Gnome? I Never Even Met Him!

Teenager Jose Alvarez - who filmed the gnome - yesterday told national newspaper El Tribuno that they caught the creature while larking about in their hometown of General Guemes, in the province of Salta, Argentina.

He said: “We were chatting about our last fishing trip. It was one in the morning.

“I began to film a bit with my mobile phone while the others were chatting and joking.

"Suddenly we heard something - a weird noise as if someone was throwing stones.

"We looked to one side and saw that the grass was moving. To begin with we thought it was a dog but when we saw this gnome-like figure begin to emerge we were really afraid."

Jose added that other locals had come forward to say they had spotted the gnome.

Just Because It May Be My Favourite Ad Ever

Who doesn't like a good pinata?
Or even a bad pinata.

The Lengths I Will Go To To Convince Freddy I Won a Boat

Tim Horton's (Canadian-based coffee and donut phenomenon) has a 'roll up the rim to win' contest. My friend Freddy has been buying coffees for what seems like months in the hopes of winning 'something' - be it a free coffee or one of the more spectacular prizes, like a Boat. To date, his efforts and $1.29s have proven tragically unsuccessful.

In a moment of universal irony, the coffee Freddy so graciously bought me today was a winner. Knowing that he didn't know this yet, I decided that the best way to repay his kindness would be to pretend that I'd won the boat.
This would be like someone buying you the Wonka bar with the Golden Ticket in it.

I opened up Illustrator to mockup the rim prize claim note. Unfortunately, my efforts were thwarted when Freddy read my Tweet about winning the boat, and ran into my office on the verge of fury. It all happened so quickly, my efforts were shot.

But it deserves to live somewhere. So here:

Basket Cases

The supermarket is one of the best places I can think of to be inspired by humanity's quirks. One of my favourite things to do on a lazy weekend afternoon, is grocery shop. Sounds lame. Perhaps it is. But it's not about the act of running an errand - it's about how it becomes this eye-opening odyssey into the inner lives of complete strangers.

A few years ago, the moment of enlightenment struck when I was behind an older man, bent, weathered, sporting an outfit of unremarkable details. But look! What is this he's buying? 8 heads of cabbage, 14 cans of Manwich and 4 x 2L grapefruit sodas. What could you possibly be making mister? Is this meal (whatever is may be) so violently appealing that you can repeat it everyday for..what?...3-4 years?

I'm in love with you mister.

And today - today I began to calculate the best parts of the supermarket for quiet observation. The meat section is a good one, for it is there that the stranger ears, snouts and etceteras are found for purchase. Anyone buying snouts is bound to have intriguing side dish elements in their carts: I was rewarded with the proposition of snout with gherkins and mushy peas with frozen strawberries for dessert.

To me, there are infinite backstories to be found in a grocery cart. Even the young men with the oddly gourmet tastes are curious. And hot. But that's different.

In the same vein, I know of a series of projects that fabricate stories based on found shopping receipts. All those shopping lists for all those personalities. It never ceases to fascinate.

Fun Imag!

Occasionally I like to investigate my numbers (ya, I know, I know..). In doing so, I find some fun google search terms ("how to make a slutty costume" has appeared with frightening frequency) and a variety of great pages - blogs, feeds, etc.

Today, I found a combination of the two - I believe it's Google's Bhutan page. The search term: "Fun imag".

I topped the list! I can die happy now.
(no I can't.)

Snorterly Tranquileizer

'Lei' because of me. It tranquilizes me.
What is 'it'? Well son, hop up here and take a boo:


That's right. Mr Sketch smelly markers.

I notice, through blog posts and things that I say, that I've been waxing nostalgic recently. Lord knows why - maybe it has something to do with constantly trying to anticipate the future at work. My soul craves a little of the good ol' days. And in this case, the good ol' days are 1988 and Mr. Sketch smelly markers.

My favourite scents were light blue and pink, with light blue in the clear lead. Light blue was meant to smell like mango [fail], but it didn't matter - I literally couldn't (still can't) remove the cap without deep huffing. It's narcotic and disarming - yoga for the ol'factory.

So, a happy surprise:
When I need a breather from being THAT copywriter, I go and grab a Tazo tea from Starbucks, typically erring on the non-caffeinated side. One day, a new addition to the box display: Berryblossom White.


One sip, and my brain melted: every taste bud standing on end, screaming with Grade 2 art class. I swear to you, dear blogrels, it's like someone ground up Mr. Sketch blue smelly markers, bagged the debris and steeped away. My mind races with questions: namely, if the dulcet aromas of a Mr. Sketch light blue marker represents mango [again, fail] then is a berryblossom closer to the mark? Is there some natural combination of things that produce this heavenly stench?

Will my heart explode from such simple joys as these?

Goodbye Brett

Travis, one of the other writers at Tribal lost someone important yesterday:
Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre.

To honour Travis - and Brett - we created this little tribute.
Written by me, performed by Freddy, JC and Jess.

What we lack in rhythm, we make up for in heart.




Lyrics:
This goes out to all the Green Bay Packers fans who lost someone today. His name’s Brett.

Let’s do this.


Seems like yesterday you used to snap and throw
Laced your shoes and rocked Lambeau
The back of your jersey was number fo’
Green Bay Packers, you won the bowl
You were 1995’s MVP (uh-uh)
Words cant express what that meant to me
Even though you’re gone, they’re still a team
But now it’s like a Sundae without whipped cream
Brett next season I’m afraid to see
The Favre-less team playin’ on tv
Reminisce that tie in ‘0-2 at season’s end (uh-uh)
Try to black it out, but it plays again
Pain was real, vicodin tried to conceal
Can’t imagine injuries you feel
Give anything to keep you with us Brett (with us Brett)
Thanks to big ass paychecks - you got no debt.

Chorus:

Every chair I break, every ad I make
Every single day, every time they play
I’ll be missing you
Thinking of the play, when you ran away
What a point to make, what a game to break
I’ll be missing you


Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywFSg4Zql1g