Out of Thin Air

Seeing advertising gone good affirms my decision to get into this business. Yes, it’s money-hungry and sometimes just full of gimmicks. And then something like this comes along. When a company or brand doesn’t worry about the ROI for themselves, but rather just about the consumer base as a whole, it’s very reassuring. And inspiring. Because in the end, we’re all in this crazy world together.

Here, UTEC (a university in Peru) decided to put a recruitment billboard up. And to show the capabilities of learnings from this school, the billboard collected water from the air and turned it into drinking water for the whole community.

Via AdFreak

Coastal Love

This past summer, Amanda and I had one hell of a time touring the East coast and now, thanks to Sandy, those are very distant memories as we look at the photos of destruction. Thankfully, the friends we made along the way, and ones we already knew, are all safe and sound. But seeing those images of deserted bridges, tunnels, roadways and water rushing through the Subway turnstile like it’s the Titanic is extremely eerie. Warm (and dry!) wishes to all those dealing with the aftermath.

Bucket List Checks

Summer in Chicago is amazing. It’s what everyone cracks it up to be. It is the reason we all deal with the rest of the year. It’s simply and utterly fantastic. But I will say, since I’ve been here, they have been two things I’ve wanted to do: see the famous Air & Water show from a rooftop and see the famous Air & Water show from the water. Luckily, fate stepped in last week and delivered.

My friends Courtney and Jill recently just moved and have their own private rooftop (which is as highly coveted as having a yard or balcony). They had a day of grilling, Top Gun looping and good friends laughing. And then it seemed as if we had our own private fly overs from the Blue Angels. It was loud and it was a rush.

The next day, we were heading out on the boat for the show. I’ve seen this show a handful of times as we used to come up for it when we were younger (and those were the only times I caught the show on the beach). But by sea? The show is on a whole ‘nother playing field. As I sat on the back of the boat soaking up the sun with Barry (the yellow lab), a fighter jet came out of no where scaring the beejezus out of us both. Yet it was exhilarating, to sit there on a picture perfect day with your heart racing, your thoughts completely drowned out by the engines and being out on the water.

You did good this summer Chicago.

Oh Beautiful

Happy Fourth of July everyone! I cannot help but recall this scene from one of my favorite summer movies today. Heading down to the Pier to watch tonight. There’s just something about a sky, city and water lighting up from these things.