happiest day of the whole year

What a notion, “happiest day of the whole year,” Can each of us actually pin point one? Often times I think we focus on the negatives or things that are not going our way, this inhibits us from finding that elusive ‘happiest day of the whole year.’

Yesterday, was a good candidate for happiest day of the year (Especially in the viewpoint of a business partner and friend!). Columbus had uniquely warm weather, sunny, not humid, 70 degrees. It was really odd actually. Biking to work. Awesome. Opening garage doors at the workshop co. Awesome. Being amazingly productive (Win). Rock climbing at the Audubon Park. Awesome – which if you haven’t checked out you need to. 

 

Dinner time was equally exciting as my friends and I cooked fresh salmon, home fries, asparagus, corn bread and macaroons for desert. The food was excellent… sorry for not getting into details. (Consensus was that the corn bread was best). I think a home cooked meal may be a requirement for ‘happiest day of the whole year’ but I could be wrong, I’ll have to consult and expert. I do know that inventing a game is a must for the prestigious day-recognition, which after supper we did. Said commander and master of the term ‘happiest day of the year’ devised the game Q-Master. Details and possibly playing cards to follow in the coming months.

Anyways… Go find your ‘happiest day of the whole year’

“Beyond the Blackberry Patch”

The Jazz Arts Group recently commissioned a composition by acclaimed trombonist and composer Wycliffe Gordon. The 90 minute piece of music was created for ten musicians to tell the story of the King-Lincoln District of Columbus Ohio. Over three years Wycliffe Gordon visited Columbus City schools and developed musical curriculum to inspired students to learn more about their historic neighborhoods. The study of the King-Lincoln District inspired the overall composition; “Beyond the Blackberry Patch- Past, Present and Future.”

The “Blackberry Patch” is a folkloric name given to the area on Columbus’ near east side where many African Americans settled during the Great Migration. Historically it was a hotbed for African America Culture, including many great Jazz musicians.

Today, the Jazz Arts Group is committed to the revitalization of the area. The renovation of the historic Lincoln Theatre is just one step in the process. The commissioning of music to tell the story and educate students will be an on-going initiative to further revitalize the King-Lincoln District as well as the greater East Side of Columbus Ohio. The reclamation of the 80-year-old Lincoln Theatre, represents the hope for the future.

I encourage everyone to check out a show at the Lincoln Theatre, it is absolutely stunning and the acoustics of the theatre are unbelievable. I will be posting a video shortly of the show! In the mean time be sure to check out the Jazz Arts Group web page for upcoming events! http://www.jazzartsgroup.org/

“The price good men pay for indifferenc

“The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” — Plato ^AV

The Gods of the Copybook Headings haunt

The Gods of the Copybook Headings haunt me. http://bit.ly/mk6ze ^AV

New Endeavors: Revisting Point of Purchase

This past summer I spent hours laboring on my Interdisciplinary Studies Thesis. The project represents the culmination of four and half years of my college education that spanned the globe, from Slippery Rock, PA to Sydney, Australia.  The thesis document entitled “POP Event: An Experiential Marketing Study on US Politics and Business.” proved to be a very rewarding endeavor as I was able to tie together my various educational disciplines into a coherent study.

Over the next month I will be revisiting my undergraduate thesis work. It is my aim to compress the chapters into brief abstracts and bibliographic documents so that I can share knowledge I have gained from this research process. I also hope that through comments and interactions with interested readers, I may understand and develop an even stronger understanding of Point of Purchase Events.

Below is a copy of the table of contents to serve as a road map for the next few articles that will be posted on my blog. Each chapter segment will be compressed and refined to shortened abstracts with a corresponding bibliography.

1.0 American History of the Marketing Communication Mix

1.1  Entertain Us! Early American Medicine Shows, and P.T. Barnum.

1.2  Media Men: The Greatest Show on Earth, and The Wild West.

1.3  Technology: Television, Internet, and Consumer Activism.

1.4  Web 2.0 Revolution: Mobile Advertising, and Social Networking.

2.0 Human Perception: Psychology and Public Relations

2.1 Psychology: Freud and Maslow

2.2 PR Men: Bernays The Father of public relations.

2.3 Identity: Leisure and Community

2.4 Micro-demographics, branding in politics and business

3.0 Obama Campaign

3.1 Championing the masses: A Power Perspective on American Democracy.

3.2 David Plouffe: The flawless campaign

3.3 Grassroots targeting

4.4 Marketing Lessons

4.0 Point of Purchase Events

4.1 Event Sponsorship: Cut through the Clutter.

4.2 Point of Purchase in the Digital Age.

4.3 Point of Purchase event: Consumer Value and Entertainment

“Obama’s War”

I have recently stumbled upon BBC war correspondent Ben Anderson’s series “Obama’s War”. It is an unbelievable view-point into the day-to-day operations of America’s Marines in the Helmand province of Afghanistan.  While watching this report it made me realize how often Americans disconnect themselves from the sacrifice our armed forces are making for our comfort and security. It was sad to see Marines say on camera that Americans back home are more concerned with shopping then what is going on with them on the ground. This documentary series makes me proud of the work our marines are doing to not only eradicate fear and terror from the world but also sincerely working to build the confidence of a nation (Afghanistan).

Ben Anderson offers interesting insight in how the American strategy in the Helmand district may be better suited for success then the previous British forces strategy in the region. However, he also discusses the odds of success and reasons for continued engagement in Afghanistan may prove fruitless. Mr. Anderson is very critical of the current media block out of Afghanistan coverage, particularly the lack of coverage in the media on the war and on Mr. President Obama’s policies on the war. I found it really interesting as to how open the Marine Corp has been to embedded journalist. This open-uncensored interaction between Mr. Anderson and the Marines in this particular documentary was very fulfilling for me and my understanding of the complexities in Afghanistan.

I hope many more people will have the opportunity to watch this series, and be encouraged to find other similar field documentaries. Please do share other videos, articles, documentaries on Afghanistan policies and events in my comment box.

Lets all say thanks to our armed forces: Lets Say Thanks

Happy holidays!  always the best,

Andy

Wall Installation: Miami (Oh) University

It was an abnormally warm-72 degree November day- as I was walking to work across the main quad of Miami University. From a distance I could see a great art installation/wall. As I approached it I noticed it was a tribute to the 20th anniversary of the falling of the Berlin Wall. The artwork on the massive tribute wall encapsulated various ideals of fear and oppression that slowly morphed into a message of freedom, peace, unification. The expanse stretched across the whole central quad, and provided a picto-history of events leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The tribute wall stretches 300-400 feet across the quad in a crescent shape. The wall is constructed out of ply wood and canvas material. The wall also has a motion sensor spotlight feature that triggers as students walk by the wall through the quad. The wall itself separates the east and west sides of the central quad (leaving openings for the sidewalk). My eye was drawn to the many beautiful graphical representations of various historical and theoretical ideals. Being a history enthusiast I also appreciated the representations of events such as the Berlin Airlift, and faces of various political leaders of the time. 

A small section of the Berlin Wall tribute in Oxford Ohio.

I dug up a little more information about the art installation and discovered that the Senior Architecture studio on campus headed up the project. Eventually other studios got involved and supported the project. The senior studio made it a semester thesis project and will auction off pieces of the wall at the end of the semester to benefit a local charity. 

The impact of this art installation has been very evident. Miami University is often isolated from world events, projects like this help generate a greater sense of community and awareness of history and the world. I hope to see more interesting campus initiatives to commemorate other events or causes.

Ernst Fest is right around the corner, look for t-shirt order forms and student organizations getting involved with the celebration! We have been working tediously to finalize the programing for the event and have now finalized the set list!

5:00 PM Oxford Drum Ensemble

6:15 PM Boogie Boys Blues 

7:00 PM John Hurd aka Deli Lama

7:30 PM Moonshine Drive

8:15 PM GhostBear

9:30 PM Karate Coyote  

Check out some of the Myspace links to get to know our performers before the show! 

A newly launched Western You Tube Channel is highlighting accomplishments of Alumni and faculty. TheWesterndr You Tube channel directly works with this blog to promote the new interdisciplinary studies program at Miami University. It also will function as a video promotion tool for the upcoming Ernst Fall Fest and for other traditional Western College events. To view the channel check out the side bar entitled “What is the Western Program?” or go directly to You Tube via this link: TheWesterndr

Stay posted for the Ernst promotional video and a video guide on how to enjoy your Ernst experience!