I guess this is why you’re supposed to draw a long horizontal line after the dollar amount, right?

I’ve always gotten a lot of spam, but recently the “subject” fields have taken on a “breaking news” headline style. Has anyone else noticed this?

Schwarzenegger Admits Starting California Wildfires

[video] Obama sex tape

Myanmar declares hate for Australians

Dead baby penguins found in Brazil

Larry King shot dead at home

[video] If Barack Obama Is An Oreo, What Is John Mclaughlin

Cannibalism!……..In The Usa

Raw footage of snake swallowing horse

Horse kicks Ralph Lauren in stomach

Tissue Box Help Sign Savves Ellderly Women Trapped In Hot Car

Brinng your wife We’ll fucck her! That’s right we’ll fuckk your wife! :)

OK, that last one isn’t in the “breaking news” style, but I actually laughed out loud the first time I read it. It’s the smily face that does it for me.

I spotted this DeLorean on my commute yesterday. Even though it’s a simple design, I still think the LeLorean is one of the coolest looking cars around. But I can’t decide if I’d like the DeLorean as much if it wasn’t featured in Back to the Future. Is the car that awesome looking, or is my opinion tainted?

Thinking about the DeLorean also reminds me of one of my first original (and semi intentionally-cheesy) songs I made on my Mac. It’s a throwback to the magic and wonder that is the 1980s. I called it “DeLorean Dreams” and you can listen to it here.

Another quick random poll – if you’re reading this you’re obliged to answer. You can be anonymous if you’d like.

Look around you right now. What’s the closest beverage to you? If there’s nothing in your immediate vicinity, just say so.

I saw this little bit of high-brow billboard modification while waiting for the B train in Chinatown yesterday, and what fascinates me is the sheer transparency of the artist’s process. It’s hard to tell where he (and I’m sure it’s a he) began, but in looking at his work it’s easy to decipher his artistic intentions.

“See that cup of white liquid? Well that’s going to need a cock-n-balls right there. And the word ‘Appitite?’ Easy. Now it says ‘tit.’ This is working out GREAT so far!”

My only critique is that I would have gone with “ho” instead of “hots” up top. But I guess everyone’s a critic.

What would YOU have done to enhance this ad? To the comments!

Dave Hill – A Renaissance Man for the 21st Century

It pleases me to say that in the coming weeks I’ll be helping the one and only Dave Hill make some enhancements to his internet presence.

If you don’t know about Dave, let this blog post be your gateway into all things Dave Hill. For example, below is a recent piece with David Rakoff called "Stomp!"

I’d also reccommend Dave Hill’s Youtube page, where you’ll find lots of gems, including this classic from Fashion Week:

Oh but the fun’s just getting started. Dave Hill is also the frontman of a severely rocking band called Valley Lodge, which you should be checking out right now. I can wait.

Dave’s also been featured on BoingBoing, not for anything in particular, just for being awesome. I shit you not.

Ok, that’s it for now. If this post doesn’t give Google something to chew on I don’t know what to tell you.

DCF Advertising’s NYC Teen Mindspace Campaign

Yesterday marked the official launch of our teen-focused social marketing campaign for the NYC Department of Health. The campaign centers around a MySpace page and several fictitious NYC teenagers all involved in common yet dangerous situations, such as experimenting with drugs and depression.

It wasn’t easy making the website appealing while also dealing with subject matter usually relegated to after school specials and cringe-inducing PSAs. But with the help of actual NYC high school kids who weighed in during the creative process, I think we managed to make something that’s not “lame.” Hopefully it will do some good.

What I find ironic is the fact that even though the campaign is for mental health awareness, I was about ready to go batshit insane while coding that MySpace page. If anyone’s ever tried to make a customized MySpace page, you know what I’m talking about. It’s not pretty.

Check out the campaign here.

Hi everyone – quick survey. Clasp your hands together like this right now. What’s more comfortable – having your left hand on top or your right hand on top? I want to see if there’s any correlation between your preference and if you’re a righty or a lefty. I’ll go first. To the comments!

I wish I’d gotten a better picture of this, but on Saturday I saw a taxi with a digital camera left accidentally sitting on its roof. This was especially poignant considering I’d recently re-visted the movie Raising Arizona, during which something of a little more value is accidentally left atop a moving vehicle…

Very interesting how similar “No Country for Old Men” is to “Raising Arizona.” See for yourself…

UPDATE – I just made a video comparison of one of the trailer scenes. View it on YouTube here.

Today I cheered my brother on as he took 4th place at Wiimbledon. Click on the photo above to see more!

Yet another reason I love Google Maps.

Not to sound insensitive, but the first crane collapse was WAY cooler.

Network Solutions is HORRIBLE.

I have some serious gripes with Network Solutions’ VPS “service” which I’ll save for another post (basically their VPS service is crippled and can’t send out email), but for now I thought I’d share something a little more immediate and bizarre.

Yesterday while renewing a domain name at Network Solutions (yes, I know it’s overpriced thankyouverymuch) I noticed that they tried to slip me two domains I did NOT want to purchase. These weren’t the typical fare such as “mike-solomon-biz.name” or “value-mike-solomon.es” but – and I shit you not – they actually tried to sell me both http://rgerferferfer.com and http://rgerferferfer.net. And since I don’t have a habit of mashing my fingers against the keyboard, I’m going to call bullshit on them. I seriously wouldn’t put it past them to have a database of crap domains out there (which were probably entered by some fat slob pressing a doughnut into the keypad) which they try to pawn off on people dumb enough to buy or renew a domain name with Network Solutions in the first place. (Yes, I know it’s overpriced thankyouverymuch.)

Anyway, below is a screenshot. Absolute bullshit.

I saw this printer sitting out on the street a few weeks ago. I love the subtle irony here, assuming that the sign was actually printed with the printer being tossed. It’s decent irony, but not perfect irony. (For the record, this is perfect irony – Billionaire roofing exec dies after fall through roof.)

As a sidenote, when I was processing the photo for the web I noticed that there was something printed on the back of the sign. After flipping the image and bumping up the contrast, (as well as saying the word “ENHANCE” a few times), we’re offered a fascinating glimpse into the first draft of this sign. It basically just said the word “WORKS” broken up onto two lines. Why do you think they changed it?

I don’t care how you spent your Saturday night, because my Saturday night was clearly much more entertaining. I saw an Elvis impersonator in a pastry shop in Astoria, Queens. What did you do?

This is an actual cake that was spotted in Chinatown last weekend. I shot it from two different angles so people wouldn’t think it was Photoshopped. Anyone care to guess what it is?

I hope this doesn’t offend anyone, but if you like wine and have never been to snooth.com you’re a fucking idiot.

Full disclosure – my roommate Mark is the CTO of the website. But that doesn’t make it any less awesome, and I’m certainly not getting anything in return for pimping their site. It’s just a really well-done website for learning about the wines you like and the wines you don’t. They have a pretty nifty way of suggesting wines you’ll appreciate based off of how you’ve rated other wines in the past. For example, tonight I’m cozying up with a Salmon Run Pinot Noir even though I just discovered I’m not particularly jazzed about it. So I rated it a 1.5 out of 5 (and wrote the following helpful review) and snooth’s nifty algorithm will suggest for me wines that I won’t think suck in the future. It’s both simple and brilliantly complex. Here’s the review I wrote – care of their “blog it” button that appears after every review you write.

Dr. Frank`s Vinifera Wine Cellars Salmon Run Pinot Noir 2007 (SnoothRank: 0/5)
(April 2008)
Not sure if I'm crazy about this one. It's very light, almost effervescent, but it doesn't do anything. The flavor just sits on my tongue and doesn't go anywhere or blossom into anything. Every sip would be forgettable – although that's not much help given the flashing lights in my rear-view mirror. myRating 1.5/5

DCF Advertising’s Marie Anti-Smoking Campaign

Today marks the launch of our “Marie from the Bronx” anti-smoking campaign for the New York City Health Department. If you’re a New Yorker, in the coming weeks you’ll be seeing a lot of the ads which feature Marie talking about how complications from smoking resulted in her having many of her fingers and her leg amputated. It’s a pretty amazing story, and working with Marie over the last year has been really cool, to say the least.

We just finished creating the DCF Advertising Blog where you can read up on this and some other campaigns we’ve been working on lately. Fun stuff. Now give me a cigarette.

Kidding…

Why does the site look ugly(er than usual)?

I’ve stripped away all my site’s CSS styles in honor of CSS Naked Day. It’s a silly attempt to make web designers feel more appreciated, but in all honestly I do think it’s a pretty creative idea. Plus, I’m naked right now so it just feels right.