Favorite 2008 Superbowl Ads: Chester Pitts & E*Trade

I posted last week about my most memorable Superbowl ad… so I thought I’d followup here with my favs from 2008. I’m pretty sure I won’t remember these in 5 years, but I really enjoyed them yesterday.

I think this first one’s my “top pick” because it’s not really so much an ad as a great story… and perhaps speaks to my childhood dream of when my own sax playing (also a member of the woodwind family!) would lead to glory and stardom…

And of course you can’t help but love creepy talking babies when you’ve got a few running around your house too!

E*Trade 1999 Superbowl Ad: My Most Memorable

There have been many classics over the years, but the only ad that I can still vividly recall years later was this one, from E*Trade in 1999. A classic example of the sentiment during the tech bubble!

I’m an eBay PowerSeller!!

Woohoo! I’m now officially an eBay PowerSeller! I’ve been stretching to get to this for the past few months, hoping I could hit the minimum sales levels to make it. I just got my invite today!

I’ve now got the PowerSeller badge next to my ID – here’s how I look when someone checks out one of my items:

I’m going to live it up for now – you have to maintain your minimum sales volume on a *monthly* basis to keep the PowerSeller status… I’m pretty sure that by March or April, this will be gone – I’m running out of inventory!

P.S. For you readers that only met me after college and wondering about my username, ‘etterpop’ was a nickname given to me back in my fraternity days.  It’s a tribute to a Pledge Mission that, among other things, led me and some fellow pledges to the loading docks of the Otterpop factory in Los Angeles… if you want to know more, that story is best told over a beer

eBay Happy Hour at Hooters?

Just next to the eBay campus is a Spoon’s restaurant, a favorite spot for a quick beer or some appetizers after work before folks head home. Happy Hour is about to get a bit more interesting – apparently Hooters is moving in! I’ve got to admit, I can’t see eBay workers frequenting the place (rather awkward I’d say) but with the Pruneyard nearby, the whole area gets a lot of traffic so I’m suspecting it may do quite well. (Hat tip to Valleywag for the info, though evidently the SJ Mercury news also reported it a few weeks ago…)

Mmmmm… bacon!

Fake Steve Jobs on Hilary Clinton – 16 months old but still hilarious!

If you’re not a reader of Fake Steve Job’s blog, you’ve at least got to check out this one post from August 2006. I’ve been catching up on the Saturday presidential debates on Tivo and, while there were moments that I thought Hilary sounded moderately compelling, I have to agree with FSJ in that I’m currently hoping she won’t win the nomination. We’ll see how New Hampshire goes tomorrow. In any case, the post is a friggin’ riot – all about a (supposed) visit to the Valley. And he scores bonus points for coining the phrase “Googletards” in the same post!

Honda Commercial: All Physics

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this one – an oldie but a goodie, as they say! Every time I watch it I’m amazed.

Some interesting stats on this commercial:

There are no computer graphics or digital tricks in these images. Everything that you see happened in real time exactly as you see it..
The recording required 606 takes and in the first 605 takes there was always something, usually of minor importance, that didn’t work. The recording team had to install the set-up time after time, and it took several weeks working day and night to achieve this effect.

Hold onto your hats, Bay Area!

Hang on, locals! One of the biggest storm series to hit the Bay Area is on its way (if you haven’t been watching the weather, this is going to be one hell of a week!) We’ve got back to back storms coming our way – one of my coworkers is a bit of a meteorology enthusiast and pointed me to the NOAA website – kind of funny to hear the geeky weather guys talk about it, but it sure sounds like it’s going to be a doozy! (When a weatherman says “MAKE PREPARATIONS NOW” I think it’s time to take him seriously!)

CLOUDS ARE INCREASING AHEAD OF THE IMPENDING STORM SYSTEM…NOW LOCATED NEAR 37N/136W. THIS STORM IS MOVING AT A PRETTY GOOD CLIP AND IS STILL FORECAST TO ARRIVE ON OUR DOORSTEP BY MIDDAY TOMORROW WITH RAIN BEGINNING IN THE NORTH BAY BY LATE MORNING AND SPREADING SOUTH ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE CWA BY EVENING. 24 HOUR RAINFALL ESTIMATES WITH THIS FIRST STORM GIVE 1-3 INCHES TO THE HILLS AND 1/4 TO 1 INCH IN THE LOW LANDS. SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL RAMP UP WITH THIS STORM BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS THE DISTRICT WITH 25 TO 40 MPH POSSIBLE ALONG WITH WITH GUSTS TO 55 MPH ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN AND NEAR THE COAST. THIS WILL ENHANCE OROGRAPHIC RAIN EFFECTS ALONG SOUTH-FACING HILLS.

HOWEVER…A STRONGER STORM IS FORECAST TO AFFECT THE AREA ON FRIDAY. THIS ONE IS FORECAST TO SLAM INTO THE NORTH COAST FRIDAY MORNING AND SPREAD HEAVY RAIN FROM NORTH TO SOUTH DURING THE DAY. SOUTH OR SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO BLOW STRONG WITH SUSTAINED WINDS 30 TO 45 MPH AND GUSTS TO 60 MPH ACROSS THE DISTRICT. EVEN STRONGER WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE HILLS AS A POWERFUL LOW LEVEL JET AIMS AT THE COAST. 24 HOUR RAINFALL TOTALS (ENDING SATURDAY AT 4 AM) FROM THE CNRFC GIVE 1 TO 2 INCHES TO THE VALLEYS AND LOW LANDS OF THE CWA AND 3 TO 5 INCHES IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN…AND EVEN A BULLSEYE OF OVER 6 INCHES TO THE HIGHEST PEAKS OF THE SANTA LUCIAS! ADD THESE NUMBERS TO THE PREVIOUS 24-HOUR TOTALS AND YOU GET CLOSE TO 10 INCHES IN THE HIGHEST PEAKS AND A SOPPING MESS DISTRICT WIDE. ADD IN THE STRONG WINDS AND YOU HAVE THE LIKELIHOOD OF NUMEROUS TREES BEING BLOWN DOWN. MAKE PREPARATIONS NOW…THESE STORMS WILL WREAK HAVOC ACROSS THE STATE.

Into the Wild

It’s funny how hearing a song on the radio can lead you into unexpected places. I’d heard the song “Hard Sun” on KFOG a few times before it finally dawned on me who the artist was – Eddie Vedder (of Pearl Jam.) How could I have mistook that distinct voice for someone else?
What I didn’t realize – and only recently learned – is that this song is only one in a remarkable soundtrack for the movie Into the Wild. Currently being lauded as one of the best films in 2007, this screenplay is adapted from the book about the life of Christoper McCandless, a young man who recently graduated from college, but turned his back on a materialistic society, giving all his possessions to charity and heading off into the Alaskan wilderness. 4 months later, his emaciated body was found in an old VW bus in the middle of an Alaskan forest. Eddie Vedder was asked by Sean Penn (who directed the film) to record the soundtrack, and I think this is actually the first *soundtrack* I’ve listened to that has compelled me to see the film.
Vedder does an incredible job bringing his listeners into the place where Christopher must have been as he looked at the world around him. Both lyrics and accompanying music (mostly on acoustic instruments, and most of which Vedder played himself) are both written and performed very well. The jaded outlook, the loneliness, the separation, and – in songs like “Rise” – the hope of a more rewarding life and future – are palpable in the music.
If you like Eddie Vedder, I’d highly recommend you buy the soundtrack – it’s available on iTunes, of course. And I’ll be back with a review of the book and the movie after I’ve had a chance to give them a look… I’ll leave with the lyrics to one of the more poignant songs from the soundtrack:

Society

It’s a mistery to me
we have a greed
with which we have agreed

You think you have to want
more than you need
until you have it all you won’t be free

society, you’re a crazy breed
I hope you’re not lonely without me

When you want more than you have
you think you need
and when you think more than you want
your thoughts begin to bleed

I think I need to find a bigger place
‘cos when you have more than you think
you need more space

society, you’re a crazy breed
I hope you’re not lonely without me
society, crazy and deep
I hope you’re not lonely without me

there’s those thinking more or less less is more
but if less is more how you’re keeping score?
Means for every point you make
your level drops
kinda like its starting from the top
you can’t do that…

society, you’re a crazy breed
I hope you’re not lonely without me
society, crazy and deep
I hope you’re not lonely without me

society, have mercy on me
I hope you’re not angry if I disagree
society, crazy and deep
I hope you’re not lonely without me

Brings back memories of moving Josh & Chris years ago…