Super Bowl XLV – Random Thoughts
Last night was one of the best Super Bowl games that I’ve seen for quite some time.
From the Packers’ giant lead in the first half, to the Steelers’ heroic comeback in the second half, to the nail-biting final drive of the game, that was one epic battle. The fact that my favored team won the game made the night a little bit better.
But what is a Super Bowl these days without a bit of controversy and some disappointment?
From Christina Aguilera screeching and ruining the national anthem (aside from forgetting some lyrics despite there supposedly being a teleprompter) to the absolute disgrace of a halftime show starring the Black Eyed Peas, the live entertainment failed miserably. Fergie, you’re lucky that Slash didn’t crack his guitar upside your head for ruining “Sweet Child o’ Mine.”
And of course, at least two commercials had questionable content.
Let’s take a look at them, shall we?
Doritos – Best Part commercial Read more…
Categories: marketing, sports Tags: marketing, NFL, TV commercial
MyLife.com – A Marketing Review
By now you’ve probably seen those MyLife.com TV commercials.
These commercials (I saw three of them today alone) usually feature a woman as she does a search for her own name on the website and acts surprised that people are looking for her. She then speculates on who they may be and what they might want to say.
Luckily, we, the average people viewing these commercials, can also see if other people across the country are looking for us as well. All we have to do is visit the website, enter a name, age, and zip code, and then we can see just how many people have searched for our name (or even left a message).
www.MyLife.com — As of February 2011.
But when you watch the commercials and then visit the company’s website, one has to ask if there’s a legitimate use for the site.
Let’s take a look at the marketing and then see what the website really has to offer. Read more…
Categories: marketing Tags: marketing, marketing review, TV commercial
Book Review – Arthur C. Clarke’s “Cradle”
A few days ago I finished reading Arthur C. Clarke’s Cradle.
To classify this book as a work of science fiction is a bit of a stretch. Romance maybe. Certainly not sci-fi.
Cradle tells the tale of an ambitious female reporter investigating the story about a lost experimental missile developed by the U.S. Navy. The missile unexpectedly changed paths during a test flight and splashed down somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico near the Florida Keys. What ultimately happens during the quest for the missile is what gives an ordinary story a brief encounter with science fiction. Read more…
Categories: book reviews Tags: book review
Groundhog Day 2011 – An Early Spring?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 – GROUNDHOG DAY
Once again the country held its collective breath as Punxsutawney Phil, self-proclaimed leader of the weather rats, gave his climate prediction.
The furry rodent reached deep into his knowledge base, analyzed the current conditions, ran the numbers several times in his pea brain head, and then gave the local residents of western Pennsylvania his weather prediction: EARLY SPRING!
Don’t worry about that massive winter storm that covered about a quarter of the country in a thick layer of snow and ice.
Forget about the forecast calling for more snow to cover the northeast this weekend.
Ignore the fact that Punxsutawney Phil is only correct with his predictions less than 40% of the time.
The all-knowing master of climate and underground studies has made his prediction. This is his day to shine. On this day the general public throws conventional science out the window and looks to nature’s retard, hoping that it will bring about some good news for a change. Read more…
Monday Night RAW – Jan 31, 2011
As the NFL football season draws to a rapid conclusion, I’ve been watching wrestling again on TV.
I’m more of a TNA fan than WWE, but some of the WWE wrestlers keep the shows interesting enough to watch and tune in for the occasional episode. Episodes after big PPV matches (such as this past Sunday’s Royal Rumble) can be pretty entertaining.
A few random thoughts from last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW:
– Randy Orton is my hero. I love it now that he’s hunting down members of Nexus and delivering RKOs at will.
Orton goes on an RKO rampage in a RAW episode from this past September.
– The whole “mystery” general manager of RAW story needs to go. A five-year-old can come up with a better idea than an annoying chime and the reading of e-mail messages.
– It’s weird seeing Santino and Vladimir Kozlov as tag team partners.
– The dancing contest between Mark Henry & Great Kali versus the Usos was beyond lame. It was horrendous.
– The King winning the RAW Rumble was predictable.
As a whole the episode last night wasn’t bad. It’ll improve once the creative minds at WWE can create better story lines and fix some of the current problems. At least WrestleMania will be here soon.
Categories: Uncategorized Tags: wrestling
Estate Sale Versus Moving Sale
Over the past month or so, my parents and I have conducted two large sales at my late brother’s house.
The first was an estate sale held in the middle of December, and a moving sale took place this past weekend at the end of January. Both sales took place in the same location and had the same methods of advertisement.
Yet when you look at the ratio of sales to customers, it was a night and day difference between the two experiences.
ESTATE SALE
In the middle of December we held an official estate sale. Granted, this was two weeks before Christmas and the second day of the sale had a mixture of sleet and snow (a nightmare for Atlanta drivers). But the visitor turnout was still quite high.
It was the sales part that was low when compared to the number of visitors. Read more…