paul Stamatiou's review of his experience — as an agent — with the Movement, and his euro-spec Fiesta. If you have a few, give it a read. It's a very thorough look at the car — good, bad and indifferent.

I hope the trend of transparency, authenticity and risk-taking demonstrated in the Fiesta Movement marks a new beginning for automotive marketing. This new beginning is one where the products are so solid that they speak for themselves, others aren't afraid to speak up on their behalf, constructive criticism is welcomed — even encouraged, and those who are interested... listen. IMO, the lion's share of the credit for this program's success goes to a group of forward-thinking, confident marketing clients at Ford who trusted in their agency, of which I am proud to be a part. Enjoy, and stay tuned for the next phase.

Who am I going to be tomorrow?

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I had a meeting this morning with J. Mikel Ellcessor (general manager of WDET) and we had a great discussion about the perception of the Detroit area by Detroiters (Detroit-proper + suburbs): tough, humble, creative, rich, vibrant vs. the perception of people outside of Detroit: cars, cars, metal, cars, motown.

He posed a great question in the voice of Detroit: "Who am I going to be tomorrow? I want to focus on that, because all anyone wants to talk about is who I was yesterday."

We're going to help answer that question.

Operation Flashpoint 2 update

I promised more reviews on operation flashpoint 2: dragon rising in a prior post.

My update is: "done"

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 shipped last week and I've been thoroughly enjoying online gameplay and single player missions. My Operation Flashpoint will be collecting dust for a bit until my attention deficit disorder gets the better of me. They are very different games: OF:DR2 is about stealth and cunning (more my style), while CoD:MW2 is a traditional run-and-gun shooter. But it's so well done.

My personality swatches

MIT MediaLab shows you who the Internet thinks you are in full color. Reappropriated from Jay Wolff's posterous, nice find.

So much potential, nothing but time.

"...one thing this massive failure has made possible is ability to come up with radical ideas for the city, and potentially to even implement some of them. Places like Flint and Youngstown might be attracting new ideas and moving forward, but it is big cities that inspire the big, audacious dreams. And that is Detroit. Its size, scale, and powerful brand image are attracting not just the region’s but the world’s attention."

Read the rest of this post (thanks to Matt Sicko for the find via Facebook)

http://www.newgeography.com/content/001171-detroit-urban-laboratory-and-new-american-frontier

With a blank canvas, and creative powerhouses like the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. I know we will be implementing radical, game changing ideas. Detroit is a city waiting for a catalyst.

Need for speed, don't try this at home.

Holy Shit. This is a year old, but I had never seen it before. Crazy long-board ride. I found myself watching this with a wince most of the time. The first two minutes are setup so just cut to the action and skip forward to 2:15 or so.

Adam Kimmel presents: Claremont HD from adam kimmel on Vimeo.

thanks

Coming from a few generations of soldiers, pilots, and seamen, I feel like my physical, personal, and professional existence is strangely intertwined with the military and their actions. This is not unique — many could tell similar stories, many more tragic — but I thought I would recount a few positive notes on this veteran's day.

My mom and dad met on a blind date set up by one of his pilot buddies in the Air Force. They would take the planes on the weekends (must be nice), in order to keep up their flight hours, and rocket across the country from Enid, Oklahoma to Atlanta, Georgia to see my mom and her college roomate.

My Grandmother's perserverance and grace was an immense influence on everyone in my family. This was brought on, in no small part, by her father — a soldier in the Austro-Hungarian Empire — dying in battle in the Carpathian Mountains during World War I. She was an orphan at 7 years-old and sent to America to live with her Uncle. Later in life, she raised four boys while my Grandfather was fighting in the Pacific during World War II. Three of those boys went on to serve.

Her brother, who stayed in Czechoslovakia as a child, grew up to be a leader in the Prague resistance against the Nazis. He was betrayed by a colleague and was held in German concentration camps for five years during the war. His skills as an electrical engineer kept him from execution. He went on to escape five times and was recaptured four. His final escape was in Dresden during the infamous allied firebombing. I often show my children his picture and tell them, "There is a lot of talk about 'heroes' on TV and in the movies... this man... your uncle was the real thing. I knew him."

Both of my Grandfathers served during World War II. And I served in the Army Reserve for eight years during and after college. I felt an obligation to do so, but it was more of a "bucket list" thing for me. I never saw any combat, but the experience changed me for the better. I know that my mom would say that I'm not the same person I was before I was re-programmed my the United States Army. I know I didn't have the same work-ethic or perspective.

Thanks.

that's me kneeling in front at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma in 1989.

augmented reality-esque-ish 3D motion graphics

street tests from Najork on Vimeo.

Thanks to @seekoh for sending this along. Love it. Reminds me of a lot of augmented reality stuff you see, but the lesser effort in making these things interative pays itself off in visual beauty IMHO.