Why we're all going insane. – or – A brief history of visual media.

There's an ad for an antidepressant/anxiety pill ever .003 seconds on television nowadays and I asked myself why. While I understand we are under greater pressure in our jobs and relationships than ever before, I also blame the amount of media that we consume. Let's review the past few million years:

4.54 Billion Years Ago

While television  was not around when volcano's and plate tectonics shaped the earth, we still would have a need for visual feedback. So I have to give this era a leg up on the Discovery Channel as you where outdoors all the time, things were very simple and everything was in HD.

150 Million Years Ago

Visual programming of this era was far more exciting mainly because if what you were watching caught up to you, you were often eaten alive – serpentine!!!

50,000 Years Ago

Ahh, fire. Fire is timeless visual programming at its finest. Even today people tune in, advertising free, an worship its endless array of shapes, and color. Let's not forget fire's ability to heat, cook food and thwart of cave creatures – albeit temporarily.

800-300 (And Some Change) Years Ago

Here's were it all goes to pot. You start bringing in your visual media (fire, art, thinking) into the home. DAMN THE CONTROLLED FIRE DEVICE! This bore the need to construct more shit to do indoors and therefore limiting our once unbridled outdoor imaginations.

15-18th Century: The Birth of Pay-Per-View

Here's your 'reality TV' public execution style. "What say you to taking the kids into the town square to see some witches get their what for!" Well you're going to have to do something now that you feel compelled to stay inside and stare at controlled fire. Ahhh, good times. And if you did this frequently enough you might feel compelled to bring a book, whisper to a friend or simply stone the convicted on their way in.

100 Year Ago

The radio was the beginning of the multi-modal. While "listening" to the radio one's thoughts were free to do other tasks, like knitting or petting domesticated animals. BUT! you couldn't leave the confines of the home that contains the magic devil box can you? Not knowing what the Lil' Abner or the score to the baseball game could get you endless ridicule at the water cooler on Monday. Less thinking, more subservience – release the advertising plague! I mean "industry!"

50+ Years Ago

You guessed it "the magic box" is drop into the spiral to insanity. We didn't even have a chance, as we got to our radio heros come to life. But something happened in this magic hour. Our media digestion rate began to accelerate at a break neck speed.

And then you blink to: Current Day

There's no more asking whether you want the content – you get. It's poured into every nook and cranny that it can fit. All the while you answer cell phone calls, twitter, listen to your iPod and rank your opinions online simultaneously. Human sanity was originally constructed to look at fire (see above) and that's about it. You're timeline is speeding up, while your media digestion rate is rapidly gagging even the savviest of users. Where will it end? What is the saturation standpoint? What will be the breaking point, and who will benefit when we fall? Answering these questions are as important to the future of advertising as is creating great messaging.

Don't forget where you came from.

This was written (by my mother) on the inside of the book "Where the Wild Thing Are", lavishly written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. I found this book well into my twenties when I decided that I wanted another tattoo, but had not come to terms with what the next design should be. I therefore had it done by a master tattooist named Mike Sikes who now resides in Fairfax Virgnian. Tattoo's to me are right of passage, an illustrative timeline, spiritual armor you see. Not to be taken lightly. I'm not your run in drunk an hour before close and insist that a I have yet another Tasmanian Devil with a rebel flag a twirl – no. I'm always however feeling the need in some way to mark the passage of my limited time on the mothership. With all that said, good or bad, the past makes/changes/haunts each and everyone of us.

So the question you must ask yourself is how much have you learned from that past, and how much of it are you doomed to repeat. Advertising is a collasal redo. All I see on television anymore are repurposed ads that I saw ten years ago. I even tip my hat to shitty' local ads, more often than not they didn't steal the idea. Used cars + Monkey + Sledgehammer + 'Battle of the Montster Trucks' VO, that's local man. Local advertising – the graffiti of the ad world!

Top ten things that happen to you in 2009 after being laid-off:

1. You get social herpes: This is where all the work people gather around the coffee machine and say “Did you hear?”
2. Awkward Facebook time: “DUDE, sorry I just heard and… uh, I… Man that sucks!”
3. The Twitter Tip-Toe: People roll along and trying not to bring it up like 'your fly’s down' or I have an eye booger.
4. You get to call your friends and ask them what they’re doing at work.
5. You click “SUBMIT” to job listing sites and carry your cell phone like your best friends dying on your arms.
6. Reevaluate what’s really important in your garage.
7. When searching online for jobs you run across sites that give you ideas for your previous clients.
8. You find out that the freelance undertow is far stronger than you think. It’s like being invited to a party where everyone is actually having a good time.
9. You find sneakers beat dress shoes hands down.
10. People really do come to the rescue.

Digital bombs

So somewhere there are graffiti artists that got bored taggin' urinals and bettering outdoor advertising. http://www.graffiticreator.net/ – I love, I mean LOVE graffiti in all forms. It's the last bastion of non-violent anarchy in this world, unless you mark someone's tag and then that's your problem. If you need something to do at work create graffiti sign that says "In Box" and put it on your trash can.

If you find beauty and interest in this subject, click here for more information and sites:
• http://www.allcapsproject.com/web/
• http://www.graffiti.org
• http://www.graffiti.org/index/best.html
• http://www.bombingscience.com/

I want my DTV

Bound by capitalistic obsession to turn anything into another up charge, your current most mobile providers MUST charge for television to your phone. Right? While yes, being a money grubbing whore myself I understand this practice. I'm also a firm (where?) believer in standardization. As long as I've been working on the interactive space none of the browsers, email applications, or countless other 'compliant' items have been standardized. And while I'm sounding a little like a Commie at the same time for wanting this, there's plenty of other ways to push your product to the forefront while having some baseline compliancy.

http://www.openmobilevideo.com/ There are countless reasons why this is important for the advertising industry. One primarily being a new media channel to buy against. Secondarily, rethinking the way that we advertise to that space and make it effective. And lastly, discovering what will be the new-media tolerance and interactivity that can be lead by this medium.

Look, I don't have my jet pack. I'm getting closer to seeing who I'm talking to on my phone. I don't have space food pellets, laser guns or countless latex adorned army girls, so I'm thinking TV on my phone will have to do – for now.

Fine Art is where you find it

The Wiki says:

Drifting refers to a driving technique and to a motor sport where the driver intentionally oversteers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while preserving vehicle control and a high exit speed. A car is said to be drifting when the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle prior to the corner apex, and the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction to the turn (e.g. car is turning left, wheels are pointed right or vice versa), and the driver is controlling these factors.

I ran across the video – again. I marveled at it. While I know what I do professiobally, watching others 'do the voodoo that they do so well' is like going to any great gallery and seeing the finest art. I hope you enjoy this, or at least the amazing impractical ability it takes to accomplish this with an automobile.