Ponderings Ponderings

Motivational Life Lessons

Screen Shot 2014-02-20 at 6.13.23 PMI'm still trying to adjust back to the land of gray skies and New York City weather. Have also been dealing with an annoying administrative issue that has greatly thrown me off track. And.. I've been distracted by watching back to back episodes of House of Cards. I finally understand what all the hype is about. It is a fantastic show. While the morality of the main character is questionable (to say the least), he does dole out some pretty powerful advice. Like for instance, points out that doing people favors or giving things to people has its own reward and signals power. Also, while his methods are a bit beyond questionable, there is no denying his unwavering determination and resilience. I'll try and absorb that. In the same vein, I just found a link to these motivational screen wallpapers. I honestly don't know what to choose but this certainly put me in a better mood yesterday. Fortunately, today is a new day.

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Fear Not

I had a whole slew of advice regarding how to get a job this week but it will have to wait because I'm slammed with interviews. I have interviews coming out of my ears but hell, I ain't complaining. Actually, it's been a very good lesson in karma. Duh. You get what you put in and I think I've done a fair amount of reaching out to people and helping others get jobs when I can. So on a lighter / more serious note...

What are your top rational / irrational fears? 

Mine, in no particular order are...

1. Accidentally taking Advil PM during the day instead of the non-drowsy kind.

2. Accidentally forgetting my interview heels before an interview and having to interview in my Tom's or buy another pair of heels.

3. Falling onto the subway tracks or watching someone else fall without being able to save them.

4. Stepping on a dead body or scary gross thing while swimming in lakes (someone's watched too many horror movies!)

I think that's about it. I've failed. Been broke. Fallen on my face in public. Gotten fired. Tripped and fell during an onstage musical performance during high school (thanks Scott!). Once found a dead mouse in a sublet. Had bedbugs. My kitten jumped & fell out of my 5th floor window (he wasn't ok). Broken a bone. Broke my computer. And have had countless other experiences that I choose not to share on this blog.

But the point is, once you've lived through your fears and have come out scathed but alive, you've gained the resilience and strength to take whatever leap is necessary in life.

What are your fears?

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Banana Republic meets Virgin America

It's always good to take note of how other industries work through the creative and strategic process. This video is a perfect example. Virgin America teamed up with Banana Republic to refresh Virgin America's 4+ year old uniforms. In the video, we see the strategic thinking behind the process. The design team is given the task to create within a very specific set of parameters - uniforms that are stylish, comfortable, instantly recognizable as the Virgin America brand and are modern but classic enough to remain relevant years from now. They also need to factor in how the wearer will experience the outfit going through security or how the outfit will look on various body types. And through all this, need to make sure the outfits retain some of Banana Republic's character. Naturally, there were post-its involved.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdI-XBgJLqE&w=560&h=315]

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advice advice

Planning: We Bring The Divergent Thinking In From The Outside by Heidi Hackemer

Just stumbled upon this presentation given by former BBH Strategy Director, now freelancer and dare I say, life-liver, Heidi Hackemer. Like many planners who've reached a senior level, she had a crisis of faith in the traditional planning model realizing that the linear career path, reliance on focus groups and online reports and value placed on "busyness" were not conducive to inspiring the best work. The presentation offers invaluable advice for planners.

planning, creativity & planning for creative campaigns [slideshare id=12558713?rel=0&w=425&h=355&fb=0&mw=0&mh=0&sc=no]

View more presentations from Heidi Hackemer
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Inspiration

What would our world look like if every brand used advertising as a platform to inspire others to take change of their life, live life to the fullest and live up to their potential. I can imagine it would be a very beautiful world, something like the world in W+K's latest spot for Levi's.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLKFp8hm6NM&w=560&h=349]

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Ponderings Ponderings

The Earth Is Full - NY Piece On Climate Change

As I sit in the well airconditioned headquarters of Internet Week while it's a sweltering 93 degrees outside, I thought it was imperative that I re-posted this op-ed piece by Thomas Friedman, The Earth Is Full. As he writes, decades from now, will we look back on these last few years of tornados, extreme heat, floods and other natural disasters and think, "How could we have ignored these warning signs?" I certainly hope not. On Monday, I listened to a presentation by Arianna Huffington and Johnson & Johnson's VP of Corporate Affairs, Brian Perkins speak on the intersection of cause-related marketing and how it relates to brands. Both Arianna and Brian strongly agreed that it's not enough for companies to only think about the bottom line. Consumers want to look into the soul of your brand and see that your brand stands for doing good and giving back to the community. As an account strategist, I strongly believe that for profit organizations have the ability to make a great impact on world issues while still turning a profit and that consumers will want to buy from these organizations. The pendulum from mindless consumerism and "evil" corporations is shifting to a more thoughtful, sustainable future. What a great time to be in advertising!

OP-ED COLUMNIST

The Earth Is Full

By 

Published: June 7, 2011

You really do have to wonder whether a few years from now we’ll look back at the first decade of the 21st century — when food prices spiked, energy prices soared, world population surged, tornados plowed through cities, floods and droughts set records, populations were displaced and governments were threatened by the confluence of it all — and ask ourselves: What were we thinking? How did we not panic when the evidence was so obvious that we’d crossed some growth/climate/natural resource/population redlines all at once?

“The only answer can be denial,” argues Paul Gilding, the veteran Australian environmentalist-entrepreneur, who described this moment in a new book called “The Great Disruption: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring On the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New World.” “When you are surrounded by something so big that requires you to change everything about the way you think and see the world, then denial is the natural response. But the longer we wait, the bigger the response required.”

Gilding cites the work of the Global Footprint Network, an alliance of scientists, which calculates how many “planet Earths” we need to sustain our current growth rates. G.F.N. measures how much land and water area we need to produce the resources we consume and absorb our waste, using prevailing technology. On the whole, says G.F.N., we are currently growing at a rate that is using up the Earth’s resources far faster than they can be sustainably replenished, so we are eating into the future. Right now, global growth is using about 1.5 Earths. “Having only one planet makes this a rather significant problem,” says Gilding.

This is not science fiction. This is what happens when our system of growth and the system of nature hit the wall at once. While in Yemen last year, I saw a tanker truck delivering water in the capital, Sana. Why? Because Sana could be the first big city in the world to run out of water, within a decade. That is what happens when one generation in one country lives at 150 percent of sustainable capacity.

“If you cut down more trees than you grow, you run out of trees,” writes Gilding. “If you put additional nitrogen into a water system, you change the type and quantity of life that water can support. If you thicken the Earth’s CO2 blanket, the Earth gets warmer. If you do all these and many more things at once, you change the way the whole system of planet Earth behaves, with social, economic, and life support impacts. This is not speculation; this is high school science.”

It is also current affairs. “In China’s thousands of years of civilization, the conflict between humankind and nature has never been as serious as it is today,” China’s environment minister, Zhou Shengxian, said recently. “The depletion, deterioration and exhaustion of resources and the worsening ecological environment have become bottlenecks and grave impediments to the nation’s economic and social development.” What China’s minister is telling us, says Gilding, is that “the Earth is full. We are now using so many resources and putting out so much waste into the Earth that we have reached some kind of limit, given current technologies. The economy is going to have to get smaller in terms of physical impact.”

We will not change systems, though, without a crisis. But don’t worry, we’re getting there.

We’re currently caught in two loops: One is that more population growth and more global warming together are pushing up food prices; rising food prices cause political instability in the Middle East, which leads to higher oil prices, which leads to higher food prices, which leads to more instability. At the same time, improved productivity means fewer people are needed in every factory to produce more stuff. So if we want to have more jobs, we need more factories. More factories making more stuff make more global warming, and that is where the two loops meet.

But Gilding is actually an eco-optimist. As the impact of the imminent Great Disruption hits us, he says, “our response will be proportionally dramatic, mobilizing as we do in war. We will change at a scale and speed we can barely imagine today, completely transforming our economy, including our energy and transport industries, in just a few short decades.”

We will realize, he predicts, that the consumer-driven growth model is broken and we have to move to a more happiness-driven growth model, based on people working less and owning less. “How many people,” Gilding asks, “lie on their death bed and say, ‘I wish I had worked harder or built more shareholder value,’ and how many say, ‘I wish I had gone to more ballgames, read more books to my kids, taken more walks?’ To do that, you need a growth model based on giving people more time to enjoy life, but with less stuff.”

Sounds utopian? Gilding insists he is a realist.

“We are heading for a crisis-driven choice,” he says. “We either allow collapse to overtake us or develop a new sustainable economic model. We will choose the latter. We may be slow, but we’re not stupid.”

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Too Many White Men?

During my internet travels, I recently came across this great blog, Pretty Little Head by the planning director of Digitas New York, Farrah Bostic. Her recent post containing a list of inspiring women in technology and advertising. I've already worked with at least two people on the list and hope to work with more. Have you had the opportunity to learn from any of these women? Click here for original post.

Creatives

  • Mary Beth Adduci, Creative Director, DDB Chicago
  • Susana Albuquerque, Creative Director, Lowe Lisbon
  • Sofia Ambrosini, Partner Creative Director, WLF Milan
  • Suzanna Applebaum, ECD, Strawberryfrog
  • Federica Ariagno, ECD, AUGE Milan
  • Rosie Arnold, Deputy ECD, BBH London
  • Vicki Azarian, Group Creative Director, OgilvyOne
  • Sarah Barclay, ECD, JWT
  • Kim Bartkowski, Group Creative Director & Creative Lead – Mobile Practice, Digitas
  • Mariandreina Behrens, Creative Director, Vapro
  • Serena di Bruno, Creative Director, 1861 United
  • Katrien Bottez, Creative Director, Duval Guillaume Brussels
  • Rebecca Carrasco, ECD, Colman Rasic Carrasco
  • Tobi Carvana-Moore, Associate Creative Director, Matlock Advertising & PR
  • Chiara Castiglioni, Creative Director, McCann Italy
  • Janet Champ, Creative Director/Writer, Switzerland
  • Fiona Chen, Creative Director, Ogilvy Shanghai
  • Valerie Cheng, Executive Creative Director, JWT Singapore & XM-Asia
  • Marian Cohen, Creative Director, Inbar Merhav Shaked Tel Aviv
  • Vida Cornelious, VP Group Creative Director, GlobalHUE
  • Susan Credle, CCO, Leo Burnett
  • Augusta Duffey, Freelance Creative Director
  • Katerina Esslin, Creative Director, Olympic DDB Athens
  • Isabela Ferreira, Associate Creative Director, Energy BBDO
  • Paola Figueroa, Creative Director, Ogilvy Mexico City
  • Marie-Claude Garneau, Global Creative Director, DDB WW Paris
  • Helene Godin, Creative Director, Sid Lee Montreal
  • Alison Gragnano, Global Creative Director, Saatchi NY
  • Carolyn Hadlock, Principal/Executive Creative Director, Young & Laramore
  • Nancy Hartley, Joint Executive Creative Director, Sapient Nitro Brisbane/Sydney
  • Frances Hatzipetrou, Creative Director, Fortune Athens
  • Barbara Hernandez, Creative Director, BBDO Mexico
  • Susan Hoffman, ECD, Wieden + Kennedy
  • Jennifer Hu, ECD, Ogilvy Taipei
  • Heather James, Director of Learning Services, Acquio Ireland
  • Maria Carolina Jaso, Creative Director, ARS DDB
  • Judy John, Managing Partner & Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett Toronto
  • Laura Jordon-Bambach, ECD, LBi London
  • Linda Kaplan Thaler, CEO/Chief Creative Office, Kaplan Thaler Group
  • Pamela Kaplan, Creative Director, BADJAR Ogilvy Melbourne
  • Kerry Keenan, Global Director Creative Content, Y&R
  • Kris Kiger, SVP, Managing Director Visual Design, R/GA
  • Elke Klinkhammer, Creative Director, Neue Digitale
  • Tiffany Kosel, VP Creative Director, Crispin Porter + Bogusky
  • Becky Kozlen, Creative Director, DDB Chicago
  • Natalie Lam, ECD, OgilvyOne Shanghai
  • Jodi Leo, UX & Design, The Barbarian Group
  • Elspeth Lynn, ECD, Profero
  • Gerry Killeen, Managing Director-Creative Services, Kaplan Thaler Group
  • Amy Markley, Creative Director, Tom Dick & Harry
  • Kammie McArthur, Group Creative Director, Publicis West
  • Suzanne Molinaro, Deputy Head of Interactive Production, BBH
  • Charlotte Moore, Creative Director/Art Director, Switzerland
  • Monica Moro, ECD, McCann Madrid
  • Judite Mota, ECD, Y&R Lisbon
  • Mehera O’Brien, Creative Director, AKQA New York
  • Eleftheria Petropoulou, Group Creative Head, McCann Athens
  • Christine Pillsbury, Creative Director, Beam Interactive & Relationship Marketing
  • Suzanne Pope, Creative Director, John St Toronto
  • Claudia Portela, Creative Director, Y&R Lisbon
  • Katja Rickert, Creative Director, Scholz & Volkmer
  • Fernanda Romano, Global Creative Director – Digital & Experiential, Euro RSCG
  • Consuelo Ruybal, Creative Director, Kaplan Thaler
  • Mariana Sa, Global Creative Director, DM9DDB Sao Paulo
  • Catherine Savard, Creative Director, Cossette Montreal
  • Bibiana Segura, Creative Director, Global Link Communications
  • Jennifer Shreve, Creative Director, Razorfish
  • Stefania Siani, ECD, D’Adda Lorenzini Vigorelli BBDO Milan
  • Liz Sivel, Creative Director, R/GA London
  • Eloise Smith, Creative Director, Euro RSCG London
  • Nina Thelberg, Creative Director, B-Reel Stockholm
  • Marianella Torres, Creative Director, TBWA/Venezuela
  • Elizabete Vaz Mena, Creative Director, Grey Lisbon
  • Isbelt Venegas, Executive Creative Director, Publicis
  • Gabrielle Weinman, Group Creative Director, Ignited LA

Strategists & Media Mavens

  • Ingrid Bernstein, Digital Strategy Director: Experience Department Head, JWT
  • Farrah Bostic, VP Group Planning Director, Digitas
  • June Cohen, Executive Producer, TED Media
  • Mimi Cook, Director of Creative and Brand Strategy, Mekanism
  • Emma Cookson, Chairman, BBH New York
  • Mel Exon, Managing Director, BBH Labs
  • Amber Finlay, SVP Global Engagement Planning, Arnold Worldwide
  • Robin Hafitz, Founder, Open Mind Strategy
  • Brenna Hanly, Mobile Strategist/Catalyst, Mullen
  • Katie Harrison, Head of Planning, BBH New York
  • Sarah Hofstetter, Senior Vice President: Emerging Media & Brand Strategy, 360i
  • Natasha Jakubowski, Managing Partner/Head of Innovation, Anomaly
  • Kristen Maverick, Digital Strategist, BBDO
  • Kate Miltner, Masters Candidate (Media & Internet Memes), London School of Economics
  • Alli Mooney, Head of Trends & Insights/Marketing, Google
  • Jaime Morelli, VP Account Director Media Planning, Zenith Optimedia
  • Kelly Stoetzel, Content Director, TED
  • Amelia Torode, Head of Digital Strategy, VCCP London
  • Lindsey Weber, Social Media Lead, The Barbarian Group
  • Alisa Leonard, Director of Experience Planning, iCrossing
  • Judith Lewis, Head of Search, Beyond
  • Constance DeCherney, Director of Strategy, iCrossing
  • Shoshana Winter, SVP Marketing Strategy, iCrossing
  • Shelby MacLeod, Group Director of Earned Media, The Barbarian Group
  • Sarah Watson, Chief Strategy Officer, BBH New York
  • Sarah Wulfeck, Director Content & Community, Beyond Consultancy
  • Shelley Zalis, CEO, Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange
  • Jennifer Zeszut, Social Strategist, Lithium (ex-CEO of ScoutLabs)

Creative Technologists

Marketing & Client Service Leaders

Entrepreneurs

Advocates & Change-Makers

Brand Marketers

  • Beth Comstock, SVP/CMO, General Electric
  • Rebecca Messina, VP Global Marketing Capability & Integration, Coca-Cola
  • Jill Simmons, Marketing Director, The New York Times
  • Julie Washington, VP & General Manager – Consumer Products, Jamba Juice
  • Connie Weaver, CMO, TIAA-CREF
  • Andrea Harrison, Director of Digital Engagement, Pepsi

 

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The Styles of San Francisco

I spent most of Saturday wandering around the Mission and downtown photographing people. Actually, I left my apartment as a bag lady holding a box to ship back home, my camera, purse and shoulder bag full of clothing to sell. I ended up making $30 from Buffalo Exchange selling a Kenneth Cole bag I bought over the summer, an Ella Moss dress I liked but it always brought back memories as the dress I wore on my first date w/ my ex, and another dress that brought back unpleasant memories. Actually, the blue Ella Moss dress was dangerously breezy and light as I learned last summer while walking over a sidewalk grate (to the delight of an unsuspecting Chinese delivery man). There is something therapeutic about getting rid of physical "baggage" especially knowing that I won't be lugging them as literal baggage across the country. There was a moment of hesitation and a deep breath involved but I know that I won't regret my decision. I highly recommend cleaning out ones closet, often.Speaking of closets, I don't think San Francisco gets enough credit for their fashionable citizens or at least fashionable tourists that flock to the city. It's hard to make general comparisons between city styles since I've been in and out of NYC for the last 5 months but San Francisco really knows how to do casual well. I guess you can invest in better clothing when the temperature is around the same all year round and you can work the layering. It seems there is less pressure to conform in SF but I'll have to think about this further when I'm back in NYC. In NYC you have to wander around the East Village, Lower East Side, West Village, Soho, Meatpacking, Chelsea and Williamsburg to find an eclectic mix of fashions. Each neighborhood has its own group of people based on their age, job, etc. and a Williamsburg hipster will stick out like a sore thumb on the Upper East Side. Hell - when I moved to East 66th street, I felt my purple Uniqlo jeans and gray Converse made me stand out. Whereas in San Francisco, I believe because it's smaller, the hats, accessories and clothing associated with hipsters can be seen on middle aged men in North Beach, teenagers in the mall and young parents in Hayes Valley. A picture says a thousand words right?

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Day 2: A Photographic Journey through San Francisco: Dolores Park

I woke up pretty early yesterday allowing me to spend the morning working in a café, researching the newest Ad Age A-Listers, working on a few blogs and responding to emails. Finally, I took a break from researching and decided I was due for another day of exploration. After having my first Nicoise salad of 2011 at La Boulange, I headed to the Ferry Building for another afternoon of photographic exploration. One brownie and a few photos later, it was time to get a different perspective so I hopped on the BART towards the Mission. I guess the Mission reminds me of Williamsburg, Brooklyn but prettier. While Brooklyn has the view of the East River, The Mission has greenery and beautiful, elaborate murals. Who wins?At some point while I walked around Dolores Park as the only sober person, I realized, it's probably not a good idea to photograph people smoking up. But according to my college psychology professor, weed doesn't cause violence. Dolores Park was completely packed at 4pm which made me wonder, do these people have jobs? Then of course, it instantly occurred to me that I don't really have one either. Soon.. I'm working on my Sputnik moment!

P.S. I've been inspired by the photographer Max Wanger who I found through Joanna Goddard at Cup of Joe and question how he achieves his look, hence my heavily light saturated photos. I might have to go on one more adventure soon with a fill flash.

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My Photography My Photography

Ocean Beach, Muni, & Embarcadero - Photography Journey Through San Francisco

Yesterday, the internet told me that Monday the 24th is historically known as the most depressing day of the year. Naturally, I refused to stand for this kind of talk and decided to go out of my way to soak up some vitamin D. Here's my photographic journey through San Francisco from Ocean Beach to the Embarcadero. After living in San Francisco for three months, I can happily say I finally had some time to explore. Sometimes words just can't describe a scene but when talking about how I felt, these words come to mind; peace, joy, happiness, euphoria, inspiration, sunshine, refreshed, creative, sand, nature, beauty, balance, harmony, love, luck, wholeness, adventure.. you get the idea._MG_6693

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For more photos, you can go to my flickr page here. Peace & Love, Molly.

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Small World

I'm on a video/ photography kick. It's been too cold to go into the city specifically to photograph people and I'm usually lugging my computer so I can send off emails in between advertising interviews. Anyway, I thought this was a super cool story and interesting way to connect with someone. I'm inspired and almost want to create a similar video for the lantern I found in my attic that's dated from 1906 but ha, I'm guessing they wouldn't be alive or checking YouTube. Actually, I've found many more interesting objects in my attic that have inspired me to start writing a book which I've been working on for the last two years. I even managed to find the former owners of our house on Facebook. Weird. When social networks first came around, it was really about finding people online that were in your life. Now, the web is about using the online world to connect to the physical world and this video illustrates that perfectly. The film maker Todd Bieber,  found a film canister in the physical world, created an online video about the experience and hopes to connect with the owners of the canister in the physical world again. Because I think what most of us have realized is that nothing beats human contact and real connections.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmop7EAY1Zg&w=640&h=390]

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Intel: The Visual Life

For all of those who have a snow day, I encourage you to take 7 minutes and watch this video. It's a short film about The Sartorialist's life shot for Intel's Visual Life Campaign. Not surprisingly, The Sartorialist actually inspired me to buy a DSLR and take photography classes way back in the summer of 2008. I loved learning about his process and thinking from the video. You can see how he's in the zone, searching for interesting people and beautiful images. He now regularly travels around the world to different fashion shows and basically started a movement towards street fashion blogs. It's hard to believe he's just a nice guy from the Midwest.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5NgG5koPZU&w=640&h=385]

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Miami Ad School Account Planning Boot Camp

I've spent the last few weeks packing, schlepping my stuff from between New York City and my parent's house in NJ, and finally, settling into San Francisco - hence my lack of posts. Observations of NYC vs. SF to follow.. eventually. But in lieu of that, here's my application video for Miami Ad School. The concept was to show how I've used photography to observe and explore human behavior.Miami Ad School Application from Molly A on Vimeo.

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A Quick Post

I've been in San Francisco for the last week and just started the Miami Ad School Account Planning Boot Camp. So I've been M.I.A. in the blog world. In a nut shell, San Francisco is amazing. I guess since I'm actually living here and it's my currently reality, I'm looking at it with new eyes then when I've visited in the past. I'm strongly considering moving here but since it's only been a week, I haven't made any decisions yet. The main obvious factor drawing me back to NY would be my family and friends, although I've met some awesome people here as well. Pictures and more observations to follow eventually. But I will say that San Franciscians are way more laid back than New Yorkers and believe it or not, crazier. Then again, my main SF experience so far has been the free Bluegrass festival in Golden Gate Park. I've never seen so many white, stoned, dreadlocked people in my entire life. And wonder what kind of effect contact highs have on children.

It's fantastic being with so many like-minded people in my program despite the fact that my fellow classmates are from all around the world. We all have an insatiable curiosity about people, are outgoing, creative and fun. It reminds me of when I studied abroad my Junior year, except everyone is mature, friendly and not at all clicky. I'm looking forward to learning a TON and getting put to work.

In lieu of giving ya'll an actual  long posted update, I'm posting a "music video" I made last year just for shits and giggles. The footage was shot at Webster Hall at a concert using my iPhone and photographs were either taken by me, or are of me as a child. The music is Zero 7, Mr. McGee. Enjoy!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhtz6kV79e0?fs=1&hl=en_US&w=480&h=385]
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Racked NY

I can proudly say that a few of my photographs have been published. I shot for Racked NY a few weeks ago where I walked up to strangers, asked if I could photograph them and got the scoop on what they were wearing. I truly enjoyed having an excuse to walk around the city and meet new people but it wasn't easy. I haven't done that sort of thing since last fall and haven't really been photographing people since I took my portraiture class in the winter. Anyway, my subjects were all very nice. The anonymous commenters on the site are a whole other story. Man, they're mean. I started skimming through the comments only to realize they insult everyone - all the other photographers, every subject, you name it - not one nice thing to say. But such is life and now I know. Check out Racked for more street shots!

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Ponderings Ponderings

Does Sex Sell? A look at A&F

I've spent the last few days at my parent's house, going through all my worldly possessions and trying to get rid of things I don't use. I can proudly say I have three bags of clothing to donate on top of the two huge bags I donated a few months ago. I digress.AbercrombieCatalog2003Cover

For years, I've had two racy Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs that I've been meaning to sell on eBay but can't remember the last time I actually looked through them. One was purchased the year I graduated high school, and then next, the year I graduated college. They definitely upped the ante for the 2003 version. I flipped through them with a perspective of someone who's lived in NYC for 5 years (i.e. have seen it all) and have worked in the photo industry, etc. etc. They still shocked me even in the world of True Blood, celebrities showing their vaginas and overt sexuality everywhere. There's no question that the Bruce Weber photographs are beautiful and sexy - but seriously, are they at all appropriate given A&F's target market? This year they've brought the catalogs back. Using overt sexuality and nudity to sell clothing to teenagers just seems lazy but this doesn't surprise me considering the clothing lacks imagination as well. I have a skirt that looks exactly like one of their skirts shown on their website - except it's in a garbage bag to be donated and is Gap circa 2007. And plaid? Really? A quick google search of A&F and the banned catalog revealed that their stock fell at the end of 2003. AbercrombieCatalog2003Flannel

So hopefully I'm not being a total hypocrite by giving ya'll a taste of what I'm talking about but let's be honest - sex sells. I'd say these are NSFW but I'm assuming all of you are out for Labor Day weekend. Here's to America! And our labor force!

I kind of wonder if Ryan McGinley didn't just flip through a A&F catalog before he went out shooting. He's got that whole - beautiful, naked people running through the woods thing going at least. If you'd like to see more of these images, (and believe me, there are more) you can purchase the catalogs via eBay here and here. The 2003 version has a lot more nudity but the 1999 version is just as beautifully shot with interviews, etc. It was hard to let them go but I need to pay for things like - oh.. Miami Ad School, a new computer, living.. you get the idea.

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Shoot First, Ask Questions Later

While I lived in the East Village, I used to take my camera out on a stroll about every weekend, photographing interesting scenes and people downtown. Despite not having a full time job, I haven't had the time to do this for the last few months but realize how happy it makes me feel. Here are some shots taken in Soho and the West Village. Yeah, I forgot how great it feels to go through photos and have that "aha" moment when a great photo stands out. Even though I can see the image of the back of my camera, I can never really know that everything came together until pulling it up on my computer. And then, it will be the details that catch my eye - an interesting expression, color pattern, or lighting.. Everything comes together.

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Fitness Friday

Yesterday, I had to meet someone downtown so I figured I'd get my workout over with at the Union Square Crunch since I prefer it to the-all-underground 59th street location. The plan was to go for a casual workout which usually translates to an ineffective, 30 minute lame run and 15 minutes on the machines. Instead, I stayed for about 2 hours, probably burned about 500 calories and had a super intense workout. Roar. First, I took Tread N' Shed with Tomas, a half hour interval workout on the treadmill. It started out with some serious inclines, like the kind you wouldn't normally subject yourself to. The biggest challenge was going sideways at a low speed but with an increasing incline.

After dripping in sweat along with the other 3 brave souls in the mini class, I was encouraged to try Tomas' next class; BOING with Kangoo. What the?! It's a roller blade boot attached to a circular, spring like contraption that involves jumping in various directions for an hour. I can proudly say that I did not fall on my ass or even come close. Tomas has great energy and obviously enjoys teaching the class. It's not something I'd do every week because it doesn't seem great for my joints in the long run, but is a decent (and way healthier) alternative to a night of dancing in da' clubs. Hello adrenaline. As I jumped this way and that to re-mixed Michael Jackson and C&C Music Factory, admiring my seemingly taller and thinner physique (thanks to the added 6 inches of boot), I began to think - wouldn't I enjoy life as a gay male out on the club scene.... Anyway, now that I have more time, my goal is to try different classes at Crunch and I'll report back!

I don't know why it took me so long to get back into my workout routine - but I'm there! Recap: Monday took two back to back spin classes. Wednesday took Core Fusion at Exhale Spa. And tomorrow I'm taking my first class with LITA Group. A free outdoor class in various parks. Oh yeah, and all that doesn't include miles of walking and the usual 5 flights of stairs to my apartment!

Cheers! Next time you're bummed, may I remind you of the positive, endorphin inducing effects of exercise!

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