I Am Now Publishing a Post on AddsYou.com

http://www.addsyou.comusername=MjAwOC0xMS0yOCAxNToyNjoyOA'>http://www.addsyou.com">http://www.addsyou.com
username=MjAwOC0xMS0yOCAxNToyNjoyOA==

Last Post

I passed a couple of ads in a McDonald's window that were absolutely ghastly. Huge tomato. Lopsided apple. Half an eggshell with the yolk inside. The yolk was an odd color. Lots of green somethings...lettuce, leaves, not very clear what was in the background. As I looked at the ad I wondered who did the ad and who signed off on the ad. The ad was terrible. No hierarchy as every item was practically the same size. Odd colors made nutritious foods look oddly unappetizing. I cannot find the ad, but here is a link to McDonald's website:

http://cep.mcdonalds.com/qualityfood/

Now the website does a good job of highlighting each type of nutritious food and listing the ingredients. So, I am puzzled at the amateurishness of the print ads.

Levy's Jewish Rye

I read a blog everyday called: http://www.askgrandmaj.blogspot.com/. I found it through another blog...coincindentally written by her daughter: http://www.heartshapedhedges.blogspot.com/

I opened it up yesterday and saw this staring back at me. The person in the ad is Buster Keaton. I thought it was funny to see an ad that we had discussed in class embedded in a post from a blog that I read. The blog post is about rye bread, so I can see how the blogger came up with this image.

Buster Keaton was an actor in the 1920s known for his blank expression. He was called "Stone Face."

Girls v. Boys

This poster reminds me of the McQuade chapter, which highlighted symbols designating male and female bathrooms throughout the world. I like a funny poster.

An Oldie, But Goodie

This Honda Accord commercial has been out for a year or two, but I think it is amazing. The commercial shows all parts used to construct a Honda Accord set up in a domino formation, where one cog starts a chain reaction. Just think about the logistics of coordinating all the parts used in this commercial. The commercial cost $6 million and took 600 takes to get right. What patience.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFTduBCb7Eo

And, then there is this parody...not hysterical, but humorous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeANRQBz0Yw&feature=related

Go Speed Racer, Go

It was a rainy yesterday today...the perfect day to catch a movie. We saw a matinee of Speed Racer. There was a time when I saw a movie a month with my husband. Those days are a distant memory since having children. We are down to a movie every 6 months, if that. When we do see a movie it is a kiddie film. Last month my husband took the children to see Horton Hears a Who. I did not join them as I was doing projects for this class. It is difficult to find a movie that a 12-year-old girl, a 9-year-old girl, and a 5-year-old boy want to see. The 12-year-old thinks she should be able to see PG-13 movies...uh, no, I don't think so. Speed Racer appealed to everyone in our family.

Speed Racer is a fast-paced movie. The car race scenes are dramatic and eye-catching. The Wachowski brothers, known for originating unique film techniques in movies such as The Matrix, based their movie on the original Speed Racer TV show, but added a couple of extra characters and expanded the backstory of the behind the scenes plot of intrigue and espionage between the different racing teams. One film technique, in particular, is the technique of having two actors in a scene with a previous scene shown in the background. The closeup shot of the actors talking is interspersed with a dramatization of what the actors are talking about. The viewer is drawn in to the action of the scene by watching the actors talking about a car crash and seeing the car crash unfold behind them. It is an example of showing and telling. The Wachowski brothers also used many closeup shots of actors.

The film sets are visually appealing as well. Many colors. Costumes are bright and garish--yellow Chuck taylors, bright red walls, brightly hued race track, etc. I don't recall the TV series very well, but the use of color works well in this film.

It was a long film, but kept my 5-year-olds attention for over 2 hours.

Here's a review from the New York Times:

Many of us who grew up watching television in the 1960s and ’70s have fond if vague memories of “Speed Racer.” Those big-eyed characters (Trixie! Speed! Racer X!), their mouths never quite moving in sync with the dialogue; those bright colors and semiabstract backgrounds; those endless, episodic story lines. Whether we knew it or not, the series was a primer in the aesthetics of Japanese animation, the love of which we could later pass along to our children. Failing that, I suppose we could subject them to Warner Brothers’ new live-action feature film, also called “Speed Racer,” which was written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski, the maestros of “The Matrix.” Like so many other expensive, technologically elaborate big-screen adaptations of venerable pop-culture staples, this movie sets out to honor and refresh a youthful enthusiasm from the past and winds up smothering the fun in self-conscious grandiosity. — A. O. Scott, The New York Times

Why Didn't I Think of This?!?

I found this promotional ad for Post-It Education notes at my daughter's school. Post-It has created a range of flash cards for ABCs, numbers, sight words, and Spanish. I am in my third go-round of teaching a child to read. This product would be a good addition to my education basket. I have flash cards purchased from WalMart or educational stores. The added bonus of these cards is that the cards can be stuck to a wall or fridge. I generally write sight words on index cards and tape them to the walls/door. I saw a product display at Staples.

The blue and yellow on the front cover is eye-catching. The ad is a trifold displaying different representations of the product: a photo of the product in use on a wall, a photo of the product in its packaging, etc. The back of the product shows photos of the other products in the series.

A small set of sight words is included with the ad. For me the addition of the product is a slam dunk. The potential consumer does not need to wonder what the product looks like in the flesh. Once I tore of the first card I was sold on the product.