Without a doubt my scariest movie experience was watching the original, black and white, “Night Of The Living Dead” at a sleep over in 4th grade.

As a side note, normally when I compare the mores of parents in the 70′s concerning childhood freedom versus parents of today I usually think about how at the age of 8 I rode unescorted on the bus from one side of Washington DC to the other for swim team practice everyday, at act that would be considered parental negligence today. But perhaps a better indicator of the parental thinking thirty-some years ago was the judgement call that it would be ok to allow a group of 9 year old boys to watch 2 hours of zombie blood-lust and entrail gobbling. Compare that to the angst that my wife and I went through wondering if it would be ok to screen “Charlie’s Angels” at my daughter’s 12th birthday party.

View on YouTube

Anyway, at my less permissive childhood home watching the work of George Romero wouldn’t fly, but that doesn’t mean that my mom and dad didn’t like a good scary movie, it’s just that their taste leaned more to the arty and campy.

The DC airwaves of my youth were awash in dubbed Japanese horror and robot movies. Why? Were they Amy Carter’s favorite? Leftovers from a Smithsonian Folklife Festival? Pennance for Watergate? Who knows. But we watched a lot of Japanese monster movies when I was a kid, and “Matango”, AKA “Attack Of The Mushroom People”‘ a 1963 movie about shipwrecked survivors on an island of Mushroom people sure caught our imagination (we still talk about it) and looking back on the trailer you can see how it would be fascinating to a pre-teens and 30-something moms alike.

View on YouTube

The other film that made an impression on us, and maybe led me to film school in Boston and my mother to haunt Sunday art films at the National Gallery to this day was “Nosferatu” AKA “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror,” the silent German expressionist vampire movie classic. It must have been on PBS because I can’t imagine a silent movie not getting bumped for a Godzilla knockoff or kung fu on the UHF stations where we usually got our terror fix. The image of shadows of the Vampyr’s fingers sliding over the sheets gives me shivers to this day.

View on YouTube

Wherever you are George Romero, Friedrich Murnau, Max Schreck, Ishirō Honda and Takeshi Kimura thank you for scaring and entertaining me. Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim thank you four YouTube and making these childhood treats available. Happy Halloween, boo!
The

Zombies, Mushroom Men And Creeping Claws: Horror Films Of My Youth is a post from: Trumblog

I got back from yoga yesterday and found this clip in my inbox. It perfectly sums up why I practice, to silence the noise. Of course I thrive on that noise as well, it’s a yin and yang kind of thing. Enjoy.

Why I Do Yoga is a post from: Trumblog

FutureM’s opening night event was a nice mix of fun and information.  I’ll leave the networking, reconnecting and drinks to your imagination and focus on the panel discussion with Josh Bernoff (Author and Senior VP, Idea Development, Forrester), Chris Brogan (President, New Marketing Labs),  Brett Keller (CMO, Priceline) and David Kenny (President, Akamai Technologies).  The opining ranged from delivering value through marketing, the future of television, a case study in effective sales through social media and why Priceline chose William Shatner as their spokesperson.  The ultimate take away for me though was not to let analytics get in the way of being human and delivering value.

05:58:00 PM RT @alaring: #FutureM opening night panel all men. Is that “what’s next in marketing”? Just sayin’ #wherearethewomen

06:03:56 PM I help big companies act like small companies and like real people rather than phoning it in. via @ChrisBrogan

06:06:15 PM Listen to people not data, GM had great product response surveys. @chrisbrogan

06:08:51 PM Don’t give me a white paper, give me something I want like liquor, porn or Website Grader. via @chrisbrogan

06:12:40 PM Remind me never to follow @chrisbrogan at a speaking opportunity.

06:15:21 PM RT @stevenduque: #FutureM Opening Night: @akamai‘s David Kenny: “Within five years television and the internet will be synonymous. ”

06:22:45 PM In 3 years the amount of media data consumed online will increase 540x. via @davidwkenny

06:28:56 PM Staying relevant & successful: tell a good story b/c people will vote w/ playlists, use time wisely w/ right tech via @davidwkenny

06:30:06 PM We are not digital marketers we are marketers for human beings who have moved to digital. via@davidwkenny

06:33:37 PM In the USA people make 500 billion impressions on each other via social media annually vs 2.1 trillion online ads via @joshberhoff

06:38:23 PM Josh Bernhoff walks out of Best Buy w/ $1100 in gear because @Twelpforce helped him find a $6 cable. Great example

06:41:35 PM Twitter support is not an after-hours job, must be a systematic thing. Change your mktg and cust support process via @joshbernhoff

06:44:07 PM Why Priceline chose William Shatner: he was cheap, had a great voice, everyone knew him, he represented the future

06:47:47 PM RT @SincerelyJane: In digital world all you need is personalized pkgs of your own content and really smart predictors

06:53:24 PM RT @SincerelyJane: Trgtd Ad Buy = TV Ad w/locl tag -> link 2 locl deal -> cookie drop -> Calc ROI – @brettkeller on upcmng ad trend

06:54:41 PM RT @stevenduque: #FutureM: @priceline‘s @brettkeller: “Facebook has not yet figured out a way for advertisers to pour $$ into their ads.”

06:57:12 PM The height of the creepy bar is being discussed at #FutureM opening night. How high is it for personalized ads on FB.

07:01:37 PM How is an airline app that alerts you to a flight delay less creepy than a personalized ad on Facebook? – @joshbernhoff

07:03:39 PM RT @SincerelyJane: As mrkters, once we have the chance we pounce instead of once we have the chance we provide value. -@chrisbrogan

07:05:24 PM If you don’t have something of value, that people want at a good price, no amount of marketing will help you. – @davidwkenny

FutureM Opening Night is a post from: Trumblog

Over the last few months at Jack Morton I’ve been working with the team producing videos for Gillette to be posted on YouTube and a variety of other social video sites around the web.  Well, they are finally wrapped, posted and generating millions of views.  Watch and enjoy.

What’s the Perfect Length for Your Man?

How Often Do You Do It?

How Do You Like It Shaved?

Show Some Skin at Work

Shaving Scenarios Gone Social is a post from: Trumblog

I found this the other day and as an aspiring darma bum in my youth and internet geek now it hit my sweet spot.

Yelp (With Apologies to Allen Ginsberg) is a post from: Trumblog

Inappropriate tweets, reenacted by amateurs who are happy to go “there.” Have a great weekend.

Twitter: The Criterion Collection from sween on Vimeo.

Twitter: The Criterion Collection is a post from: Trumblog

This 2010 State of the Internet video is along the same lines as “Did You Know” videos, plenty of stats on the internet, email and social media sites as a video infographic with an electronic beat.

2010 State of the Internet Video is a post from: Trumblog

Maybe it’s that I’m tired of winter myself.  Maybe it’s the Canadian love afterglow from the Olympics.  Maybe I just like the creative, the live event/ commercial mix serendipity, perfect timing, great editing (love the kid’s double take) and brand bulls eye, but I love this ad for Tropicana.

And the electronic press kit got picked up by local news for a double word score.

Tropicana Sunsation is a post from: Trumblog

At Jack Morton we’re talking a lot about experience brands and shot videos from a bunch of us across all of our offices answering what is an experience brand.  Here’s my answer and some of my favorites.

Elisa in Boston

Dan in Sydney

Kevin in London

Hanah in Chicago

Denise in LA

Watch all of the brand experience videos on the Jack Morton YouTube channel.

What Is An Experience Brand? is a post from: Trumblog

It’s Saturday, where I usually post something a little lighter or off topic. Depending on how you feel about Jon Stewart this may or may not be light, but it is on topic.

The Blogs Must Be Crazy is a post from: Trumblog