Blog Archives
Yes, You Can(‘t)
What does it mean to be a creator in the year 2017?
One of the metrics for defining a particular generation is by identifying its creators and innovators. The individuals who dare to see the world in a vastly different light than his or her peers are the ones who set the stage for how people to see the world in the future. The reason why my childhood was different than my parents is due to people who innovated something that was currently in existence or to people who created something brand new out of thin air, so to speak.
For my childhood, the name Steven Spielberg instantly comes to mind.
For the children of 2017 and beyond, who will alter the way they see world?
The same culture-shifting giants, like Steven Spielberg, will certainly lead the pack like the past. That’s a great thing. However, with technology constantly evolving and occupying more parts of our daily lives, our culture is witnessing a sea change, of sorts. The bar for influencing large populations has transformed in dramatic fashion.
And each new social influencer, according to YouTube sensation Casey Neistat, continues to change the way we see the world through one phrase:
“Do what you can’t.”
(FYI – A couple four-letter words are spoken in this fast-moving montage video)
So, do what you can to do what you can’t…
In other words, record a lightsaber battle while skydiving and post that epic awesomeness on YouTube.
Happy Monday!
Cowboys use a lasso, but not like this…
Wonder Woman has never hit the silver screen before as the lead character. Actress Gal Gadot’s superhero of power, grace, wisdom and wonder was introduced (in spectacular fashion) in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice earlier this year. In 2017, the world will finally be given the complete cinematic treatment to the female equivalent to Superman.
Long overdue.
The first trailer, as seen above, fittingly premiered at Comic-Con this past Saturday afternoon. A full trailer and not a teaser trailer. That’s not nothing, ladies and gentlemen. Although, considering the extensive presence of Wonder Woman in Dawn of Justice, the secret was effectively out of the bag from a few months ago. And understanding the nature of trailers and the tightly choreographed 2-3 minute snapshot for any given film, the verdict for Wonder Woman won’t be determined by Juror #6 (shout-out to last Friday’s post) and the public until the credits roll in the summer of next year. However, upon first glance, people will be excited for this movie.
Oh, and this other small, independent film of a similar theme also released its first full trailer at this year’s Comic-Con.
One thing’s for certain: Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman proves there’s some justice in this world.
Have an Awesome Week!
Eskimo Bliss
The price for an average seat dipped to about $5,100 by Monday morning, but that’s still well ahead of the resale price of each Super Bowl SeatGeek has tracked since 2010.
–A.J. Perez, USA TODAY Sports, “Super Bowl tickets averaging more than $5,000”
For a sporting event that is well-embedded in popular culture and is perceived as the ultimate fan’s journey, $5,000/ticket just might be the cut-off for most people.
The play to “buy” a big screen television for the weekend of the Super Bowl and then return it days later because of a “space problem” in the family room is still alive and well. But for most people, spending $500 to $1,000 for a new TV is not a spur of the moment decision.
Keeping this in mind, what are we to think when a ticket to a championship game is a 5 to 10-fold spike compared to a new high-definition TV?
From a branding perspective, the NFL may be enduring its second major headache in recent years. When fans watch preseason games, the regular season and playoffs, they are invested in their team. As we know with ourselves, friends, family and random grown men dressed as gritty Vikings, we take this game seriously. And, if everything magically goes to plan through heroic victories and prayer, it can all lead to…
the Super Bowl!
Hwever, it appears that fans are being priced out of the NFL’s biggest game.
The headline of $5,000 per ticket to attend the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California will irk most people, especially fans of the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos. This pricing doesn’t even give people with good to great finances a chance or even a worthwhile bang for the buck. How can this discouraging trend be reversed? Odds are that this pivot will have to result from fans protesting and not going, visibly showing tens of thousands of empty seats during football’s most important showcase of the season. But what are the chances of that kind of random unanimity among all those non-media, non-VIP fans?
What are the odds of the Cleveland Browns going to the Super Bowl next year?
The image that attending the Super Bowl is only for celebrities and CEO’s will surely continue. At a certain point though, people will see what they need to through the highest definition in their living rooms (or their neighbor’s man cave). And living in a society that is increasingly pushing us towards building our own personal entertainment suites with gadgets and screens galore will have an effect on the multiple generations of current NFL fans, plus future generations who will be raised to know and believe the Super Bowl is simply a digital destination.
In the meantime, if only there was someway to overcome the impossible task of bypassing the $5,000 price tag?
And just when all appears lost and seeing, say, an Eskimo in the stands at the Super Bowl seems more likely than you obtaining that mirage of a ticket…
Boy Meets World: For the win.
Back to the Future We Love
Ringtone set to the Back to the Future theme? Check.
Wearing a dark red t-shirt that reads, “Hill Valley High School Alumni 1985” with a bulldog on it? Check.
Wearing Calvin Klein underwear and faded blue jeans? Check.
Started my car’s engine and proceeded to say, “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads“? Check.
Listened to Alan Silvestri’s soundtrack to Back to the Future: Part II in the car this morning? Check.
Rode a real-life hoverboard made by Hendo Hover in the year 2015? Check!
(ABC 6 WPVI-TV)
Happy Back to the Future Day everyone!
While Pepsi Perfect is currently working out how to salvage its dynamite promotion idea to sell the futuristic beverage of choice for Marty McFly on October 21, 2015, let’s celebrate the amazing franchise of Back to the Future. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Bob Gale and starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson, Lea Thompson, Claudia Wells (and Elisabeth Shue), this time traveling science-fiction phenomenon and pop culture epic is the epitome of the best of what a “B-movie” can be. It’s original, has action, is funny, has heart and feels bigger than a something we see on a screen (like a 3-D Jaws…).
It aces every category!
Back to the Future captured our imaginations, our dreams and electrified the idea that anything is possible. We can choose to make our future bright and everything we want, just as long as we’re willing to stand-up to and battle the Biff Tannens of the world. When I was younger, my family and I visited Universal Studios and we rode in and experienced the Back to the Future ride in Orlando, Florida. Waiting in line was actually fun, especially when we got prepped about out mission in Doc Brown’s lab. And “experience” is the key word with this trilogy and it’s one of the reasons why this series remains so meaningful to us after all these years. It was so much more than just movies from the ’80s.
The Back to the Future trilogy really does underscore “the power of love.”
Now, the time has come to see the future…on October 21, 2015.
And Nike, the day has literally come to power-lace our heart strings!
P.S. Come on Cubbies!
Jimmy's Daily Planet 