Urban Eola

UE coming out of retirement!?

2008-02-28T11:52:00.004-05:00

Not so fast.

About two months ago, I made the decision to stop posting on UE. Since then there has been talk, speculation and rumor around the internet community (well mostly just my head) that Urban Eola is missed. Actually, it's more like I have stumbled upon about 30 interesting potential post ideas (in the last two weeks alone) that I would have definitely posted had the site been running.

I'd say it's 50/50 right now. I'll keep you posted.

Rarely used UE logo (circa 2006)

Whatever happened to Urban Eola?

2008-01-10T21:47:00.000-05:00

Original UE logo (Dec. 05)

After religiously blogging almost every day for two years (12.15.05 to 12.2.07), it looks like the Urban Eola mojo is gone. It's not due to a lack of love for all things urban, fresh or creative. It's mostly due to my web/entrepreneurial clarity and focus.

I learned a ton from doing this site - HTML, Photoshop, blogging. But in the end, I realized that it's hard to attract consistently large sets of eyeballs to a site as scattered as Urban Eola (retro kicks, the environment, funny ads, good-looking athletes). And with that, I'm moving on... to Web Based Brands. And I'm taking my UE influences/background with me. Urbaneola.com will remain up - browse through the 718 posts if you want. Also, I just checked the total stats -- we had 49,021 totals hits. Not bad for a kid who didn't know blogging from logging.

Thank you loyal readers RW, JB, MK, FT, TC, AT, AC, ES, SK, GT, CJ, and AM. Maybe someday we'll make a comeback.

The brotherhood of sports

2007-12-02T22:37:00.000-05:00

Good stuff. [via SD]

"This is one of my favorite sports videos of all time. When I first saw it on SportsCenter it literally made my day. This type of brotherhood is what, to me, sports is all about. You’ll know what I mean."

Whatcha think about the BCS?

2007-11-29T21:55:00.000-05:00

I've never really watched Adult Swim, but this is pretty funny.

The 411 on Google

2007-11-26T11:27:00.000-05:00

This is pretty cool.

Google will look up business phone numbers -- like 411 (but for free). Simply call in and speak your request. The number is 1-800-GOOG-411.

Of course, Google doesn’t stop at the basics. It will connect you to the number you request. Or, you can request more information be sent via text message. It will even send you a map showing the business' location.

www.google.com/goog411/index.html

How to successfully pitch your idea

2007-11-16T14:58:00.000-05:00

Great quote

2007-11-14T01:03:00.000-05:00

I read this on Cranium founder's Richard Tait's bio page.

Professional credo:
Orville Wright did not have a pilot's license.

By the way, Tait's a pretty interesting guy. After working at Microsoft for 10 years and being named employee of the year, Tait left to pursue his passion. What was his passion? He didn't know. But it wasn't Microsft, so he left the comfort of working for one of the biggest companies in the world.

Orthopaedics 101

2007-11-10T15:39:00.000-05:00

Loyal reader, Dr. BR, sends in this pretty comical athletic stunt gone bad. You have to watch it a couple times to appreciate it.

Live entertainment artist David Garibaldi

2007-11-09T10:58:00.000-05:00

This guy David Garibaldi has turned boring canvas art into a live entertainment spectacle. So much so that he performed at halftime of a NBA game last night. That space is usually reserved for dunking mascots, big time bands or the the guy who spins basketballs all over his body.

The only other guy to make art so entertaining was the legendary Bob Ross.

Dinnersfromhell.com - funny and powerful

2007-11-07T09:01:00.000-05:00

This New York Times article on a small website called dinnersfromhell.com shows the not only the power of the internet but also how funny can be. This video especially is pretty funny.

Baby naming is now cool

2007-10-29T12:52:00.000-04:00

Loyal reader, TC, recently created a web 2.0 baby naming site called BabyNamey. It's really a pretty neat site and definitely the best baby naming site on the web (the others are garbage and this one is cool looking & easy-to-use).

Despite the interactive design, the site was living in relative anonymity until last week when the Spaniards stumbled upon it and made it an internet sensation. Now, the site's receiving mad hits per day and TC is possibly looking at something special here.

Give it a look when you get a chance. Even if you don't have a bun in the oven, it's still neat looking up the origin of your own name.

80's music videos where have you gone?

2007-10-29T12:20:00.000-04:00

Couldn't have said it better than loyal reader RW:

I hope when I was just a wee lad growing up in the 80's that I did not disrespect Journey because, as is evident by this video, Journey is a band deserving of some hard-core respect. I don't know if they are yet deserving to be mentioned alongside the greats like REO Speedwagon or Boston, but they're pretty solid. The mullets, the 'staches, the aviator glasses, the denim jackets, my brain is in overload just comprehending so much sweetness at one location and at one time! It would definitely be tough to identify one feature of this video that is your favorite, but for my money it is either the guy randomly playing a keyboard on a wall of a warehouse or the guy on the drums with a shirt that reads "foosball."

80's videos please come back! We all miss you!

Creative advertising

2007-10-20T14:04:00.000-04:00

The average billboard doesn't cut it anymore. Check out these original ads and some older ones I posted. [via ET via AJ]

The 11 kinds of pickup basketball players

2007-10-15T16:32:00.000-04:00

Hilarious and so accurate!

Peachtree360.com

2007-10-15T12:38:00.000-04:00

I've recently started Web Based Brands and have spent a bunch of time developing a couple of ideas under the WBB roof. Last month, I launched TouchdownTube.com, which has been fairly successful considering I've done very little promotion with it.

But mainly I've poured most of my time into Peachtree360.com, which is an Atlanta event and activities guide. The site is meant to be extremely simple. I made it one page only. There are no archives to browse through. The site is made up of links on the left and a a video on the right.

The way I explain it best that sums up the site: "If you only have 5-10 minutes to look for something fun to do in Atlanta, then Peachtree360.com is by far the best local site for you." Give it a look when you get a chance.

Cursed Nike commercial?

2007-10-09T12:11:00.000-04:00

This is one of the most creative Nike commercials ever made, but when you see who's in it you'll wonder if it's cursed. With Marion Jones' recent announcement that she was on steroids during the 2000 Olympics and Michael Vick's dog fighting conviction this past summer, 2 out of the 7 athletes in the commercial will most likely spend this New Year's in jail. And since the ad released, Agassi has dropped Nike in favor of rival adidas.

What's next? We'll find out that Randy Johnson was on human growth hormone?

Shift happens due to globalization

2007-10-04T08:35:00.000-04:00

These awesome facts on globalization were originally compiled by a high school teacher in Lilttleton, CO for a presentation that he was making to other teachers on teaching students for the 21st century. [via RW]

Want a sign that globalization is something we're not prepared for? The word "globalization" has a red squiggly line underneath it as I type this into Blogger, indicating it's misspelled. It's the only word on this page with one of those lines underneath it.

Read the back stories on the two videos (links above videos) before watching them.

Did you know? 2.0; Shift Happens

Original Yahoo business card

2007-10-02T17:31:00.001-04:00

If this is authentic, this old-school and original-looking business card of Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang is a unique piece of modern history. The logo must be an original as I have never seen it used on the Yahoo site. I love how back in the day "http://" was used in the web address. Now a lot of companies don't even use "www".

Also, check out this pretty cool Flickr page with all kinds of creative and interesting business cards.

Newsweek's most influential in the sports biz

2007-09-27T11:27:00.000-04:00

Newsweek and ESPN the Magazine recently came out with their always impressive list of 100 most powerful people in sports.

It's a great list but I found a couple of their "sub lists" and articles even more interesting. Check out the list of people highly influential in sports who you've never heard of and a profile of rising sports entrepreneur Casey Wasserman, how marathons are becoming a breeding ground for entrepreneurs, and careers that athletes have taken on after they retire.

Allstate Marina Towers commercial

2007-09-26T10:30:00.000-04:00

This Allstate commercial is a surprisingly large scale production for a 60 second spot.

The making of the commercial (below) was pretty interesting, especially the part where they go into the making of the car flying off the Marina Towers building in Chicago. What made it was that it was 100% real.

The singing jogger

2007-09-21T11:21:00.000-04:00

This is great stuff from New York-based web tv show, Black 20.

Freestyle juggler

2007-09-20T13:34:00.000-04:00

I've seen the first guy before, but Tsatulow's stuff (starts at 1:00) is incredible. He probably can't even play the game, but his freestyle juggling has to be as good or better than the best soccer players in the world.

The 7-second time delay would have helped

2007-09-19T14:21:00.000-04:00

Haha.

Drop the Polo horse and the LaCoste croc

2007-09-17T21:02:00.000-04:00

The short sleeve, 2-3 button collared "polo" shirts are classic and timeless. I use polo because the brand's pretty much become the Xerox of these style shirts. I've seen pictures of guys in the 70's sporting them with the same gusto that you see guys wearing them today. Nothing's changed. Even the LaCoste alligator has made acomeback in the last five years.

Let's face it: It's hard for men to express their individuality in a polo. Between the Polo horse and the Lacoste croc, there's not much noticeable difference. That's probably added to their classic-ness, but now there's a new company named Attus Apparel looking to buck the trend of the common cotton pique shirt.

The logos on their slim-fit distressed polos include a "40" and an outline of a toilet bowl among others. The Lexington, Kentuck-based company claims to have a lot more creative ideas in store.

TV commercials

2007-09-17T00:16:00.000-04:00

This Kia ad is pretty funny, but even better is the TV Commercial Blog I just found.

Caption contest

2007-09-14T09:45:00.001-04:00

There's so much that can be done with this picture. I'll start with one: "This blue box will make me billions."

Email me or leave a comment.

The weekend in numbers

2007-09-14T09:25:00.000-04:00

Great stats via Men's Health:

- When the average guy feels like his weekend is starting:
The second he leaves work on Friday
- Number who say it starts on Thursday:
1 in 5

- The average guy's favorite parts of the weekend:
Saturday morning and Saturday night

- Number of men who overeat on weekends:
3 in 5

- Average increase in calories taken in on weekends, compared with weekdays:
115 calories (equaling 5 pounds a year)

- Number of men who work out less on weekends:
3 in 4

- Percentage of men who exercise only on weekends:
7

- The average guy's favorite thing to do after waking up on Sunday:
Read the paper

- Number of men who will plan weekend's activities around a big game on TV:
2 in 3

- Average increase in TV viewing time on Saturday and Sunday, compared with weekdays:
42 minutes

- Number of men who still watch cartoons on Saturday morning:
1 in 5

- Percentage of men who have at least half of their sex on the weekends:
84

- Percentage for whom nearly all of their sex occurs on weekends:
20

- Average amount of extra Z's a man gets on the weekends:
1 to 2 hours

- Percentage of men who participate in a religious service on weekends:
16

- Percentage of chores the average guys sets for the weekend:
50

- Number of men who always check their work e-mail on the the weekend:
1 in 7
- Number who never check:
1 in 2

- Number of men who bring work home over the weekend at least once a month:
1 in 3

- Most common day for the average guy to call in sick:
Friday
- Second place:
Monday

Defining success

2007-09-12T10:59:00.000-04:00

At age 4 success is not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is having friends.
At age 16 success is having a drivers license.
At age 20 success is having sex.
At age 35 success is having money.
At age 50 success is having money.
At age 60 success is having sex.
At age 70 success is having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is having friends.
At age 80 success is not peeing in your pants.

The College Gameday effect

2007-09-10T12:42:00.000-04:00

I love viral marketing campaigns that involve very little money and lots of creativity. The internet has spawned so many efforts that have single-handedly made companies.

This past weekend as I was watching ESPN's College Gameday, I noticed something I had never noticed before. In the background (behind Fowler, Corso and Herbstreit) and amongst the rowdy LSU fans were a couple simple signs on long poles promoting various websites. The ones I noticed were bettingkings.com, a gambling service and beatsaban.com, a site selling Nick $aban shirts.

It'll be interesting to see how those sites and others capitalize on the traffic.

Pizza by the slice, car style

2007-09-06T11:57:00.000-04:00

Walking around downtown Atlanta last weekend, I noticed Flexcar signs everywhere. I've seen the cars on the streets for a while, but didn't really understand the concept. It's actually a brilliant one.

Flexcar is a Seattle-based company which has successfully introduced "car sharing" to L.A., Chicago, San Franciso, Atlanta and San Diego, winning numerous awards for reducing traffic and air pollution in those cities. [Wikipedia - Flexcar]

It works like this: You reserve a car using the phone or online, which displays car locations and availability, then simply walk to the vehicle, swipe a smartcard, and the car is yours. The whole thing costs $9/hour (plus a $40 annual membership fee), which covers insurance, unlimited mileage, 24/7 roadside assistance and gas. The company has charts of how much money you could save by using their service over a year. [Flexcar offers commuters an alternative]

Great concept and I honestly think that I'll think about doing it as it gets bigger in future years.

TochdownTube.com - all kinds of TD videos

2007-09-05T14:22:00.000-04:00

I don't do much self-promotion on this site -- unless I think the you guys will get some benefit out of it.

With that said, check out my newly created site TouchdownTube.com. As the name implies, the site is nothing but touchdown videos from peewee games to high school, college and pro games. It was even designed with the non-techie in mind as the videos are really easy to browse through and watch.

Just like UE, you can get updates of the newly posted videos by email or you can subscribe to the feed.

And if you don't mind, please forward the site on to anyone who likes football, sports, touchdowns or videos of football, sports and touchdowns (covers most of the male and even female population).

Let me know your feedback and I appreciate your support.

While we're on poltical-ish videos...

2007-08-31T11:08:00.000-04:00

This one's hilarious. Will Ferrell as W.

"Obama girl" changes the presidential election

2007-08-31T10:23:00.000-04:00

The power of the internet is crazy, huh? I know this video is a couple months back, but I just caught wind of it last night. To set it up for those who haven's seen it: basically, a NY public relations exec had an in idea for a video talking about having a crush on presidential candidate Barack Obama. He sought some people (including the videographers and a hot lip syncer who has garnered a cult following) out on Craig's List to make it happen and voila -- a YouTube phenom that has been watchd over 3 million times. Although Obama himself has nothing to do with the video, you better believe it's made the YouTube-watching crowd think twice about Barack. That's powerful!

The key will be to see how they monetize this idea. It looks as if shirts and apparel are already in the mix.

How Google Gmails travel around the world

2007-08-30T13:27:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks back on the Official Google Gmail blog a post was written inviting readers to submit videos on how the Google Gmail "M envelope" really travels around the world. 1,100 videos from 65 countries were submitted and Google edited it down to this collaborative video. What came of it was entertaining and creative - Gmail collaborative video. [via RW]

Microsoft's ZunePhone ad

2007-08-29T10:30:00.000-04:00

Excellent creativity and pretty fun play on Microsoft's inadequacies.

Miss South Carolina wants more maps in South Africa

2007-08-27T10:24:00.000-04:00

Doesn't look like she was prepared for this question. But at least A.C. Slater handled it well. [via first time submitter GM]

Cell phone free agency

2007-08-25T10:32:00.001-04:00

This is good stuff -- original and witty. The last segment is by far the best sequence. Props to David Marcus.

Jordan vs Jordan

2007-08-23T10:44:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since this Michael Jordan Gatorade commercial first aired (2003), but it's worth posting. It's every sports fans fantasy: Jordan at age 23 versus Jordan at 39. Here's an ESPN article about the spot [Jordan ready for his close-up].

Piss the stores off

2007-08-23T10:13:00.000-04:00

The Consumerist, the site where 'Shoppers Bite Back', posted an interesting and informative list of tips to save shoppers money while upsetting retailers and throwing stores off their game. [via FT]

1. Buy Loss Leaders and Leave - Loss leaders are products that a company sells at or below cost to lure customers into the store. You can usually spot them in advertising circulars as products with disclaimers like "Limit 3 per customer". The last thing stores want is for you to waltz in, buy all the loss leaders (and nothing else) and leave. So that's exactly what you should do.

2. Use Credit and Pay it Off on Time - Sometimes stores will offer a "6 months, no interest, no payments" offer on big ticket items. These offers are not just to help you buy stuff; they are put in place to trick you into paying more for the item than if you had paid cash. The best thing to do is to take the cash you would have used to buy the item and put it in a high yield savings account. Then buy the item with credit and wait until 5.9 months later to pay it off. That way, you're using someone else's money for 6 months for free. One word of caution: pay the full balance off on time, or all your efforts will have been for naught.

3. Say No to the Extended Warranty - Stores play on the fact that electronics are a big investment, and try to scare you into buying an Extended Warranty. The Extended Warranty is basically just a trick to get you to pay way more for the item than you need to. If you're worried about not having an Extended Warranty, purchase your electronics with a credit card that offers Extended Warranty protection.

4. Activate Your Own Phone - Cell phone companies want you to sign a contract. It's their prime objective. To get around signing on the dotted line, buy a used phone, or an unlocked phone, and then call the cell phone company and activate it. No contract required.

5. Shop in the Store but Buy Online - Stores are just places where you can look at things you will later purchase for cheaper online. Look at your new laptop. Try it out. Ask questions. Then buy it online. Non-virtual stores hate when shoppers do that.

6. Buy 1 when the Deal is 2-for-$5 - "Two for" deals are bull. What they really mean is: "Please, for the love of G-d, buy this and get it out of the store." Buy as many as you decide you need, not as many as they tell you to.

7. Open a Store Credit Card then Cut it Up - The trick here is to strike when the iron is hot. If you need to buy a bunch of items at a department store, for instance, it may be worth it to sign up for that store's credit card just to get the members' discount on that one big bill. But once you've paid it off, cancel the card. No card means no interest and no fees (which is where those cards make their moolah).

8. Use Websites to Track 30-Day Price Guarantees - Stores have "30 day price guarantees" to make you think they have such low prices that they're not going to get any lower. That may well be true, but who knows, since after you buy something, you don't usually keep shopping for it. The answer: sign up to RSS feeds for websites that keep an eye on your desired purchase to see if the price does in fact drop during the guarantee period.

9. Buy Seasonal Items at Clearance Prices - Seasonal items are a big deal for retailers. They want you to buy their seasonal stuff at full price, when it's most profitable for them. But once the holiday is gone they need to make room for the next one. Take advantage of that, and buy now for next year.

10 Buy "Accessories" on eBay and Avoid Big Markups - Retailers will often discount a big ticket item only to charge ridiculous prices for "accessories" such as connectors, cables, controllers, leather lotion for your stupid coat you just bought, etc. They usually succeed to convince buyers to buy the little things, since if they gave you a good deal on a TV chances are they're going to give you a good deal on small ticket items, too. But it's often not the case. Buy this stuff on eBay or at least research what the little items really cost.

New York City's IAC building

2007-08-21T20:25:00.000-04:00

The IAC (InteractiveActiveCorp - ask.com, TicketMaster, and match.com) Building, a 10-story twisted glass structure, in New York City's trendy Chelsea neighborhood is one of the coolest I've seen recently. It opened in March 2007 and was designed by famed architect Frank Gehry.

As neat as the building is, the website for the building is equally as cool. It's one of the better websites I've browsed. I've spent a good 30 minutes checking out the different pictures, views, features and behind-the-scenes info on the building. And on top of that it has a pretty boss urban beat playing in the background. It's an all around pleasant and entertaining experience. [The IAC Building]

50 years of Helvetica typeface

2007-08-21T14:02:00.000-04:00

What do all the logos above have in common?

They all use the same font: Helvetica. Created by the Haas type foundry in Switzerland, the sleek typeface - an element of many a branding effort - is celebrating it's 50th anniversary with an exhibit at New York's Museum of Modern Art. "Helvetica is almost a template" fo corporate logos, says Christian Larsen, curator of the MoMA exhibit. Beacuse of its clarity, Larsen says, "consumers read the message, not the typeface." [via Reena Jana - BusinessWeek]

Old TNT commercial with Carmelo

2007-08-20T09:42:00.000-04:00

Just stumbled upon this. Funny.

Are American men trying too hard to be macho?

2007-08-19T11:22:00.000-04:00

Do Nadal's capri pants make him "soft" in the U.S., even though he's a stud on and off the court?

This is an interesting conversation and point-of-view of European men as compared to their American counterparts. It's from the Playboy Advisor section where readers write in their thoughts on various subjects (this version is slightly edited for brevity).

Reader submssion: "I'm not your typical American male. I'd rather ride around town on a Vespa than a Harley. I'm equally comfortable drinking a glass of wine or a beer. I prefer Formula One to NASCAR. I love women, but I'm usually pegged as gay or at least a wuss. In my travels to European cities, I've noticed that males don't seem to suffer from the same rigid macho syndrome that American me do. They wear more colorful clothes, they're allowed to drink wine, and they ride mopeds to work." -- B.D., St. Louis, MO

Playboy's response: "Hey at least you read Playboy. We've noticed this too and just had an interesting conversation about it with a well-traveled American writer who lived in Paris until recently. "In Europe a 'real man' is someone who dresses sharply, is well-read, and knows how to charm. The two places European men are allowed to be alpha dogs are in the football stadium (soccer) and on the road, and they take advantage of it."

So does being a real American man mean being fat, drunk (on beer only), stupid and badly dressed? If so, I relate more to the European guy. What are your thoughts on this topic?

Hilarious conversation on public access TV

2007-08-17T12:00:00.000-04:00

Watch 2 minutes of this video and you'll wonder what the hell is going on. Watch 5 minutes and you'll be laughing your arse off. The funniest part about the clip is that it's actually from Atlanta Public Access TV. Here's the background:

Alexyss Tylor hosts a show on Atlanta Public Access called "Vagina Power" with her mother in which she discusses the complexities of the male/female relationship. In what can only be described as the oddest conversation about sex, ever, here's an example of her thoughts:

"Because if we're in a lower level love and if we're hooked on the "Penis Power" and this man won't even buy you some shrimp from Long John Silver's and what...that plate what...$2.99? But he'll give you a mouth full of sperm and a rectum full of sperm."

I don't watch much public access TV, but I might start.

Could Google help save the environment?

2007-08-15T22:37:00.000-04:00

This past January, blogger Matt Ontkush claimed that if Google switched its home page background color from white to black, it could save hundreds of megawatt hours a year equaling about $75,000/day. He based his claim on the fact that certain types of monitors use less energy to display black than white screens.

In response to that blog post, many eco-conscious websites changed their background color from white to black. And Blackle, essentially Google in black, was launched. The site claims to have saved 149,845.032 Watt hours.

However, Google refuses to change their simple and famous white background for a darker one. [Google won's go dark to go green - Business Week]. They might be justified in their decision because Google claims going black only saves watts on old-style CRT monitors, not the more popular LCDs.

If you want it bad enough, you'll wait

2007-08-14T11:30:00.001-04:00

On June 29th, Apple released their iPhone to great fanfare. Many iPhone fans waited in line for hours and even days to get a piece of Apple's latest brilliance.

Well, according to BusinessWeek, these aren't the only patient consumers.

Tee time, Course No.2, Pinehurst Golf Resort, Pinehurst, NC:
6 to 9 months

Hermes Birkin bag (black or brown, gold or silver hardware, togo leather):
6 to 12 months

Dinner reservation, French Laundry restaurant, Yountville, CA:
60 days

Ferrari F430 sports car:
2 to 2.5 years

Season tickets, Green Bay Packers, Lambeau Field:
At least 35 years

Tickets, Wagner festival, Bayreuth, Germany:
7 to 10 years

A ballsy little lad

2007-08-12T23:14:00.000-04:00

This is pretty classic (with background info by first time contributor, TB via RW).

"Before professional soccer matches in England the players always walk out with local kids in matching uniforms. It’s usually pretty funny to see the kids in such sweet uni’s, but nothing was as sweet as this. This happened last year before Liverpool and Chelsea played. And the player getting punked is one of the best players in Europe. Awesome."

Oakland, CA is whistlin' over Bubb Rubb and Lil' Sis

2007-08-11T23:45:00.000-04:00

This video sent by first time submitter Nov is absolutely hilarious.

Watch the whole thing (it's only 2:21), but the hysterical scenes are at :45, :52, 1:34, and 1:48. Or pretty much any scene in which Bubb Rubb "woot, woots" or drives erratically (at 1:48 and by far the funniest part of the video).

Great work and keep 'em coming Nov.

Take snapshots of yourself

2007-08-10T00:48:00.000-04:00

Every digital camera-carrying photographer (that's pretty much everyone who owns a camera or even a cell phone camera) has this problem... taking a picture of yourself or with others without asking the sketchball walking by to take it. Here's a pretty neat solution. [via FT]

For $25, Quik Pod offers a lightweight, plastic, telescoping support for your digital camera or camcorder. It screws directly into the camera's tripod hole and adjusts to any angle. The idea is that now you can take self-portraits without having to hand the camera to that sketchball. You can also shoot over crowds, under the car, etc. by easily setting the camera's self-timer to make it take the shot.

The Quik Pod's hand grip is rubberized to make it a more comfortable grip. And the whole thing is made of polycarbonate and aluminum, so it's waterproof, for use with underwater cameras.

Clearly I'm a 7

2007-08-08T17:18:00.000-04:00

This 2-minute video is hilarious. It's narrated by little known comedian Dwayne Perkins. I bet the amount of YouTube views it'll get will boost his profile.

BMW's, chickens and horses

2007-08-08T11:58:00.000-04:00

Hilarious! Click on image to blow it up. [via MK]

What city is best for you?

2007-08-08T11:41:00.000-04:00

This is a pretty interesting and short questionnaire that locates the 5 best cities for you. [via RW]

Kiplinger's top 5 cities for you

Note to the 'Loyals'

2007-08-07T17:46:00.000-04:00

UE readers --

Since I started this blog 667 posts ago on December 15, 2005 I have not gone over 3-4 days without posting. Unfortunately that streak came to an end as it has been exactly 15 days since my last post.

I apologize and realize I have let some of my most loyal readers down. However, I can assure you that the worst of it is behind and I'm ready to rock n' roll back on UE. So check back like you have the last 2 years.

And I ask you to find a soft place in your heart to cut me some slack... as you can see I've been busy.

Bar exam bull run

2007-07-23T20:49:00.000-04:00

I don't know what's going on in this video or what the hell it means, but it pretty much sums up how I feel right now... less than 24 hours before the Georgia Bar Exam. Crazy, huh?

More solid posts to come in 3 days.

101 simple meals in 10 minutes or less

2007-07-19T23:00:00.000-04:00

I don't do many posts on food, which is surprising considering how much I love it. I guess it's that I'll eat anything -- gourmet or not. Here's a really easy list from the NY Times 101 simple meals that can be made in 10 minutes or less. These things are easy. Even for UE readers. [via FT]

Here are two examples:
15. Call it panini: Grilled cheese with prosciutto, tomatoes, thyme or basil leaves.

16. Slice or chop salami, corned beef or kielbasa and warm in a little oil; stir in eggs and scramble. Serve with mustard and rye bread.

Intelligence test

2007-07-18T10:34:00.000-04:00

Smarten up and take this quick intelligence test. I must not be very smart because I failed it three times. Tough competition. [via BR - shout out to Ava]

Cadillac Andy Garcia ad

2007-07-16T22:57:00.000-04:00

I love the new series of "My Journey" Cadillac Escalade ads (check out my previous post on Tiki Barber's Escalade spot here). I also love Andy Garcia in one of my favorite movies, Ocean's Eleven. Combine the two and you have a simple, modern, and surprisingly inspirational, commercial. (Check out Cadillac's site for more entertaining videos, scroll down to "Andy Garcia Escalade")

"The reality is you have to be willing to fall. But you just have to make sure that you fall forward." -- Andy Garcia

College coaches getting techy

2007-07-15T21:39:00.000-04:00

The wonders of the internet have encroached on pretty much every industry... except for some. Now, in 2007, major college coaches (mostly football) have finally realized the power of the internets. And it's helping paying big dividends - helping them recruit young, tech-savvy athletes and connect with hungry fans desperate for more inside info. [Coaches reach fans and recruits with personal sites - Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Next up: the DMV.

Some coaches sites
spurrierhbc.com: Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
playatgatech.com: Georgia Tech
beamerball.com: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
coachtressel.com: Jim Tressel, Ohio State
petecarroll.com: Pete Carroll, USC
houstonnutt.com: Houston Nutt, Arkansas
phillipfulmer.com: Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee

New movies on your TiVo

2007-07-14T18:00:00.000-04:00

Great find from the guy who's coming up with just about all UE's content recently, RW.

TiVo Wants To Be Your New Home Box Office

Have you ever wanted to see a film but didn't want to order it on Netflix and wait for it to come in the mail? And what if you just couldn't find the time to get out to your local Blockbuster and rent a copy? TiVo has teamed up with Amazon to make sure that you can get a wide variety of films delivered directly to your TV screen without ever leaving home. The pricing for the newly revamped "Amazon Unbox on TiVo" service runs about $2 for older films and $4 for new releases. The service was initially launched last winter, but back then you had to select your movie and watch it on your computer. This new upgrade lets you watch it right on your plasma TV.

Best of all, this new technology marks a great stride toward IPTV or internet protocol television. With IPTV, the internet offers the ability to completely control the content on your screen. Here in America, we lag behind many other countries in internet and tech advances because of the shared monopoly of the cable and phone companies. But there's more neat stuff like this coming down the pipeline. Imagine the day when you'll basically have the entire Hollywood archive of movies at your fingertips. Get ready to break out the microwave popcorn! [via Clark Howard]

Racy Beckham photos

2007-07-11T23:42:00.001-04:00

He's invading the U.S. soon. Check out these racy photos in W Magazine of Victoria (Posh Spice) and David Beckham. [The Beckhams: American Idols - W Magazine]

Sports fans joke o' the day

2007-07-11T22:15:00.000-04:00

You can pretty much substitute any college in place of Georgia in this joke and it would still be funny. Note: With the exception of VMI, Duke and Georgia Tech (haha JB, MK and TC!). [via RW]

A Georgia Bulldawg fan is drinking in a New York bar, when he gets a call on his cell phone.

He hangs up, grinning from ear to ear, and orders a round of drinks for everybody in the bar, announcing his wife has just given birth to a typical Georgia Bulldawg baby boy weighing 25 pounds.

Nobody can believe that any new baby can weigh in at 25 pounds, but the Georgia fan just shrugs and replies, "That's about average back home folks.

Like I said, my boy's a typical Georgia Bulldawg baby boy. Gonna be a Georgia Bulldawg football player."

Congratulations showered him from all around, amid many exclamations of "WOW!"
One woman actually fainted due to sympathy pains.

Two weeks later, he returns to the bar.

The bartender says, "Say, aren't you the father of that Georgia Bulldawg baby that weighed 25 pounds at birth?

"Yes sir I am!" exclaimed the smiling father.

Everybody's been making bets about how big he'd be in two weeks and we were wondering how much does he weigh now?" asked the barkeep.

The proud father answers, "Seventeen pounds."

The bartender is puzzled, concerned and a more than a little suspicious. "What happened? He already weighed 25 pounds the day he was born!"

The Georgia Bulldawg father takes a slow swig of his beer, wipes his lips on his shirt sleeve, leans into the bartender and proudly says.............

"Had him circumcised."

CNN and YouTube collaborate

2007-07-09T23:14:00.000-04:00

This is an interesting breakthrough in the world of media. CNN and YouTube are collaborating to host a series of presidential debates - the first on July 23 for Democrats and the second on Sept. 17 for Republicans. CNN (owned by Time Warner) will televise the debates, featuring questions submitted via web powerhouse YouTube (owned by Google). CNN-YouTube debates

The candidates will assemble on a stage to answer questions submitted by ordinary people via YouTube. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will act as the moderator between the viewers and the candidates. [examples of the video questions]

What's really interesting is that new media video sharing site YouTube was probably the hotter commodity and more sought after in this deal than the old media news network CNN.

Coke's "Sue Zero" viral ads

2007-07-08T23:47:00.000-04:00

Tonight as I was catching up on an old issue of Men's Health magazine, I noticed a funny looking ad that looked a lot like a law firm advertising a class action lawsuit [Read Can't Tell Your Coke Ads Apart? Sue Someone and How Coke Punk'd Its Lawyers]. The ad is slightly dated and has a cheesy picture of a guy in a monkey suit and asks in big letters "Are you the victim of taste confusion?"

At first, I was taken and thought that some class desperate, wannabe class-action lawyer actually ponied up the money to get onto the pages of Men's Health magazine. I even typed the website into my computer only to notice "attornies" was spelled wrong. And the ad and website do a good job of keeping the ad's sponsor, Coca Cola, discreet. It took me about 5 minutes to find any Coke affiliation. You can't put anything past those pesky lawyers - or Coke ad execs. Check out the Sue Zero ad campaign website. They even made a pretty funny YouTube video to go along with it.

Newsmakers

2007-07-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

This is a cool shot of two major sports personalities set to make some major news this week. Both have very distinct styles and fashion sense and probably get panties thrown at them on a daily basis.

Rafael Nadal, the "King of Clay" due to his 83 straight wins on clay courts, is right now battling possibly the best tennis player of all time Roger Federer (see previous UE post) in the Wimbledon Final and has him even through 4 sets (turn on NBC now). If Nadal wins, he could possibly become the #1 ranked player in the world. This would be one of the more unbelievable feats in sports history considering Federer has won 9 of the last 14 major tournaments. Can you ever imagine a player being replaced as #1 player in the world after winning 9 out 14 majors? Nadal could possibly make it happen.

And that leaves us David Beckham. Everyone knows his deal. He is the most well-known athlete in the world and he's coming to the U.S. to play in MLS. That is pretty cool. His arrival in LA is this Friday, July 13. His first game for the Los Angeles Galaxy is July 21 on ABC or ESPN against English super club Chelsea.

Introducing Roger Federer

2007-07-07T14:03:00.000-04:00

They say he's the best ever. And he's only 25 (turns 26 on 8.8.07). And now the best golfer in the world (T. Woods) introduces Roger Federer in his first ever Nike commercial. Check out this pretty sweet Roger Federer Nike commercial and read what CNBC sports biz. writer Darren Rovell has to say about the historic spot. [via RW]

Quick...who's famous for #23?

2007-07-05T17:04:00.000-04:00

SI.com's list of best athletes by jersey number is a great topic/idea and sure to open up some debate. For example when you see #0, #10, or #99, Gilbert Arenas, Pele, and Wayne Gretzky should immediately strike your fancy. Also, check this list of actors and politicians uniform #'s.

The corresponding photo galleries are equally as interesting.
- Jersey #'s 00-31
- Jersey #'s 32-65
- Jersey #'s 66-99

Google voice mail?

2007-07-05T13:18:00.000-04:00

As if Google didn't already own the internet, they could get even more dominant. With their recent purchase of small communications company, GrandCentral (for $50 million), you just might be able to check your phone voice mail through a Google site.

"In a nutshell, GrandCentral is a service that lets you integrate all of your various phone numbers (home, work, cell) and voice mailboxes into one central account with one phone number. You access this account either via a Web interface or with any phone. All of your voicemails are there, and you can either listen to them or read them, or forward them to someone else."

Read the rest of the PC World article.

[via RW via AK]

Jay Leno interviews Paris Hilton

2007-07-04T14:10:00.000-04:00

Recently, I've been digging Letterman more than Leno only because Letterman tends to ask the hard questions to celebs. This video is pretty funny though. Watch Jay Leno interviewing Paris "mystery meat" Hilton.

Chicago Cubs credit card check

2007-07-02T02:09:00.000-04:00

Funny video with commentary sent by loyal reader JR (probably the first non-pornographic email I've received from him in three years):

"Dude..check this out. you need to post this on your site. what the f&ck was goin on there!!!! hahaha. Check this video out, watch closely at what happens to ramirez..."

Chicago Cubs' Aramis Ramirez gets his oil checked after a home run.

Reggie Bush and David Beckham compare footballs

2007-06-30T23:45:00.000-04:00

This video is awesome. Reggie Bush and David Beckham, whose 250 million-dollar deal with Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy begins next week, met in Madrid this week to film an adidas ad campaign called "futbol vs. football". David Beckham sporting football pads (and playing DB) and Reggie Bush taking penalty picks and juggling is priceless.

Interesting quote of the day

2007-06-30T22:37:00.000-04:00

All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.
-- Sean O'Casey

[via Carol M]

101 things sports fans should do before they die

2007-06-30T13:54:00.000-04:00

Great tip from loyal reader RW:

"Hey - I heard ESPN just came out with their list of 101 things sports fans have to do before they die. Ironically enough, the Super Bowl is not one of them."

I've actually been lucky enough to experience 3 out of the top 4 on the list.
ESPN's 101 things sports fans should do before they die

Michael Moore's Sicko

2007-06-30T13:02:00.000-04:00

I know a lot of people don't like documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, but you've got to admit that his films raise serious, valid issues with the way the U.S. does things. Plus, he does it a funny way. And in American cinema where everything has a "Hollywood ending", it's good to be exposed to the other side. I'll be honest, I truly enjoy watching his movies. How often do you get to see a good documentary in the mainstream movie theaters?

Go see Sicko and let's talk
My request to all Urban Eola readers is to go see his latest movie Sicko on the pitfalls of the American health care system at a theater near you and leave some of your thoughts in the comments section here. I'll tell you this, it makes me want to have a baby (1 year maternity leave) and spend my working career (5 weeks vacation + additional days) in France. I'm interested in hearing what you think.

Sicko trailer

People's online mag

2007-06-27T22:39:00.000-04:00

I'll be honest I read People magazine and check People.com. It is pretty much my way of keeping fresh on pop culture. Now People just recently came out with a new digital magazine, which has the look and feel of a traditional paper magazine but with all the benefits of computer graphics, audio and visual. Check it out, it's pretty neat.

A whole new magazine experience
I could actually see myself reading a magazine in this format. It has the potential to be a very enjoyable experience. Ads can be more interactive and stories can include videos and sound clips. And the cool part is that the pages actually flip like regular magazines with the click of a button.

Death to the old magazines
It's a really cool concept that I haven't seen online yet. But what's really cool about it is that traditionally launching magazines can be a costly proposition. Digital mags allow you and I to enter the game and compete. It'll be interesting to see how they fare.

Life's too short for the wrong job!

2007-06-27T19:05:00.000-04:00

This is one of the most creative advertising campaigns I've ever seen promoting the German job search website jobsintown.de. Of course it's a European idea. They seem to always be on the cutting edge. Click on each picture to see the creative and intricate details.

JibJab's Star Bangled Banner

2007-06-27T18:46:00.000-04:00

JibJab, the website that brought you the famous "This Land" parity of the 2004 election and George W. Bush in 2-0-5 also has a little patriotic July 4th diddy sung by the presidents. They can't sing worth a lick, but they sure can bust a move - Star Bangled Banner.

Leon Bud commercials

2007-06-25T00:19:00.000-04:00

The Bud "Leon" commercials from a couple years back are hilarious. The funny part of the whole thing is that the actor who plays "Leon" is actually an amateur baseball player named Nigel Thatch who, on May 1, 2006, was traded from Schaumburg (Ill.) of the Northern League to Fullerton (Ca.) of the Golden Baseball League in exchange for 60 cases of Budwesier beer. There are a whole series of the "Leon" commercials on YouTube, but below are my favorite three.

"Leon can't do everything"

Leon & Joe Buck on his good side

Leon interested in becoming a broadcaster

[via RW]

Viva Las....

2007-06-21T02:18:00.000-04:00

I'm heading west to Vegas for the first time ever and instead of coming up with something witty and cliche-filled at 2:20 AM with my flight only 7 hours away, I'll leave it to ESPN Page 2 columnist Bill Simmons, who writes in his entertaining article We'll Always Have Vegas:

In many ways, Vegas has become the ultimate cliche, a swollen self-parody of itself, as exemplified by the "Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" campaign and all the overcrowded weekends. But it's still a Hall of Fame male bonding place. That's why we'll go next year, and the year after that, and the year after that ... and maybe we'll be sitting at the Saturday dinner in a few years talking about colonoscopies, mortgages and braces, but at least we'll be laughing and busting each other's chops like always.

Vegas, baby.

Vegas.

The story of online entertainment and internet shows

2007-06-20T13:00:00.000-04:00

The idea of a former Disney CEO
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner has started a company called Vuguru, an internet video production company. It's first project is Prom Queen, a web series of 90-second shorts in 80 episodes that are distributed solely online (read the Washington Post story). The full season show length is just two hours long and the show "airs" seven days a week, since on the internet there are no programming schedules.

As for commercials...let's just say the characters drink a lot of prominently placed POM Wonderful (pomegranate juice) and Fiji Water for a reason.

Anyone can compete
This is a brilliant concept and one that allows any player (no matter how small) to compete for those elusive eyeballs. Check out the latest episode of Prom Queen. The content might not be your style, but you'll appreciate the production quality and style of watching shorts (90-seconds) on your computer.

AIG commercial - "can't sleep"

2007-06-19T14:05:00.000-04:00

There is no doubt that the Nintendo 64 kids BMW commercial from the 2006 holiday season (Remember when wishes came true - 11.30.06) is one of the funniest I have posted on Urban Eola. Now loyal reader JB924, and one of the biggest supporters of that video, has this to say:

AIG "Can't Sleep" commercial
T -- There is no doubt that the BMW Christmas video commercial that you blogged
about is insanely funny.....however this AIG "Can't Sleep" commercial might
have edged it by a nose...what do you think?

N64 kids BMW commercial

Will the iPhone bust?

2007-06-17T13:42:00.000-04:00

Apple's iPhone has been discussed and debated plenty on Urban Eola. As always, the commercials are great (see the creative iPhone ads here). And there's no doubt that the iPhone looks amazingly stylish. Apple's always cutting edge in terms of look.

But I, like many others, don't like the fact that you can only use the iPhone (launching June 29th) with the new AT&T cellular network. Will it duplicate the iPod's success? Here's a solid chart comparing it with the other smart phones and an article from the New York Times (The iPhone has a kewyboard, but it's not mechanical).

The business of domain names

2007-06-16T10:50:00.000-04:00

If you're stuck in another generation and don't think domain names are big business, then you've got to read these two articles. Domain name purchases are the gold rush and real estate grab of the 21st century. I've been saying it for years and no one understands.

The Domains Of The Day (Business Week)
How two Boston entrepreneurs are making millions from names as simple as chocolate.com
UE Note: About six months ago, I actually purchased chalklit.com. If they're making millions from chocolate.com, what is chalklit.com worth?

The man who owns the Internet (Business 2.0)
Kevin Ham is the most powerful dotcom mogul you've never heard of, reports Business 2.0 Magazine. Here's how the master of Web domains built a $300 million empire.

And for the shameless plug: chalklit.com, theyup.com (young urban professional), do26.com, oneatl.com, urbanatl.com, tensten.com, 5jive.com and thoinkbig.com are for sale. Contact me if you're interested.

Dirty humor

2007-06-15T01:11:00.000-04:00

My buddy JR sends out about 5-6 "dirty email forwards" a week. I don't know where he gets them from. He says he's just passing on what gets sent to him, but I'm starting to think he's doing some downloading himself.

I'm not complaining - more so just laughing. Here's one of his cleaner ones (most involve some type of video attachment).

A train hits a bus filled with Catholic school girls and they all perish. They are in heaven trying to enter the pearly gates when St. Peter asks the first girl, "Tiffany, have you ever had any contact with a male organ?" She giggles and shyly replies, "Well, I once touched the head of one with the tip of my finger." St. Peter says,"Okay, dip the tip of your finger in the Holy Water and pass through the gate."
St. Peter asks the next girl the same question,"Jennifer, have you ever had any contact with a male organ?" The girl is a little reluctant but replies, "Well, once I fondled and stroked one."
St. Peter says, "Okay, dip your whole hand in the Holy Water and pass through the gate."
All of a sudden, there is a lot of commotion in the line of girls. One girl is pushing her way to the front of the line. When she reaches the front, St. Peter says, "Lisa! What seems to be the rush?"
The girl replies, "If I'm going to have to gargle that Holy Water, I want to do it before Jessica sticks her ass in it."

And for the first time ever, today he sent me two "dirty forward text messages". Do people send text message forwards?

1- Snow White was fired from Disney today. She got caught sitting on Pinnochio's face screaming "Lie Big Boy, Lie"

2- A penis says to his balls, "get ready we're going to a party!" His balls say "you damn liar, you always go inside and leave us outside knocking!"

Just Do It, Lance

2007-06-13T23:19:00.000-04:00

Even though Lance Armstrong is two years removed from his professional cycling career, he still remains one of my top four professional athletes of all time (along with Charles Barkley, Andre Agassi and Kirby Puckett).

This 2001 Nike commercial is one of the best I've seen. It plays on the fact that during his Tour de France dominance, he was the most tested athlete in the world. The last line is legendary Nike advertising.

What am I on? I'm on my bike...6 hours a day...busting my ass.

It's just like a mini mall

2007-06-13T22:59:00.000-04:00

Following are the words to the best flea market commercial I've ever seen. In fact, it might just be the only flea market commercial I've ever watched for longer than 4 seconds.

Flea market..Montgomery...it's just like...it's just like...a mini mall. Break it down.

Repeat that about 37 times and add a scary flea market salesman and catchy beat and you get a YouTube phenomenon. [via long lost contributing writer MK]

Live blogger kicked out of NCAA tourney game

2007-06-12T21:53:00.000-04:00

The medium of blogging/blogs is so wide open that the precedent for what's legal and illegal has yet to be set. You gotta love when something is so new that standards/tendencies aren't set. It leaves tons of room for potential and creativity. That makes our type happy.

The most recent example of bloggers involved with the law came this past weekend when a reporter was tossed for blogging during a NCAA tourney baseball game.

"It's a real question that we're being deprived of our right to report within the First Amendment from a public facility," Fleischaker said. "Once a player hits a home run, that's a fact. It's on TV. Everybody sees it. [The NCAA] can't copyright that fact."

The $3,000 chocolate milk

2007-06-11T18:22:00.000-04:00

This is awesome.

In 10th grade, Justin Verlander didn’t have 50 cents for a chocolate milk. So he told his friend, Daniel Hicks, that if Hicks gave him 50 cents, Verlander would give him .1 percent of his signing bonus.

"I wanted a chocolate milk that cost 50 cents, and I didn't have the money," Verlander, 24, told Sports Illustrated. "So I said, 'How about I give you 0.1 percent of my pro signing bonus if you give me 50 cents now?' He found a napkin, wrote it up, and I signed it.

Verlander was drafted in 2004 by the Detroit Tigers out of Old Dominion and received a $3 million signing bonus. Hicks tracked down Verlander and whipped out the napkin and claimed his $3,000 for the glass of chocolate milk. [via Sports Biz with Darren Rovell and Mike & Mike]

Knocked Up gets two thumbs up

2007-06-09T12:26:00.000-04:00

Good movies are hard to come by. Good comedies are even harder to come by.

With that said, Knocked Up is probably the funniest movie I've seen since summer of 2005's Wedding Crashers. I was laughing pretty much for 2 hours straight. And if you have any type of personality, you will too.

- Official site
- movie trailer

Dear Abby

2007-06-08T18:36:00.000-04:00

Dear Abby,

I've never written to you before, but I really need your advice. I have suspected for some time now that my wife has been cheating on me. The usual signs......... phone rings but if I answer, the caller hangs up.

My wife has been going out with the girls a lot recently although when I ask their names she always says, "Just some friends from work, you don't know them."

I always try to stay awake to look out for her coming home, but I usually fall asleep. Anyway, I have never approached the subject with my wife. I think deep down I just didn't want to know the truth, but last night she went out again and I decided to really check on her.

Around midnight, I decided to hide in the garage behind my golf clubs so I could get a good view of the whole street when she arrived home from a night out with "the girls".

It was at that moment, crouching behind my clubs, that I noticed that the graphite shaft on my driver appeared to have a hairline crack right by the club head.

Is this something I can fix myself or should I take it back to the pro shop where I bought it?

Stan L.

Cleveland, OH

Lines o' the day

2007-06-08T17:45:00.000-04:00

What makes men chase women they have no intention of marrying?
The same urge that makes dogs chase cars they have no intention of driving.

Who is the most popular guy at the nudist colony?
The guy who can carry a cup of coffee in each hand and a dozen donuts.

Who is the most popular girl at the nudist colony?
The one who can eat that last donut. [via JR]

Kick his ass, C-bass

2007-06-07T22:39:00.000-04:00

Funny!

[via MR]

Man vs. Wild

2007-06-06T23:49:00.000-04:00

When it comes to loyal reader JRandallB's taste in women, clothing and sports, I have very little faith in him. However, I listen when he speaks this highly of a TV show. Here are his thoughts:

have u ever watched man vs wild on the discovery channel? i just started watching it and it legitimately might be the coolest show on tv...u have to check it out

Check it out
Fridays at 9 PM on the Discovery Channel (starting in June)

About Man vs. Wild
In each episode of Man vs. Wild Bear strands himself in popular wilderness destinations where tourists often find themselves lost or in danger. As he finds his way back to civilization, he demonstrates local survival techniques, including escaping quicksand in the Moab Desert, navigating dangerous jungle rivers in Costa Rica, crossing ravines in the Alps and surviving sharks off Hawaii.

> Man vs. Wild (YouTube clip)
> Man vs. Wild (Wikipedia)
> The 'Man' - Bear Grylls (Wikipedia), personal website

How would you like an extra $8K a month?

2007-06-06T23:38:00.000-04:00

Interesting story from loyal reader TC:

You'd be surprised how much money you can make by creating a flash game and giving it away for free on the internet. The Tower Defense game mode is a business opportunity for an enterprising programmer. According to a recent interview, Paul Preese, the author of Desktop Tower Defense, is making around $8,000 per month.

So minus the time he spent programming, and his nominal hosting fees, Paul Preese is clearing almost $100,000 "salary" per year with Desktop Tower Defense. And he did it all on his own: he wrote the game, placed it on a public web server, hooked up AdSense, and then submitted it to a few social bookmark sites. No selling his soul to a publisher, no middlemen, just pure income, controlled directly by him.

Ah, the power of the internet.

It's all about the bottles with Voss Water

2007-06-05T18:55:00.000-04:00

Nowadays, water is more expensive than gasoline and for some reason, eh-hem creative marketing campaigns, bottled water has taken off in popular culture.

It has gotten to the point where it is actually fashionable to carry around certain brands of bottled water (Fuji water, Vitaminwater, etc). However, no bottled water company is more trendy and popular than Norwegian Voss Water (Wikipedia entry).

7 bucks a pop
Have you seen the Voss bottles? They're simple, modern and made of solid, see-through glass. There's really nothing to the bottles except for the fact that they look totally bad ass. Like some type of fine vodka. This past weekend just about everyone at Sutra Lounge in Atlanta was buying them for $7 a pop. And this is lounge that serves alcohol.

Lesson in branding
It really is a great lesson in branding and makes you realize that the actual product (water in this case) could suck, but if the style and popularity of the brand are strong, then the brand has a chance at being successful. I'm not saying Voss Water sucks (I've actually never had it; something about $7 a bottle), but I'll say the guy who came up with the bottles deserves a raise, not the owner of the Voss water well. Not one person in that lounge could tell the difference between pure artesian Norwegian water (Voss) and Fulton County tap water. But they sure know them bottles.

Join the mile high club

2007-06-03T21:11:00.001-04:00

This is one of the most creative ideas I've ever seen.

Five years ago, corporate pilot Bob Smith pimped out his small plane with a mattress and a curtain and started Mile High Atlanta. You can assume the rest. His company charges randy couples $299 for the opportunity to join the mile-high club with an hour of in-flight lovin'. Smith says the flights are not against FAA regulations because "it qualifies as a sightseeing trip." Also included is a bottle of champagne and you get to keep your sheets as a souvenir of this special event.

From their website:
Our pilot is very discreet and all flights are handled with the utmost confidentiality.

Brilliant idea!

Google street view

2007-06-02T11:30:00.000-04:00

This is pretty awesome. Google's street view "allows you to quickly and easily view and navigate high-resolution, 360 degree street level images of various cities in the US." Very cool. [via RW]

MTV music awards ad

2007-05-31T19:50:00.000-04:00

Update (6.2.07): YouTube acts quick - the old video was taken down shortly after I posted it. I found a new one and posted it below.

This short ad promoting the 2007 MTV Movie Awards (June 3 in Los Angeles) and starring Sara Silverman and SNL's Will Forte is pretty funny. However, they cut out the funniest part from the original version I saw on MTV. At the very end, in place of the last "balls", Forte originally blurted out "taint". If you know what a taint is, it makes the video 10x funnier because it's such an undercover, funny body part.

"the region of the human body between the testicles or vagina and the anus"

Creative business idea - Zingo Transportation

2007-05-30T22:40:00.000-04:00

Check out this creative company called Zingo. I don't know how long-term viable it is, but the idea is definitely original. [via JB-atl]

Here's how it works:
- When you've had too much to drink, you call Zingo
- A guy on a folding moped comes to pick you up
- He then folds the scooter, puts it in a bag and puts it in your trunk
- He drives you home
- When you are safe and sound at home, he hops on his scooter and he's off

200 orgasms a year

2007-05-30T22:04:00.001-04:00

I'll admit, I watch Oprah. Her show legitimately covers some solid topics that even the most manly of men can learn from, including this fact below from her frequent health guest, Dr. Oz. While you're at it, take Dr. Oz's health quiz.

200 orgasms a year = 6 year age reduction
"If you have more than 200 orgasms a year, you can reduce your physiologic age by six years," Dr. Oz says. He bases the number on a study done at Duke University that surveyed people on the amount and quality of sex they had. "They looked at what happened to folks that are having a lot of intercourse over time, and the fact is, it correlated."

Zen-like experience
Among the benefits of having sex often, Dr. Oz says, is that it can prove that your body is functioning as it is supposed to. "But in addition, having sex with someone that you care for deeply is one of the ways we achieve that Zen experience that we all crave as human beings," he says. "It's really a spiritual event for folks when they're with someone they love and they can consummate it with sexual activity … seems to offer some survival benefit."

Alive and kickin'...

2007-05-30T00:15:00.001-04:00

Just a short note to let you know UE will be back and running strong shortly. In the meantime, Urban Eola headquarters has moved north from the Sunshine State (Orlando) to the Peach State (Atlanta). However, expect the same great content and don't worry, the Urban Eola name is staying despite the move. My "borrowed" internet connection is so weak it's crazy. Keep posted.