Allie Goes to Japan, Part 1!

Osaka was really the main destination for my trip to Japan. It was just added bonus (/convenience) that I got to go to Kyoto and Tokyo as well.

After a verrrryyyy long day (two days?) of travel, I touched down in Osaka in the early evening and met up with my boss, who had already been in Japan (Tokyo) for a few days. We checked into the hotel, and because it was already kind of late in the evening and neither of us were familiar with Osaka, we decided to get sushi at the hotel's restaurant. My first taste of real, non-American sushi! (Not my last, either.)

I already ate at least one before I remembered to take a picture.

Did you know that in Japan, they put the wasabi on the sushi before you get it? When Matt and I go out for sushi, I generally avoid the wasabi and ginger (it just ain't my thang), but there was no avoiding that sinus-clearing spice here! Thankfully they used a reasonable hand with the stuff, and the sushi was really good. I realize that I've never lived in a place super near an ocean, but the sushi was just so much ... gentler, I guess is the word, on the palate than it is in the U.S. It's fresher, and doesn't taste fishy, and is just really nice and light to eat. The plate I got had I think nine different types of fish, and my favorites were the salmon and the scallop!

Short Stories About Art and Music

I've been kind of bummed that I hadn't had any real, "good" adventures in the last month or so. And I forgot that, well, I actually HAVE gotten out of the house quite a bit lately, it's just that not every outing turns into a great blog post. Sometimes going power-walking is just power-walking. Not everything is an epic story. So here are some short ones.

Keep Your Heart Open, and Love Blah Blah Blah
It's been kind of a joke between me and Matt since well before we got engaged that holiday jewelry commercials are universally terrible. They're cheesy, or have lame taglines, or weird scenarios, or bad dialogue. (I mean, the Jared commercial where the guy proposed on a plane? Planes are like, the least romantic places ever.)

So I was barely paying attention during the commercial break of one of our shows when this Zales commercial came on. But my ears perked up, and within seconds I was looking for the commercial on YouTube so I could figure out what the song was. A minute later, I had already bought "Ends of the Earth" by Lord Huron and was beginning the first of many replayings. So I guess jewelry commercials are good for something after all.

At The Museum

I needed to get out of the house and get inspired the other day, and I had heard about a presentation at an art gallery on campus about mass media and culture in the 1700s, which sounded interesting. So I went up to campus and headed to the art gallery, only to find out the presentation had changed to something about sustainable art. I didn't stay for the whole thing — no offense to the speaker, but that wasn't what I'd come for — though one thing that I found interesting about his presentation was that some people find museums to be a threat to sustainability, because they require a large carbon footprint to maintain. I thought that was an unusual thing to think about, because if not for museums, many people would never get a chance to experience art. After I ducked out, I headed over to the other gallery in the student union, where they had a series of Degas sketches I'd been wanting to see, which was much more up my alley.

Intricate vases I wouldn't have seen if it weren't for museums.

Dance, Humans
For a long long long long time, Matt was a member of a percussion organization that performed on campus a few times a year. They'd do STOMP-like performances as well as more traditional marimba and drum pieces, and it was always a really good time with good music. They'd play videos and do little filler bits that were fun too. A few semesters ago, he quit because as a Ph.D. student, he was the oldest in the group BY FAR, and since he was married and working all the time, he just felt like it was time to go. Besides, he had already achieved legendary status in the group by being the only group member to literally break his leg — in three places — mid-performance. (Some of the newbie members may not know who he is, but they all know about The Dude Who Broke His Leg and Kept Playing Anyway.)

Last night, we went on a date to this semester's show. The intro video was about aliens, and was set to the catchiest song ever, so the whole audience was up dancing and clapping. (No one broke a leg, as far as I know.) A lot of former members who have since moved away try to come back to these shows, so Matt got to see some old friends and enjoy the performance. My favorite song by far was a marimba cover of Mumford & Sons' "Below My Feet," and I kind of wish I'd gotten a video of it, because it was fantastic and no one has posted it to YouTube yet. (Plus, I was annoyed by the woman in front of us who kept standing up to take videos, so it was kind of on principle that I didn't film anything.) There was also a Christmas piece with dueling pianos that was pretty epic, and it made me wish that I had learned how to play piano when I was a kid, because it's a lot harder to learn as an adult.

What have you been up to this week? Are you planning to see any holiday shows? (I've convinced Matt to take me to see "The Nutcracker" in a few weeks, and I can't wait! I haven't been to the ballet since college.)

Tuned In

It's been awhile since I've posted some of my favorite new songs; and of course, as I've mentioned before, all the best tunes can be found in commercials. :)

I heard a snippet of "Best Day of My Life" in a Lowe's commercial, and just had to look it up. It's one of those songs that can instantly brighten your day with its peppy beat and cheerful lyrics. I'm looking forward to hearing more from the band, American Authors. In the meantime, I'll just listen to this one on repeat.

This one's a little older. I heard it in an Army Wives commercial last month, and it's kind of dark. Pretty much just like the '80s version of the song, but Paloma Faith's voice is really interesting and gritty.

And finally, this little ditty that was played in a super cute Friskies cat food commercial. It's not a new song, but I had never heard it before, so it's new to me. It's a bit repetitive, so I actually like the shortened version in the commercial better than the full-length version.

What commercials are you loving right now? Matt's recent fave is this one.

Things That Make Me Laugh

Somehow I missed this. So you know that Chanel No. 5 commercial with Brad Pitt, where he looks kinda homeless and rambles a whole bunch about nothing, and then they made that series of Saturday Night Live skits making fun of it?

Well, somehow I missed that the name or the tagline of the eau de whatever Brad Pitt is hawking is "Inevitable."

And I found this out because I saw it on a poster outside a department store at the mall, and thought it was HILARIOUS, and had to take a picture. Because if your perfume is called "Inevitable," do you really want a not-great photo of Brad Pitt looking bored and scraggly to be the takeaway?

Some lady saw me taking the picture, and said, "Taking a picture of Brad Pitt? It's okay, I like him too!" And then she whipped out her camera as well.

It just about made my day.

What has made you laugh lately?

When Misfit Toys Go Speed-Dating

I just thought this was cute and had to share. :)

Do you enjoy holiday commercials? Also, do any of you own a Windows 8 phone? I've never seen one in real life; I've played around with Windows 8 on a desktop computer, and it didn't seem very intuitive, so I wonder if the system meshes better with a mobile platform.

Commercials I Saw While Watching Sports

I have watched A LOT of sports on TV this week. Between eight hours on a sports network-endorsed charter bus traveling to and from Arlington, visiting family during the U.S. Open, and Matt watching a few more baseball games since we've been home, I've seen so much sports coverage that Matt owes me about three days solid of E! and VH1.

Anyway, though these various TVs were constantly broadcasting Sports Center or golf or recaps of baseball games I don't care about, I did see a few new commercials that I thought were fun.

Granted, I saw this at 1 a.m. on a bus, but my tired brain I thought "Oh snap!" :)

I like the premise behind this — having always liked Peanuts — but I think it kind of makes the insurance guy look like a jerk, even though he's touting a service price that's actually really good. I think they could have spun the "5 cents" premise in a more positive way, so Lucy and Charlie Brown could get on board with the actual price instead of trying to undermine it.

I really liked this one! I think it is clever. Just goes to show that all of us may want to have adventures, but sometimes taking the leap is literally just too scary!

Have you seen any good commercials lately?

Everything I Know About Music I Learned From Advertising

The TV is my favorite source for new music. I hear songs in commercials, and decide that I love them based on the 30-seconds-or-less snippet that the ad contains. This happens fairly regularly. The first time I ever heard Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix's "1901" was during a car commercial. I fell in love with "Stuttering" during a Dentyne commercial. I discovered Rogue Wave thanks to a phone ad.

A while back I downloaded an app on my phone so that whenever I heard the quick bits of these songs, I could identify who the artist was so I didn't lose it forever. Before smartphones, I searched YouTube for the ads, since the videos usually disclosed what song was playing.

So as my DVR started playing last night's Colbert Report, a Cigna commercial was half-over. But those 10 seconds were all I needed to get hooked on Joy Zipper.

(P.S. How on earth do people name their bands? Just pick two random words that don't go together? I don't get it. If I ever start a band, it's going to be called Glass Stapler. Or Paperback Acoustics. Or Ballpoint Cat.)

What are you listening to today?

Invisible Cars

A long time ago, Matt asked me if I ever worry about hitting the invisible cars when I drive. Something about other dimensions and people driving on the same roads in those other dimensions but humans not having a keen enough eye to see them.

To which I replied, um, no, there is no such thing as invisible cars.

But clearly, I was wrong.

I think this ad is pretty freaking brilliant. It looks cool and gets people involved with the product. Obviously your car isn't going to actually be invisible, but it was an excellent visual for zero-emission vehicles and their impact on the environment.

Wrong Commercial

I loved Old Spice's commercials with "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like." I'm not quite as excited about this new series of commercials in which the Old Spice brand literally can't stay in its own commercials, instead "integrating" (that's the nice word) itself into other Procter & Gamble commercials.

You can see the whole series on Adweek, but I think this ad is the best one.

I really like the idea behind multiple brands in the same spot for more impact, but I feel like this could have been done so much better. Why not bring back Isaiah Mustafa? He could have driven that jetski through the wall and then convinced the woman that it looks better that way based on his charm alone, instead of just destroying everything and looking like an arrogant ass.

I know it's targeted at men and not women, but I am wondering if guys wouldn't be off-put by this as well? I mean, in every Old Spice commercial he's in, Terry Crews is just so ... annoying.

What do you think?

Don't Have A Grandson With A Dog Collar

Have you seen the new DirecTV commercial? I've seen it a handful of times on TV, and it makes me laugh and laugh.

The other night it came on during a basketball game Matt was watching, and it made him laugh, which made me laugh even more.

What's your favorite new commercial? Anyone else getting excited about Super Bowl commercials?? 'Cause I am PUMPED.

The Bark Side

I just thought you needed to see this. Supposedly it's part of VW's Super Bowl campaign this year.

via Neatorama

The wookie dog is my favorite.

What do you think?

New Kid On The Block

I love this commercial that I saw posted on AdWeek last week. There's a whole series about adopting pets, and all the ads are pretty cute, but this is my favorite. It's hilarious, just because this is SO what a cat would be thinking.



Hope this makes the Monday after a holiday weekend just a little easier. :)

How was your weekend?

There's a bear in my bed!

Happy Friday! I just wanted to share something silly, and ... I don't have words for this commercial. Except that I laughed until I cried. It's ridiculous. RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME.



Note: I have no opinion on hunting or taxidermy-ing. I just thought this was funny. Don't be mad.

Got any fun plans this weekend?

Commercials I Hate

As I've mentioned before, I love love love (good) commercials. But lately, all I see are advertisements that piss me off. Like that AT&T commercial where the woman berates her husband and mutters that she should have married someone else. Or that Toyota commercial where that annoying girl thinks that being on Facebook is "living."

But my least favorite commercial EVER? It's from VTech. All you have to do is watch the first three seconds. I don't know how the commercial ends (and frankly, I don't care) because every time it comes on, I start yelling at the TV.



I know that eReaders are the way of the future. I know that — much to my chagrin — there will likely be a time where more books will be sold digitally than in print. But that time is NOT now. And it makes me really angry that anyone would teach their children that books are a thing of the past.

What do you think about this commercial? What do you imagine the future looks like in regard to reading?

Turn Around, Bright Eyes

My degree is in advertising, and I am always on the lookout for really, REALLY good commercials. On Saturday, Matt and I went to go see X-Men: First Class (fantastic movie by the way, highly recommend), and this was one of the ads that played before the movie.

This is probably the best ad I've seen since "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like." And I guarantee you'll have Bonnie Tyler stuck in your head the rest of the day. You're welcome.