Lily Allen musing everything's changing

Ben Gibbard Sees a Silver Lining

This old fart

And this how we tackle creative briefings.

I like it a little complex and apparently so do most of the guys in our creative team. Besides, it is something of a given in advertising. Communicate with wit. Be playful. Contrast for clarity. With an explosion of trickery in your exposition. But not everyone goes for it. A few are amused and applaud the effort. Most just want it straightforward. Say it as it is. Simple.

And I keep hearing this: People don't have the time to think anymore. So keep it simple.

Really?

Are we all just reflexes now? Dismissing things that demand a little of our time? And I'm also getting tired of blaming the usual suspects: technology, the immediacy of the net, Paris Hilton. Kung gusto mo, aalamin mo.

But curiosity itself (as an impulse) has become rare. I watch the kids that I'm in contact with and they have no sense of history. It's mostly all the now, and never the how or what came before. And there's a lot of who and what came before in music, comic books, literature, art, etc. Endless volumes.

This is old fart peeve at work.

So yeah, I'm peeved.

The rejects but aren't they a great looking bunch?

I had high hopes for these and I never learn (not to hope). We lost the bid so at least I get to post these lovely rejects. Brilliant art direction by Arne.

The countdown continues

I'm blaming it on the weekly comic. Ever since 52, and now Countdown, days, weeks, months have been passing faster. Which is fine, except for the getting older bit. Makes one think, if my life were a weekly serial, would it be as engaging?

Birthday celebrations have been getting more low key. I don't even remember last year but I think it was spent in bed. Sleeping, of course.

This year's was equally laid back. Lounging in the living room, beer in hand, watching Austin City Limits (Rilo Kiley and Death Cab for Cutie) and Temptation Island. Then Battlestar Galactica talk til 3 a.m. with Faye and Dodo.

Taking time to relax is a luxury. A rare, sweet luxury that my body isn't used to. I read somewhere, Reader's Digest I think, that one should relax by degrees or else the body gets shocked and gets sick. So here I am, sniffly. The price of a long vacation. The price of getting old.

Oh Boy

Tagged by Dodo.

This is me caught staring at Sufjan Stevens. Every time copywriting gets a little unbearable, I reward myself with Sufjaness. I've been listening to his Christmas albums, too. Audio-video lock. Right.

It's 10 p.m. and I'm still at work. My brain hurts. So I'm just surfing and staring. That's my iTunes (The Libertines, What Became of the Likely Lads) and Is It Safe open. Quite a long way to go still. Final touch ups on TV and print ads. Still tweaking event concept. And zero comm. plan. Heh. We'll just wing that tomorrow.

But for now, Sufjan.

Rules:
1.Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun.

2.Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of Icons, things like that.

3.Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.


Tagging anyone who stumbles upon this!

A detour to a wake which got me unbelievably depressed and a dizzy spell over dishes

A sister-in-law of a good friend passed away last week. W and I went to the wake last Saturday. We already knew she died from cancer and that, I imagined, she had time time to say her goodbyes like with most terminal cases. But apparently, it wasn't just the goodbyes that she had time to prepare for: She actually planned her funeral. She gave instructions on the dress (she wanted a white dress, not a top and pants), the venue (Nacional), and made a list of who to call up immediately after she passed away.

We stayed for an hour, W was chatting about work with the friend while I was quietly eating lemon squares and biko. Before we left, an elderly relative arrived in a wheelchair. She had a hard time recognizing people and her body looked like crumpled paper. Our friend's brother wheeled her near the coffin. She stood up with little help and took a few painful steps to look at the body. That was when her knees buckled and she had to be almost carried back to her chair. She approached the other brothers and sisters and said: Isa isa na.

One by one. We all fall down.

I realized that death didn't scare me that much and it was the growing old that really frightened me. The forgetfulness. The burden of crumpled limbs. And the goodbyes to people you love.

----------------------------------

I ran out of cigarettes that same day, and didn't really crave for any. Woke up Sunday afternoon dizzy. Made lunch, still dizzy. I was washing the dishes when it crashed against me like a wave, an invisible slap across my face. High blood pressure? Withdrawal symptoms (that early)? Or just plain dastardly chores?

Sorting the laundry and not much later Doctor Who and a Big Mac

So there it is. This year's theme: Chores and then telly on Friday nights. It's actually a surprise how I'm enjoying domesticity, well, an excuse really so I can spend at least two hours a day with the Doctor.

And look at the time. Almost four in the morning.

Just wishing everyone well. And here's a premature shout out to my sister, Faye, who will be celebrating her birthday this Sunday somewhere far-flung.