Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Shameless Holiday Post

Blogger recently came out with a new way to sell out while blogging. Teaming up with Amazon so that bloggers can recommend books or lets see...just about anything ever since that is what Amazon's inventory consists of. One can then put links to these items so that if people decide to buy that item via your link the blogger gets a % of the straight cash.

So rather than talk about how lame this is or how people are going to exploit this or how obnoxious this might be; I decided I am going to fully embrace it and make a post dedicated to recommending a crap load of stuff and see if any of you suckers take the bait.

Without Freddy Ado (I totally stole that line from one of my favorite blog's, Club Trillion ) here are some of my holiday recommendations for things to buy assuming you did not receive all the gifts you wished for and now have some extra cash from Aunt Bernice.

I used to think I was one of the few people who knew about this fantastic show but it has obviously gone main stream. If you have never seen it, I highly recommend getting season 1 and 2 and dedicating yourself to it on a rainy or snowy or might I say Sunny afternoon.

If you have already seen seasons 1 and 2 then get 3 and 4 duh.



Even if you are a true Sunny fan, you may not know that this Always Sunny Christmas special exists because I think they did a pretty poor job promoting it. However I may or may not have watched a perfectly legal version of this at someone else's diggs and think it is worth an hour and a half of your time.














My next recommendation is for what I consider to be the best reality TV shows there are hands down. These shows may appear to be intended for 12 year olds, and maybe they are so get out your old pogs collections and give them a shot (seriously though these shows are hilarious and nothing like the reality TV you are used to)















Now I will step aside from the boob tube and recommend a few reading materials for you intellects out there. I swear I was the first person ever to read Malcolm Gladwell's books and everyone copied me. Nevertheless I still think his books really get you thinking so if you have not yet drank the kool aid grab the laddle and saddle up partner (by the way I started reading his new book, "What the Dog Saw" and it rips)















A few more books I enjoy...

















When I stop kidding myself with books for my brain I turn to St. Paul's own Vince Flynn. If you ever felt like you could have made it as a Navy Seal or an Army Ranger and need to get your fix on some good old fashion ass kicking then I highly recommend the following:
















Alright I am starting to feel absolutely dirty and ridden of shamlessness but yet I just can't stop now...















Ok now I feel gross...I actually like The Hangover but wizards and vampires is where I draw the line so don't click on those.

I promise to never have another post like this again...ok I don't but I won't do it again until at least next year...(see what I did there)


As always

One love, one heart


Eric McPherson



Twitter: @EricWMcPherson

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Passing along some advice...not Tiger Woods related

I actually have nothing to say about Tiger Woods right now but figured it would be frowned upon to not somehow include him in this post...."Tiger Woods has a lot of cars...now he has a hole in one" (The Book of Sheibs, p. 24)

With that out of the way I wanted to share a piece of advice I received early on in my young advertising career that has helped me throughout the beginning stages of my metaphorical career journey.


Two summers ago I was an intern at an advertising agency which was also my first job in an office (The Office - Season Five). Needless to say it was quite a transition from wearing steel toed boots and sweet shirts with my name on a patch over my left breast (go ahead and giggle you immature Ikes/Ingrids).

Towards the end of the summer, summer days wasting away, my supervisor gave me some parting wisdom. He told me that whenever your boss or supervisor asks you to do something (so like your job) whether it be a huge, month long project or a quick email, think to yourself...is there anything else I can do while completing this task to make my boss' job easier?

Often times this means doing something or figuring something out that your supervisor did not necessarily tell you directly.

It seems like a pretty simple idea, in fact it is a very simple idea, but I cannot tell you how many times I have thought about that conversation and applied it to the job I have now. Your supervisor may send you a word doc and ask you to print 30 copies of it. Give it a once over and fix any blatant typos. You don't even need to tell him or her you did it, the point is not to do something and then expect a sticker for it like you got 100% on your first grade spelling test (see video below). The point is to get in the habit of making your supervisor's job easier in order to help the agency run a little or lot more efficiently. Maybe someday you will be the supervisor and you will have an intern or junior person that is intuitive to helping you out...then we got a whole Lion King, circle of life thing going on....which rules.



Don't be an idiot and take this too literally to the point of reading through that same document you were asked to print and re-write a paragraph thinking that will really be going above and beyond. Just be smart the next time you are given a task and ask yourself, is there anything else I can do that will make my supervisor's job easier?

One love one heart,

Just be smart,

Eric McPherson


Follow me on twitter @EricWMcPherson (if you are hip and enjoy the Twitter)

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Obama's Hook and Ladder

A lot of what has been written on this blog has been of a negative tone. Apparently it is easier to write about complaints than positivity. I would like to change that vibe (at least briefly) and talk about a TV ad I saw over Thanksgiving.

I imagine most people that consider themselves "good" Americans saw this ad at some point over the holiday because they were watching the edge-of-the-seat action that was Thanksgiving day football (the Detroit Lions...'nough said). The ad I'm talking about is the NFL Play 60 spot that features stars from the NFL as well as the big man in charge, Obama.

Before I continue I want to make it clear that the intent of this post is not to start any political arguments so please don't think I am attemtping to make myself heard on what should be legal in California or how much prescription drugs should cost or anything of that nature.

When I went to YouTube to watch the ad again, I stumbled across what I was looking for, but with this title...



When I first saw this ad I did not realize some people would get all bent out of shape over Obama being involved in it. I think most people would agree that childhood obesity is a problem in our country, so I personally have no issue with whomever is President being part of this type of movement (this is as deep into the political woods as I will venture).

My only issue with the ad is A) the slow motion is so slow that it took forever for the scene to play out (however I can't really argue because the great Dave Chappelle already clearly explained how slow motion makes everything better)



and B) how did Troy Polamalu lose Obama in coverage that easily? Ok, dumb joke but my point is this; politics aside I really like what the NFL and the United Way are doing here. There are times where celebrities and athletes seem to be giving back for the sake of looking good while the cameras are rolling. But the issue of exercise and getting out and being active is actually relevant to the nature of the NFL. Giving back to a group or movement that pertains directly to your organization is a great way to make a real impact. I'm sure there are thousands of other great examples of this, but I noticed this ad, liked it and wanted to talk about it so there.

Other charities and powerful organizations could take a page out of this campaign's playbook (had to do it).


One love, one heart

Eric McPherson