Car Wash
I got a car wash today at the Mobil across the street. They have one of those “drive your car into a garage type thing and have hoses and soap shot on your car and then have it rinsed off and you drive out” car washes. I’ve always wanted to try one of those. It’s actually pretty awesome to see your whole car bombarded by water and soap and then dried off by a huge hair dryer-type thing that sounds like a cheap cheap version of a wind tunnel. I enjoyed it, but unfortunately, my wheels weren’t as clean as I’d have liked.
Commercials
I’ve been watching more TV recently and I’m really into a lot of commercials right now, including:
- The Chevron commercial about clean energy. The commercial opens with a a simple piano theme. Then this really really articulate guy chimes in and talks about how Chevron is the leader in renewable energy. The way he says “energy” has a perfect inflection and articulation. Then he asks, where are the answers now in a world that demands a clean environment? And I wonder, what are they? tell me! Then I wonder, what is geothermal energy he’s talking about? It sounds awesome, but I’m pessimistic that it’s a euphemism for “drilling for oil on a oil rig where one guy uses a solar calculator.” It doesn’t matter. The combination of that piano theme and the articulate guy…it’s amazing. What gets me is that I’m really really pessimistic about oil companies so to think that they’re actually affecting my opinion of them for thirty seconds is saying a lot.
- Old Spice commercial with guy “sliding headfirst” on a baseball diamond. This commercial is all about the kind of humor that is right at the edge of randomness but not so far out there that a majority of people are so put off by it, they spend time trying to rationalize it, thereby killing the humor. The high points of the commercial are when the guy (1) “rounds third” and then (2) scores at home. The rounding third part is hilarious because, as you see him sliding from 2nd, you’re wondering how he’s going to round third. Then he does it in a really nonchalant way that you realize you’ve never seen before. Then when he scores, you’re anticipating him scoring, so the nonchalant end contrasts with the expectations. It’s kind of like that Snickers commercial where the guy sings a song on the guitar while a really commanding looking black guy bites into a Snickers bar and chews it really really convincingly.
- Kevin Garnett Gatorade. Not as powerfully intoxicating and wondrous as the other three, but the visual theme + music is pretty sweet. As a Laker fan, I’m disappointed that Kevin Garnett plays for the Celtics because I actually really like him. He plays basketball like I would if I was 7 feet tall and black and really good. He plays like every game matters, that you should be as enthusiastic about blowout wins as tight wins, and that every loss is a catastrophe. You can see that he boosts his whole team with his attitude. But…he also chokes when the game is on the line, which is what I’d do too. At least he has this commercial to watch forever.
- Dockers San Francisco. This is sort of in line with the Chevron commercial in the sense that, for thirty seconds, my impression of a product is changed. Dockers are for husky middle aged white guys. I remember trying on a pair of Dockers pants (admittedly, a while ago), when I realized that the crease in the flat front pant was permanent. Horrible stuff. Anyway, this commercial has a sweet song (California Soul by Marlena Shaw) and sweet cinematography with great shots of San Francisco. Then it cuts to shots of a cool guy going to work (WORK), flying a kite with his son (WEEKEND), escorting a lady in a suit at a party (DRESS) and playing golf (GOLF!). You can go to all those places wearing Dockers and look cool! The commercial is so effective. I want to know if Dockers really has sweaters that are fitted. I want to know why that guy is so overdressed to fly a kite with his son. I want to know if Dockers makes suits (please say no). It’s so question-provoking. I still think that these commercials should have disclaimers on the bottom that say something like “May or may not work for Asian guys, who are usually too skinny and/or short to ever look as good as a white dude in our clothes.”
Wedding from a New Point of View
Tomorrow I’m going a wedding of Susan’s friend. Sure, it is the 14,536th wedding I’ve been to (Susan has a lot of friends), but it has a distinction. It is the first wedding I’ve been to where I’ve attended as a person who actually knows something about wedding planning. I’ll see everything differently now. Where’s the photographer lurking? How many hors d’oeuvres are being served? How many servers are needed for the buffet/sit down? What kind of bar do they have? Is this a slice of a tiered wedding cake or a single sheet version? How many tables are needed? How many guests per table? How is the wedding party seated? Are the chairs folding slat chairs or chivari’s? It’s going to be a big day. It would be even better if I was wearing a Dockers suit, using more geothermal energy, drinking Gatorade and sliding headfirst around the wedding.