Playbook for Business Designers
Obama’s statements on closing Guantanamo and eliminating torture as a US policy struck me as very important. This clip, “because living our values doesn’t make us weaker, it makes us safer and it makes us stronger”, holds weight not just in the case of torture policy. It extends the message that we need to focus not on doing things right, but doing the right things to right our country. The right things may be difficult to accept initially, but that is the only path to sustainable change.
YongFook in Singapore is grabbing attention with cheap tactics.
To ‘talk cock’: (Singapore). Hold-up! That’s the phrase to talk nonsense or engage in idle chatter. I haven’t gone back to my old, profanity and sexual-innuendo-laden blogging ways.
Notwithstanding the spam-like cheap tactics, this innuendo was actually a serious attempt to gather web professionals and industry thought-leaders to come and talk enthusiastically and authoritatively about ROI, business metrics and measurement, social media campaign strategies, and simple ways you can measure the success.
DRMM architects and WallPaper magazine. Lovely little sponsored content film, it’s short, maybe 5 minutes running time. Paid I suspect with Wallpaper’s advertising partners. Inspiring idea for a modular house. When advertising becomes more like content, the more I like it.
In the words of Clay Mathile, former owner of The Iams Company,
“To be a successful entrepreneur, you must have unwavering faith and commitment to your dreams, no matter how many obstacles are put in your path. Aileron was built to help America’s aspiring entrepreneurs of today and for generations to come…”
Aileron seeks to nurture entrepreneurship by providing ongoing education and development to those who seek to start or grow their respective businesses.
“…I believe that entrepreneurs perform the most noble acts of anyone in a free society. By putting their capital at risk and creating jobs for others, they keep the Great American Dream alive. We believe that those who engage themselves in all that we endeavor to share will grow in knowledge and passion to take their business and their dreams to the next level.”
Clay Mathile”
Helping you achieve those dreams and becoming a champion of free enterprise are the foundation upon which Aileron was built. Our mission is simple: to create an environment 
for owners of private enterprise to implement professional management. To achieve that mission, we’ve developed a variety of services tailored to the specific needs of the private business owner. From a state-of-the-art campus 
and one-on-one consulting services to our popular Course for Presidents and other programs and workshops, you’ll find the resources you need to plan for a successful future.
Clay Mathile, whose own story shows the rewards that can come with calculated risk. In 1975, he bought a 50 percent ownership stake in Iams, the pet food company, which at that point was on the verge of failing. By 1982, Mathile owned all of Iams, and he grew it from a six-figure business to one that in 1999 had nearly a billion dollars in sales.
What Aileron means and why we chose it:
ai·le·ron n. — One of two movable flaps on the wings of an airplane that can be used to control the plane’s rolling and banking movements. –American Heritage Dictionary
And here are just a few of the reasons Aileron fits with our business and our mission:
* Riding in an airplane provides a different view of the world. To reach their goals, leaders need to break out of the day-to-day grind and look at their organizations from a 30,000-foot “big-picture” perspective.
* An aileron guides the plane and gives it direction. Professional management and its components provide control, stability and the means to keep your organization on the right course.
* Planes take you to new places. Learning about professional management will do the same for you and your business.
* Business leaders are the pilots of their organizations. Aileron is the friendly voice on the radio providing guidance to help you reach your destination.
* Aviation is all about forward motion. Aileron is here to help you move toward your goals.
* Our name is a nod to the rich aviation history of the Dayton community.
* It takes a lot to keep a plane up in the air. Thrust and momentum are essential, but they aren’t enough to guarantee success. To get where you want to go, you also need expert navigation and control.
Hitachi’s true stories campaign is one of those moments where we all should thank the gods in advertising for such wisdom and commitment to the power of real. Equally proud of what Code and Theory did with the flash experience. It’s the right kind of big screen cinema canvas, highly fluid and delicately handled interface and flash design.
Tom Clifford said of the approach:
It’s the simplest code in corporate filmmaking.
Here’s the code:1. Real people.
2. Real stories.
3. Real emotions.It’s pretty simple, yes?
25 years ago, Ridley Scott directed what is arguably the most powerful and memorable commercials the world has even seen. It’s still a remarkable spot. We salute this visionary director.
T-Mobile invaded London’s Liverpool Street station yesterday on Jan 15th to the shock and amazement of onlookers.
350 dancers performed surprise routines as commuters passed through the concourse of Liverpool Street Station at 11am yesterday. ‘Dance’, created by Saatchi & Saatchi London, was produced using hidden TV cameras within the station, which captured the reactions of commuters as they watched the dancers perform. The three-minute guerrilla-style ad, which is part of T-Mobile’s ‘Life’s for Sharing’ campaign aired on British terrestrial TV.
The dancers were similar to Internet based “flash mobs” where hundreds of people organise to meet in a public place and have water fights, pillow fights or parties. As you can see from the video above, the public were initially shocked but got into the swing of things eventually.
Soundtrack “To Build a Home” by The Cinematic Orchestra. From their Album Ma Fleur. I think this spot touches the right kind of noble sensibility. Good for them for aligning the product with those honorable values.
Catlin Arctic trek to reveal true extent of melting ice caps. The team will also stop one to three times a day to drill holes in the ice. From this they will take more detailed measurements of cores and the ocean below.
Would one rather stay in the Antarctica cabins of Halley VI?
David twittered this morning: “Read ‘a day at el bulli’, Ferran Adria’s book. His creative methods are easily transferable to other domains, brilliant process”
A Day at el Bulli: An Insight into the Ideas, Methods and Creativity of Ferran Adria reveals for the first time the creative process, innovative philosophy and extraordinary techniques of the multi-award-winning restaurant, el Bulli, and its legendary head chef, Ferran Adria. Situated on a remote beach on the northeast coast of Spain, el Bulli is famous for being the ultimate pilgrimage site for foodies, and a reservation that is nearly impossible to obtain. Each year el Bulli is open for just six months, and receives more than 2 million requests for only 8,000 seats. Renowned for his spectacular ever-changing 30-course tasting menu, Adria’s pioneering culinary techniques have been applauded – and imitated – by top chefs around the globe for the past decade, and he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of our time.
If you weren’t one of the lucky few to get in this year (2008 reservations were booked a year in advance), you can now experience the restaurant like never before. This generously-illustrated 600-page ”day in the life” features over 800 photographs, menus, recipes and diagrams, and presents a guided tour through a full working day at el Bulli. The book documents the activities of each hour of the day, from dawn at 6.15 am to switching off the lights at 2.00 am.
The book highlights 30 dishes which represent a full elBulli menu, and Adria shows you how he creates the restaurant’s innovative cuisines. Sample recipes include Samphire Tempura with Saffron and Oyster Cream, Steamed Brioche with Rose-Scented Mozzarella, and Coulant/Souffle of Granadilla with Cardamom Toffee.
In April 2008, elBulli won the #1 Best Restaurant in the World, for the third year in a row at the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards.
An enormous undertaking, this monumental tome, complete with more than 1,000 photographs, chronicles one day at revolutionary eatery elBulli in northern Spain, arguably one of today’s most influential restaurants. Adria, the culinary genius behind this success, along with restaurant manager Soler and brother and fellow chef Albert give the reader a firsthand look at day-to-day activities and the innovation for which elBulli is known. Lavish photographs are the main attraction in this work; text is sparse and offers only glimpses into activities. While there is an examination of the team’s creative methods, most topics are only touched upon briefly, such as creative sessions, testing and utilizing a mental palate. Given the highly technical nature of the dishes served at elBulli, recipes (Pine Nut Marshmallows; Steamed Brioche with Rose-scented Mozzarella) are rare. A glance behind the scenes at a pivotal time and place in culinary evolution, this book will delight serious foodies, and its stunning package guarantees it will grace many a coffee table. (Oct.) –Publishers Weekly
It’s a remarkable heroic movie that on balance, would be worthy of watching on a cold winter night.
Taking a closer look at this forgotten film, examining that familiar look of a “greenish tinge with hints of blue”. What I particularly appreciate is how under the guises of Ridley Scott these actors are not only supremely focused and alert, but look so convincing in battle costume.
Without sentimentality this movie has a cold heart but you’ll warm to it’s eye for delectable beauty. The characters are rich and intriguing, the plot has plenty of twists and turns.
Can scarcely tell a scarlet tanager from Scarlett O’Hara, but The Life of the Skies had me transfixed from the first page. Jonathan Rosen writes with astounding insight, wit, and compassion. The story he tells here is the best kind of odyssey, an outward journey that ends up highlighting the beauty and daring that live inside of us. Even if you don’t have a son fighting in Iraq, even if you don’t read poetry, even if you think you are immune to the power of a mother’s lament – pick up The Warrior and read it right away. Fran Richey has written some of the most powerful stories I’ve ever encountered. It is obvious that her life was changed by living these poems; yours may well be changed by reading them.
Extreme kayakers have been condemned for canoeing down a dam in mid-Wales. A photographer captured the latest incident as one canoeist slid 300ft down the spillway at Llyn Brianne reservoir, on the borders of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Powys. Welsh Water said the practice was dangerous and such activities were banned at the reservoir which has the tallest dam in the UK.
I was checking out the new MTV music site, which incidentally seems to be the same technology implementation with a new user interface/visual design: www.mtvmusic.com This music video is one of the funnest, bravest attempts to pull off a synchronized sequence of comical moments, all without a single cut/edit. It’s basically live the entire way through without stopping.
Sorry, really sorry, really, really, really sorry.
The blind climber story quickly gained status amongst the locals. It’s a story that could of easily become folklore, a old man loses his sight and against all odds, starts climbing the local mountain in aid of charity. I stumbled across this documentary by pure chance. What happened was a blind climber story had quickly gained cult status amongst the local’s mountain community in Cumbria (North of England).
Arriving in the village of Coniston, I wandered into the local post office and asked for directions. Sure enough, they knew a blind climber who’s actually better known as Charles Turnbull, 86, a retired police inspector with a passion for remembering names, place and people. “It’s comes from 40 years on the job” he explains over tea, clearly at ease with sharing his story with the inclusion of charm and good humour. This was an extraordinary tale of adventure and courage.
Director/Cameraman Dan Sellars
Sound and Vision Jez Curnow
Format: U-matic High Band – 10 minutes
Colonel Blimp is a music video production company, it was named in homage to the 1944 film “The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp” directed by Powell and Pressburger. In that film Roger Livesey plays a man who fights a duel and cuts his top lip so badly that he is forced to grow a large and unusual handlebar moustache which he keeps for the rest of his life.
Creating a memorable music video is much like growing an unusual moustache. It takes patience and nerve. During the early planning stages it may be difficult to perceive exactly what the finished ‘tache’ will look like. The growing period may be arduous, drawn out. The moustache’s grower perhaps tempted by the easy clichés of fashion to compromise their original design.
Don’t wobble when you reach the top. This new doc might well strike a chord for the audience, especially those desperately eager to establish ‘why’ and ‘how’ do you go about walking the wire across the 1970’s construction site of the Twin Towers. This was one of the most defining stunts every accomplished by a French climber.
Synopsis: August 7, 1974. A young French man named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire suspended between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. He danced on this wire for an hour with no safety net before he was arrested for what has become to be known as the “artistic crime of the century”.
“Man on Wire” is the perfect example of matching doc director to doc subject. French tightrope walker and juggler Philippe Petit became world-famous when he walked between the two World Trade Center towers, then under construction, on August 7, 1974 — a completely illegal if fantastic act that involved complex preparation and shook up New York City’s police department. (He had to cross back and forth several times to avoid the cops.) Petit had already achieved artistic notoriety for his feats at famous sites like Notre Dame in Paris, but to traverse the air space between what were then the world’s two tallest buildings? It’s not only his unbeatable skill, though, that makes Petit an ideal subject for a doc: He is a ball of fire, a fascinating egomaniac who engages you completely with his energy and confidence. Petit has written several books, including To Reach the Clouds, which recounts the feat in downtown Manhattan.
The full interview with British director James Marsh.
Luke: I can eat fifty eggs.
Dragline: Nobody can eat fifty eggs.
Society Red: You just said he could eat anything.
Dragline: Did you ever eat fifty eggs?
Luke: Nobody ever eat fifty eggs.
Prisoner: Hey, Babalugats. We got a bet here.
Dragline: My boy says he can eat fifty eggs, he can eat fifty eggs.
Loudmouth Steve: Yeah, but in how long?
Luke: A hour.
Society Red: Well, I believe I’ll take part of that wager
“The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are”
Initially when Lewis turned to writing children’s books, his publisher and some of his friends tried to dissuade him; they thought it would hurt his reputation as writer of serious works. J.R.R. Tolkien in particular criticized Lewis’s first Narnia book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He thought that there were too many elements that clashed—a Father Christmas and an evil witch, talking animals and children. Thankfully, Lewis didn’t listen to any of them. DARE says, be bold.
In 1769, Hungarian nobleman Wolfgang von Kempelen astonished Europe by building a mechanical chess-playing automaton that defeated nearly every opponent it faced. A life-sized wooden mannequin, adorned with a fur-trimmed robe and a turban, was seated on a wooden cabinet and toured Europe confounding such brilliant challengers as Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon Bonaparte. To persuade skeptical audiences, Kempelen would slide open the cabinet’s doors to reveal the intricate set of gears, cogs and springs that powered his invention. He convinced them that he had built a machine that made decisions using artificial intelligence. What they did not know was the secret behind the mechanical Turk: a chess master cleverly concealed inside.
