a world away - yet as close as 14th street

i remember directly following the tragedy that was SEPT 11, 2001 Union Square in NYC was, for me, the center of the grieving city. thousands of "have you see this person" posters and folks mourning both quietly and outwardly. tonight i was walking home and came to that same spot, where hundreds of people sat and stood, in a meditative chant protesting China's hosting of this year's Olympic games.

i must admit, i don't know much about what is happening in china and tibet, but i read an article in Newsweek today, at my dentist's office, that mentioned there may be protests. the writers' stance was that the protests may be counter-productive to the process of integrating our world. he mentioned that china is cracking the door to be open to new thought and idea -- but protesting their way of life will directly counteract that. there are obviously two sides to this story.

currently, i don't have enough info to formulate an opinion -- so please tell me your thoughts on this topic.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

music and dancing in the park - with special shout out to jamie lidell

dad's visit

my dad has been visiting the states with his wife for the last few weeks. whenever he comes, we try to get together for dinner and events, as much as our schedules will allow. this trip - we've been out to some lovely meals at cafe deville, atlantic grill, vezzo, le colonial and buddakan -- and we got the opportunity to go to a yankee game, in this, their last season at the current stadium. (thanks, Al!!!) it was great hanging with him - especially since now that i don't travel internationally for work anymore, we see each other only once or twice a year. fun times, though - no doubt!

a break for some wonderful foolishness

MUPPET ANTE UP!

This is awfully clever editing.
M.O.P. would be proud.

(thanks for sending this over, Daina!)

...on the road again.

this past week was reminiscent of my life while working at old navy. you see, i was a marketing manager concentrating on grass-roots efforts in the midwest of the US. at the time, i was living in san fran - which made for a whole lotta non-direct flights to towns like dayton ohio. i don't mind travel - as long as it runs relatively smoothly.

so... this week, the nba d-league took me to tulsa, ok -- and erie, pa. 6 flights total -- and 5 of them were delayed. the trip featured my running thru the cleveland airport to have the door being closed as a ran up to the gate (impromptu 3 hr lay over)... and a 5 hour mechanical delay in tulsa, from which i got an unexpected free night to see my aunt and uncle in detroit....
and WOW; i ate horribly. good thing i bought a 6-pack of protein bars, or else i'd have been sunk. ok - so back in the gym this weekend - will try to play some volleyball in central park - and try to get some sleep. nice to be back in the big apple. no doubt.

double-fisting ... I mean blogging.

this weekend the NBA Development League hosted our PreDraft Camp in Georgia - giving 200 prospects a shot at playing in front of D-League execs, coaches, and scouts and some NBA former players and coaches as well. I blogged on the NBA D-League site - live from Suwanee, Georgia.

check it out : here.

yes, they cannes.

last year, i ran Nokia Nseries' sponsorship of the Cannes Lions Ad Festival - with the capable help of my friends at Local Theory. this year, nokia & local theory went back without me. once again, young creatives had 48 hours to make a spot for mtvswitch to spur the world's youth to help the planet. read more about what they did there (and see the winning clip) - here.

my favorite spots from this year's Young Lions competition :


catchy tune.


the ending line makes it.


nice find on the talent - and nice integration with the message.


brilliant editing.