In case you missed it, this is a viral video for Absolut Vodka. I find it odd that a viral video can have a roaring tiger graphic and yet still be to subtle.

Now if they could only come up with a Takashi Murakami tablet…

I arrived in Manhattan on Sunday, May 19th after traveling over 230 miles in a tiny little envelope. Naturally I was anxious to stretch my legs. If you think you hate traveling, try being folded in half!

Aunt Dawn and Uncle Stirling live on Fort Washington Avenue in a section at the very top of Manhattan called Washington Heights. Their neighborhood gets its name from the fort George Washington used in the defense of New York during the American Revolution. Washington Heights is the highest part of Manhattan, so back then George Washington had a great view of the entire island. Of course, that was before they built all the skyscrapers. The fort isn’t there anymore, but I guess the name just stuck.

Most people in Manhattan don’t own cars, so while I was there we road the subway. At first it was weird not riding in a car, but the trains were pretty fast. Uncle Stirling says New Yorkers have been using the subway to get around for over 100 years. I wonder how old that sign is…

One of the first things we did when I got to Manhattan was to go down to a neighborhood called Greenwich Village for the Veggie Pride Parade. Aunt Dawn and Uncle Stirling are vegans. Vegans are sort of like vegetarians. They don’t eat any meat or anything that comes from an animal like milk or eggs. They don’t even eat ice cream! Aunt Dawn says that they have their own kind of “ice cream” that’s made out of soy beans. It sounds kind of weird to me, but I guess it’s better than no ice cream at all.

There were all kinds of people dressed up at the parade. Uncle Stirling took my picture with a woman dressed up like broccoli. I don’t know about you, but if I was broccoli the last place I would want to be would be surrounded by a bunch of hungry vegetarians.

Later that week Uncle Stirling took me to work with him. Uncle Stirling works for an “interactive advertising agency”. You know those little ads you sometimes see in the corner on websites? My uncle makes those. Uncle Stirling is an artist and he has a partner who’s a writer. They come up with the ads together. Uncle Stirling’s partner is named Ben too!

Uncle Stirling’s office had a ping pong table and two foosball tables. It was my kind of place! If I worked there I don’t know how I would get any work done! Uncle Stirling says his boss got to be in charge because no one could beat him at foosball. I think he was kidding, but I’m not 100% sure.

Uncle Stirling’s office is right across the street from Radio City Music Hall. He said the “music hall” has almost 6,000 seats and that it used to be the biggest movie theater in the entire world. In the winter they put on a really famous Christmas pageant called “the Radio City Christmas Spectacular”. The rest of the year they have events like movie premieres and rock concerts. I like the sign!

Later in the week we all went to Times Square. They call it Times Square because The New York Times used to have it’s offices there. Now it’s mostly just stores. They have entire store for pretty much everything you could think of. My favorite? the M&M store.

Or maybe the Hershey’s Store!

On second thought, it would have to be the Toys R’ Us. I’ve never seen anything like it!

They have a giant model of a T Rex that really roars!

They also have models of different New York landmarks made entirely out of Legos. Here is a picture of me in front of the Lego Statue of Liberty.

Unfortunately, time really flies when you are having fun. It’s time for me to get back in my envelope and head back down south to see actual Ben. I really had a great time and Aunt Dawn told me I could come back anytime. Bye for now!

-Flat Ben

Well, that didn’t happen

Sadly, our attempt to capture gold in the Cannes Young Lions: Team USA competition has failed. Below is our submission entitled “Imaginary Food”. Have a look and see if you agree with the judges.

You can see an alternate cut of this spot here, check out our print submission here, or view all of the other entries here.

Anniversary Dinner – Amazing videos are here

Brian is showing himself as an exceptional and versatile storyteller. I can’t wait to see his next project!

I, for one, am giddy.

Here is the Season 4 Trailer.

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best… especially when they are so painstakingly executed.

Brian Savelson took some construction paper, some sand, and a digital still camera and turned it in to a masterpiece of stop motion animation. He accomplished all of this with almost no formal animation knowledge or experience. Just Brian, his camera, and a mind boggling attention for details.

Ironically the story centers around a woman who loses site of the big picture when she gets lost in the details. Clearly Brian, and his masterful script, has not.
Anyway, enjoy.

Sufjan Stevens, if you are reading this, I think I have your next concept album.

This has been circulating around a number of forums recently. I’m not sure where it originated. I certainly can’t take any credit myself. Therefore let us assume that, like Wikipedia, this is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

Here is how it works…

1. Go to Wikipedia. Select “Random article”.
This is your band name.

2. Select “Random article” again.
This is your album title.

3. Select “Random article” fifteen more times.
Those are your track titles.

This is what mine looks like:

Band Name:
Govind Swaroop

Album Title:
Sangihe Scops Owl

Track Listing:

1. Lauren Taylor

2. Seminole County, Georgia

3. Calera y Chozas

4. Climax (narrative)

5. Huthwaite

6. Hebron

7. Jekyll and Heidi

8. La Haute-Côte-Nord Regional County Municipality, Quebec

9. USS Pickens (APA-190)

10. M’Chigeeng First Nation

11. Ryan’s Rock Show

12. Hattiesburg (Amtrak station)

13. Captain Paul Ames

14. Sydney cockle

15. Colorado School of Mines

Enjoy!

#1 Rivers Cuomo

It isn’t that often that you get confused with a rock star. But if you’re white, have glasses, and are between the ages of 21 and 40, you probably get confused with Weezer founder Rivers Cuomo
on a daily basis. Now is the time to use this to your advantage. The best part about this simple, timeless costume is that you’re already wearing it! Sure, you can dress it up with an electric guitar or maybe a sweater vest, but that all stuff seams just a tad excessive. All you really need is to hum a few bars from “Undone-the Sweater Song” and hit on an Asian school girl. You’ll be the hit of the party in no time!

#2 Harry Potter

If you are looking for something a little more obscure this Halloween, why not go as the guy currently beating the pants off of Jesus & Co. on the NYT’s best seller’s list? Love him or hate him, Harry Potter is the bespectacled Caucasians messiah. You can either embrace him or spend eternity in Halloween purgatory. All you need for this fun and simple costume is a lightning bolt shaped “scar” on your forehead. Makeup is best, but in a pinch a black sharpie will do nicely. If you have time, you can dress it up with a rugby shirt or bath robe (Read: Wizard’s Robe). Then get a bit of twig and stumble around pointing it at things and swearing in Latin. “Expecto Patrón Margarita!” Priceless. If your looking for an easier alternative. Just take your glasses off and tell everyone you’re dressed as Daniel Radcliffe. It works every time.

#3 Gimungous, Attorney at Law

For this final costume, having glasses doesn’t really help you. In fact, being Caucasian is actually kind of a hindrance as well. Still, if you’re like me, you’ve been waiting all year for an excuse to pull that Luchador mask out of your top drawer at work and start roaming the halls, body slamming people. The best part about this simple, elegant and mildly offensive costume is that it goes with whatever you have on. Wear a suit to work? You’re “Lupo, Professional Banker!” Work at a Starbucks? How about “El Barista Vampiro!” Just because your Spanish is woefully bad, doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time! I once went as “El Scorcho, Television Chef”! Many men felt the wrath of my steel spatula that day. Good times…

Happy Haunting!