R.E.M. at Hollywood Bowl

R.E.M. put on a great show at the Hollywood Bowl. They opened with "Pretty Persuasion" which they rarely play live. I shot this image of Stipe on the video screen on the side of the stage. We bought tickets through the R.E.M. Fan Club so we had great seats. We also hooked up with David, who works in Athens for the band, and went to the after-party. Caro got to introduce me to one of her mentors, Burtis Downs, the band's manager. There was also a funny cast of characters from Athens, and Caro also ran into a former UGA radio colleague. It was really a great music night.

Snags at Beer O'Clock

We celebrated the final presentation of our big business pitch with a barbecue on my boss's office patio this afternoon. After a few Bud Lights and a couple of hot dogs ("snags" as my Aussie boss might say), I finally found myself winding down from weeks, actually months, of stress, excitement, argument, doubt, elation, late nights, coffee and office catering. The best times in advertising really are when you work on a team, competing against other agencies and even with people inside your agency, seeing what great creatives can come up with, and then that final blast of adrenaline you feel in the car pulling into the (hopefully) new client's parking lot.

Back on the Blog

So, what's my excuse? I didn't have a camera-phone until yesterday, when I upgraded my four year old Blackberry with a new Blackberry Curve. I had gotten rid of my mobile phone with camera a while ago, in favor of my work Blackberry with phone and email. I didn't realize how dependent I'd become on mobile photo blogging to create posts. I guess it was just easier to write captions, or capture funny moments, than it was to just write a few paragraphs. That must be the ad agency life seeping into my my blogging. Need a visual. Need some copy.

During my "sabbatical" from this blog, I did move offices to a spot with a giant picture window looking out over Main Street in Venice. I work in the Frank Gehry "Binocular" building, in the wing that is meant to look like the bow of a ship (the white framed cutouts in this picture - you can see how it curves off to a point to the right of my office. It's a great space to work in, and I appreciate the company giving me the office.

More good times to come. Caro and I are going to a black-tie event for City of Hope this week as a guest of Gibson guitars. Should be some good blogger photo snapshots.

And the Oscar Goes To

The entries at our Oscars party on Sunday; everyone had to bring a dish that they named for an entry or nominee. I will note that the entrants with bean dip, "The De-Farted," were unable to attend, but are recognized nonetheless.

And the nominees are:

Black Forest Whitaker Cake
The Good German Chocolate Cake
Oats on a Scandal (oatmeal cookies)
Dreamgrills (White Castle sliders)
Noodles on a Scandal (casserole)
An Inconvenient Tabouleh
Pitas of the Caribbean (pita chips & dip)
Dreamgirls Jennifer Hummus
Tower of "Babel" Bagels (bagels on a Fisher-Price tower toy)
Afudgalytpo (brownies)
The Queen-ois Salad (quinois grain salad)


Caroline was not able to complete her entry: the Devil Wears Prada snack tray, which was to consist of chewing gum and cigarettes.