Monthly Archives: January 2010

Friday – leggo my ego

Alll day long I’ve been getting comments on the goofy rap parody I put on YouTube on Tuesday night .  It’s gotten about 10,000 hits in the last 2 days and it’s starting to find its way around. This evening it was picked up by the techno-blog Gizmodo and got anoher 8,000 hits.. and a bunch more comments.. At first, i was really psyched to see folks watching it… and apparently liking it..  but then I started obsessing about some of the negative comments I’d gotten.. and I mean.. really obsessing..

          “Engineers can’t sing. They need to use their own invention, the auto tune“

           “That is one creepy engineer. Technicolor lab coat FTL“

  All night I’vve been plotting how Im going to completely redo that damned video before another person sees it..
   I started thinking about how much ego goes around some of this social media.. I also remember obsessing about the blog comments around the Colony Our producers warned us never to read the blogs for fear that would happen. Early on I used to obsess about how many folks read this blog.. or how many Wacebook friends I was picking up.  
   I’ve always relied way to much on external validation.. I thin all this social media stuff just better automated and streamlined my ability to obsess. I now have convenient hit counters and link statistics to precisely calculate my self worth for me.. it’s very convenient.. and really insane.. I know.  

Oh wait.. someone just posted abotehr comment. better go check it out…

nite folks.. Nite Sam
-me

Thursday night – opposite day

Man.. I cannot say that I have a predictable life . Yesterday I stood basically in one place for 3 hours in one of the busiest places in the planet.. as thousands and thousands of people walked around me..   

And today I spent nearly the entire day holed up in a hotel room without seeing another soul..   I was up at 6 for my first call.. and except for a 15 min break to grab a shower.. I was on the phone and working until the minute I left for the airport,

I have to admit.. I loved being in my quiet cave today.. I think I’m still an introvert living in an extroverts hairstyle.

I did allow myself the one hotel luxury I always do .. I did manage to jump on the bed … since no one was around to say that I couldn’t…

nah-nah-nah0nah-goo-goo…

..

Not much else to report.. and I’m kinda grateful for that every once in a while.
So.. nite folks.. Nite Sam
-me

ps.. The Engineering Paradise video spoof  I posted Tuesday has been getting around. It’s had about 7300 hits in the last 24 hours.. !.. If you like it.. send it to your friends !

Wednesday night- Grand Central Station

Today was amazing.. I am down in NYC helping to make a commercial for my company.. The cool thing is it’s about something I truly believe in…. our Smarter Planet intitiative..  so it’s both an honor and fun to help them communicate this vision.

we started today at 7:30   with wardrobe and make up.. htey didn tdo muh on either.. I wore the clothes I walkied in off the street in.. thoguh they gave me a tweed jacket to wear (and Keep).. and powederd my nose and head (ah the indignities of old age)

First we did about an hour and a half of in depth interviews in a  wing of the Hyatt that overlooks 42nd street..

Here’s Ben on camera…

Somehow I managed to miss gettign a picture of Hillman the producer.. a very cool guy. he exudes calm.. which was great for me ,, because I was as nervous as all hell/ 

Then we went in the next room and the producers chose extras. waht a strange process..

After a short break we were out in Grand Central to start filming. i had thought that we’d be placed in some out of the way corner.. but we were right in the middle of that glorious building..   These bug helium things were our lighting. ..

As we sat and filmed, the entire city moved around us.. really amazing.

I was baout 20 feet fro the famous clock for nearly 3 hours.

Here’s Ryan one of the ‘Creatives’ and a really awesome guy.

Here I am on set.. looking.. addled

Two of the cool extras. we all spent a lot of time talkign to one another.. Im sorry I didn’t get everyone’s names.. I know this woman’s last name is Ng.

Here I am with Karla.. she had a beutiful singing voice.

They had glorious food for us.. unfortunately.. I didn’t have time to eat much of it.

Here are the grownups from the Ad agency Ogilvy and IBM.   all great folks.

Here’s a view of our set from above. .. you can see what a big chunck of the floor we were taking !

Here’s my friend the steadycam guy..

Every few takes we’d stop and watch.. it was a n eerie feeling watching myself again.. this part of the process is really unnerving .

I remember thinking we were almost done at three takes.. it took us  23 (I think)..

The whole process was so boring and mundane that it was fascinating.. I got to watch all these tiny differences between scenes.

Finally we were ready to wrap. I’m already missing the cast and crew..

I went for a city run, then came back and dressed for dinner. Th Ogilvy folks took out out to the ‘Lure’ fish restaurant.. Great Sushi.. and great company.. I love learning more about these smart folks working here.

I’m struggling to stay awake now.. so I’ll end here.. I do wan tto say that I’m truly greatful for opportunities like doing these commercials.. My life is never boring..
Good night everyone, good night Sam !
-me

Tuesday night – Bed bug advisory board

Greetings from grand central station.. or a few yards from it. I’m in NYC again working on a video thing for work tomorrow. It should be interesting..
   One of the things I really lve about coming down here for that kind of stuff is the chance to see Max. Tonight, Max and his house mate Will met me in Chinatown for a great Chinese feast.. Our goal was to find  the place that our friend Stephanie had been going to since she was little.. and order the dish she always got..

The place is called Wo Hop and it’s on Mott street. It really was pretty good..

Here’s the image that Stephanie had given us at yoga one night. I had a picture of it on my phone.. It means ‘tofu with mushrooms’.. and guess what.. it was ‘tofu with mushrooms’..  !

Max had hand copied it out of my bllog.. I guess he was close.. but maybe his said tofu and groudn glass.. or soemthing like that.. we couldn’t tell.

We had a great meal.. and the food kept on coming.. all of it was great.. so was. the conversation..

On the train back to my hotel I sat across a giiant add for a bed bug prevention product.. with huge 2 foot long creepy bedbugs on it.. The thing that struck me though was this guys title  ‘Member of NYC Bed Bug Advisory Board’.. Who even knew they needed advising !?!


OK.. big and busy day tomorrow.. so I need ot get some sleep..   Ah. befre I do.. let me share this picture of the inside of gabes unbroken hand. We went to the doctor yesterday after he jammed his finger in a snowboarding event.. Turns out .. no break, just a bruised bone.. but a cool picture.. !

That picture made me dig up this other one.. I think gabe might have been in 2nd or 3rd grade  (he says.. I htought he was older) .. when he broke his wrist. HTey needed help getting the xray after they’d cast his break.. Turns out I was in the picture too.. That’s my hand and wedding ring holding gabes hand..

I love that picture

okee dokee artichokey, time for sleep.. More tomorrow. wish me luck tomorrow !
nite all. nite Sam
-me