Jake’s Birthday Weekend – Turning 6

It’s that time of year that has a brand new meaning to Jiyoung and I. My son Jake was born on September 5th so in and around labor day, its a time to celebrate and we get a three day weekend to do it. (Jillian was born on November 26th so she gets a 4 day weekend and a turkey). For Jake’s birthday he gets to invite 4 of his buddies over for a pool party and a sleep over. So Friday night, it’s party time at the Bretz’s. I am thinking about letting him and his friends watch a Star Wars episode? Jake knows ALL the characters because of the LEGO Playstation Star Wars game. So watching the movie for him is like seeing all the characters come to life. My question to you reading – what would you do if you had five boys (ages 5-6) for one night? I say lets watch all 6 star wars episodes but I am not sure the parents would be too happy with me!

Movie Poster Designers

I love this site. If you ever wondered what designers designed certain movie posters then check this out. There are some great ideas generated from looking at all of these especially the ones with no actors on them. Below is just a cutout of whats on this site. Click here.

  

Sugar

Tonight Jake and Jillian and I were at the dinner table eating. (Jiyoung was at the his school learning about the curriculum). I asked Jake about school and some of the kids in his class. As he starting naming the kids, he came across the name of a boy in his class, Michael. Jake said, “He’s funny daddy” and I said “what makes him funny Jake” and he replied, “I think sugar.” 

Problem Solving

If you are a problem solver – you are valuable. You think differently. You process things differently. You are creative in a unique way. Instead of always just asking for answers, you ask questions to get you closer to the answer. It takes time, dedication, and risk to dive in to something you have no idea what you’re in for. People who only want answers will never understand the art of discovery.

Michael Irvin’s Birthday Party (Please read previous posts)

So I came home today to find a birthday invitation for my son Jake to Michael Irvin’s birthday party at the bowling alley here in Cumming, GA. I gotta meet this kid who is in Jake’s class. We are going on Sunday and these kids better bring their milk money because I am going to take it bowling. those 5 year olds will never see me coming.

Good Times (Birthday Bash)

So August is a great birthday month and back in the late ’90’s there was a group of us that always celebrated our birthdays together at non other than Pappasito’s in Marietta off Windy Hill. So tonight, The Bells, Bretzs, Malones and the Sitton’s all made the trek to I75 and celebrated the August Birthdays. Mine (17th), Pat Malone (15th), Cheryl Bell (14th) and Brad Sitton’s (10th). All the kids were there and it was good eatin’ with good friends.

www.pluggedinonline.com

Hey Everybody – a friend of Jiyoung and I’s gave us a sometimes helpful website when looking for a more in-depth view of a movie/dvd/tv show – especially for the kids but is great for us adults as well. Plugged In has reviews on pretty much everything.  They present facts and heads-up situations as well as sometimes skewed commentary so you can be prepared from a moral perspective and yes sometimes political perspective as well. Click here to go to site.

 

Happiness Factory – (cont’d)

If you have watched TV at all – there is a pretty fantastic coke commercial that shows what really happens inside a Coke machine once you put your money in. The developers of the spot – Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam and Psyop continued their amazing work with a unique storyline. Crazy work. I just love the logo as well.

Jake’s First Day of Kindergarten

There are will always be firsts in the life of your child. Today, was my son’s first day at Kindergarten and really the first time he has been at a completely different location other than North Point’s weekday program for school. Jiyoung and I decided to drive Jake to school together and it was absolutely memorable. Jake got dressed in his school uniform (Horizon Christian Academy in Cumming, GA) and we took him to his class where they, get this, let you take a picture of him on his first day. I remember when my mom walked me to school and said “good luck”. Ok she didn’t do that but I don’t remember a picture with my folks on the first day. Anyways… the first part of the day was over – the drop off. But then as my day went on, I couldn’t wait to hear about how Jake’s first day went. Then Jiyoung called me and passed the phone to Jake…. and he couldn’t stop talking about how much fun he had. The teachers also said Jake had a GREAT day. It was soup to my soul. Jiyoung and I prayed about what school, his new friends, great teachers…. so far we are off to a great start. Jillian started off her day in her new three’s class and she did great as well. So proud of both of them.  

Six Feet Under – The Making of the Title Sequence

For those that are in the film and video world – Digital Kitchen and the producers go though the thought process of the title sequence of the show. This thing is a legend in the motion graphics world.

 

Great Album – Sara Bareilles

I got this album originally because it was 6.99 on iTunes and after demo-ing some of these tracks bought it. This is a GREAT ALBUM. Matt Chamberlain plays drums on some of the tracks and its just crazy great sounding. I would love to use the soundtrack of this whole album together with some great videos. Sound is over %60 of the viewers experience. Music plays a huge role in that. You can get this on iTunes.

 

Michael Irvin in Jake’s Class

Yes it’s true. Went to Jake’s class during orientation yesterday and the name plate on the desk to his right says… Michael Irvin.Can’t wait to meet the kid. 

Jake Starts Kindergarten Monday

Very excited for him. Talked to his Pre-K teachers from last year this morning at North Point (meet and greet Jillian’s new teachers) and they reassured me that Jake is SOOOOOO ready. He is a pretty great kid and so hilariously quirky. He has his “cars” collection and they are all lined up on his bookcase. For Jake, everything has it’s place. He has a flavor of OCD which is quite funny. Jillian has been asking Jake to make her bed. He’ll do it too. He wants to be a helper, but we are also trying to teach Jillian about being responsible for her own chores.  She works it. Pretty hilarious.

“The Company” opener

There are a couple of sites that I go to and check out different motion graphics. Some of the stuff is super inspiring and some stuff is just sick cause I have no clue on how to make things work. Digital Kitchen is a motion graphics house that do incredible work. Love this title sequence for the company.

Life with an iPhone

Yes – I got one. Did I need it? No. My wife is good to me. I love technology and like my friend Elliott says – the cost per use is really cheap once you think about it. The best part of the iPhone to me is that it has a REALLY good camera. My folks live in California so I love taking random shots of the kids and sending them on. They love it and the quality of the picture is great. I’m getting used to typing on the virtual keypad and the maps rules. Fun to check weather and stocks – because thats how I roll – not – as well as convenient email. I am including a picture of my princess asleep after a tough day at the outlets.

Juicing the orange

   tThe media guys are going through this book right now. It basically is the story of a major marketing company and it’s quest to come up with creative ads/solutions for all sorts of different clients. It focuses on using “creative leverage” to separate themselves from the pack. It has inspired me to ask the single most important question on any video/commercial my team is asked to do…. “Demand a ruthlessly simple definition of the business problem.”  If someone that needs a video/promo/print piece done and can not answer that question, then the likely result will be ambiguous.  Also – this website is sick!! Click the book and go to it.

 

Hall of Fame and Michael Irvin

Sat down last night and watched Michael Irvin get inducted into the hall of fame. It was the second time in a year that I watched someone go to the hall of fame that i spent some time with while I was at the cowboys. First it was Troy Aikman – then it was Michael. I have never been one to brag about my time in Dallas -however I will never forget the 2 summers I spent there. It was a total of 8 months that I watched some of the greatest athletes work their butts off to win a championship and you can’t help to push yourself to keep up with their work ethics. I never saw the drugs, steriods or anything else that people label NFL players with. What I did see was guys having a TON of fun and working hard. Winning and being successful does that to you. A favorite story of mine about Michael Irvin is when he dislocated shoulder playing basketball. It was 3 days before training camp and he asked me to throw some routes with him. His left arm was in a sling but still wanted to go throw. I said “if anything more happens to that arm – you know that your not the one that is going to go home right?” He said “don’t worry I won’t go for anything I can’t catch but we won;t have to worry about that will we Brad”. We threw 50 or so balls and we missed 2. Both were my fault. Maybe I should have a category named Cowboy stories.  Good Times.BB