Inception thoughts

I'll spare you the film student in me and give you the quick and dirty:

I think it's written so that the audience has to use their imagination and confront their own ideas to form the story. By not writing in a back story (how has this technology been created? Who pays them? How do they learn this? etc.) Christopher Nolan is asking (actually, requiring) us to think on a different level, or on more than one level (like the levels of the dreams or subconsciousness in the film). He requires us to project ourselves, or at least our imaginations into the film. In a sense, we too are the architects of the film.

To that, the ending isn't written. The only actual ending exists in the mind of the person you ask. There is no right ending because, like Dom's journey, the ending is intensely personal.

I don't personally think that it is option A or B. I think that the movie was largely a heist movie, however, I think that maybe there was more than one heist taking place. I think that the inception job on Fischer was also turned into a job to make Dom confront his deepest sub-conscious (once the second level kicked in and Dom was made to play Mr. Charles). I don't believe that the audience is supposed to feel as though the whole story was an exercise in futility. Typically a good story isn't meant to make the audience feel like they were tricked into watching and contributing if it's going to end up all for nothing. To that, I don't think the whole story was just about the journey of Dom.

The fact that there is no final "kick" for Dom lends an interesting possibility that somewhere he is still sleeping. The question now ends up being; does he know and accept that he is still dreaming?

Are filter words weakening your writing?

Interesting article on eliminating filter words in your writing and merely 'telling' the reader and instead painting a scene for the reader.

Write it Sideways

Presented without comment

So this is weird

You know that feeling you get when you’re on a roller coaster and your stomach ‘floats’? Sometimes I get that in my sleep. I’ll be dreaming I’m on a flying bicycle or really tall ladder that’s swaying in the breeze and I’ll get that roller coaster feeling in my stomach while I’m dreaming.

It’s very weird.

Also, I almost always have a limp in my dreams. No word of a lie, I’d say about 97% of my dreams I have a limp in my left leg.

My left leg. (heh).

I’ll always limp and I’ll always be looking down at my leg like “I’m I only wearing one heel?” “Did I hurt my foot at some point?”

Wedding Plank

My first and most likely last plank done in total style.

I say this to myself at least once a day

This poor woman.

Since I'm all about advertising and the philosophy around it I felt the need to let someone over at P&G know my frustration with this commercial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9LTRbWsGOI&feature=player_embedded

My response to P&G (sent through their online feedback form).

I want to voice my concern and disgust in a commercial that you are currently running. This commercial (for Tide Booster) features a mother and a child. The little girl is building blocks and wearing a hoodie and camo shorts while the mother is vilifying her to the audience for her non-conformist choice of clothing. As someone who works in the marketing and communications field I’m very surprised that your team thought this was acceptable or just good advertising in general.

This ad is disconcerting (and beyond that) for the sake that it’s very problematic. It reinforces archaic gender stereotype and ‘norms’ by suggesting that a girl not dressing in pink is wrong. It gives the impression that ‘girls shouldn’t’; girls shouldn’t dress in hoodies and shorts, girls shouldn’t wear brown, girls shouldn’t want to be different, or make their own choices and of course; girls shouldn’t use their imaginations or play with ‘boy’ toys, or build parking garages. Proper girls, who deserve the love and acceptance of even their own mothers don’t do these things. What kind of message is that? Please consider what messages this ad is sending to people (not just women, or little girls, but men, fathers, little boys, transgender, etc). Surely the Tide brand has any great number of different, non insulting messages to transmit.

Not only is it irresponsible, it’s thoughtless. There is a distinct difference between knowing and selling to your audience or demo and reinforcing a tired idea of what your demo is (I’m sure this will come as a surprise to you, or so it seems by your advertising, women are more than laundry machines, or “domestic engineers”).

Furthermore, it’s uncreative and lazy. From an advertising point of view I’d much rather just hear you tell me about the brand than try to make me feel familiar by demonstrating that I should care about keeping a perfect house with a perfect child (and by that I mean a child who does what I wish, and wears what I wish to maintain the image I desire).

Please take a moment (or longer, that could help too) to consider the poor messaging you are relying on to sell your brand. Ethics in advertising should be key to your strategy as a brand. Advertising is not innocuous - it’s not falling on deaf ears or turned to blind eyes, it’s being broadcasted to people who are trained and willing to receive these messages. That’s why the big guys (like P&G) spend so much money on it right? Be responsible and scrap this shitty messaging.