ThoughtSpurs

Sure it's cheesy. But for me this clip and the album evokes a time of my life I rather enjoyed, the early-mid 90s. Single. Living downtown in the the beautiful Endean apts (opposite the ferry building), classic sports car, ducati, creative director for an ad agency, on the town every night…evenings in with this album and melancholy. Tres, tres, chic. Tres, tres sexy…

I have never indulged in 'new year's resolution' and I resolve to stay true - one day before the end of the year - so I'm not caught in a paradox. Here's the thing. A year. A month. A day. A moment. Why leave it for a year? With each moment take responsibility for it's quality (which, of course, you are in charge of). A year is a man made concept after all. Happy new moment. Happy new moment. Happy new moment. Happy new moment. …

Me and Zoë, my daughter, at my office. I've been 44 for one hour and 44 minutes. Happy birthday to me.

Is that a good thing? 20 Questions about obscure design. I'm 20/20 (or 'sad' in the vernacular). What is your score?

Mariana, my friend from Argentina is in Auckland. She is a fashion designer and has a business selling through stores here. She lived in New Zealand for many years before returning home. She's also the coolest person on the planet. She tells me there are two Davids. The one who writes this blog and the real life me. I think I agree. But, when I think about it more I have to say that blogging and real life are fundamentally different things. Let's think about why…do you have a minute?…don't let me hold you up… Firstly, …I don't know who you are. I don't know what your interests really are. You may have arrived through a random link. You may be here because I showed up on Google when your searched…Kiwi ferrit fanciers (though until I publish this post, that is unlikely), or yurts. I do know than a significant percentage of you are returning visitors. Thank you. You both know who you are. Second. Because I don't know who you are (and yet you chose to visit) I don...

"When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from delusion it is called Religion" Robert M. Pirsig (author of Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance ) These videos of Richard Dawkins' (author of The God Delusion) two part documentary 'Root of all Evil?' makes astonishing viewing. Give yourself some time…watch them all. Make up your own mind. If you can. Root of all Evil? Part 1 Root of all Evil? Part 2 Root of all Evil? Part 3 Root of all Evil? Part 4 Root of all Evil Part? 5 Root of all Evil? Part 6 Root of all Evil? Part 7 Root of all Evil? Part 8 Root of all Evil? Part 9 Root of all Evil? Part 10

Thankfully Christmas is over for another year. I managed to avoid any feeling of faux goodwill to all men and the decision to avoid gift giving beyond my own children was a move worthy of wise men. Of course I also feel something of a hypocrite even acknowledging Christmas at all. You see, I am not a member of the Christian cult, or any for that matter and I have a healthy scepticism of people who are. It is my birthday in a couple of days. My son asked what I would like. I have requested a copy of The God Delusion. If he's clever he'll get a copy from the public library, wrap it (optional) and offer to return it for me. I heard the author being interviewd on the radio the other day and thought it was refreshing to hear someone discuss a sensitive topic so forthrightly. How much of political correctness stems from pussyfooting around other people's beliefs. Why? I don't see the point. In my opinion, if you want to hold nutty views of the world, then that is fine by me...

Muffle the drum. The One & Only James Brown!

Did you ever buy the Stephen Hawkins book A Brief History of Time ? Early nineties. Some of you must have. It was a monumental best-seller. I bought one. Never read it though. Couldn't. It was impenetrable rubbish. Not for me. Literally. The book was touted as a populist thesis. But maybe I missed something,…a meeting or something? Well, I've decided to do something useful for the new year. If you have a copy of A Brief History of Time , send it to me. Why? I want to make clever igloos for the world's homeless out of copies of the book. Finally, a use… Send to: David MacGregor c/o P.O. Box 90 096 Auckland New Zealand Send this to a friend - let's change the world…

It's Christmas morning. Gifts have been exchanged. Taylor was chuffed with his fully monte poker chip set and the various golf doodads. I was well pleased with 'The World According to Jeremy Clarkson'…Now he's off with his maternal grandparents and I'm left to catch up on some of my favourite blogs, and have a little read before hitting the road for the Christmas Day Tour 06 - The joy of a 21st Century nuclear meltdown family. On my brief tour of the blogosphere I found a new toy, let it be my gift to you. I hope you like it. Unfortunately I got it from a street vendor, so it can't be exchanged. Merry Christmas, thanks for visiting this year - returning visitors represent nearly 30% of total visitor numbers and the number of readers has increased steadily over the year. S'quite fun really…

I have been undertaking an online seminar, developed by Sony called " How To Think Like da Vinci ".It is one of a range of workshops and seminars offered for free online covering a wide range of topics under the heading SONY 101 . Check them out here. I was fascinated by Leonardo daVinci when I was at high school, mostly for the breadth of his work, rather than his paintings. I never really liked rennaissance art - for all its virtues. I wasn't aware of Leo's seven principles until now…let me paraphrase from the introduction to the course. The Seven Principles Curiosita An insatiably curious approach to life and an unrelenting quest for continuous learning. …genius is born when that quality of curiosity continues throughout life. Leonardo da Vinci was insatiably curious. He possessed the openness and energy of a child combined with the focus and discipline of maturity. He was curious about everything. His theme was the quest to find the essence of truth and beauty. D...

It has been a busy day. Whether it is the heat or old age I am feeling sleepy and it is only quarter to four in the afternoon. I'll put it down to the heat. I have been reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything . He makes the excellent point that " for me to be here now trillions of drifting atoms had to somehow assemble in an intricate and curiously obliging manner to create you. It's an arrangement so specialised and particular that it has never been tried before and will only exist this once. For the next many years (we hope) these tiny particles will uncomplainingly in all the billions of deft, co-operative efforts necessary to keep you intact and let you experience the supremely agreeable but generally under appreciated state known as existence " Good point. I shall ponder it as my particular particles feel ever so slightly disengaged. Taking the point a little further and putting aside my under appreciated state I am amazed at the stuff outs...

I watched The Ferocious Mr Fixit again tonight. TV1, 9.30, Thursdays (NZ). I suggest you do too. Insightful. Who needs McKinsey & Co. Alisdair Jeffrey is smart and has what it takes to make the right recommendation (I suspect that's not an MBA - though I've been wrong before…) Take care that you don't disrupt the Alice in Wonderland kiwi employment rules.

Matt Cooney, the thoroughly gentlemanly editor of Idealog has asked me to send him my next column about advertising for the magazine. Sometimes I feel a little like a fraud writing about the subject. Putting aside the aesthetics of advertising (if you follow this blog you'll know I delight in cleverly conceived and executed commercials), I find it a little awkward because I feel the advertising business must move forward. As it stands it is very old fashioned. There is a gigantic shift coming - I can sense it - and I fear that the education of young advertising people is preparing them for the business as it was in the 1970's. Does that sound harsh? I don't mean it to be. The main issue I have is that the narrative form widely used in advertising is based on a logic that doesn't seem to hold water anymore. Beginning, middle, end. I don't really have any answers, but plenty of questions. I suppose that is a good thing? Perhaps that should be my theme for the column?...

I was just reading about the Bugatti Veyron. It has a 1001 horsepower engine. That's quite a lot. It costs US$1.3 million. That's quite a lot. It travels at 250 miles per hour and gets there quicker than it took me to type 'It travels at 250 miles per hour'. Santa, if you exist. I've been good for goodness sakes. For those of you who think the Veyron is an environmental and economic disgrace. You might take pleasure from being right. But never has something so wrong been so right. It makes me feel better to imagine the catastrophic effect of 4004 wild horses hoofs charging over the landscape (1001 horses x 4 legs). Read about the jawdroppingly awesome Bugatti here .

I was trying to explain how I feel about conversation to a friend…how some people are 'nice' but don't really add much. It came out kind of wrong. Then I was spending a little time in the Library at Rotorua and I stumbled across a remark by The One & Only Jack Kerouac that, curiously enough, explained. " But then they danced down the street like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww! "" 'bout sums it up. Kerouac's On The Road P.S. This will be the first Christmas without my father, who died a couple of months bac...

If you're not aquiring new skills it won't take long before you are left behind. I saw a report off the wires on TV about an 86 year old man who recently became the world's oldest primary school pupil. I gather he has become something of a celebrity. Good for him. Watch the newsreport from the curiously titled New Tang Dynasty TV (requires real player). Hey, you can even buy Life Long Learning T-shirts (and other merchandise) from my online store.

Teaching 19 -25 year olds I sometimes find it helpful to remember that most of them were born in around 1987. Some of my references to popular culture fly over their heads either because the weren't born yet or the subject might as well be a cave painting in France. Punk rock had started 10 years before and died soon after. So it was interesting to read a speech by John Naughton to the English Society of Editors about declining newspaper readership - or more specifically why the average age of a newspaper reader in the UK is 54 (and rising). "…These are the future, my friends. They're here and living among us. They're not very interested in us, and I'm not sure I blame them. The best we can hope for is that one day they may keep us as pets." Read the full content Young people don't like us. Who can blame them?

I just watched the movie Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy with my 14 year old son. Loved the radio play by Douglas Adams when I was a kid - and the BBC show that followed. The film is average. The script wanders away from the original story in many ways. What I liked about it was that Taylor, my son connected with the idea. I found my original paper back (1982 edition) and felt a strong emotional tug. I wrote my name on the inside front cover with the message "This book belongs to David MacGregor…if you steal it I will track you down…be warned, there can be no escape." I'm going to read it again this weekend. There are phrases I still remember word perfect after 25 years. Douglas Adams , its creator, is a clearly The One & Only. Footnote: The West Wing just came on TV. Do you think that there are clusters of people in the word who really do speak in complete micro Gettysberg Address es and don't interrupt each other?

Stop attending press releases. It authenticates forged credentials. Don't repreat the meme 'Cleaning up government". It is an unsubtantiated rubbish. You are being sucked in. Pull the plug on every point of contact. Leave it to Mel

What is cool? Not really a question I ask much, what with being about as cool as a cardigan myself. Thankfully there are people who obsess about coolness, marketers, advertising agencies and the like. I remember seeing an American PBS documentary called The Merchants of Cool presented by Douglas Rushkoff ( you can watch the entire show on the web - thank you public broadcasting - there are also some excellent support resources on the site ). One of the most striking things about the show is the opening scene where a market researcher is conducting a focus group with some teenagers. Of course they are inarticulate and awkward, but I found it amusing that though hunting for the cool code, the interviewer asks the subjects what is 'hot', as if to cleverly mask his true intentions. As the documentary unfolds there is commentary on the cynical nature of the merchandising of cool, the inter-relationships of media outlets like Viacom and the vested interests of business in manipulati...

I went along to the end of year bash for the Freelance co-op called The Pond after work yesterday.I was the guest of the talented Mr Langridge . It is funny how the perceptions about freelancers has shifted from being people who weren't good enough to get a proper job to simply being clever people available as an external resource. I had an interesting chat with one of the group who said he liked freelancing because he stayed 'hungy'. Not because he's not getting enough work, but excited about doing great work. I haven't worked in an agency for some time but I had always had the view that you were only really as good as your last ad anyway. When a job was done I was immediately on the mooch for another brief. I was shocked to hear that agency creatives have become complacent. Why? Well, simple really, the employment contract laws make it hard to get rid of duds. There seem to be complaints to the employment court preformatted like wills in the bottom drawers of many...

Yes, I blog elsewhere. My latest on Idealog has my first ever editorial cartoon,…way hay ! Auckland has a fleet of rickshaws that take visitors around for free. Intend to make full use from here on in.They hang around outside my office on the viaduct after all.

Flipped on Prime TV to watch Weeds . (Wed, 9.30) Found Dead Like Me instead. The pilot seems like a funky combination of Six Feet Under and The Gilmore girls . It's part of the line that I think was pioneered by Ally McBeal , and the subsequent, aforementioned Six Feet Under and even Boston Legal . The genre seems to promote absurd plots in mundane settings. Like Six Feet Under, Dead Like Me treats death like life. The classic dream-within-a-dream trope. I like it, like the interaction between the Mandy Patinkin character and the dead teenager - who embodies the surly whateverness of teenagers - trying hard to be unphased by the grim facts of grim reaping and at the same time being horrified by the task. Sort of like the relationship my 14 year old son has with washing pots and pans. Perhaps I should convince him that it is part of his magical reality?

As you know, if you are one of the nine return visitors to this blog, I opposed the hasty construction of the waterfront stadium. Now the neighbours of Eden Park are up in arms over the prospect of a towering monstrosity in their backyard, blocking out the sun. The promise of being visible from space holds no allure. I feel sorry for them. It points to the simple fact that stadiums (rather cutely called stadia in the paid-up media), are simply god-awful things that require long range planning, not quick fix solutions. My suggestion, to make stadiums more appropriate to a human scale would be to excavate a big hole in the ground, like a greek or roman Amphitheatre and have a more modest superstructure. 'Course digging a big hole ain't going to happen in Mt Eden - you can imagine the cost of blasting the volcanic rock…be like digging a big hole and throwing money in it. Mind you, any stadium is going to be a collossal money pit . Worth a thought though. More importantly must keep...

I don't remember jokes very well. I have a small repertoire I can remember and deliver with confidence. Hence, if I tell you a joke you will be highly likely to have heard it before. One I tell reasonably well goes as follows: Two race horses are in their favourite bar having a drink, following a big day at the the track. After a cleansing ale or two one horse feels relaxed enough to share the extraordinary experiences he had been having at the track… "There's something strange that happened today, I was in the gates at trentham, the 2.15, favourite to win…track firm, just as a I like it…atmosphere electric…the gun goes…BAM!!!…Normally I'm quite smart out of the blocks...but today…vavoom! Unbelievable...I felt a red hot poker sensation right up my jacksee!…I was off! I'm telling you I won in record time" His friend takes a long thoughtful draw on his pint and says… "Unbelievable…I've been keeping this to myself, but I have to tell you…same thing happe...

Fiji has a new national sport. It's called Coup D'Etat. I don't know why New Zealand gives the Fijian military the airtime they do. It only encourages them. I guess it gives TV One's Simon Dallow the opportunity to broadcast live from Suva as Fijian soldiers drive around in trucks looking bored. He thus establishes his chops as a war correspondent and therefore the future right to wear safari suits. Hardly Baghdad is it? Bula!

Here is something very cool. If you are a designer creating a unique brand language for your clients you will love this tool available free from Adobe. It's called Kuler and, quite frankly, I have never seen a web application that is cooler. Here's how it works. Log on and create a colour theme with the flash generated tool box, manipluate the palette of 5 colours using 7 variable settings: Analogous, Monochromatic, Triad, Complementary, Compound, Shades and Custom. Modify using sliders if you like. You can also extract the RGB, CMYK and HEX numbers to translate to other programmes like Quark or Photoshop. Save your creations and share them with other users. Check the creations of other users, rate them. It's useful and great fun. I am not much chop with colour, so I love this!

I am trawling through the stats of the 157 entries I have made on this blog since November 2004 (I can hardly remember a time without blogging). I thought it would be fun to do a 'best of', maybe the top 5 by page views and the top 5 of my favourites. It's quite a big job...

On one of my other blogs - about blogging ( The New Yak Times ) which, unfortunately I haven't had the time to keep as fresh as I would hope. I got a little kick to have recieved a comment from the legendary Guy Kawasaki when I remarked on a movie shown on his blog. Technology evangelist that he is he suggested a better version of the presentation using a new thing called Veotag. This technology adds chapter divisions like a DVD to a video. Checkout the Art of the Start and Kawasaki's interview with Steve Wozniak (the creator of the Apple). It's time to stop thinking about 'web sites', time to start thinking web CHANNEL. By the way, if you use the Firefox browser check out the cool plug ins - I'm loving Cool Iris. If you don't use Firefox - you should. Download it for free here. . Another plug in - Performancing (which I am using now) allows me to blog directly from the browser without leaving the page I am on - genius.

Came across this little gem, it looks like it came from the 1970s, but could easily have been created last week…featuring the dulcet tones of Orson Welles. On Wednesday morning (6 Dec), 8am you are welcome to come to Coffee Morning at Strawberry Alarmclock cafe in Parnell. The details are here on the Idealog site

Well, I am delighted. When I referred back to the interestingness video by Jeffre Jackson of the planning firm Open Intelligence Agency I heard the quote about reading ads again but wondered who Howard Gossage was. I looked on the Wikipedia (which I find more useful than Google for specific leads and information - and for checking student essays for plagiarism), but there was no reference. Though maybe I spelled it wrong. So I went back to Google and found a terrific tribute site to Howard Luck Gossage - The 'Socrates of San Francisco' and advertising's 'most articulate critic'. I can't understand why I had never heard of Gossage, even if only through quotations or reputation. He seems to have been lost in the literature - at least in this part of the world. Gossage certainly counts as The One Only and an iconoclast of high distinction. I enjoyed learning about his concept of The Extra-environmental Man (person, if you want to be anachronistically PC about...

One of my students wrote a research proposal about product placement in movies. Reading it got me thinking. Some commercials, some of the best, feature the sponsor's product as an incidental part of the narrative. A couple come very quickly to mind, Flat Eric for Levis and skating priests for Stella Artois. My interpretation of the charmingly existential Levis ad is that non-iron chinos could be cool - whereas they might have been perceived as naff before the campaign. The Stella commercial is a part of the superb campaign that understates the overstatement of the postioning 'reassuringly expensive'. The performances are brilliant, the casting superb and all of the craftwork employed in the making as good as any film. What genius to have the product inherent in the story but never overtly touted. Flat Eric: Levis, Bartle Bogle Hegarty , 1999. Skating Priests: Stella Artois, Lowe London Both are evidence that commuication with a degree of subtlety is far more engaging than u...

Thelonius Monk said: "Writing about jazz is like dancing to architecture." (although I have also seen a more general variation of the quote attributed to Laurie Anderson ). The remark probably doesn't stand up to rigorous scrutiny and may, indeed, be simply a form of passive aggression. But I like the juxtaposition of thought - expressing a simple idea in a syncopated fashion - and for that reason, and the fact that he predated Anderson, I prefer the attribution to Monk. It has got me thinking about the very idea of writing about creativity. Is there much point? Surely it is better to be creative than to dissect the creativity of others. After all, dissection, normally involves the death of the subject. Perhaps the answer lies in the discussion of innovation - or the application of creativity - rather than the mysterious processes that result in invention. There are some who seek to codify creativity and democratise the concept. But creativity isn't a concept, an ad...

Gareth Morgan was notable before he became tagged as father of Sam Morgan, creator of TradeMe , the biggest hit on the web by a New Zealand company (so far as I am aware). He is an iconoclast, and an economist famous for his direct manner. Quite possibly he is the 'one handed' economist that U.S. President Harry Truman longed for - on that did not leaven their advice with "…but on the other hand…" Morgan senior wrote an interesting article, published on his web site that discusses the sale of TradeMe earlier this year from the perspective of commercial creativity and education, two of my hobby horses. Morgan says "From the perspective of the ‘creative destruction’ that is the essence of a vibrant, productive economy this is extremely encouraging for the prospects of the New Zealand economy. It sends a message one hopes, to the innovative, creative, and independent amongst our youth – that On-line technology provides a platform upon which they can create value ...

I have a new Saturday morning ritual. Drop my son at cricket or golf, or whichever sporting fixture he has on, head back to the city, do a tour of the new city farmer's market (just a few stall at the moment but growing every week), then over the Britomart to Santos for coffee and breakfast with the Newspaper. Very civilised. The Britomart development is already bringing new life to the downtown area with new shops like the 'very Martha' Urban Loft, Markt for funky european mid century furnishings and, this week, some new fashion stores. Who needs a rugby stadium?

I had lunch with my co-founders of Idealog magazine at the place where we first met, Dizengoff on Ponsonby Road. I seem to be spending too much time in Ponsonby. In the car, driving back to the city, we got talking about 'Truth in Advertising'. Then, back in my office, as chance would have it a colleague directed me to these clips on YouTube. Having worked in the business since the early 80's I can report that there is indeed truth in advertising. Sadly it goes unexpressed in most cases. The film has adult themes. You've been warned.

I have to confess to being a baby boomer. A late boomer (late bloomer too, come to think of it…only just started shaving). In chronological terms that makes me 43. So, not young, but not so old either. The other day I went to a fashionable Auckland cafe called Bambina. Actually I should say that it is more 'smart' than fashionable. Having been around since at least 1997 or 98 it has become something of an institution. I rather like the big central table, surrounded by chairs. Very communal, sort of like you might see at a childrens daycare/playcentre. There is a a long line of magazines arrayed through the centre, though not Idealog I noticed. Must have been stolen or in use… But here's the thing. I must have been the youngest person there. The well-heeled, fashionably dressed customers were all 45 plus, huddled in the café at 8 am, meeting before work. It was a vision of what the rest homes of the very near future will be like. Be afraid.

Day 1. 1. Motorola MOTOKRZR I went along to the launch of a new phone. Weird, but true. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. In a funny sort of way I guess I thought I might learn something. Given that it was Motorola I though there might be some innovation. Stupid, naive boy. It was a cocktail party. The idea was to create a photo opp for Charlotte Dawson and other 24-hour party people regulars. In the absence of innovation (the phone has a glossy, reflective case), …play the fashion card. I don’t know the retail price, but I am guessing it comes at a premium. Yet it doesn’t even have G3 technology built in. I did get to meet some very interesting people that I wouldn’t usually have encountered. Tanya Thompson and Steve Hodge were interesting company (Tanya is the artist A.K.A. Misery who graced the cover of our best selling edition of Idealog). The promo pack I was given as I left was an equal disgrace. I’ve never seen anything as wasteful. Shrink-wrapped outer box. Lift the lid…revea...

I remember two things about Miss May’s class at Mount Eden Normal Primary School in 1969. First was listening to Neil Armstrong setting foot on the surface of the moon, broadcast over the school’s classroom intercom system. I was six, sitting cross legged on the mat… a man of the world, because I had travelled with my family from Scotland by boat, venturing through the bleak streets of Naples, my mum’s hand firmly gripped in one hand and my die-cast Thunderbird 2 (with fully operational Thunderbird 4 pod) in the other for safety; and skirting through the war in the Suez Canal prevented from stopping in Aden because of the shooting. I had even integrated with the strange sounding natives of New Zealand, with their weird accents, and suddenly it all paled with the words “One small…crackle…step…crackle…for man…”. But even that shock didn’t prepare me for what was to follow. Mathematics traumatised me like nothing I had ever known. When introduced to those little coloured blocks (whose nam...

Get in early. Stop it from being built. Save a billion or so. Rugby World Cup in Christchurch. Planned development of Auckland a separate issue.

If there is no one there to hear it does it make a sound? I spend too much time reading and writing blog entries. I suppose. My problem is that, though I know it is quite widely read, my rudimentary statistic package tells me that I've had over 8,000 visitors in the past few months and that about 25% are returning visitors. I'm interested in whether you find the content of the blog interesting and/or useful. Even if you are uncomfortable with leaving a public comment you can email me feedback or ideas by email

Collaboration is my hot button. It is all well and good having many great ideas. But getting them done usually requires people with complementary and specialised skills. I came accross an interesting collaborative project from MIT. It combines an Undergraduate Artist Emma Lindsay with a Media Lab Graduate Researcher Amber Frid-Jimenez. Click here to visit . The premise is simple: Tag an online movie with audiotags using the telephone. So users can leave commentary and opinion about the film by phone. Augmenting the collaboration is the addition of Japanese subtitles courtesy of a Visiting Researcher from Japan). The first of the movies is hardly brain surgery "How Do Average Guys Get With Hot Girls?" and the 7 second phone in commentaries reflect the topic, but the possibilites for the application, which widens the collaboration to the viewer network must have potential. I'd like to see a non linear way of experiencing the phone ins. Maybe there is some application to ext...

Let's face it. I can't implement every idea that pops into my head. So I'm giving them away. Open source ideas. Every Friday on the idealog magazine website. You might find something there that either stimulates another idea of your own. Or you could pick up mine and run with it. Free. The very idea would probably horrify an IP lawyer. Rule number one when you have an idea you plan to commercialise it then you have to keep it to yourself. Whn you don't, then your idea is in the public domain. Check out this week's Free Idea Friday And the first one...

I watched the show Risking it All on tv one just now. Possibly the best business show I have seen since The TroubleShooter, starring Sir John Harvey Jones. If you are at all interested in setting up a business make an appointment for 9.30 Thursday on TV ONE (NZ)

"Deliberation is the function of many. Action is the function of one." Charles de Gaulle

I like that Converse the shoe maker (now owned by Nike) go about their marketing in a different way. They've really embraced the audience that love their Chucks. I love mine, though they make my feet smell for that authentic retro ambience. Check out Mr Anderson, an authentic boy in a bubble. One & Only for certain. The converse site is well worth a visit. While you're window shopping, I like Bend to Baja for the Patagonia brand as well (how to make an established outdoor adventure apparel brand get quick traction with the surfing fraternity. There is something to be said for whimsy.

I am speaking at the Careers and Transition Educators (CATE) Conference next week in Rotorua. Introducing high school guidance councellors to the concept of the creative economy and working through some of the issues I believe are important for our kids when they leave high school. It's one thing to talk to jaded business people, it's quite another to talk to educators. I came across this movie on a blog I get a feed from Another Planning Blog. I can promise you that I won't be singing in my workshops. Ever. Watch the clip it is what I can only describe as surreal. The Office meets Singstar:

Following some random links on the web I found a shopping site that has some features I've never seen before. Like.com . It makes the Ferrit experience seem a little feral (in spite of their very funny new ad campaign). Oh, and you can buy Idealog on Ferrit , can't be all bad.

The Lord of the Rings meant a lot to me when I was a kid. It seems that turning the thing into a film(s) spoiled the magic for me. I preferred my own imagination to Peter Jackson's and the Weta Workshop's. To commemorate the publication of Peter Jackson's authorised biography check out this charming little ditty from YouTube. When the time is right I'll write my autobiography. It will, of course, be unauthorised.

Interest in things like farmer's markets seems to be gaining momentum. I was interested to see that the Britomart area in downtown Auckland is going to host one. That's great for me, its a stone's throw from my apartment. A welcome addition to the neighbourhood. Bluewater group are making great progress in bringing life back to the once derelict precinct. ( read the article in Idealog. ) The proposed stadium on the Bledisloe wharf is an insane idea an ugly carbuncle and the wrong thing to put on Auckland's waterfront. The whole process smells rotten. I'll talk more about this when the rage subsides.

Short entry. I have enjoyed watching the Dragon's Den. We sponsored the Australian series with Idealog magazine and I think it did wnders for our fledgling profile. The kiwi series has just finished. Not really up to snuff, not enough respect betwen the 'dragons'. The local producers didn't seem to have the maturity to understand the concept and much of the feedback I have heard from seasoned business people confirms my view (though I would be interested to hear yours). The British show was the best of the three. The BBC have a good site to support the series. I found this on the site I think will be useful to anyone who wants to persuade someone to come on board with their idea. (make sure you click the video link at the top of the story).

I like this, The Blower's Daughter by Damian Rice, made famous by the film soundtrack Closer. Am I going soft in my old age? What is the difference between sentiment and nostalgia? For years I wanted to make a compilation of sad songs and call it 'Good Grief' (in the dot com era I even owned the URL). I'm sure it would be a hit. Who doesn't have favourite sad songs. Now it's just a playlist on my iTunes. I've had an idea. I found that a lot of the music I loved at different parts of my life are on YouTube. I thought it would be amusing to make a web page with a time line incorporate the clips and mae a matrix of associations with events that were hapeening at the time - for me, and in the wider world. Hard to describe…haven't thought it through completely.Who'd have thought that Rory Galagher's million miles away would be on video on he web. He was the first live act I ever saw. Auckland town hall, 1980 (if I remember rightly).

I don't know if you saw this on 6o Minutes last night, or if you have been one of the 5 and a half million people who have seen it on YouTube. This story is yet another example of both Generation C at work and the democratisation of media. It goes like this…Teen band make a video of a guy giving away hugs one day a week in a Sydney, Australia, shopping mall. His name is Juan Mann (classic). The City Council bans him from his work unless he buys public liability insurance. The guy in the band (who works in a shop - they are not a hit band at this point) documents the petition process, then sets a song he has recorded to the edited clips using his mome computer. The result is touching and the song fits acceptably into that kind of angsty rock ballad format. Before you know it, Good Morning America and Oprah come-a-knocking and 15 minutes of fame is extended a litle further. With luck and good management The Sick Puppies will parlez it into a career. Heartwarming stuff,…yes? Perfect ...

There's a line in a Malcolm MacLaren 'song' - All this scratchin' is makin' me itch . I think it was Buffalo Girls . I may be wrong and, given that Google is at my fingertips,that may be unforgivable. That's one of the sad side-effects of the internet. I, or you for that matter, can be endlessly right about all sorts of things. Just the other day a friend emailed me from her office, asking what character in what film spoke the line: " Mr Phat has just resigned. I'm the new chairman of the board. He always did like that Mausoleum. [dramatic pause] Put him in it ". It sounded a bit Ian Flemmingish, and a quick trip to the Internet Movie Database confirmed it within seconds. James Bond - Man with the Golden Gun (spoken by Christopher Lee in character as Francesco Scaramanga). What might once have passed as General Knowledge had become Specific Knowledge. I am not quite ready to let go of uncertainty.I felt a pang of nostalgia for the days of blissf...

I don't know when the interview I am watching on UKTV was recorded, but Micheal Parkinson and Madonna has to be an irresistable match, right? Just after her disco oriented record date stamps it is my guess. American readers might not know who Parkinson is (long running talk show host) but I am certain you've heard of Madonna (who somewhere, somehow, earned the moniker 'Madge'). She has been in the news recently for her interest in adopting african children. I don't understand the furore about that. She can adopt me if she wants. I'd rather like having a nanny. Though a governess might be more appropriate. Madonna qualifies as The One & Only. Anybody prepared to disagree with me? The show reminds me of Paul Jeffreys, Squeeze, my erstwhile business partner (now deceased) who made the very shrewd decision to buy not one-but two copies of Madonna's controversial book ' Sex '. His idea was to open one (they came in a sealed foil bag) and leave the oth...

Martin Brown, who publishes the New Zealand Creative Circle blog , wrote a column in Idealog magazine describing some Australian clients as 'Muppets'. These archive films from the late 50's are conclusive proof that there have always been muppets in advertising. There are more on youTube, but I think you get the picture. Sometimes advertising ain't an intellectual thing.

Moulin Rouge , by Baz Luhrman, is one of my favourite films. Yes, it is ridiculous in parts. On first viewing it is disorienting. Repeated viewings are worth the effort. Luhrman describes his style as 'red curtain' theatre. No cinema veritae for him. If you are going to die of consumption, then do it with panache. The style harks to that mad form of musical theatre, opera. In fact Baz was an operatic director before moving to movies. His production of La Boheme broke from convention. Rather than simply casting the usual suspects as singers and chorus, based on experience and ability to fill a large theatre with unmicrophoned song, he developed the curious notion that beautiful young people, the bohemians, should actually be…beautiful young people. How odd. Moulin Rouge owes much to Luhrman's Boheme (which had Melbourinians lining the streets to secure tickets). The tango sequence is one of the best in the movie, the disruptive combination of the old Police song Roxanne wi...

#118- “It’s amazing how well you interpreted the brief. This piece is exactly what we wanted, you could not have made it any better, I love it. But I also think it’s too good. This is for a bigger client, a more international one. We’re not like that. See if you can do something shittier that we can use.” (Client, Marketing Manager) If you have ever worked in advertising and design the Adverbatum blog will have you laughing out loud and thinking, at the same time, I have heard this before, because the truth is that creative people are subjected to ignorance and stupidity on a daily basis. Of course the phenomena is a two way street. I'd love to see a blog by clients and account managers that detail the absurd, the ridiculous and bombastic twaddle that sometimes comes from the 'creative department'. Hmmm, I can think of a few I've been responsible for. Reminds me of an anecdote (apocryphal?) about forgotten kiwi advertising legend Len Potts (who entertained us with some...

When I began this blog it was intended to be rather more focused on my concept of the One & Only, which, simply put is an expression of individuality and authenticity in branding. I have referred to the worlds of art and entertainment, because it is often in those realms that iconoclasm holds forth by design or simply by dint of genetics. I recently watched a documentary on television about the abilities of savants, sometimes known as idiot savants or people who have a form of autism that grants them access to particular skills and abilities and denies them eery day abilities to engage with the world as others do. The film Rainman was, perhaps the most well know depiction of the condition. One chap captured my imagination in a dramatic way. Through a random blog link I found that the segment of the documentary about Peter Wiltshire was on YouTube. Wiltshire is flown in a helicopter over the city of Rome. Though he has never seen the vista before he will draw it in impeccable detail...