Backstreet's back alright

At least you'd think so if you were at my office yesterday.

"Artists in Residence," a music program my office created to get musicians collaborating with us and allowing us to license their music for commercials, brings musicians into the agency for recording sessions. And along the way, they either perform a few songs for whoever wants to come watch, take part in a Q&A, or both.

Well yesterday, the Backstreet Boys were here. Yes, those Backstreet Boys. They were scheduled to perform at 1pm in the huge conference room/meeting room on our main floor, and as much as I didn't want to go, I wanted to go. If for nothing else than to catch a glimpse of everything - the amount of people who didn't have work to do, the number of children whose parents brought them in, the amount of hair gel they use. Unfortunately, I got down there late and the room was packed. People were already spilling out into the hallway.

I managed to peek my head in and catch a glimpse of the blonde guy (I don't know his name), but I was tired of fighting the crowd. So I just stood out in the hallway with a few other friends, waiting to hear something, when BAM - "You are, my fi-ire. The one desi-ire." The crowd inside started screaming like a group of 14 year-old girls as the boy band sang "I Want it That Way." I nearly threw up.

I couldn't take it anymore. I went back up to my desk, laughing at how ridiculous it was. Or maybe I was a tad smitten. Either way, they just need to quit playing games with my heart (with my heart).

-JT

That's my name. No, that's MY name.

For the purposes of this story, my name is Jebediah Smith.

Funny story. So I was in Manhattan last weekend for a wedding on my wife's side of the family. Her second cousin was marrying a man who happened to have the same last name as me. It's ethnic, from Israel, and while more common out there, let's just say that it's not as popular here.

Anyway, that's not the funny story. We knew the groom-to-be had the same last name as me. But at the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding, the father of the groom was giving a toast. And during his toast, he thanked his three children - the groom, the groom's sister, and the groom's brother. The groom's brother's name is Jebediah. My name is Jebediah (although I go by a nickname not related to my birth name, which is a completely different story). When I heard his name, my eyes lit up - I found my name twin.

I hadn't spoken to my name double yet, but I wanted to introduce myself. And since I always try to be the funny guy, I didn't want to just go up to him, extend my hand and say, "Jebediah Smith, I'm Jebediah Smith. Nice to meet you." Lame.

So instead, I pulled out my driver's license, walked up to the other Jebediah, and showed it to him. He took it from me, looked at it carefully, looked up at me and said, "Um. That's not me." So I was like, "I know! That's me! We have the same name!" He kind of smiled, said it was nice to meet me, and handed me back my license. And that was it. Over so quickly.

Clearly, he wasn't nearly as giddy as I was. Maybe Jebediah already found his name twin elsewhere.

-JT (aka Jebediah Smith)

New Olympics event

Urban Gymnastics.



-JT

A musician to keep your eye on

Joshua Radin. Remember his name. He's an acoustic alternative singer/songwriter. He plays and sings with an understated style that I can't really describe unless you see him live. And with him, less is more. It's this quiet style that has enough power to bring an entire concert hall, like the House of Blues last night, to complete silence. Wow.

Last night I went to go see him perform live for my second time, and it was amazing. It was kind of my birthday present, although not really since I bought the tickets myself. Now I'm normally not a fan of the House of Blues because they just pack people in and there aren't many places to sit, but it wasn't sold out last night. I was able to score a stool and then eventually a table, and I was set.

Anyway - the show was so good. Vanessa Carlton and Alexa Wilkinson opened. I was pleasantly surprised by Carlton, since I only knew her popular song. But her performance was nothing compared to Joshua Radin's set. He played songs from his older records, like "Lovely Tonight," "You've Got Growing Up to Do" and all my favorites. And he also played some songs that will be on his new record. The crowd was hushed, and he even acknowledged how cool it was to play in front of so many silent people.

The best part of the show? No, not that he disclosed how he ate at Potbelly's twice on Friday. It was when he came out for the obligatory encore. Instead of playing one of his songs on stage, he climbed down the stage, got right in the middle of the pit at HOB where everyone stands and played the Bob Dylan ballad "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" in the middle of the crowd. He was belting it out since he had no mic, and I'd never seen anything like it.

As I said before - wow.

-JT

Step out the front door like a ghost into the fog

Where no one notices the contrast of white on white.

Those are the first two lines of my favorite song, Round Here by the Counting Crows. I'm a sucker for live music, especially involving an acoustic guitar, and now I can listen to about as much live music from Adam Duritz and his band through the site livecountingcrows.com as I want.


The site was launched last week, and you can purchase and download live Counting Crows shows. Every single show, beginning with the July 28th show, will be added to the site within 72 hours, and they're planning to release archived shows periodically. They offered a free show to the first 10,000 fans who signed up, so I was able to see what it's all about.

It's freaking amazing.

-JT

My Induction into NASCAR

To this northern urbanite, NASCAR has always seemed like a redneck sport. I'm used to Wrigley where most people are bandwagon fans and aren't even there to watch the game. So imagine my shock when I, along with about 20 co-workers and our friends, rolled up to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday to take in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard NASCAR race. I was in sensory overload, so I tried to snapped a ton of pictures throughout the day.

I mean, these race fans are Hard Core, with a capital 'H' and 'C.' They don't just root for their favorite drivers, they bleed for them. Some literally. One of the women with us, who happened to be an admin at my office, has a tattoo of the number 3 car on her ankle in homage to Dale Earnhardt Sr., who died in a wreck during a race five years ago. Besides her ink, these guys caught my eye, or lense, I suppose.

Two of Nascar's finest.

The race itself was fun, despite the heat, which made it feel like I was melting in the stands. Luckily, though, since we were there because of our involvement in the ad campaign, we had passes to the Allstate hospitality tent. It featured food, drinks and free A/C. It was a frequent destination for all of us posers.

Jimmie Johnson ended up winning the race, which made me $125 richer. On the way down to Indy, a bunch of us decided it'd be fun to put the top 25 drivers' names in a hat and randomly pick one for $5 a pop. If your driver wins the race, you win the pot. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I pulled Johnson's name. While this doesn't make up for Memphis choking during the NCAA Final Four Championship Game, it was still nice to win. And in true Indianapolis Motor Speedway form, the race winner always kisses the row of bricks. Since it's tradition, I followed suit.

I may or may not have slipped in some tongue.

At the end of it all, I left with more of an appreciation for NASCAR. It's the fastest growing sport in the U.S., and the fans definitely know how to have a good time. They party from about three days before the race starts until well after the race is over. This was my inaugural race, and since I know how exhausted I was after coming into town the morning of and then leaving that evening, I feel these people's pain.

This guy was out like a light - immediately after the race was over.

And so was he. His friends, not so much.

An overserved fan being consoled by her boyfriend, who can't use two hands because then he'd drop his beer.

I just hope they all got home eventually. Or maybe even to next week's race track. And if you expect me to know where that is, I apologize. I'm not that big of a fan. Yet.

-JT

Breaking News

Despite the rumors, I will not be running for Vice President alongside Barack Obama during the upcoming presidential election. I'm just way too busy. I just wanted to let Mr. Obama know that he should look elsewhere.

Sorry. I figured I'd just follow Al Gore's lead. Last Friday, everyone's favorite environmentalist announced that he will not serve as Barack Obama's running mate. One thing, though - Obama never asked Gore to be his Vice President.


I say we start an online video movement where people film themselves turning down an unsolicited VP-request from Barack Obama. Like, "Barack - You're probably thinking of me to be your Vice President come November, but I'm just telling you now so you have enough notice that my family and I are supposed to be on vacation October 17 - October 30. And then there's Halloween and busy season at work. So I'm going to have to pass on the VP front. Thanks, though. Good luck."

How funny would that be? Hillaryous, if you ask me.

-JT

Research, huh, yeah. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.

I just read that researchers from the American Allergy Institute released their findings on a study they did on what the most effective research for a mosquito bite was. The answer...drum roll please...

X-ing out a mosquito bite with your fingernails.


Really? People were paid to find this out? In a commissioned study? That was published in the Massachusetts Health Journal? I don't have any more questions? But I like using question marks anyway?

According to one of the doctors who ran the study, the cross technique (as it's known in the medical field) limits the immune response from the binding of IgG and IgE antibodies to antigens in the mosquito's saliva. Typical antihistamines only block the itch, but the cross technique digs deep into the bite and acts to punish the offending irritation.

The article went on to say that out of the 452 of the 500 patients tested, the fingernail cross was found to relieve the skin irritation to an acceptable degree, while most subjects indicated that an added benefit was the subtle enjoyment they had of branding the small "x" over the infected area.

Odd. I wonder who the test subjects were.

This quote pretty much sums the entire study up. When speaking to reporters about the findings, the doctor said, "This is really just an amazing discovery. Not only does it give us much needed relief, but it substantiates what most people already knew."

Good to know. In fact, this study might be stupider than the one about music.

-JT

Stream of consciousness

Rather than blog about one specific topic tonight, I decided on a brain dump after having a stressful week (month, maybe?). Here are some happy, philosophical, sad and irreverent thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head recently. Ready? Take a deep breath...

I believe the Cubbies rule more than most people, but even I think it's ridiculous that Carlos Marmlol freaking made the All-Star team after the way he's pitched this past month.

Are ideas ownable? When do they become yours? My boss took an idea that the Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of our company had for a new business project I'm working on and is trying to pawn it off as his own. How do I know this? Because I overheard my boss telling someone else that he had a meeting with the CCO who had a suggestion for a TV commercial. Lo and behold, when my partner and I presented work a day or two later, our boss was like, "That actually kind of works with an idea I had," and then proceeded to tell us the exact idea that the CCO told him. Shady. It makes me wonder how many of our ideas became his ideas when he presented them to the clients.

AVP beach volleyball is awwwwwwesome. I wish my beach skills were 8.31% of the skills of the pros on that tour. But at least all 5'9" of me got to meet and take a picture with 6'3" Kerri Walsh, who's the #1 women's beach volleyball player in the world. Take a look below. It wasn't awkward at all.


To keep my celebrity encounters rolling - on my way to catch the bus to go home after watching the AVP all day, I was walking on the bike path. I happened to look over my left shoulder, and right there next to me was Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith on his bike. I was like, "Hey! Lovie Smith." he was all quiet with a quick, "Yeah." I asked if I could get a picture with him. He obliged and got off his bike. Then he walked his bike in front of me to get on my right (not sure why), and, of course, ran over my flip-flop outfitted foot with his front tire. Luckily for me, he was walking his bike. Luckily for him, he apologized.


Today was my company's summer outing - a scavenger hunt/trek downtown, kind of like the Amazing Race, that ended with a barbecue. It was an absolute blast. We had to complete missions using problem-solving, video, photography, bartering and good old-fashioned charm. I might could have enjoyed it more had I not been called back to work, but it was still fun.

One of my friends from childhood passed away yesterday after a battle with pulmonary fibrosis. We had grown apart as we got older and he went to a different high school, but I've run into him on many occasions at some of the neighborhood festivals over the years. He had been on a waiting list for a double-lung transplant for the past few years, which unfortunately didn't come through in time. Even though he had been sick for a while now, the news still came as a shock. Death has a way of doing that.

Ok, you can breathe again. Goodnight. Sleep well.

-JT

This is JT in da Chi-town

Just wanted to, as they say in the radio business, give a quick shout-out to my bri-ish mum this morning. She's having a few horrible procedures today and is pretty down. And to see my drill sergeant-like dad show compassion yesterday and today was both shocking and incredibly nice to hear. Mom - we're all thinking about you and you'll be feeling better in no time.

-JT

What a homer

Up to now, I've thought that the entire Chicago White Sox ad campaign was stupid - and that has nothing to do with me being a huge Cubs fan. It has to do with the fact that the ads, both on tv and outdoor, have been cheesy. And that some don't even make sense in a baseball world. But as much as I hate the White Sox, I can't help but laugh at the latest commercial from the campaign that's airing in Chicago.

Anyway, this new commercial stars A.J Pierzynski, the notoriously annoying and hard-headed White Sox catcher. It involves the cardboard signs that are prevalent throughout the entire campaign (which is a big part of what I think makes the campaign dumb). In the spot, Pierzynski's being told to bunt by both his third base coach, who he shakes off, and then by manager Ozzie Guillen, who he also defies.

But then, the camera cuts to a fan in the stands holding up a "Bunt" sign, and it's none other than Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who's never hidden his love of the White Sox. When Pierzynski sees the order from the Mayor, this time he obliges and puts down a bunt. It's funny. It's unexpected. And it shows who Chicago's boss really is. It also marks the first time Daley, who I happen to be a big fan of for what he's done for this city, has ever appeared in a commercial that wasn't political.

Youtube won't allow me to post it anywhere, so click here if you'd like to watch it. Even this Cubs fan has to admit that it's good.

-JT

P.S. I know there were questions as to whether this blog was dead. I thought about it, and I intend to continue contributing. I hope the same goes for 10-key princess and SM.

Let's get ready to rumble

In this corner, weighing in at a svelt 0.5 oz, some kind of pincher-cockroach thing. And in this corner, weighing a toned 0.75 oz, a gold scorpion.

That's my best guess as to what the announcers at japanesebugfights.com must be saying as they call a live, glass-enclosed fight to the death between two gross bugs. Here's one of 30 fights you can watch on the site.



You can all thank my neighbor and non-gay partner at work for showing me this site. My life instantly became more enriched, and I hope yours will too.

-JT

With great power comes great responsibility

That's the lesson that Uncle Ben (not the rice guy) gives Peter Parker in Spider-Man. Talk about deep.

I wonder if anyone ever passed this wisdom nugget to Alain Robert. Robert, known more popularly as Spiderman, scaled the New York Times building yesterday. When he got near the top, he opened up a banner that read, "Global warming kills more people than 9/11 every week."


A few hours later, Renaldo Clarke climbed the same building. He wasn't a complete copycat, though, since he didn't have a banner. Tenants inside the building said that Clarke stopped from time to time during his ascent, and he mouthed "What floor am i on?" to onlookers.

Neither of them were hurt, and both of them were arrested. Shocking.

-JT

In honor of the latest Indiana Jones movie

Check out this re-creation of the famous Indiana Jones scene where Indy's running from a rolling boulder. There are a few subtle differences, but I'll leave that up to you to find for yourself.



The lego supply must be down everywhere else across the world.

-JT

This would really suck

And that's an understatement.

Check out this time-lapse video of a man trapped in an elevator for 41 hours. This happened about 10 years ago, but someone got their hands on the surveillance footage.



Whoever put this clip together did a really good job.

-JT

I'm going to start doing this every morning

I just need someone to hold my jeans out for me. Any volunteers?

-JT

Hillary really was under attack when she visited Bosnia

See? And everyone thought she was lying...

-JT

Now THIS is creative

So my last post poked a little fun at a new KFC ad campaign that I thought was not terribly creative, but rather boring and gimmicky.

Well this morning, during my daily routine of seeing what's going on in the land of pop culture, I came across something that I think is absolutely brilliant. And hilarious. And innovative. And fresh.

Joshua Allen Harris, an artist in New York City, has tied bags to NYC subway grates so that when the trains roll by, the bags come to life from the rush of air. Check it out below, beginning with a story from the AP on the concept, followed by video capturing some of the art he's created.









When I was in school, one of my teachers said something to me after seeing an ad I had done that he really liked. It's really simple. He said that you know when an idea is a really good, creative idea because when you see it, you think to yourself, "Man, I wish I had thought of that."

Man, I wish I had thought of that.

-JT

That Colonel Sanders is one clever fellow

A few years ago, KFC made ad news when they ran a commercial that, when watched on on DVR framb-by-frame, revealed a hidden message that entitled viewers who caught it to get a coupon for a free chicken sandwich. Read an article about it here, and view the TV commercial in the article's inset.

Frankly, I thought it was a dumb idea. But that's just me.

Anyway, that wily Colonel is up to his old tricks again. As part of a new campaign for their $0.99 Chicken Snacker, they are running ads in magazines, in-store and on TV with a hidden image. If viewers find that hidden image, they can go to the KFC site and redeem their find for a free coupon for said sandwich. See if you can find the image in the ad below that's running in restaurants:


Again, I think it's a dumb idea. It's too gimmicky. But it didn't stop me from searching to try and find the image. And I couldn't find it. So I showed my (non-gay) partner at work, who plays the art director (pictures) to my role as a copywriter (words), and he found it in about 4 seconds. Of course he did.

Leave it to the good Colonel to make me look bad.

-JT

He's alive!

Ever since his mysterious disappearance during my childhood, I just assumed Frankenberry was gone forever. It turns out he's just been in his basement hanging out and throwing down a few beers with the Trix Rabbit, Count Chocula, Cap'n Crunch and Tony The Tiger.


I hope he's happy.

-JT