Even though this is ultimately a commercial, I found myself getting a little emotional watching this. We need this sort of thing to happen everywhere now more than ever. We need the levity and the sense of  camaraderie that this type of event provokes. This is what I believe Improv Anywhere is about. 

For T-Mobile, Saatchi London literally brought a playlist to life in Liverpool Street station with 350 dancers, who start performing a routine amidst commuters, seemingly out of nowhere. Hidden TV cameras captured the whole thing, including the witness’s reactions, and a three-minute spot went on air less than 48 hours after filming. 

Not only was this brilliant advertising (this video is on thousands of blogs), the point made by the spectators getting on their phones to text, send photos and video or just tell someone about what they saw. It was especially cool to see people join in and then the dancers melt away at the end.

Here are some of the reactions to the flash mob:

I especially like the woman who said she was in a bad mood until that happened. Kudos to T-Mobile for coming up with something this innovative.

Here are the rehearshals

As an addendum to my earlier post about clean coal I further posit that not only is clean coal not the answer, there is no such thing as clean coal.

The coal industry is spending a lot of money. Not on building new clean coal facilities or improving existing coal burning facilities, but on a very expensive PR and marketing campaign. Commercials, sponsorships of Presidential debates and full-page newspaper ads are the way the coal lobby is trying to fleece the public.

The Alliance for Climate Protection is at it again. This time building a coalition of organizations to combat the PR campaign waged by the coal lobby. This Is Reality is the name of it and they are strongly contesting the myths put forward by the coal lobby. Here is one of their commercials:

To find out more and get involved visit thisisreality.org

I just read a very interesting article from Esquire magazine titled What the Hell Just Happened? A Look Back at the Bush Years.

“America does not attack countries that have not attacked us. America does not torture. America takes care of its own. America follows the rule of law. America’s laws are built upon the principle of habeas corpus. America’s distinction is its system of checks and balances. American democracy is the inspiration of the world, and American capitalism the envy. America is better than that, no matter what “that” might be. These are not political statements; these are articles of faith, and yet in the Bush Years they suffered a political fate, as they became yoked to an administration that endured the irony of being the most image-conscious in American history at the precise historical moment when any control over how images were either promulgated or consumed was completely lost.”

It is definitely not a mainstream view about what got this country to the state it is in today. Most people will say, “It happened on Bush’s watch”. Well, it also happened on ours.

Read it here.

What is no pants day, you ask?

No pants day started in NYC seven years ago by an improv group called Improv Anywhere. They rode the subway without pants on acting like nothing was out of the ordinary. The event has grown. Last year, over 1000 people participated in New York and other cities have joined from all around the world.

This year Phoenix is joining. We finally have a light rail and we want to feel like a real city.

What’s the pont? There isn’t one. It’s silly, juvenile and pointless. That’s why I’m doing it (see my post below).

Besides, I’ve been working out and my legs seem to be getting the best of it so I might as well show them off.

There is no doubt that we are headed for a depression or something close to it at best.

As you can see, my last blog entry was almost a month ago. I could blame it on the holidays or all the time I was spending getting the new kontaktmag site launched (check it out). But the real reason is a lack of motivation due to me floating in and out of a depressed state.

Yes, Laurel moved to New York and I’m lonely and miss her. And yes, the magazine is struggling again at a point in the business cycle where we should be growing and enjoying increased success. I could list many reasons for my state, not the least of is insane wars, incompetent government and impending economic collapse. But these are all, for the most part, external. And I have very little, if any, control over the outcomes. So, I have a choice (contrary to what most people whine about, we always have a choice). Do I choose to give into the collective depressed state of my surroundings, or do I alter the perception of my reality to move forward with my life enjoying the good things in this world and accepting the other things as what is, and going on my merry way?

The choice seems like a no-brainer, and yet, it is very difficult to detach from the collective. Especially when you care about the outcome. I want our country to wake up. I believe that the green revolution can save us as a country and maybe, if we’re not too late, as a species. I want to have faith that we will make the paradigm shift in time to save our republic and save ourselves. Yet, I am not convinced.

As I was at the gym today, I was thinking about how now, more than ever, is the time for us to be taking care of ourselves. Just because our economy is in a depression, doesn’t mean we have to follow suit. I think the quickest way to get our economy out of a depression is not to get depressed ourselves.

I think it is time for us to redefine “success”. Big cars, big houses and big bank accounts can no longer be the yardstick. Oh yeah, I’m sounding preaching and I’m rambling. Too many ideas to get out in this one post.

To sum up, my goal is to pick myself up (with a kick in the ass, if needed) and figure out a way to detach while still finding a way to care enough to be a voice for action. When I say detach, I mean detach from the collective doom and live a happy and productive life, no matter what the world around me is doing.