First Attempts

Well been playing with the new Canon Rebel xsi over the weekend and here are a first few pics trying to get the hang of things.

(I'm going to Bayfield, WI this weekend for a little R&R. So hopefully more good pics to come ...)

In the meantime, enjoy!

'round the apartment

locked in

what?!?

ROAR!!



purdy

I bought something?!?

This past weekend I finally broke down and purchased a higher ticket item. I bought a digital Canon Rebel XSI SLR camera, and Tamron AF28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR VC lens.

I'm VERY happy with my purchase and quickly learning that there are a lot of aspects that go into a good looking picture. You can't simply click a button and it's a work of art. I'm learning it all, but it's fun!!

As some of my friends know it takes me longer to make the purchase of "higher ticket" items, so I'm proud of myself.

Now if only I could purchase an HDTV and Car. I'm getting closer and plan to do both yet this year!!!

Will have to post up some pics later ...

Subaru TV Spots

Wanna see what I was traveling 2 months for?

Check out the latest Subaru of America TV spots on YouTube. There are regular (:30 sec) and extended (:60 sec) versions.

If you have a higher connection speed, you can click on "watch in high quality" underneath each video.

Check 'em out and tell your friends. http://www.youtube.com/subaru

Back to normal?

Well today marks my first "full" day back at work since my surgery. Hopefully, this week will go alright. I did a couple of half-days last week to ease myself back into the swing of things.

I'm not feeling 100% yet, but a little better each day. And I'm finally able to start eating things other than soup. I'd say I'm at about 75% the way there to being recovered.

If your an adult and don't have to have your tonsils out. Don't! It takes A LOT out of you. However, if you were as sick as I was, it'll be worth it in the long run.

In the meantime, looking forward to being healthy and enjoying the summer!

P.S. - Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

All you need is LOVE ... SUBARU

Just like the Beatles said: all you need is LOVE ... and a BIG budget, and a lot of hard work and traveling all over the country to shoot TV spots.

Well at long last the campaign I've been working on (along with a lot of other talented folks) for Subaru has launched last Thursday (April 24th).

Here's the NY Times article that talks about the LOVE campaign we launched for Subaru (if anyone is interested):

Trying to Connect in a Crowded Market
By Stewart Elliot
NY Times
April 24, 2008

Chances are you may now even see a TV spot or two when you're watching TV. Hopefully, things will slow down a bit at work, but I'm guessing probably not.

Ouch!

Well I successfully have rid my body of my tonsils and adenoids!!

The surgery Friday morning was a success. I woke up in the recovery room after the surgery to pain in my mouth of missing tonsils and adenoids, and not a pair of breast implants or an amputated foot or hand by mistake. So thank God for small miracles!

And even though I'm in a fair amount of pain and still out of it I'm surprised how well I'm doing with the recovery.

Thanks to all who have been sending well wishes and praying for me! It's appreciated!!

The Countdown...

Well t-minus 4 days and counting until I go under the knife on Friday.

I'm ridding my body of the bacteria traps known as tonsils and adenoids. No I'm not five, but somehow they have made my life quite painful over the last 9 months and it's finally time for the little buggers to come out!!! I'm looking forward to it, and also looking forward to not being on antibiotics everyday and sick all the time. It'll be a lot of pain at first, but I say bring it on. It'll be well worth it in the long run.

Now I guess I get to test that "ice cream" theory.

Where the heck have you been?!?

Good question! Since the last week in February (over a month) I've been traveling all over the US shooting TV spots for Subaru. It's been a lot of hard work, and fun at times, but haven't been home much and the title to this entry is a question I've heard A LOT lately. Let me just say it's good to be home!

Over the past month I've been in sub-zero temperatures, seen the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean (at times within the same week), been frostbit and sunburned, sick, been on more plane trips than I care to imagine, standing on cliffs, beaches and deserts waiting for the perfect shot ... even saw a few celebs along the way. It's been a wild ride!

All in all, mission accomplished and we got some good TV spots shot. Now we just need to put them together, sell them in and get 'em on air.

Well I've decided to share the past month's adventures with a few pictures below. Just click on each set "title" below to see more pics in each collection, or just click here for the full thing.
(For the interweb non-savvy, click on individual pics below to make them bigger.)

MAINE





NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

BIG ASS TREE

The Goonies?


SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA



Me and Wally Pfister (Batman himself. This is the Director of Photography who shot Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and the list goes on. Nicest guy in the world!)

Back in MPLS

I'm FINALLY back in MPLS, and loving it.

Okay truthfully I'm exhausted, but it's good to finally be done traveling for work and be able to sleep in my own bed.

Pictures of my adventures are to come...

Sick Of Traveling

Been doing A LOT of traveling for work this month with getting 7 TV spots shot ... in a month.

Click below to see the, rather hilarious, Ze Frank explanation of how traveling sucks.



If you are unfamiliar with Ze Frank's video blog. Familarize yourself here!

Busy with a Crackberry

Well, I've been super busy at work lately traveling all over the US and going crazy to get 7 TV spots flimed inside of a month. I've come to the realization that seeing the Atlantic Ocean (Maine) and then the Pacific Ocean (California) within 3 days probably qualifies as too much travel. Well got 2 spots down and 4 more to go. Whoopee!!!

However, what adds injury to insult is that last Friday I was given a Crackberry ... err, I mean a Blackberry at work. While, seemingly cool at first (taking your email, and the internet with you wherever you go) it quickly becomes the WORST THING EVER as you learn that you now NEVER leave work. Your email and phone calls come with you wherever you go. NOOOO!!!! And it's all at the ease of your fingertips so you have to check that email every 5 seconds. "What's that I got a message? WHAT?!?! I have to get 'x' to John by 5pm? And it's a Saturday? Sh*#!"

Word of the wise, if you are given the option of getting a Crackberry at work. Turn it down! You'll be happier.

Not too uplifting of a post, I realize, but hopefully by beggining of April I'll be able to post some pics of the TV shoots and my travels and be in a better mood.

Later all!

Time for an Update

Well I figure it's time for an update for all the family and friends out there.

Well here goes ... started a new job (a different ad agency - downtown MPLS) on Jan. 31st. Been several weeks now and so far, so good. I'm working for Carmichael Lynch on the Subaru Car account. So far everyone I work with is great, my boss is hilarious, and the clients are super nice. A HUGE difference from my last job. So I'm liking it. Only thing is it's a bit crazy right now as I have to get 7 TV spots shot by end of March. So tomorrow it's off to Maine for a week and then after that 3 weeks in California. Could be worse.

As you may or may not be aware, I've been sick off and on for the past 7 months. Whenever I go off antibiotics I get a crazy sore throat and a bunch of other symptoms. It sucks!! Well the doc finally decided it was time to put a stop to things and I'm officially getting my tonsils and adnoids out. I'm scheduled to go under the knife on April 18th, once the craziness at work dies down. Hopefully, I won't be in too much pain. I've been told it can be pretty bad as an adult, but I need them out so I'm ready.

Other then that, things are good ... can't complain.

Random Quote of the Day

"Why you hatin' on that bear? He didn't do nothin’ to you?"

I was walking in the skyways downtown MPLS yesterday when I passed an African-American woman and her little son. On the floor was a GIANT floor graphic of a cartoon bear advertising some upcoming event. The little boy yells out, "I'm gonna get you bear!" and starts to stomp all over the cartoon bear in a display of young male testosterone. Then the mother asks, "Son. Why you hatin' on that bear? He didn't do nothin’ (pronounced – nofin) to you?"

It was truly a random and wonderful moment and I burst into laughter on the spot.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Tell someone you love them.

Best News Ever!!!

Don't know if you've been to the Como Zoo lately, but if you have it's quite the depressing adventure. Sure it's practically free, and you can get really close to the animals, but there's a reason for that. The animals have VERY SMALL habitats, which in turn have driven most of them insane and stir crazy.

I went to the Como Zoo back in late October and one of the exhibits that made me the most depressed was the Polar Bear exhibit. The area in which the Polar Bears, "Buzz" and "Neil", currently live in obviously has made them crazy. You can tell this as they keep pacing to the point of repeating the same actions over and over and over again. It truly is quite the depressing adventure!

Well, there's some good news to this tale. I was extremely happy today when I read a Star Tribune article that tells of the Polar Bear exhibit getting an overhaul and will end up being 4 times the size it currently is. Good news indeed! Perhaps not perfect, but a dramatic improvement. In the interm it looks like Buzz and Neil will hang out at the Detroit Zoo for a while, until it's ready in 2010. Finally a piece of news that isn't depressing.

You can check out the Star Tribune article by clicking here.

New Job

Next week I start my new job. I was contacted by a neighboring advertising agency in MPLS around late December/early January and they presented me with an opportunity I just couldn't pass up.

I'm sad to leave my last ad agency. I was fortunate to work with some wonderfully talented and passionate people. However sometimes certain opportunities look us right in the face and we know we can't ignore them. This was one of those.

I'll most likely have a tough road ahead of me in my new job, but what in life that's worth having is easy?

Wish me luck!

Random Thought #77 - Wes Anderson Films

As I was getting ready for work this morning I was thinking (and quoting) movies, as I often do. And I quoted a great line from the movie Rushmore.

Max Fischer: "So you were in Vietnam if I'm not mistaken?"
Herman Blume: "Yeah, that's right."
Max Fischer: "So you were in the shit?"
Herman Blume: "Yeah, I was in the shit."

This made me remember how much I LOVE Wes Anderson films! He's easily one of my top 10 favorite directors. However, my favorite film of his is easily Rushmore. It's the first film I saw of his, and in the theater, and I instantly loved it watching the whole thing with a great big smile on my face. Everyone always says that their favorite film of Wes Anderson is The Royal Tenenbaums. I disagree. It's a great film, but I like Rushmore so much better.

Anyways, that's my random thought for today.

Someone cue the song "Making Time" by Creation. Rock out!

Happy New Year!

It's that time to write '2008' on all your checks now (if you still use them).

I'm not quite sure how it can possibly be 2008 already, but somehow it is. So, I celebrated the coming of 2008 last night in style with a few good friends over at my friends' Mike and Aimee's house in Apple Valley.

Here's a few pics from the night's festivities. Enjoy the photo adventure!

The Gang





James displaying his Wii Bowling Skillz







Happy New Year, everybody. Goulet!!

Wii

We'll I got lucky in the Christmas presents department this year! I actually some nice gifts, but the shining gem was a Nintendo Wii.

Man, is this thing addicting! Came with Nintendo Sports, and I also got Legend of Zelda too. Both really fun! Then I went out and purchased a couple of other games as well (Super Mario Galaxy, Rayman 2) along with a few other controllers (which were practically sold out everywhere too).

All I can say is if you can track one of these Wiis down; I highly recommend you pick one up.

Thanks for the Wii, family!!

Vacation

I'm officially free for over a week from the confines of work. Over a week off of work!?!?! What will I do with myself? I'm sure I'll find something.

Until Jan. 2nd, it's party time!