:: Life on Planet Dan-E ::

:: So bad for the body even the soul is hurting ::

Anyone who knows me knows that I love really bad fast food. My favorite place is In 'n Out and I've written quite a bit about this place. However, if I want anything a little less healthy, I go to Tommy's and grab a Double Chili Cheese with a side of Chili Fries. But if I really want to digestively defile myself, I drive to Pink's Hotdogs and go to town.

So it shouldn't surprise me that a place in the South has something that trumps any of the above when it comes to serving something that might make your heart implode. There's a place in Atlanta called Mulligan's that serves something called a "Hamdog". I love anything that so blatantlyl thumbs it's nose at the health food movement but this is just awesome. I mean, talk about the ultimate hangover cure; how do you even eat this thing?

Anyone wanna road-trip up to Atlanta with me?

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 11:54 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: What the hell ::

Ok seriously, does anyone know what the hell I was blathering on about in the last couple of posts? And on the off chance that you did, how many of you either made it all the way to the end before getting bored to tears or started shaking your head halfway through?

I know I needed to shut down my brain for a bit during this break but I didn't think it would affect my blogging. Geez.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 5:53 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: I suck at Basketball ::

So clearly, I know almost nothing about basketball. If you read the last post and scoffed at my prediction, you're in complete agreement with that last sentence. As much as I love sports, I find basketball to be boring and predictable in the last few years so I haven't followed it as closely as I do football, baseball, or even volleyball and tennis.

But hey, I said the Spurs would win so give me a little credit for that. But it wasn't so much them winning as much as it is the way they won that I found interesting. It ended up being the lowest scoring Game 7 ever but I found it quite fun to watch. I don't know if it's because I like to play sports even more than I enjoy watching it but I'm probably one of the few people who appreciate good defense. As much as I wanted the Raiders to win, seeing the Tampa bay defensive unit dominate in the Super Bowl two years ago was fun. Last year's Dodgers and the Florida Marlins or the last few years were especially fun to watch because of their great defense and few things are more beautiful than a perfectly turned double play. Holly McPeak is my favorite volleyball player because she was named AVP Best Defensive Player 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Well, that and she has awesome abs.

Where was I. Oh yeah. But the Spur's defense really broke out of their shell in the fourth quarter and did to Detroit what Detroit did to them in Games 3, 4, and 6. 81-74 may have been the final score but it don't try to tell me it was a boring game. It was a great game to watch. Congradulations Spurs.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 12:16 AM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: Yet another unfocused, meandering post ::

Even though I've been back for almost a week, I haven't updated my blog or written about my Prague experience yet since I really don't know what to write about. Or rather, I don't know where to start. It was a great experience but there was so much to soak up that everything is still sinking in. I've also written quite a bit already so I think I'm going to be repeating myself.

Also, part of the reason I haven't blogged much is that I'm simply trying to get settled back into my apartment. It hasn't been easy, mainly because the guy who sublet my place left it a disaster area and I'm only now just getting it back to a habitable environment. I would have been done last night except I was tired of being cooped up in the house so I headed over the Dewey's to watch some sports; Dodgers vs. White Sox (Dodgers lost. Again. In late innings. Again. After having a late lead. Again. Sigh.) and the NBA Finals Game 5.

Now THAT was a good game. The people there seemed almost evenly split between Spurs fans and Pistons fans, which was surprising given Miami's typically East Coast leanings but... geez did you see Robert Horry's last minute heroics?! Big Shot Bob further cements his legacy as the most clutch playoff player in the history of the NBA which is saying something since that legacy was already set in stone during his time with the Lakers (sigh) where he's best known for his Divac-to-Horry game-winning three-pointer against Sacramento. I mean, he was responsible for 21 of the Spurs' last 35 points.

Never mind taking the heat of off Duncan for his fourth quarter suck-fest that made Patrick Ewing look like Mr. June. He saved the Spur's season and if anyone deserves a celebratory night with Eva Longoria, it's him, not Tony Parker. Sorry, I just had to throw in that little pop culture reference there. It's pointless, I know. Besides, Horry also happens to be a devoted husband and father so that would never happen. But you get my point. Or maybe not. Or you just think I'm weird. This is the point where the normal person would go to another page.

Still here? Good.

His resounding left-handed dunk, I think, pretty much set the tone for the rest of the series. Or what's left of it anyway. I predicted at the start (to at least two people) that it?ll be Spurs in six. If you tell me that the Pistons will come back stronger to take Game 6, you?re wrong. And don't even try to tell me that a rejuvenated Tim Duncan isn?t going to drop 30-15-5 on Tuesday. It'll be a close game for sure, but unless Wallace (Rasheed or Ben, probably Rasheed) takes a bat to Big Game Bob?s knees, I'm thinking there?s gonna be yet another set of fourth quarter plays to ad the highlight reel, of which there are already miles and miles of film.

This is how good his performance was for me: I almost forgot how sad I was that the Lakers didn't re-sign him two years ago. All it did was bring back memories of his contributions to our Championship Run back then. Then I got a happy and nostalgic. Then it got me to thinking that if he was with the Lakers this season, they wouldn't have been so horrible. Then I got depressed. So I had a beer and I felt better. Anyway.

Spurs in Six. Remember that.

Oh yeah, Prague. What was I saying?

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 6:07 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: Back in Miami ::

I'm back home.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 9:18 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: Flying Back Home ::

I leave for Miami in roughly 19 hours and I have a myriad of thoughts going through my head right now but if I tried to post them all, I'd just end up with a long, incoherent, disorganized blog. Not that I haven't posted long, incoherent, disorganized blogs in the past but part of the reason I'm going to hold off and my Prague experience until I get home is simply; I'm tired.

It's a been a great experience. I've met great people here, learned a lot of valuable lessons, and will take with me a lot of fond memories. But there's just so much talk about and right now, I'm just looking forward to falling asleep in my own bed, noodling around on my guitar for hours on end, and basking under Miami's warm sun.

More later.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 11:22 AM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: Get hammered. It helps. ::

I'm typing this after three beers on an empty stomach (I didn?t feel like cooking) at 11:37 at night and I told myself that I?m going to post this as is first thing in the morning. Now, two beers may not sound like much but here in Prague, the smallest servings are usually a half-liter, which is a good 20% or more than our typical 12oz bottles. Also, I drank a couple of bottles of a local brew called "Primátor" that's a robust 10% alcohol; more than your typical 4.5-5% found in most beers.

I haven't made it a secret that the past months have been a struggle, both creatively and personally, for me. I used to wonder if it was one of or a combination of several factors: adjusting to a foreign environment, being an employee of an new ad agency, creative fatigue from the last year. I had a one-on-one with my Creative Director here a couple of nights ago and I explained to him my problems. To him it seemed to simply be case of burnout.

Really? I ask.

Sure, he replies.

For two months?!

Yeah. Some creatives get it for years and years.

Really.

Sure.

How do you get over it?

(Paraphrasing) sometimes it helps to go out and get completely trashed.

Really?

Have you ever wondered why everyone in this industry drinks a lot? Or smokes a lot of pot?

well...

Now I?m not saying do this all the time because that?s bad. But at least for me, after a long week where I feel burned out, I just go out and get sloshed. (He didnt actually say sloshed. Just my interpretation.)

Really, well... ("Really" and "well" is all I'm capable of saying at this point, apparently.)

It doesn't have to be like that. I mean, whatever works for you. If you like to play sports, do that, if you like to drink, then drink.

I?ve only been really drunk once in my life and I?ve never done drugs.

Maybe try heroin.

I pretend that I?m writing that down.

(He shakes his head) In my case, drinking helps. But you have to find whatever it is that helps you get over it because when you?re actually working, you don?t have the luxury of taking a few weeks off like you did in school. (Again, paraphrasing.)

Yeah, true.

And I was only kidding about the heroin.

I figured.

But the drinking works for me. So I don't know. Maybe go get really drunk and see it that helps.

This is the part where I point out that he is one of the best teachers that I?ve had.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 12:38 PM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: 9 Core Values of Blogging ::

I found this cool little guideline for how to blog.

According to a guy named Steven Streight, there are 9 Core Values to Blogging. They are an expansion of the Universal Blog Mantra (Authenticity-Passion-Transparency):
1. Authenticity
2. Passion
3. Transparency
4. Credibility
5. Individualism
6. Creativity
7. Originality
8. Relevance
9. Integrity

While I believe that your blog should follow your own rules (and so does Mr. Streight, actually), these look like a good set of - if not rules, then suggestions - to follow. I say that because this guy seems to be a professional blogger being as it he somehow maintains six (6) blogs. At least two of which seem to have a large following.

Is my blog any or all of these things? Let's see:

1. Authenticity: Everything I write about represents a small part of me. Whether it's about how my day went or just another long-winded pontification about... whatever... everything I write either actually happened or is some random thought coughed out of my brain.

2. Passion: There's a certain intangible quality to blogging well. It's not about taking a few hours of your day to write a Top 100 list, (though it helps). A Masters in English won't help you blog well, and please PLEASE realize that if you tYpE LikE tHIs, it's vastly more annoying than cool. I'm not trying to say I'm a master blogger (snicker) for that matter. But like movies, books, sports, and cooking, blogging is a hobby, and something I look forward to doing. Like sports and cooking, I always try to get better. And when I write, I'm pretty much in my own little world until I’m done.

3. Transparency: This blog isn't as open as others, but there's still a small but significant part of me that being put out there for everyone to read. I've been told recently that the "Top 100" post has been passed around via people I never knew read this. In the post about "Why I Blog" part of the process is "writing like no one will read it, taking a deep breath, and clicking 'publish.'" And I've done a few of those.

4. Credibility: Everything written here has actually happened at one point. Opinions expressed on here are my own. Observations, confessions, and narrations are all from my hands. That funny smell? It’s you.

5. Individualism: Well, the blogging phenomenon being what it is, there are plenty of people who might have a style similar to mine. People who know me and know what I'm like say that they learn new things about me through this. Or if there's something about me that was a head-scratcher, they might read something that makes them go "oh, that explains it."

6. Creativity: I'm an artist, aren’t I?!? Well ok, I always thought my blog about pirating was pretty funny. I mean, it’s not one of those "ROTF" laughers but still. And for whatever reason, no one has tried drilling that gold mine. I mean there's not much you can do with that joke but still.

7. Originality: Well, yeah. God broke the mold when he made me, just so he wouldn't do that again. Friends from school point out that "for an Art Director, you write a lot. That's because it's more fun to write my thoughts than it is to simply post pictures on the site (not that there's anything wrong with that). So while I'm not the only one to blog that I was once really fat, or to present it in a Top 100 list, I'm the only one to do it on a dark brown-gray background with reversed-out yellow letters. (I checked.)

8. Relevance: Depends on who you ask. My faithful readers (all 7 of them; I still love that joke. Wait, I have 8 now. YES!) probably consider me relevant, especially those that leave comments. I'm sure there are those that read it just 'cuz they're either bored or are trying to avoid doing work (two of many reasons I blog). Which is fine. If the question is whether I'm culturally relevant, that's also a yes since some of my posts are commentary on pop-culture stuff. Or maybe not, since this blog is mostly about me. This one is probably the weakest of the nine.

9. Integrity: I think it fits since like I mentioned before I keep my posts as truthful as possible. I may omit details but I don’t change anything. One thing I refuse to do is mention names in a negative context. If there's a conflict with anyone, I may mention it but I will not mention who it's with. My opinions are my own, and I'll stand behind anything I write. Even if I'm blogging about something fun, I stopped using full names, sticking to initials, if that.

To varying degrees, my blog does seem to meet the 9 Core Values. At least by my intepretation. And at least from what I know of the people, the blogs I read regularly seem to meet the Core Values as well. But you bloggers shouldn't go evaluating yourself based on someone else's ideals. I posted this since it was interesting but largely because I thought it might be fun to write about. There are no hard rules to follow when it comes to blogging. It's a reflection of yourself, and how you want people in the cyber-community to view you. How many readers you have is irrelevant. However, if you do have even a few, encourage them leave comments since really, blogs have become yet another form dialogue

If you want to start a blog, first thing is to find your own voice. Don't talk about just yourself, and don't turn it into some lame daily journal. Post as often as possible. If you're leery about being too open, then just be honest with the stuff you do share. Make it as much a part of you as your car, your clothes, or your hair.

Unless you're one of those idiots that tYpE LikE tHIs which is quite possiblly the most egregious thing a blogger can do. In which case, don’t bother. You suck.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 11:33 AM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: ugh ::

Continuing from the last post, this is how my last two weeks have been: twice this week, when I left work to get home, I've seen the sun starting to peak out over the hills.

I'm so tired.

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 2:12 AM [+] :: | 0 comments
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:: Are you kidding me?!?! ::

This is the way the last week and a half has been going for me: our creative director just came to us and told us that the idea my partner and I came up with for a new Milky Way breakfast bar was shot down by the client because "it was too creative."

Well, shit...

:: Miscellaneous Ramblings by Dan-E at 3:49 AM [+] :: | 0 comments
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