Since we’re in the thick of winter, I thought I’d dig up a little something from summer. This is Mr. Alex Smith, producer extraordinaire, showing off another one of his talents out on Lake Washington during Seattle’s Seafair. Unfortunately moments after swimming out of frame, poor Alex was hit by one of the hydroplane raceboats. This one to be exact.
I’m a little bummed out I wasn’t able to use a tripod (or have been a little steadier) to keep the loop a little smoother, but what the hell. It’s just for fun.
Recently I was summoned to jury duty and the experience, while pleasant, reminded me of this very short story I wrote back July of 2006, recapping the first time I was called upon to do what Abraham Lincoln described as, “the greatest service a citizen can perform for his country”. At least I remember reading something like that on a poster in the courthouse.
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Through the doors of the US District Court of Minnesota I go. Right on time too. Well, actually a couple minutes late, but that’s right on time for me. Then empty my pockets to pass through the ultra-tight security, only to find out I don’t pass.
“Next time take your belt off,” says the little old man as he waves his hand-held metal detector over my crotch. Was he coming on to me? I blush the rest of the walk up to the juror assembly room.
Once there, me and the other 41 people selected got to watch twenty minutes of the most enthralling instructional video, “The Dos and Don’ts of Being a Juror” (copyright 1995) which was hosted by a wonderful lady in the brightest blue suit in the northern hemisphere. Of course she was accompanied by “The Asian Juror”, “The Black Housewife Juror”, “The Senior Citizen/Retired Librarian Juror”, “The White Farmer from Anytown, USA Juror” and probably a construction worker or something. The stereotypes all began to blend into, “who cares since you’re obviously all paid, bad actors”.
Now that the video was over we play a little game called “The Waiting Game” until the judge needs us up I the courtroom. It goes like this. First, you play it cool…and wait. Second, you go get a bottle of complementarity orange juice and continue to play it cool. Still you wait. Then, when things get rough, you pullout the emergency book, in my case it was “Barrel Fever” by David Sedaris. And after you’re three pages into it, “Okay, they’re ready for you all”. Damn, somehow I lost this round. But there will be more waiting to come.
We’re led up to the thirteenth floor, “Hey, I can see where Leena works from here” and then off into the courtroom. Inside we all sat on the wooden benches in the back and got the run down before our names were picked at random to see which 32 of the 42 would be widdled down to the final 13-14 actual jurors. I started doing the odds in my head. “Well, I have a better than 75% chance of at least getting picked to be questioned. Those are good odds and that will be fun.”
I didnt get picked. What are the odds? Oh yeah, less than 25%. Round two of The Waiting Game starts now, only I can’t read my book. The ten of us leftovers got the pleasure of listening to the judge get the whole life story of the other 32 jurors, only to find out that the video lied. There wasn’t any Asian or Black jurors. Although, there was a lot of old, retired, white people, one of whom was a farmer. As usual I was by far the youngest. Where the hell are all the 23, soon to be 24 year olds? I had an hour and a half to think this over.
After that we had a 15 minute recess (not the jungle gym kind, unfortunately). Mostly everyone jumped to their cell phones as we got the liberty to turn them back on again. I did the same.
When my text message recess concluded, we were all herded back into the big wooden room and asked to sit in our same seats as to not confuse anyone. Seconds later the judge began reading a list of those who could leave. “Mr. West-brook” was called off. Close enough I thought, and made my way to the exit
Back in November, we got to help Ford promote and run an awesome event they were doing in conjunction with the Seattle Auto Show. The plan was to let people test drive the new Ford Focus around the warning track of Safeco Field (which is across the street from the Auto Show) that uses all these fancy cameras and sensors to track you as you drive the course. Then after people do the drive, they get a video sent to them showing the whole experience as if it’s a video game. It’s very cool. So cool in fact, that’s it’s almost one of those “build it and they will come” situations. So our job was fairly easy.
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It should be added that getting to walk and drive around one of the most beautiful stadiums in the country is a pretty awesome feeling. It’s sort of magical with a side of, “I’m not supposed to be here.” Which makes it all the more impressive that Ford was willing to do such a thing, and do it for free. You can even check out my drive around the field right here:
A few months ago my writing partner, Andre Vriesman and I, were brought in to do some early concepting on a top-secret project that, in retrospect, we knew little about or were unsure if it would ever happen. But as luck would have it, the project later dubbed (at least internally) “The Big-Ass Phone” actually did happen just two short weeks ago. And looking back over the timeline and the event itself, I’m really proud that we were able to play even a small part in such an awesome and literally huge thing for the Windows Phone, Wexley School for Girls and all the people who were there to enjoy the show. Not to mention all the other talents that came together for everything to go so wonderfully.
I’ve been wanting a new logo for myself for quite sometime, so yesterday I just sat myself down and cranked one out. Bam. There you go.
It’s based off an icon I had been using for myself for a little while that always seemed fitting, but wanted something that was a little more fitting and striking. Obviously the “A” and “W” come from my initials, but the gear always seemed to be a nice representation of my hardworking, Midwestern roots. And the orange, black and white are a nod to my hometown and the school colors back in good ol’ White Bear Lake, MN. One should never forget where you come from.
It’s funny thinking about having to get to know a piece of equipment, but I’ve found myself having to do just that with an old camera of mine. People obviously have quirks and moods, but apparently inanimate objects can too. So a while back some friends and I made a trip over to Harbor Island in the Port of Seattle to do just that with my Toyocaflex TLR.
Being that it’s over a half a century old, it sort of behaves like an old man. The viewfinder is a little dark and cloudy, sometimes the shutter sticks at low speeds and it’s a bit heavy. It also has a bladder-control problem and eats dinner by 5:30pm. But I still love it, and I enjoy learning new things about how it behaves every time I take it out.
Fashion photography isn’t something I’ve done a lot of in the past, but it’s always fun whenever I get the chance. So a few weeks ago when I was asked to do a photoshoot with my good friend, the lovely Miss Laura Haithcock, I had to take her up on it.
Laura operates Birdie Royale Adornments and a corresponding blog of all the cool stuff she makes and thinks. And it was because of all this, she being featured on the Seattle fashion blog, FreshJess, thus needing some nice new photography of three outfits she wanted to showcase. That’s where I came in. So we set out across Queen Anne and Pioneer Square dodging wind, rain and random bits of sunshine to capture said photographs. It all seemed to turn out pretty nicely, too. Although, it definitely helps having a good model to work with like Laura.
She also gave a nice interview on her style, influences and thoughts on the Seattle fashion scene. So be sure to check out all the photos and the end result right here.
Last week our team at Wexley School for Girls launched our very first campaign for Taco Del Mar. We’ve been working super hard over the past few month on this, and it’s extremely rewarding to finally see this stuff out in the real world. And basically, here’s the idea behind it all:
Does Taco Del Mar have the biggest burritos on the planet? Of course. Does Taco Del Mar have the greatest Fish Tacos on earth? Of Course. Does Taco Del Mar make your food exactly like you want it with the most tantalizing ingredients? Of course. Does Taco Del Mar make your food fast? Of course. Is it filling and satisfying? Of course. And when your friend calls and asks, “Hey man, want to go grab some Taco Del Mar?” you’ll love it so much the answer isn’t just a single “Of course.” It’s an emphatic, “¡Of Course! ¡Of Course!”
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It’s not often that one of your favorite pieces from a campaign happens to be a billboard, but it’s hard to see the “Cougar Fight” billboard and not smile. It still gets me, even though I’ve looked at it a thousand times. And as we roll out more work in the next few weeks for the campaign I’ll be sure to keep adding in the new stuff. So be on the look out for it. The whole campaign is going to be super fun and stupid in a good way.
Last week I bought a fancy new camera, and this is the first thing I decided to do with it. Although to be honest, I didn’t take the picture of the shark.
Ever wish you could have a super-awesome date with super-awesome professional soccer players? Of course you do. You’re only human and the need for love and soccer are part of our basic human necessities. Luckily, there are now things in place to help you with this very thing.
Recently, we launched Make a Date with a Sounder. There you have a chance to get to know the guys of the Seattle Sounders FC , learn their likes and dislikes, and obviously, make a date with a Sounder (along with 36,000 other fans). If all that doesn’t satisfy your basic human needs, I don’t know what will. You’re probably a lost cause and dead inside.
So if you’re in the Seattle area, hopefully you’ll see the full campaign running (billboards, TV, print, charity eBay auctions). I’ll post the rest later, but for now check out everything that’s going on at datewithasounder.com and don’t forget to actually make a date.
Note: Last night the Sounders broke the MLS attendance record with 46,505 wild, screaming fans. I like to think we sold a good share of those tickets. They’ve also added over 30k new fans on Facebook in just four weeks since the campaign has launched.
