This is uberlameo. Cedric was way cool! For a few years now, Cedric has been the PosterDevil for the fight against the fatal cancer which has now swept over 60% of the Tasmanian Devil population. Other devils showed some resistance when vaccinated, but none had immune responses as strong as that of Cedric. It was hoped by researchers that working with the chosen one, they would crack the code to stop the disease that is wiping out the devil population. It was not to be.
Rest in Peace my friend. May you be biting assholes, in heaven.
The Australian federal election is tomorrow. In a not-so-bizarre twist, Uncle Tony’s gone loopy(er).
No Voter is safe!!
Tomorrow, don’t vote Labor just because they have a female leader. Don’t vote Coalition just because Tony fills out a pair of Speedos quite strikingly. Don’t vote Green just because of this guy’s hat. For god’s sake, use your brain and make your own informed decision. As long as you do this, I won’t lecture you. And most importantly, don’t forget to buy your obligatory Sausage & Bread on the way out and show your support for the Dolphins Under 13 Netball Team.
While we’re on the subject of politics, Wyclef Jean has been scratched as a candidate for the upcoming Haitian presidential elections. Therefore, I now encourage you to join me in endorsing my main man, Basil Marceaux as the next governor of Tennessee…
At least Marceaux can say what he stands for in under 60 seconds, which is a hell of a lot more than I can say for Julz or Tone. Can you imagine either of the two leaders looking down the barrel of a camera and telling the Australian public in under a minute what they are going to do if elected?
In other news, it’s been a decent six months for new tunes. Highlights for me so far have been Options Paralysis, Meridional, HTDA, Daughters and with the little I’ve heard of the new Grinderman album, this too should be a strong release. But without a doubt, Crystal Castles II has received the highest rotation in my lounge / car / pc / office /mobile / laptop / iPod(s) / brain. If you have yet to give it a listen, do yourself a favour and go buy a copy. It sounds AMAZING on vinyl, and I’m thinking it will take one hell of an album to knock this off for my album of the year.
Shock! Atari Teenage Riot are back (& they’ve brought their iPhone app)!! This is a good thing. I like ATR heaps, and I firmly believe that there’s a place for this band at the front of the class. Although they (& I) are now ten years older, I’m sure they could still convince me to throw half a brick through a Bank’s front window if they asked me the right way. I’m rarely talked into anything, so band that possesses such influence needs to be respected! And while we are talking influence, the most important piece of music news in recent times is that Tom Ayara has returned from his back surgery (the world breaths a sigh of relief) & is back his desk giving tomorrow’s leaders the vision they need.
Unless you’re in the Klan, who doesn’t like this guy??
It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a worthy piece of kick arse viral marketing. Most of us have had the pleasure of seeing the killer Old Spice advert doing the rounds of the Interwebs over the last six months. The owners of Old Spice (Procter & Gamble Co) have seized on the popularity of the original advert, and have gone forth to release more than a handful of supporting videos over the last few days to capitalise on their good thing. There is now over 180 Old Spice Guy clips out there! As of today, these adverts account for eight of the top eleven most popular videos on YouTube.
Marketing agency Wieden+Kennedy’s “Smell Like A Man” campaign has been executed flawlessly. They’ve used this medium to engage the viewer as opposed to selling at the viewer. When was the last time you took enough notice of an advert in a newspaper to actually remember it?? I read a newspaper this morning and I couldn’t tell you a single product advertised, (let alone seeing LL Cool J having a fail swing for the Old Spice crown).
So most print is on the way out, and when adverts come on the television I’m usually at the fridge… But when I’m in front of my monitor, they’ve got me! (Just like I’ve got you now). We (the next 50 years of consumers) have grown up with the internet in our youth, which just reconfirms that this is the future of quality marketing.
In other news, Ginger is about to call an Australian election in the next 10 minutes, and the new Norma Jean album is fucking amazing.
Young Mark Zuckerberg has an interesting background when it comes to his little business. So much so that David Fincher (FightClub / Se7en) has seen fit to bring us The Social Network, à la ‘FaceBook, The Movie’.Now, I’m not really a movie buff, but having looked into who’s actually involved in this film, I have pretty high expectations for this to kick some serious arse (in both quality, and success)… and I’m sure Mark is in there for a slice of the box office, and good on him! It’s his beast, not yours. You just feed it! Everyone craves a good Love/Hate story, and more so when the lead has the legal right to release a coffee table book of all your deleted photos. It’s been a while since the last good business movie (Glengarry Glen Ross), but I’m thinking this could end up being Gen Y’s ‘Wall Street’.
N.B: I called this three months before release date.
I would like to take this opportunity to say some words about Kevin, and what I will say is this:
I wish Kevin my deepest & sincerest “Eat Shit”. As ‘Savior of the New Australia’, he will not even see out a full term. I wonder why?
The ETS is flawed. Trading carbon is NOT the way to address our carbon footprint. The rest of the world knows this. Why don’t we?
Half the Economy is over stimulated while the the other half goes broke. Thanks for the $900. It went a long way towards my Taiwanese television.
How’s that aboriginal housing plan coming along? You’ve built 2.4 dwellings now? Good for you Mate, good for you.
Australia’s Immigration policy is an abhorrent failure. I could start a new blog on this topic alone.
Why are we still at war again??
The 2020 Summit just became an academic circle jerk. A good idea, poorly executed… and where’s the report now anyway?
The Mining Super Profits Tax is the worst idea in Australian taxation history. Get treasury to ‘THINK’ (now there’s a novel idea).
Thanks for the deficit, DoucheNozzle!
At least Kev should now have fun in Canada… He will be warmly welcomed by their export minister.
But in fairness, Kevin’s not all bad. He did deliver better funding for Australian healthcare (ex W.A), a universal paid parental scheme, more school buildings and a very overdue apology to the Stolen Generation. All very important agendas, but unfortunately for him, the failures outweigh the successes 5:1. It’s simple to identify where he went wrong. He fell into the #1 business trap… he went in too hard, over promised and under delivered… and now it’s going to cost him his scalp.
Now, I just hope Ginger uses her brain. I think she will. Julia Gillard will be the voice of reason the people need to hear. Believable objectives with achievable outcomes will be the order, and if she plays it calm, the election will be a landslide.
But even if she drops the ball, what’s the worst that can happen?
Nothing brings newlyweds together quite like a trip to the Killing Fields.
Cambodia would have to be one of the cooler places I’ve been. The people here are amazing, their culture is beautiful (not too westernized… yet), and you can see the country is gearing up. Everywhere you look, there is construction, infrastructure & commerce on the move. Although it’s still early days, the seeds are being sown… and the crop should be exciting!
Of all the places I’ve been in the last few years, I consider Cambodia to be ‘Opportunity Central’. In terms of global business, I believe the next few decades will see the steady emergence of the developing world as ‘the place to be’. The B.R.I.C countries get most of the press in this area, but there are many other places on the planet that are hot on their heels which don’t get the media coverage they deserve. Cambodia is a country I’d be happy to set up shop in.
Anyone who understands the geography of the 38th parallel & the DMZ should have a fine, yet bewildered appreciation for just where it is I am standing. I also have little doubt that the fact I am wearing an “Obey” Public Enemy Jacket will make someone in the CIA chuckle as they log my profile into their database. But most importantly, North Korea is now Open for Business!
Favourite quotes: Stability: We are a government with solid security and very stable political system, without corruption and DPRK provides the lowest labor cost in all Asia.
(is that really something to advertise?)
They have a point though. I don’t think there is a more stable government on Earth, and their people did look painfully poor to me… But just so I have it straight, I’m not to worry about that lack of electricity, no running water or the threat of all out war, yeah?
It’s -41° here. Do you really know what that feels like? MINUS 41°!!
Russian winter is brutal. Being outside in this feels like consistently getting hit in the back of the head really hard by a maori bouncer, and I’m sure they use this fact to to jam a friendly foreigner looking to escape the pain 540 Rubles for a cup of coffee!! I can indeed confirm that Moscow IS the most expensive city on earth, but their coffee is a lifesaver!
Friendly Australian businessman stuck in an airport, sips coffee and starts new blog of incoherent ramblings while listening to Black Flag – ‘Damaged’.
In principle, this blog will be loosely structured around my global travels and three of my passions… Business (primarily entrepreneurism & economics), Music (primarily riffage) and Caffeine (primarily, in me). In the world of Professional Services, it is rare for business people to show much (if any) passion from their personal lives, as it is usually construed as being unprofessional or showing a weakness of character. I have chosen to challenge the stereotype of the Working Professional… and I know I’m not alone.
As the class of Gen X & Y Business Leaders come up through the ranks, I believe there will be a fundamental shift of how these new leaders will perceive, and be perceived. The asset of ‘Professional Uniqueness’ will begin to gain value in the business world as the idea of the ‘Traditional Suit’ fades away. Where that uniqueness comes from is up to the individual, but I have little doubt that professional uniqueness will become a valuable asset unto itself. Consumers today can get their business from anywhere, but I believe it’s the people behind the business who chose to engage the consumer that will truly be the people behind tomorrow’s successful businesses… and hey, who wants’ to be engaged by a douche bag??
