Filed under: culture
What is it about coffeeshops that are so appealing to so many people? Is it just a trend right now, or has this culture been around for a while? Maybe it’s the social atmosphere without actually having to socialize that draws coffeshop-goers in. Maybe it’s the people watching that lends itself to much procrastination from what you actually went there to do (work, read, write, etc.). Or maybe it’s the ambiance and atmosphere that people love so much. For me, I think it’s a blend of all of the above.
Which Richmond coffeeshop do you frequent the most?
a) the “real” Crossroads on Forrest Hill with the outdoorsy/artsy crowd
b) the new Crossroads/old World Cup next to VCU with students and fan dwellers
c) any of the trillion Starbucks with the in-and-out businessmen or the moms with strollers
d) the ever so smelly Shockoe Espresso with Adcenter kids and Creative Directors from Martin (and the occasional crazy person)
e) the European-inspired Cafe Gutenberg with the wine drinkers, intellectuals, and Sunday brunchers
f) all of the above
Filed under: Uncategorized
“Sometimes clients like to drink their own kool-aid…smoke their own brand-crack.”
- John Leeman, SVP Communications Planning, Carat
Nike’s ads for the U.S. Women’s World Cup team star Rainn Wilson, who plays Dwight on The Office. I don’t see any connection, and I don’t think they’re funny. I assume they were trying to get a certain target interested in watching women’s soccer games. Maybe an older more professional audience? I think they could have involved the players more as actresses in the ads. This would allow America to get to know them better. Or maybe Nike doesn’t really want America to know the players – they are the ‘The Greatest Team You’ve Never Heard Of.’
Filed under: Uncategorized
I recently visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in D.C. Upon entering I received an identification card that tells the story of a real person who lived during the Holocaust. This is what mine said:
Name: Nina Szuster
DOB: May 18, 1929
Place of Birth: Rokitnoye, Poland
Nina was born to a Jewish family. Her father built ovens. Nina’s family was very diverse: her father was an Orthodox Jew, her brother was a militant Zionist, and her mother leaned towards communism. Nina attended a Jewish school in her town.
In September 1939 the Soviet Union invaded the eastern half of Poland. All businesses were quickly nationalized and property was seized. The Soviets distributed most of the town’s wealth to the poor in the area. Nina’s mother taught a class about the Soviet constitution in her home. The Soviets closed their Jewish school and opened a Ukrainian one. They began learning about their new Soviet rulers.
In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union and occupied Nina’s town. The German authorities immediately gathered the local Jews into a few houses and circled the area with barbed wire. One night, the Germans suddenly began dragging people out of their house. Nina tried to get some clothes but a German grabbed her and yelled, “Quick or I’ll kill you!” She tore herself away and ran to the kitchen. Then she heard a shot: her uncle was dead. She saw an open window and jumped out. Fortunately, it was foggy, so now one saw her slip through the barbed wire.
After her escape, Nina joined Ukrainian partisans. Befriended by her commander, she was sent to Moscow to study until the end of the war. In 1947 she emigrated to America.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Today I was in Target searching for a birthday card for my Aunt, and came across a card with a caveman on the front. It looked like an uglier version (if that’s possible) of the Geico Cavemen, so I picked it up. On the inside it said, “Getting older….So easy a Caveman could do it.” The card was lame and I would never buy it, but it made me mentally congratulate The Martin Agency for creating an icon that has seeped deep into the American culture…so deep they are making bad birthday cards with it.
