Speaking of Bonnie Raitt

I think this may be my favorite song/rendition of hers, and here are the reasons:

1. Dennis Quaid in a sleeveless Sun Records T-shirt. Oh, the grin and guns on the man.

Hey, I'm not blind.

2. Bonnie is the queen of slide, or bottleneck, a technique of playing that goes way back to an African influence. You'd think, Hey, bottleneck makes it easier! Oh No my Friend, slide is far harder. Notice in this video her slide is, in fact, a beer bottle neck.

3. The line, "Whether your sunglasses are off or on... You only see the world you make." The song is about being human, recognizing wanting what you want, and not being precious about it. Love is a gift - Take it.

4. The bridge of the song - again, beautiful guitar work.

5. The video's cutting, the rack focus, the lighting, the direction (especially the timing of looks between the busboy and the girl) , Bonnie's face in the very last scene - I think we all know where this is heading....Nicely done and still pretty much holds up for something produced what, ten, fifteen years ago?

6. Did I mention Dennis Quaid? Lord have mercy.

Enjoy.

Happy Friday

Going home to Po-Dunk Texas this weekend for my brother's wedding. His second, her third. I've met her a couple of times and she seems quite sweet - as opposed to his first wife who was, how do I put it?, a Harpy.

They are very much in love. But don't worry, they'll get over it.

Meanwhile, have some music:

Some Advertising Types, v2

I worked on a big client in Texas, I'd call it "American Airlines" but that would be indiscreet. Let's call it "Big Generic Airlines".

The account service person comes into my office with a new assignment. Account service people are often referred to as "suits". Or more derisively, "coat hangers".

Suit: Awesome assignment! BG Airlines was just awarded the contract to transport the Mona Lisa from the Louvre to the Met in New York! First time the Mona Lisa has ever come to the States! So BG wants to promote it, should be a great opportunity for some good creative!

I agree, yay!

So copywriter and I concept several print ads. And yes, 'concept' is considered a verb in advertising....

We came up with some good ads, the majority with the Mona Lisa as the visual because, well that's the pay off.

Creative Director is pleased, account service is pleased, so off to present to the client.

You'd initially think, Wow, working on BG Airlines must have been amazing! The budgets, the exposure! Not that easy. Clients of that size have lots of layers of marketing people who can all kill your work, but none can really approve it - just enough to get to the next layer. These entry- and mid-level folks are called such things as "flying monkeys", "proctologists", and in some cases, "idiots".

We get to the client level that can actually make the decision. We present.

Client: - silence -.
Client: All of the visuals are of the Mona Lisa.
Me: Yes well that's the pay off of the opportunity - BG has been entrusted with bringing her here to the States, it pays off all the headlines. And you know, it's da Vinci's Mona Lisa.
Client: Well YOU know that, because you're....artsy. I mean, YOU know what the Mona Lisa is, but does anyone else?

I still, to this day, have no idea what the best response to that would have been. How many things are wrong about the above statement? Isn't the Mona Lisa the POINT? THE MOST FAMOUS PIECE OF ART IN THE WESTERN WORLD?

Client: Just make the visual one of our planes, then it'll work for me.

GAH.

A Quote to Live By

"It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

~Theodore Roosevelt

Have Some Music, and a Lagniappe

Tom Jones' rendition of Joe Cocker's "You Can Leave Your Hat On" is the best out there. Even better, it is the song of the final scene of "The Full Monty."

Not necessarily safe for work, because there's some nekkid butts.

Have a great weekend.

Flirting

A friend of mine recently accused me of flirting.
This is an alien concept to me. I don't flirt, don't know how, you could give me a book and I still wouldn't get it. Nor do I recognize it even when friends say, "Dude that guy was TOTALLY FLIRTING WITH YOU!"

Really? Was he? Who knew? Not me, clearly.

I'm so thick-headed I don't even notice when someone is making a pass at me. It's not like I'm a babe - I know this - see this post for my perspective.

True story:

I've been friends with Marie and Daniel since forever. When we all lived in The Most Beautiful City in the Pacific Northwest, I'd spend all weekend at their house. Even had my own bedroom, robe, and a toothbrush in the bath.

One night we have a party, mostly Daniel's friends from work. One Very Hot Dude (VHD) and I hit it off, we talked and danced and had a really good time. So the night is winding up and everyone is a wee bit tipsy, some lurching out, others deciding the couches and extra beds are the places to stay.

I say good night and go to my room. A few minutes later, VHD knocks.
"Can I come in?"
"Um, sure."
"I'd like to stay in here tonight, if that's okay with you."

....

"Yes of course!"

So I get up, put on my robe, AND LEAVE THE ROOM SO HE CAN HAVE THE BED.

This is how idiot I am.

A Favorite Cajun Joke

So growing up in Texas means OU jokes, A&M jokes, Cajun jokes. They are probably the same jokes anyone hears anywhere - pick-your-enemy jokes.

OU - Actually I think technically it's The University of Oklahoma, but if you're from the University of Texas we downgrade them to OU.

Totally classic UT joke:
Q: Why doesn't Texas fall into the Gulf?
A: Because OU sucks.

A&M - Any university that encourages students to say "Howdy" to each other should be plowed under. A&M literally hates UT....and as well they may, considering our superiority.

Cajuns - okay, I can tell cajun jokes because I come from cajuns. Hi Grandpa, wherever you are!

Here's one of my favorite cajun jokes, from a series of jokes involving Pierre (PEE-air) and Baptiste (Bob-TEESE):

So Pierre and Baptiste go down the bayou to rent a boat and go fishing.
They go out the bayou (way back where it dauk, even in da daytime) and casting their lines, they start catching left and right (da fish, day jumpin in da boat).

Pierre says, "Baptiste, we gotta come back ta dis same spot tomorra!"
Baptiste replies, "Well yeah - but how we know how ta get back ta dis spot?"

Pierre thinks.

"I know," he says, "I put a big 'X' right here on da bottom of da boat ta mark da spot."

Baptiste, disgusted, "Pierre, you so stupid. How you know tomorra we get da same boat?"


Ha! Oh I am so Texan sometimes.