Boldly Cut Where No One Has Cut Before…

May 6, 2012

Star Trek Pizza Slicer

Sunday night fun stuff…

Okay. This has been around for a while, but it just popped up on my radar again today.

If you’re a fan of Star Trek, and you like pizza, ask yourself: “Can I possibly live without this item?”

Methinks the answer would be, “No.”

So be sure to pick up your very own Star Trek Pizza Slicer over at Amazon.com.*

Fun stuff and kidding aside, while I have not actually handled this slicer personally, I hear from a reliable source that it’s a quality product.

Let me know if you end up getting one, or if you have one already…

* Affiliate link

{ 0 comments }

Remembering My Mother

May 8, 2011

She’s been gone a long time, but I think about her every day.

Mom and Me in Central Park

{ 3 comments }

Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll — The Who at the Peak of Their Power

April 24, 2011

If you love The Who, as I do, you’ve probably seen their brilliant 1978 rendition, in front of a small audience at Shepperton Studios outside London, of Won’t Get Fooled Again from the 1978 rockumentary The Kids Are Alright.

This is the complete package, The Who in all their rip-roaring, full-tilt glory … nearly over the edge but somehow in masterful control … Entwhistle’s smooth yet thunderous bass … Townshend’s manic, whirling dervish guitar … Daltrey’s husky/raspy vocals and wild mic twirling, Moon’s galloping, freight-train percussion. (This was Keith’s last live performance with the band before his death.)

It all adds up to Nirvana for WhoHeads. What I would give to have been in that room!

I recently discovered an alternate cut of this performance that contains shots and camera angles that weren’t in the film. The edits are a little rougher in places than in the film version embedded above, and there seem to be some audio drop-outs in places, but if you haven’t seen this cut it’s worth checking out for a different perspective.

And for a really different perspective, one that anyone who considers John Entwhistle one of the greatest bass players of all time, here’s a video of Won’t Get Fooled Again from the Shepperton show with the bass isolated. Wow.

Finally, since I’m on a (rock and) roll with this song, here’s the band’s powerful and emotion-laden take on it at the Concert for New York City at Madison Square Garden on 10/20/01, a mere five weeks after 9/11. Anyone who saw this show will tell you that The Who owned, without question, the room that night. Their manager, watching from his stage-side vantage point, remarked later that he’d never seen anything like it. Bono and the Edge, watching the show on television from England, were similarly thunderstruck. Watch closely and you’ll see that even the videographers shooting the show were rocking out.

What do you think? Can these guys get it done, or what?

{ 0 comments }

Groupon’s Super Bowl Ads: What Might Have Been

March 1, 2011

As did many others, a few weeks ago I watched Groupon’s Super Bowl ads in a state of semi-disbelief. It was hard to believe that such a hip company, working with an even hipper ad agency — Crispin Porter + Bogusky — could foist such an ill-thought-through train wreck on the viewing public and do such damage to its reputation. Perhaps it was just a case of a clever idea (or what was thought to be a clever idea) run amok, with too many cooks in the kitchen, under too much pressure (it’s the Super Bowl!), and everybody too distracted by it all to realize that the ads, in making light of serious, sensitive situations, would offend a lot of people. The Tibet spot featuring Timothy Hutton, which is the only one that ran during the game itself, was particularly tone deaf. As someone who’s been working for over 20 years on Tibetan causes, I was not impressed.

Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern’s Kellog school, had this to say in the New York Times, “It makes Groupon seem somewhat insensitive as a company. It might have done quite a bit of damage.”

I’ll say.

But it didn’t have to be this way. Many were surprised to learn that Groupon was actually helping non-profits working on the causes depicted in its ads, and had set up a mechanism to raise money for these groups. That shouldn’t have been a surprise, right? Nowhere in the ads was the charitable affiliation mentioned (!); a call to action could not be found. Oy!

With the addition of one line in the script, one line, Groupon could have closed the loop and hit a home run (er, scored a touchdown), both for its own team and the non-profits it was trying to help.

What a different picture it would have made if Timothy Hutton had said something like:

“And what will I do with the money I’m saving by using Groupon? I’m donating it to the Tibet Fund, which works tirelessly to support Tibetan people and their culture.”

I guarantee that, had Groupon/CP+B closed the loop by making the charitable tie-in clear, the outcome would have been 180 degrees opposite. Everyone would have been applauding Groupon until their hands hurt, and Groupon wouldn’t be looking at millions of dollars wasted and lots of lost good will.

What about those who said that any publicity is good publicity, and that all the chatter about Groupon’s ads would wind up benefiting the company in the end? Well, not so much.

According to a post in Fast Company today, Groupon’s web traffic was lifted by a measly 3%, as compared with GoDaddy (41% lift) and Volkswagen and HomeAway (27% lift each). Ouch. Now that hurts.

{ 2 comments }

Words to Live By in 2011

January 1, 2011

Think happy thoughts and good things will come your way.

{ 0 comments }

Season’s Greetings from a Galaxy Far Away

December 24, 2010

Season’s Greetings from a Galaxy Far Away from Mark Frisk on Vimeo.

Another holiday ornament from the Frisk Collection. More here…

{ 0 comments }

All-Time Best Way to Carve a Turkey

November 24, 2010

I’m pleased to present, for your Thanksgiving dinner pleasure, the ultimate way to carve and present a roast turkey. I discovered it on the New York Times’ website back in 2007, when it was first published. It’s been the standard ever since at our home, and anywhere else I’m assigned the role of bird carver.

Carving the turkey at the table, in front of salivating, impatient guests, can be a real pain and leads to countless bad outcomes across the country every Thanksgiving. With this method—presented by Ray Venezia, head of the meat department at New York City’s famed Fairway Market—you do all the work in the kitchen and can take more time and devote more care to the process. Overall it’s a very efficient technique: You’re much less likely to muck things up, and you’ll end up with much more meat from the bird.

And the presentation, with the carved and sliced parts of the bird artfully arranged on a serving platter, can’t be beat. Your guests will have easy and quick access to the meat they prefer, dark or white. They’ll be impressed, trust me.

Accompanying story: Butcher’s Method Takes Carving Off the Table

Bonus…

Since I’m on a New York Times kick, here are some handy links to a few Thanksgiving Help Line posts by Sam Sifton from the Dining section this year:

And here, finally, is a helpful video on making a simple gravy. In keeping with the no-stress carving method explained above, Melissa Clark explains how you can make the gravy almost entirely ahead.

Enjoy your time with your family!

{ 0 comments }

Don’t Be a Social Media Debbie Downer

October 6, 2010

Debbie DownerFor anyone unfamiliar (there may be a few), Debbie Downer is a character, made famous by Rachel Dratch on Saturday Night Live, who managed to find the negative in just about any situation, to often hilarious effect. Indeed, the Debbie Downer sketches were so deadly funny that they frequently caused SNL cast members to “break character,” unable to contain their own laughter during the live segment.

While someone like Debbie makes for a killer comedy skit, behaving as she does not make for an engaging presence in the online social space. Shoot, it’s not engaging in any space, online or off.

I wouldn’t for a moment suggest that you must be 100% happy-dappy cheerful all the time. We all have our moments, and it would be inauthentic to filter out every kvetch and every complaint. Life has its ups and downs, after all, and your social media presence should reflect who you really are. But overdoing it on the negative is maybe not the way you want to go.

Some people can reliably be counted upon to complain like clockwork on Twitter or Facebook about whatever particular issue is bugging them that day, be it a headache, Microsoft, hot weather, cold weather, out-of-season weather, lousy software, a bad lunch, watered-down coffee, Apple, that stupid time-wasting meeting, etc. Don’t be one of those people. It doesn’t make the best impression.

And if you’re looking to do business or further your career in the social space, this advice applies double. Don’t give people a reason to say no to working with you before the opportunity even presents itself.

If you tend to complain about work-related issues like the boring meeting you’re in, or the mindless drudge work you’ve just been assigned, stop and ask yourself: “Is this really the impression I want to give my coworkers, or my boss, or that guy I want to hire me?”

It can be very easy to fall into a pattern of complaining and negativity. With some focused attention and self-awareness, it’s a trap that can be avoided. Next time you feel the need to let the world know about your aching back or your lousy morning commute, take a deep breath, step away from the keyboard, and consider letting the impulse pass…

{ 1 comment }

Looking Furthur Back…

June 25, 2010

Little known Frisk fact: In the early- to mid-90s, I was the editor of one of the Grateful Dead’s most popular fan magazines, Dupree’s Diamond News. All these years later, Bobby and Phil have put together a little band called Furthur, and tonight they’re kicking off their summer tour at the Highland Bowl, right here in Rochester, New York.

I have more than a few stories and images from that era to share, but for now, in honor of the band’s appearance in my adopted town, here’s the cover of issue Number 29, circa 1994.

Dupree's Diamond News No. 29

Something Keith Richards said during a recent interview on Jimmy Fallon’s show* reminded me of our little magazine. When Fallon asked Keith what his favorite Rolling Stones album cover was (at about 5:30 in the segment), Keith remarked that the music on the albums might not always have been up to par, but the covers always kicked ass. (Not his exact words, but that’s what he meant.) [Here's a higher resolution version of the image above.]

I can say the same thing about Dupree’s Diamond News. I’m proud of (most of) the work we produced, editorially speaking. But man, our covers were always pretty damned cool.

*BTW, if you’re a Keith Richards fan, you must see this interview. He looked fantastic and was sharp as a tack.

{ 3 comments }

Heroes

May 31, 2010

I enjoy a three-day weekend as much as the next guy. But there’s little doubt that the true meaning of Memorial Day has become obscured by a surfeit of sale-a-brations and sell-a-thons.

Memorial Day wasn’t always an excuse for merchants to have yet another sale, for shoppers to score a great deal, and for Dad to fire up the ol’ BBQ grill. It didn’t always mark the beginning of summer. Until 1971, when Congress passed the National Holiday Act, Memorial Day was observed on May 30th, on whichever day of the week that date fell, and had been ever since it was first officially proclaimed in 1868 as a way to honor those who had given their lives in service to their country.

Whether it’s part of a three-day weekend or not, my thoughts always turn toward two of my own heroes, who were fortunate enough to return home from battle. My father, a Swedish immigrant who joined the famed 10th Mountain Division, served as a gunnery sergeant in the 85th Mountain Infantry Regiment during WWII. He saw action in the Italian Alps against the Germans and lost many friends. Dad was awarded the Bronze Star, but never talked about his experiences. Whenever a war movie came on the television, he would leave the room.

I also remember with great fondness and affection my Uncle Larry Doheny, a Lieutenant Commander on the USS Flying Fish, a Hellcat submarine operating in the Pacific during the war against the Japanese. He, too, never talked about what he went through, though it was obvious his service left a profound impression on him. He never forgot those who didn’t return home.

Just a few days ago, my wife was going through some drawers and found my Dad’s Bronze Star (pictured above). She showed it to my son, who’s only six-years-old, far too young to understand what war really means. She told him about my father, who died many years ago, long before my son was born, about how his grandfather had earned the medal for fighting very hard and very well in an important war.

He thought for a moment, looking at the medal, then turned to her and asked, “Did he win, Mommy?”

“Yes, honey, he won,” she told him.

“Oh, good.”

Note:

In every session of Congress since 1989, Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii has introduced a bill “to restore the traditional day of observance of Memorial Day” back to May 30th. His hope is that doing so will rekindle the original spirit of the day. Whatever you think of this legislation, and whatever you think of the conflicts in which the United States is currently embroiled, I hope you agree that it is “good” indeed that so many people have put their country before themselves. Theirs is a gift we should all cherish.

{ 0 comments }

← Previous Entries

Real Time Web Analytics