DESEDO FILMS

I should have known.

There aren’t a lot of ways to say the following without sounding a wee bit like a raving lunatic, so i’m hoping that the latinish third person treatment will soften the blow: Directoris Raafmanicus was nearly split in two by Boltus Gigawattus, and caught the whole thing on video. No BS.

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ponies and rainbows

So. From India to Italy, the world is rooting for Obama. What happens if he gets elected? Does Brand America go 180 overnight? Will we witness a trend of happiness amongst fine art, music and film? Will liberals wave flags with pride, reclaiming the symbol from the right? Methinks yes.

the new store for the naughty teen

So the internets are abuzz with questions about the Saatchi/Epoch Bronze Lion winner “Speed Dressing” cause JC Penney is now denying ownership of the spot. For those not yet in the know, the :60 depicts two cute teens practicing speed dressing so that they can get away with some heavy petting (greatest sex-ed term evar, IMHO).

I was surprised when I saw it and didn’t think it was sanctioned; kinda like the below Levi’s :60. But I’m not wholly convinced that JC ‘knew nothing’ about it. Would Epoch and Saatchi really risk a F500 client relationship for Cannes? Dunno. Though I doubt JC will fire Saatchi. And Saatchi will work again with Epoch.

In the new media landscape, there are strategy briefs that make room to release and then deny content. And by denying it outright, JC can wash their hands in the public eye, yet get the benefit of viral buzz and grab that brass ring of cool amongst teen shoppers. Until this spot hit the web, the words ‘edgy’ and ‘JC Penney’ couldn’t be found in the same room. Now they’re necking in the basement.

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UPDATE
Of course Saatchi knew all about it. I mean, come on, awards shows are an incest fest, you think nobody told them that it was in the running?

…Well now Saatchi/Epoch is ‘returning’ the lion

can't hear ya ma

Once upon a time, listening to music via headphones was considered a form of anti-social behavior, a way to shut out the world. So of course as a teenager, I reveled in the walls that I could create with my walkman. Yellow Sony Sports was my fave. As we moved to discman days, I rocked the chonky ear goggles. They signified hip-hop and served as a caul for my aloof attitude.

Now in the iPod era, headphones lost any stigma of standoffishness. We all share in the experience of using the same operating system, and paired with social media, it can be an act of social inclusion - witness the Silent Raves.

cant Wont Dont Stop

And so as part of the ongoing experiment that is my life, this past month I opted to go sans headphones/iPod, to see if it altered the way I interacted with the world. Eye contact picked up more, and I’ll admit to a spike in furtive eavesdropping, but no great epiphanies to speak of.

And then last Thursday morn I put my headphones back on - and my world went a tad bizzaro. My sense of smell perked up. Lose one sense, and others come to the fore. And since I couldn’t aurally understand the actions and intent of those in my peripheral, I became wary of other people. I did not truly think they sought to cause harm, but could not shake the feeling of being on guard. Human as we may be, I felt almost like an animal negotiating the city space, instinct being the trump card to reason.