WH4T TH3 ...

The Terminator Vs Sarah Palin

2008-10-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

I love The Terminator. I hate Sarah Palin. Here's a mash-up of the two.

That Didn't Take Long

2008-10-08T10:08:00.001-07:00

Less than 12 hours after the debate there's already a "That One" shirt up at Cafepress.

15 Images You Won't Believe Aren't Photoshopped

2008-08-19T12:08:00.001-07:00

From Digg: There's a whole bunch of jaw-dropping pics that the internet declared 'FAKE!' the moment they appeared. But as it turns out, some of them are, in fact, insanely surreal photographs of weird stuff around the world.

read more | digg story

Has Video Killed the Blogging Star?

2008-06-18T21:06:00.001-07:00

This was the title of a panel I joined at the Social Media Influence event earlier this week in London. "Okay, we’re joking…..sort of. But be it video-snacking, YouTube resumes, digital video activism or live-streaming to the web from your mobile phone, the world of Web 2.0 is being driven by the moving image."

read more | digg story

Pentagon Plans to Develop Green Zone With Condos & Malls

2008-05-05T15:26:00.001-07:00

Forget the rocket attacks, concrete blast walls and lack of a sewer system. Now try to imagine luxury hotels, a shopping center and even condos in the heart of Baghdad. That’s all part of a 5yr. development “dream list” or what some dub an improbable fantasy to transform the U.S.-protected Green Zone from a walled fortress into a centerpiece.

read more | digg story

Top 10 Renewable Tech Gadgets

2008-05-05T13:42:00.001-07:00

From a solar pool heater to photovoltaic purse that can charge batteries, there's some neat stuff on this list I'd yet to see.

read more | digg story

Facebook Beacon Bullshit

2008-04-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

I've been running into the dreaded Facebook Bacon more and more these days. I wish they had a global opt-out. Maybe they have one (anybody seen it?) The options are super-vague and I never know exactly what to do in order to have my actions NOT show up on Facebook.

Anyway, I ran into it again today on Fandango. I don't really care if people know I went to see 'Baby Momma" -- looks funny. I just don't like the idea of Beacon. So when I hopped back on FB and got the Beacon alert I tried to opt out and keep getting this error message.

Not cool, Zuckerberg. Not cool.

Console Update #5: 360 Heading Home

2008-04-24T23:58:00.000-07:00

My 360 has been fixed and is waiting to be shipped back. The email I received from Microsoft was missing the serial number (there was a place for it, but no number). Looks like I'll be playing Mass Effect before, uh, whatever PS3 exclusive I might have picked up.

I did grab a Dualshock 3 that I'm dying to test out with Rainbow Six Vegas 2 or Uncharted. Let's go Sony.

Console Update #4: 360 Has Landed

2008-04-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

Received a crappily formatted rich text email from xbox today (different fonts, different sizes, half bold). My 360 has reached it's destination and is awaiting repair or replacement. I'm totally going to get this back before my PS3.

Console Update #3: Everybody Sucks

2008-04-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

So I'm heading into week #4 dealing with both my 360 and my PS3 failing. Here's what's happened since the last post.

Two weeks after calling Microsoft I still hadn't received my shipping label. So I called them again and the service rep told me that since this was the second 360 to red-ring on me they would send a box with pre-paid shipping to send my console back. Cool, but I told them this was my second 360 two weeks prior to this call. So why didn't they decide to send me just a label the first time around? And why don't they just send everyone a box like Sony does? Lame. Anyway, the box showed up Friday and I dropped it back off at FedEx about 2 hours later. The boxing process didn't involve as much paper work as with the PS3 but it was also far less professional. The packing instructions looked like they were created by a couple dudes in the shipping warehouse with their phone cameras. I'm also not receiving any email updates on the status of my 360 like I have been from Sony.

Speaking of emails from Sony, on the 12th I received an email from Sony informing me that my PS3 reached their service center (12 days after my initial call to Sony). Sweet. Except the email also stated that Sony is "currently experiencing a backorder on our PLAYSTATION 3 - CECHG01 at our exchange facility." They didn't give any further information or updated estimate as to when I should expect my PS3 back. I sent an email to their web support and received a rather stock response that did not address the "backorder" issue but simply restated their standard 7 - 14 business day turnaround.

I called Sony today to see if anyone could give me an update on this backorder. I spoke with one of the most unprofessional customer support reps I've ever encountered. She wasn't rude or anything, just very stupid (sorry, it's true). She told me she didn't have any more information about my console backorder but that "they are probably waiting on a 'thingy' or something. You know, something that broke inside your console that needs to be replaced." Uh, you mean a part? She seriously said "thingy." Then she told me she has received a lot of calls from customers like myself who have received these emails but that they are currently still meeting the 7 - 14 business day turn around time. She went are far as to say, "I'm sure we'll meet the 14 day schedule." She didn't say promise, but I'm guessing her managers would want her saying that. She also told me they received my PS3 on the 10th, which is two days before I received my confirmation email. So according to my math, Sony has until April 29th (or May 1st at the latest) to ship my console back. Nine more days till I call them back.

According to FedEx, my 360 made it from San Mateo to SF to Oakland and all the way down to Fort Worth already. It's possible that I could get my 360 back before my PS3 even with the week or so head start Sony had.

Console Update #2: Sony Has The Lead

2008-04-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

Dropped my PS3 off at UPS today. I did notice that they paid for 2nd day air shipping, which is pretty cool. Who knows what they'll do on the way back. Let the countdown begin.

Console Update #1

2008-04-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

So, I called Microsoft and Sony last Sunday. My 360 red-ringed and my PS3 won't ready any type of disk. Sony said they'd send me a pre-paid box to send my console back in and repair it for free. Microsoft said they'd send me a shipping label, I'd have to pay to ship it to them, and then they'd determine if my problem fell under the extended warrenty or if I'd have to pay for repairs.

Eight days later, I have my Sony box and am ready to ship my PS3 back for replacement. My Microsoft shipping label still hasn't shown up. The PS3 packing process was fairly painless. I had a small form to fill out and they provided some simple packing instructions. It took about 10 minutes to fill out the form and pack up the box.

WTF, Microsoft? WTF?

Console Woes

2008-03-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

My PS3 quit working today, about 3 weeks after my second xbox360 quit working. The only silver lining is that while I was on the phone with Microsoft customer support trying to trouble shoot my 360 disk drive errors I got the "3 Red Lights" error. Why is this good news? Because despite having a 17% failure rate on the 360 Microsoft has only extended the warranty for the "3 Red Lights" general hardware failure.

So how are Microsoft and Sony treating me? Differently, that's for sure. When Sony found out my console was still under warranty, they asked me a few trouble shooting questions (without making me feel like a jackass) and then promptly told me they'd send me a box with a pre-paid shipping label and they'd replace my console in 10-15 days. Microsoft, despite this being my second 360 to die on top of my original xbox which failed, told me I'd have to pay for shipping to the repair center ($40) and pay for any repairs that are not "general hardware/3 red lights" failures. So I'm still not sure if I'll have to pay another $99 to have my DVD drive replaced. Plus, Microsoft expects it to take 2 to 3 weeks to repair.

Not happy about the PS3 failing, but thanks, Sony, for picking up the bill and making the process painless.

Microsoft, I'm going to have a hard time buying anything from you again. I certainly will never buy a multi-platform game for the 360. You better have some sweet exclusives over the next few years. Otherwise, the only thing you'll get from me is bad word-of-mouth.

Propaganda Film About My New Job

2007-09-05T16:47:00.000-07:00

I started my new job today at Y&R. Last week, my good friend, former coworker and personal biographer (Chaco Daniel) created this propaganda film trying to disuade Y&R from hiring me. It's all true ... except the part about me mispronouncing Colbert.

Love ya, Chaco.

My New Work Bio

2007-07-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

Chaco wrote this very funny recommendation for me on LinkedIn. I'm now going to use it for all my official bios. The one I wrote for him was much shorter and much more lame.

“Example: Paco Allen is a detail-oriented strategist who watches the books with an all-seeing eye and also an another all-seeing eye that keeps track of things the first eye might have missed. There's a lot of pressure on the first eye and Paco takes that into account. He's the kind of manager that perceives when the first eye might be slipping a little and then calls in the second eye as a sort of cavalry for the first eye. Like if the first eye where under attack by Indians or fundamentalist radicals or radical fundamentalist Indians, he'd notice that. He's that kind of person. The kind that notices. And he's the kind of person that cares. Sometimes he only cares about being noticed but that in itself is a kind of caring; not a good kind of caring but a kind of caring; an off-shoot of caring, much in the same way that the Neandrethals were an off-shoot of early descendants of man (or ascendants, whichever you prefer.) In short, Paco is...(character limit expired)”

Simpsomaker Paco

2007-07-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

Here's me as a Simpsons character. Make your own at Milk and Cookies.

Tiger Attack

2007-06-29T16:31:00.001-07:00

Someone just sent me this video of a Tiger going from totally hidden to attacking the shit out of a dude on an elephant in like 1.5 seconds.

Win Some, Loose Some

2007-06-29T16:08:00.000-07:00

We just got done with another big stint of BMW work, pitching year end holiday campaigns. A bunch of us worked 70 to 90 hour work weeks leading up to the presentation yesterday. The work was solid, I felt pretty damn good about our chances.

I couldn't travel to NJ for the presentation because Alli was out of town and I had to take care of Mia, but the report from the meeting was that they killed. However, despite the hard work and kick ass product we were informed today that we didn't get the assignment. And to be honest, I don't think the winning TV idea sounds very good at all. One man's opinion, but it would be nice to respect the work that beat yours.

C'est la vie. And I don't mean that in a bad way. So much of life is about the process, the journey, and not the destination. While I don't enjoy being away from the family that much, struggling with a project like this is a massive challenge and the people I work with are like friends and family.

On to the next one.

Feliz cumpleaños, yo

2007-05-24T12:05:00.000-07:00

We went to dinner with some friends the past Sunday to celebrate my 31st birthday. The choice was Mexican at Compadres Bar & Grill in Palo Alto. The food and service are decent, nothing to write home about, but the gigantic Sombrero they put on you while they sing happy birthday is well worth the price of admission.

Fun with Apple PhotoBooth

2007-05-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

We had some down time today while doing final mix on the BMW commercials. So I sat in the back of the room and had way too much fun with PhotoBooth (Mark, I'm sure you'll find a good use for these).

IN UR GRILL SPARKLIN UR BEERZ

2007-05-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

I'm married, so it might seem like iminlikewithyou.com would serve no legitimate purpose in my life, but it does have this cool sparkle thing.

Making BMW TV: Part 7, The Long Road Home

2007-05-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday. I'm back home. The trip took a lot out of me but I wanted recap the last day of the BMW shoot. Sunday we shot two commercials in an epic 16+ hour day. We were at the South Bay dealership all day long, both inside the lobby and outside in the service center. Both spots are for BMW Ultimate service ($0/4 years/50,000 miles!).

It was a very long day -- not just because of the hours but unlike Thursday and Friday it was all about acting. And a lot of comedy acting at that. The talent really worked hard to pull off subtle, nuanced, dry comedy in scenes that lasted a matter of seconds. I have a new appreciation for acting.

The other spot didn't require overt comedy or nearly as much acting, but instead was a very simply, silent, visual story. This meant it needed all the more attention to detail to make sure everything played out in the most powerful way possible. We started the day with the final shot from this spot and it was absolutely fantastic. The agency had originally thought of this as two different shots, but the director came up with a sweet camera move that combined both shots. I think it will turn out pretty rad.

We should see rough cuts this week. I may be back down in LA later this week to check in on progress. We're looking to deliver the first spot in about a week and a half. How's that for turn around time?

Pics from the day.

Making BMW TV: Part 6.2, Details

2007-04-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

I didn't write too much yesterday about the experience. I was just too tired -- we were out in the wind and sun and heat for a really long time. I wanted to get some of the details written down so I don't forget them.

Brian Shown got into town late the night before and looked a bit wrecked when I saw him in the morning. I think he shook off most of it in the car on the way up to Lake Hughes. We started pretty early, following the 328 in the video van. They had the Ultimate Arm out in the morning and got some killer car-to-car shots. We had all kinds of dandelion-like tree seeds floating around in the sky. It was pretty thick and more than a few of us were worried about how it was going to look in the shots. As it turned out, when the car got up to speed you didn't see them at all. The car looked amazing -- I think we have some footage that starts to convey what an absolute blast it is to drive one of these.

We did some process trailer later in the day to get some interior and through-the-windshield shots of our principal actress. During the first process trailer session I got to run across the lake to get a shot of the car whipping around a horseshoe section of the road. It was a tiny, tiny snip of film that may never get used in the final spot but it was a lot of fun to be put in charge of a shot from the agency perspective. That being said, it was the team from AERO that did 99.9% of the work -- another impressive experience with them.

Another round of process trailer (I got to ride along on this trip) and then it was off to set up the pack shot. While we were at the pack shot location (over looking Lake Hughes) Roger was on the ground with a camera crew shooting the car running through some windy sections while Brent was in a chopper above shooting stuff at the same time. Crazy amount of work going on simultaneously.

Dave, Helen and I worked to get the cars positioned correctly while the camera crew started working on getting the crane and camera moves figured out. We had something we thought was cool, but then Brent, Roger, Bill and Lance showed up and created a shot that was nothing short of amazing.

All in all it was another totally killer day. Thanks again, AERO.

Pics from the day.

Making BMW TV: Part 6, "In The Can"

2007-04-27T22:54:00.000-07:00

- Day 2 filming: done.
- All shots on the storyboards: done.
- All shots continuing to exceed expectations: done.
- Totally exhausted: done.
- Sunburned: done.
- Happy: done.
- Missing my wife and daughter: done.
- Tired and going to bed: done.

Pics from the day.

Making BMW TV: Part 5, "Action!"

2007-04-26T23:47:00.000-07:00

Today was day one of shooting -- the first half of the first of three spots. Almost every aspect of the entire day completely exceeded my expectations. AERO films again showed that every single member of their crew is a consummate professional. Every shot was dynamic and amazing -- both the cast and the car looked stunning. The director, Brent, was unbelievable gracious in allowing us to participate in as much of the shoot as possible. We certainly had a crowd, but the crew showed us a tremendous amount of patience.

Tomorrow we hit the road to shoot this car doing what it does best. The precision driver we had today did a great job with the little driving we had for her, but tomorrow is her day to shine. I won't say anything about the large bolder incident here -- it never happened.

Pics from the day.