El Gaffney

Me? You? Me? Meme?

Catching up on some blogs a few days ago (oh yeah, that hot RSS action), I realized Kevin called me out in his meme…

No, I have not turned into Beeker from the Muppets. A meme is “a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation). For all I know this tagging experiment may be over by now, and now I’m the guy who is trying to restart a wave after it ran its course a few times. But either way, the question to be answered was do you respect the Mediasnacker (one who consumes content in bit-size pieces) when you blog? Here is the video:

And now for my answer, it depends how much time I have to write. As Winston Churchill said: I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead. For this post I had Thanksgiving weekend. Bye.

Oh, Eric, Mike, Avin, and Misha – you’re it.

Tags: Friends, media, meme

Ode to Goulet. Goulet.

Here’s the thing: Just like I wouldn’t hire a clown to fix a leak in the john, I wouldn’t dare attempt to honor this man’s passing on my own. Instead, I had to go the most passionate Goulet fan I know to get this ditty. That is my buddy Jake, who has been responsible not only for some of your favorite IOI links but also for some great comments—and outside of the blogosphere some fantastic work for the government and shirtless bar hopping. (Full bio of the author available upon request. Picture possible coming soon.) After a full 10 days grieving period, he has answered. Without further ado, I give you “Ode to Goulet. Goulet.”

Since his passing and my subsequent vacation to Burbank to properly mourn the man, I finally feel compelled – nay, inspired – to pay homage to a great man. A man’s man at that. One who was just as comfortable slapping you across the mouth for your insolence in trying to tear down the biz as he was in a velvet blazer and full turtleneck. I would go so far as to liken him to a real life James Bond without the license to kill. Although, if he were ever palling around with Neil Diamond, he may have been party to some ‘killing drifters for erection’ escapades. Lets look closer at comparison. They both drove cool cars (Aston Martin – Alpha Romeo), they both enjoyed martinis (Diablo – Shaken/not Stirred) and they both had the swagger of a modern day Greek god. Panties dropped at the mere whisper of their name. The only difference is that Mr. Goulet is a living, breathing, frieking Legend.

What makes Goulet so much better than his contemporaries you ask? I’ll tell you. He had the great sense to poke fun at his larger than life voice and persona (probably stemming from his French-Canadian ancestry) starting in the mid 90s with commercials for the worldwide leader (ESPN for you sporting neophytes). It was this ability, not shared by other musical luminaries like the Chairman (Can you say Duets?) and Englerbert Humperdink, that enabled him to stay relevant to his dying day. He continued to stay on our minds through a series of skits on SNL and a wicked interview on Conan O’Brien by the comic stylings of Will Ferrell. Whether he was belting out hit rap songs or providing you with awesome ring tones, Goulet was staying modern. And, most recently he starred in a Super Bowl commercial the likes of which the world has never known. Mr. Goulet’s foray into the nut business this past year will haunt me to my dying day. I will always be cognizant of the spectre of the post lunch food-coma bandit.

Will there be anyone else who can capture the essence of Goulet? In doing so, they would become a marvel for all mankind. My heart hopes so, but my brain says no. The current crop of stars just doesn’t have it. Justin Timberlake is too pretty. He probably waxes his legs. Eddie Vedder is too dirty. The list is as long as Goulet’s resume, and each and every person remains flawed. For those of you out there who dare to mention that devilish, dancing, supernova that is Wayne Newton, heed my warning. He couldn’t carry Goulet’s jockstrap in a suitcase.

What I’m really trying to say is that Mr. Robert Goulet kept himself relevant by constantly reinventing himself and for this, he captured the hearts and minds of the world, not to mention my own.

Single Tear.

Jake Conte
Unabashed Goulet Enthusiast

Tags: Friends, goulet

Comment Victoriously

It’s hard to get people to comment. I usually consider a post a big success if I get two (since, of course, I can respond to each and bump it up to 4!). I know some of my fellow Gen GuY bloggers agree.
Last week, a very well-respected (especially in the planning world), -liked (he once received hundreds of comments after writing a heart-felt post about blogging), and -read (actually that’s an assumption; more appropriately would be “oft-read” on his blog and in Campaign magazine) guy named Russell Davies held a contest. The prize a copy of Mark Penn’s Microtrends dictated the challenge: Come up with your own microtrend(s) and leave them in the comments to be voted on by Jeremy from Penguin. (I linked to the Penguin site for the book rather than Amazon to show love.) I’m happy to announce I was one of the winners.

My favorite happened to come from John Dodds, another planner I have been inspired by. It was: “The Unwell – people going online, erroneously diagnosing themselves with worst case scenarios on the basis of symptoms and no knowledge.” So true. I submitted three and was talking with a few friends on Saturday night about them, and we all seemed to have a different opinion about which we liked most/least. It got a little heated with the Sake bombs flowing, so I thought I’d put it up to vote. (Plus, I like using Vizu polls as some of you know from the Flu Shot one I created – which probably supports The Unwell.)

Here are the descriptions:
Playground Papa’s – think the prom king from little children (movie) or joe from brothers and sisters (tv). Men who embrace being the primary caretaker and man of the house-hold chores but also make sure they stay manly. (This does not require any infidelity though the ex’s suggest it.) Also known as the triple P’s (add Progressive) and/or Soccer Dads.

Diversuburbanites – You won’t find diversity in major cities anymore, you’ll have to go out to the surrounding suburbs. And that’s what many recent grads and young families are going to do to have a more rich and multi-cultural life.

Thru-breds – People who grew up IMing, texting, blogging, etc. but now fail to use proper grammatical English in the traditional world. This slang/shorthand is not just used in emails but also infiltrates presentations, legal documents, and love letters.

I don’t know how much crossover there is between our blogs. But I’m assuming that only a handful of people that come here daily also read him regularly. Even if he’s got me totally covered, you may have not read his contest in time or you may not have had the time to consider or you may have felt you had to say something intelligent in his comment box. Rest assured—and I’m sure most of you know—you don’t have to feel that sort of pressure here. (I’m a couple days away from posting my next Inbox of Immaturity, which amongst other things will have an officer’s awkward pat down of a suspicious character on the street.)

So, if you have some microtrends to add to the mix, I’d love to hear them.

Tags: blogging, books, Friends, trends

Blog Action Day: greenmail

Every week or so since April 22, my friend Kim has sent out an email with, in her words, “some little easy thing you can do to help out the environment.” This week she sent the group #25. In honor of Blog Action Day, a movement set up by a few bloggers, which asks bloggers to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind – the environment – by posting about it TODAY, I’m going to post Kim’s first twenty-five green tips.

25. Don’t eat Chilean Sea Bass. Here’s a list of the best and worst fish to eat for the environment (and your health).
24. Use coasters made of sandstone, and other absorbent materials so you don’t have to wipe down tables. You’ll save lots of paper.
23. Go to the local farmers’ market. The produce is better and they don’t use fertilizers or pesticides which suck up more than 30% of the energy used to make food.
22. Move to Eugene, Oregon. Hydroelectric and wind power contribute over 85% of Eugene’s power, the city has biodiesel and hybrid fleets, and a really concerted effort and evaluation of all city activities for environmental impact.
21. Get one organic pair of jeans. The chemical process used to create soft, stonewashed jeans contaminates the water in Central Mexico (where more than 700 clothing manufacturers sell jeans to the U.S.).
20. Use ECOTAINERS. If your company or workplace has a kitchen and stocks it with paper cups, check and see how eco-friendly they are. There are cups called ECOTAINERS that are bought in bulk by companies and that are 100% compostable and biodegradable.
19. Seek out bamboo. For furniture, sheets, whatever. It’s a super eco-friendly material, the grass is renewable and very kind to the earth.
18. Buy a digital red bulb thermometer. Avoid the silver mercury bulb ones as mercury is a debilitating nerve toxin for your body and the environment.
17. Offset carbon emissions with Terrapass. It does a lot of other great things too, like funding clean weddings, car stuff, etc.
16. Search with Blackle. Powered by Google, it saves energy with a black screen.
15. Turn your receipts over and use the blank backs for notes. Then recycle.
14. Swap one product this week for a better earth-friendly product. Swap a
toothpaste, dish-washing detergent, or snack (organic licorice weirdly good).
13. Dust the little vents in your a/c, and you’ll save energy and money.
12. Turn your cell phone off when you’re not using it (especially when you go to sleep at night).
11. Try an activity/sport that puts you smack in the dab of mother nature.
10. Plant a tree in someone’s memory.
9. Don’t over-consume. Throwing away 2 aluminum cans wastes more energy than 1,000,000,000 of the world’s poorest people use a day.
8. Recycle more than cans and paper. Recycle your computer/laptop by giving it to charity, instead of throwing it away. The National Cristina Foundation will hook up your old PC or Mac with a nonprofit organization. You can also drop off your old cell phone at your local Staples store as part of a Sierra Club recycling effort.
7. Say bye-bye to junk mail here and save our forests.
6. Pat yourself on the back this week for being a part of this email (or reading this far down the list in this case) and doing your bits to make our world better.
5. When ordering take-out or getting food delivered, request no napkins or plastic utensils, unless you really need them.
4. When traveling, turn off your a/c when you check out of your hotel room.
3. Send potted flowers. Cut flowers dispose quickly. A greener option is to send potted flowers because they last longer, improve indoor air quality and can be self-watering.
2. Eat one less meat meal this week. Animal farming consumes tons of energy and water, is a growing source of pollution and leads to land degradation. Eat some sushi or a veggie burger.
1. Use a front loading washing machine when doing laundry. It uses way less water than a top load.

Even if you only incorporate 5 of these 25 suggestions into your life, you are starting to make environmentally-friendly changes/choices. Little things matter, especially when large amounts of people do them. Pass it on. Thanks Kim.

Tags: blogging, Friends, green

Why I Love Facebook #5

Awoke to a nice surprise this Rosh Hashana morning…

Sharon is a friend I made in Israel (born and raised and now in the army there) when I went for Birthright trip. She’s one of those people I always admire/am slightly jealous of that has an amazing and magnetic energy around them; that you gravitate toward. So it’s wonderful that I’ve been able to stay in touch with her and other friends I made that trip through the Internet and Facebook, in particular, whose application enabled this thoughtful surprise.

Anyway, there’s my sensitive side after some immaturity and hip hop posting. Happy Jewish New Year to all.

Tags: facebook, Friends, jewish