Facebook posted its first ad this morning, depicting, among other things, chairs, airplanes and bridges – in short, the things that connect us. The minute-and-a-half long spot, produced by Wieden+Kennedy, places gentle violin strings over images that are both urban and rural, developed and developing, young and old – all of them rather banal. The … Continue reading The Facebook Ad
I think it’d be a cool extension of the whole crosshatching theme. Just saying. Continue reading Microsoft Should Totally Do a Hashtag-Windows Campaign
There seems to be nothing new under the sun – er, fire, that is. Mercedes-Benz just unveiled a fiery brushstroke design that its marketing gurus have dubbed “Aesthetics S.” Interestingly, the whole fiery car outline motif seems to have been begun by Infiniti last year, under the marketing tagline of “Inspired Performance.” Compare the designs … Continue reading Brushstrokes
I walked past this rather corporate graffiti yesterday in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Is Microsoft taking a Banksy-esque approach to on-the-street advertising? Or is someone just putting Windows on the wall? Would love your thoughts. Continue reading Is Microsoft Guerilla Marketing the Surface?
Last weekend I rotisseried Cornish hen for my family (and regrettably didn’t blog about it) so when I was asked to prepare Cornish hens for this weekend I decided to try out a different method. After some googling, I decided to butterfly them (sometimes called spatchcocking) and then BBQ them and the results were wonderful. Not only was the outside crispy and well spiced, the inside was moist (yes, even the white meat) and delicious!
Butterflying is a technique that requires removing the spine and then flattening the meat. This allows for the meat to lie flatter on the cooking surface and thus get cooked evenly and quickly. You can see a slightly horrifying but very helpful demonstration of the technique in this video. The recipe I used was slightly different than the one in the video but very similar.
Continue reading “BBQ Butterfly Cornish Hen (salt free recipe)”
We’ve employed our literary chops to write a brief, preemptive eulogy for RIM, in the style of John Milton’s Lycidas. Enjoy.
Continue reading “A Hymn for RIM: John Milton Does a Preemptive Eulogy for Blackberry”
RadioShack is an interesting sort of place. Much like your local CVS, Radio Shack sells a broad assortment of items at considerable markups, aiming at customers more interested in convenience than cost. “The Shack” has a pretty varied shelf, selling big ticket items like TVs and smartphones, as well as more mundane doodads like cables and chargers. Understandably, the business is rapidly shrinking, thanks to online behemoths like Amazon (which even has its own branded line of peripherals) and the reasonable variety of electronics now found in Costco, Walmart, and Target, wherein RadioShack operates the “Bullseye Mobile” counter.
For years, Microsoft was regarded as the elephant in the computer room. It was big, it was boring, and it was impossible to go one conversation without begrudgingly mentioning the computer behemoth. But now, with the meteoric rise of Apple, things look a little different – and possibly more favorable, for the world’s largest software company and its decisive push into hardware.
For nearly ten years, Apple has had a lock on hardware, creating gorgeous aluminum-and-round-edged devices that impressed techies and average users alike. Apple excelled at crafting dependable software that worked with – and only with – their devices. And in quick succession, Cupertino pushed out the iPod, iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad – each one not so much inventing a field as re-imagining it, tying it into Apple’s expanding, if heavily curated, ecosystem of music, TV, movies and apps.
As per Yahoo! NBC’s critically-acclaimed The Office will end after the upcoming season nine. NYT confirmation Continue reading The Office to End After Season Nine
Some folks on Broadway are putting together “Chaplin: The Musical.” Anyone else appreciate the irony of making a musical about a silent-movie star? Continue reading Chaplin: The Musical
Silicon Spatula 