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When Burger King first brought back their mascot a few years ago I thought it was the funniest and smartest ad campaign I’d seen in a long time. I was creating my first TV commercials at the time so I’d notice stuff like that.
It was also the first time that I realized other people from my generation were now working in the creative industry and companies were taking risks with them for their marketing. As soon as I saw the first ad with The King I knew it must have been created by other dudes who like me were weaned by the likes of Pee-Wee Herman and Ren & Stimpy.
I only had to see this Coldplay video one time and I had to find out who made it.
Turns out it’s a group of college buddies who stuck together all these years later as the collective Shynola—a name which not only comes from one of my all-time favorite movies, but has also produced videos for some of my all-time favorite artists, like Beck and Radiohead and of course everyone’s favorite Coldplay…
I get so excited whenever I see artwork that is something like I would do. When I saw the work of these guys, I wanted to go out and make videos again.
I grew up in a particular Christian culture where it was considered sin to be angry with God. We also had no framework for Christian living that recognized sin as a part of our lives.
“Just stop sinning!” was the underlying theme. (well, that and “culture is evil”).
I remember seeing an ad when the book first released and thought, “I must read that book.” It took me a couple years to finally get to it, but I’m glad I did.
The perspective is unavoidably female, which might make the book seem un-relatable for some guys (not everyone is as sensitive as me), but her struggles are universal. She battles self-worth and identity; faith and doubt; relationships and honesty; and ultimately her view of God.
I especially related to Susan’s struggles to find herself in her art. She was always so compelled to fulfill her calling and find real meaning in touching the lives of those that encountered her work along the way.
(and of course she’s totally honest about her desires to be successful too – something I have a hard time with sometimes)
Even though I’d already had plans to read her book, I was especially interested in touching base with her about this interview when I saw that her acting career had landed her on some of my all-time favorite shows like Parks and Rec, Family Ties, My Name is Earl, Quantum Leap (!), Fresh Prince and movies like Planes, Trains and Automobiles (the one John Hughes classic that I unfortunately had to leave out of my recent JH poster series because I ran out of time).
When I saw she was also in one of my favorite eposodes of Seinfeld (the one with Jean-Paul and George taking the reps from Texas out on the town) I flipped.
Honestly though, it has been her writing that moved me the most. She is so honest and has come so far and so many women share her struggles with heartache and frustration and loneliness and impossible expectations that I must insist every woman I know read this book. Read more
I just had a realization that hopefully isn’t true…
When I started Strong Odors, I had no intention of it becoming such a personal space. I really dislike diary-blogging and had every intention to keep my writing altogether fun and challenging without much introspection at all.
Obviously that didn’t happen.
The more I investigated the little things that make me feel alive, (like certain strong odors do) whether “good” or “bad,” the more I started sharing my own stories and experiences.
These interviews have a variety of motivations, one of which is an opportunity for me to write about something other than myself.
However, this unsettling realization I just mentioned is that the subjects seem to be becoming more and more like me.
). His introspective look at growing up without a father uncovered some startling statistics about fatherlessness in America, and Don set out to do something about it.
Since then he’s founded The Mentoring Project, a non-profit organization responding to the American crisis of fatherlessness by inspiring and equipping faith communities to mentor fatherless boys. Having spent much of my adult life working for (or on behalf of) non-profits, I can tell that this effort is extremely well run and positioned to actually make real change happen. It is focused and the plan of action is clear.
These folks know what they are doing.
At the helm of the organization is John Sowers. He was appointed as President of The Mentoring Project about a year ago and is especially suited for the job. John grew up fatherless himself, and it was a man who entered his life as a mentor to whom John credits much of his character as an adult.
