Africa.

Here is a "good luck" post to a very dear friend of mine, Robert Thomas Quiring. Roberto is going to Kenya on Tuesday to live for a year while participating in the YAV (Young Adult Volunteer) program and will be working for a non-profit while he learns about the lives of African people. He has a blog and will be keeping us all updated on his happenings - if you want to check it out, go here. I got to snag him up for lunch today and we had a great time catching up and chatting about everything that he's about to encounter, and I must say that he's about to embark on such a journey that will definitely change his life.

So, Robert, good luck in Kenya and be sure to keep me updated on everything that greets you! See ya in a year!

In case you have yet to have the fabulous opportunity to meet RTQ, here are a few token shots of him...enjoy! And Roberto, don't forget to do the Lion King for me!

Newbs.

This week marks the beginning of the new grad student's careers at UT! This morning we had orientation in the ACL studio, but now they're all ours! AGC (the Advertising Graduate Council I'm president of) has planned all sorts of f-u-n for the new cats. Take a looksie!

Colorado?

So, for the post-graduation living situation it's very possible I'll be in one of two very exciting cities: either Austin or Denver. And I couldn't be more excited!

Now all I need is to find a place in Denver like my internship - C3 Presents - and I'll be set on a great time. Anyone know anything great up there?

Independent study.

I've been thinking about this coming semester and what I'm to do with my schedule. So far I'm enrolled to take Portfolio 2 and Theories. I obviously need another course, but I've been struggling with what to take and why. Until...

Today I talked with a good friend, Krystha, who just graduated from the program and who has a killer internship with an agency in NYC. We spoke about independent studies (she did one) and options for me - and she helped me come up with the idea of doing a study on the promotions and advertising that go into musicians - what works? What doesn't? What's a waste? And I think I'm gonna run with it. I've asked a favorite professor to be my guidance through this possibly eye-opening experience, so I hope she agrees! Do I want to mainly focus on MySpace music garbage, festival promotions, advertising at concerts, etc? Any ideas???

Plus, what a deal to be interning with C3 Presents - I could get some excellent interviews with management, musicians, etc. about what they deem worthy of advertising. My study would be in the format of a blog or video blog through YouTube shorts - something more creative than a paper. (But let's be honest - I LOVE writing papers more than any human, thanks G-ma!)

So, that's what I'm thinking...I have a LOT of details to nail down, but so far I really like where this could end up. I could even do some ACL references and research. Love? I think so!

Robot Love.

An interesting article about the future of product promotion in movies...

Here the author talks about how the movie Wall-E subtly places Apple products throughout the movie (a brief iPod sighting, the sound of an Apple computer booting up when Wall-E is charged.) Rather than shoving products in the faces of movie goers, is this the way of the future?

Side note - Wall-E is darling and thought-provoking. If you haven't seen it yet, go.

Farm!

I got to spend time at Jeff's family farm in Illinois for the 4th of July holiday - check out the photo fun!!!

Boone Pickens.

Congrats to oilman T. Boone Pickens for a successful launch of his new wind energy plan to reduce the U.S.'s dependency on oil. What an amazing and humble man to realize that we need a new alternative to oil - his baby.

Here's a USA Today article about the Plan.

Here's the Web site for the Plan.

And here's my standing ovation for Pickens. Thank you for thrusting this issue upon our nation and our soon-to-be president.