Enjoying "The Beyond the Still" Contest

Since January I have been following "The Beyond the Still" Contest and it has been pretty interesting.  If you aren't familiar with it, Canon and Vimeo.com teamed up with Los Angeles and New York based commercial director, DP and photographer Vincent Laforet.  Laforet was given an image and his mission was to make a 3 minute video for a short movie called “The Cabbie".  His short film would end on a still image.  Now it is up to the contest entrants to interpret that image into their own 2-4 minute film which will end on THEIR still image to form a "chapter".  The winner of each chapter starts the process all over again whereby more videos are submitted.  It will collectively become 7 unique chapters threaded together connecting all the still images.

The contest is currently on Round 5.  The videos winners of the first 4 chapters are embedded below.


Chapter 1: The Cabbie from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.



Chapter 2: Job Security from Runner Runner on Vimeo.



Chapter 3: The Beach from M. Keegan Uhl on Vimeo.



Chapter 4: Allison from Jeff Turick on Vimeo.

To follow the contest and view all the previous finalists' videos go to

http://vimeo.com/groups/beyondthestill

Many of the video entries are quite impressive so take a peak and vote for your favorites.
Good luck to all the contestants!

Venus Williams Flashes French Open

Venus Williams and her sister Serena are known for their fashion forward styles on the tennis court and at this year's French Open Venus did not disappoint.  I don't have a whole lot to say about this except that in my opinion Venus' choice in undergarment for her um... undergarment was a Fail.  Her flesh toned panties raised plenty of eyebrows for sure.  Talk about a distraction!  What do you think?

BP Drama Continues

Weeks after the disasterous offshore oil rig explosion, BP is still trying to figure out a way to plug millions of gallons of oil spilling gushing into the Gulf if Mexico affecting US coastal states. 




BP's message has gone from this...



To this...

To add insult to injury BP's CEO says "I'd like my life back".
Oh Really?!  

Considering the lives lost and thousands more affected, that rude, utterly insensitive remark should cost him his job!

BP's latest "Top Kill" effort failed so people are frustrated, angry, and fearful that this will drag out and cause even further damage to the environment and the already fragile economy of Gulf states.  One thing is for sure, they will need to reach into their very deep pockets for the massive cleanup effort, pending lawsuits against them, and to rebuild the future of the BP brand which will be tough.  The blinders are now off and people are seeing little truth in their prior "beyond petroleum" advertising campaign.  According to CorpWatch.org,  "BP's claims to be 'the largest producer of solar energy in the world' was achieved by spending $45 million to buy the Solarex solar energy corporation which is just a fraction of the $26.5 billion it spent to buy ARCO in order to increase BP's production capacity for oil.  "BP will spend $5 billion over five years for oil exploration in Alaska alone. "And, according to one group of BP shareholders, BP spent more on their new eco-friendly logo last year than on renewable energy."  Each day the news reports reveal the shoddy management practices that may have very well led to the explosion of the oil rig.  We will have to stay tuned to see whether BP will rise from the depths or fall like Goliath.

Truth in Advertising

I came across this hilarious video parody which makes total fun of the advertising and marketing industry.  Having a background in these areas I found it a little disturbing that I recognized some of this behavior though much of it applies across many corporate environments.  Just a prior warning that this video contains adult language. 

And while I'm at it here's an old Monster.com commercial that I thought was funny that you may remember.

And...if you haven't yet mastered Twitter, take a look at this humorous spoof on the show "The Office" called "The Marketing Office" as they try to demonstrate how Twitter works.

Bad Officiating? You Be the Judge

I love watching NBA especially my home team the Orlando Magic but the officiating has been questionable at best.  At last night's game a fan heckled a referee over a bad call.  The referee threw the ball to the fan baiting him so that when the fan threw it back he could call for ejection of the fan.  The ref. then called security and had him removed from court side seats.  Click here to read the whole story and below to view raw video and you be the judge.

Although I'm heart broken about our team's loss in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, I still believe in Magic!  Go MAGIC!!

I've Been Biebered & Eclipsed

I'm convinced that I suffered some hearing loss this week.  Oprah not only had tween/teen idol Justin Bieber on her show but she also had the cast of "Twilight" and all I can say is WOW!  The fans lost their effing minds.  I definitely had to adjust the volume on my TV.  I can understand being excited to meet your favorite pop star or actor but screaming at the top of your lungs and nearly fainting is way over the top.  But that's just me.  I just don't get THAT excited.  Don't get me wrong, I've met a few famous folks in my life and it was a definite thrill but I remained calm as to not come across like a raving lunatic.  It seems each generation has their super-duper star heart throbs.  In the past it was Elvis,  Beetles, or Michael Jackson.  During my teenage years it was Duran Duran, Madonna, & Prince.  I'm still crazy about Prince but I digress.
Anyway, below are links to video clips so that you can check out these sensations.  Some  are quite funny especially the one of Robert Pattinson making surprise visits to fan's homes.  The mother of one of the girls is screaming more than her daughter.  Sigh!  
Adjust your volume accordingly.

Please Don't Be Like Jimmy the Mouse

Here's a warning to men, get yourselves a confident woman with some self-esteem, and a life! 
Sadly there have been several instances I've witnessed over the years with a few guy friends of mine (haven't had this problem with my girl friends) that has inspired me to post this tongue-in-cheek letter.

A Desperate Letter from Jimmy the Mouse
I'm writing this letter while my wife (let's call her, The Dictator) is asleep. You will have to forgive me if I make this a short one, but I'm too scared of the consequences of her finding out that I'm trying to communicate with the outside world.
I don't know where to start, but I'm scared; I'm really scared of my wife. I've been married for three years now and I have to say that I've been living a nightmare from the start.
My wife has taken complete control of my life. I can no longer go outside for a breath of fresh air unless I'm accompanied by The Dictator herself or her mother, who's currently living with us.
Everything I do is looked upon with suspicion. I've lost all my friends except for those who are married and have submitted a detailed profile of their lifestyle to her, in order to obtain approval to hang out with me.
I haven't seen my paycheck in years. Heck! I don't even know how much I earn anymore. She deposits every single dime I bring home into a "mystery" bank account, with the exception of a weekly allowance of $10 to spend when I go out with the "pre-approved" friends.
I haven't eaten a piece of meat (oh how I miss my mother's fine T-bone steak with mashed potatoes) since the day before our wedding. Apparently, I've become a vegetarian too.
I have no say in any purchases made by my wife. For example, the car she drives me to work with, a convertible blue GEO, was purchased without my consultation. For crying out loud -- it's a convertible blue GEO!
As for the home we live in, well, I didn't even know I owned a home until the day she asked me to rent a truck and take the day off in order to move the furniture, while she went out shopping for fresh flowers.
It has come to the point where I am fed up. I love my wife and I don't want to leave her. Help! What can I do to balance things out somewhat? I hope this letter gets to you on time. Uh, oh! She's awake. Oh G-d, please no, not the belt...
Jimmy the Mouse


If your lady is exhibiting overly controlling traits my advice is to 
RUN AWAY!!  If you're already stuck with married to her then you'll need to grow some cojones!  
Do you know a 'Jimmy the Mouse' or have you had a 'Jimmy' moment?  I invite you to share it in the comments area.