So, as a few of you know, I have been known to be somewhat opinionated when it comes to social stereotypes and mainstream media mishaps. Well, you'll be happy to know I continue to voice my opinion when I feel so passionately inclined. After ranting about my irritation to Liz, Jenny, and my poor unsuspecting new coworkers, I sent the following email to both KISS 106.1 and The Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Read on and think of me when you hear the perfect example of yet another PSA blunder.
Dear Marcus,
I am not sure if you are the correct person to be emailing in this situation. Last weekend, I heard a commercial aired on Kiss 106.1 that really bothered me. It was a PSA by Partnership for a Drug-Free America where a young girl talks in a robotic voice about the pressures to conform and specifically to succumb to pressures to smoke weed. I am in complete agreement with PDFA's latest message to stay "Above the Influence." In fact, I think its one of the better slogans that they've used in years. Not only does it encourage kids to "just say no", but it also promotes self-determination and confidence to believe in what you want, regardless of what others may think.
However, I was disturbed to hear the message blatantly target "Indie" music directly preceding the message to "stay above weed". I am not one to necessarily promote marijuana use (especially to teenaged kids), nor am I of the belief that Indie music is the only genre worth listening to; but, it worries me that we are making connections between two things that do not innately go hand-in-hand. I would be just as concerned if the connection was made between Hip-Hop and Heroine or Rap and Cocaine. Furthermore, it seems slightly contradictory to criticize the independent music genre in an ad that is supposedly not only promoting a drug-free youth, but also independent thinking in society's young people.
Though generally its my personal tendency to think "oh they didn't REALLY mean it like that", I have come to learn in both previous profession, as well as previous education in marketing, that in fact there are NO mistakes in advertising. If no connection was actually being made between the indie music genre and the negative connotations of marijuana use, I would be interested to know how many (if any) local radio stations whose majority of playlists are made of indie-style music actually air this same PSA.
Again, I am not sure if you are the correct person to be emailing in regards to this comment, but I figured as the station's Program Director, you might be a good person to voice such an opinion to. I would be interested in knowing if you (or anyone at KISS 106.1) has any say over such decisions as to what type of advertising is selected. I've also cc'd the general sales manager in case he has any feedback or insight he might also have.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks for listening,
Sara C. Watson
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Something sweet....
Be my friend.
Don't forget to love me,
Think of me in your dreams,
And promise you won't forget me.
Choose to see me when you close your eyes,
And hope for me to never leave.
It could be like it once was.
All you have to do is ask,
And we could go back,
Back to when neither of us was afraid,
Back to when we were free
To touch and love and dream,
Back to when you were you
And I was me.
Don't forget to love me,
Think of me in your dreams,
And promise you won't forget me.
Choose to see me when you close your eyes,
And hope for me to never leave.
It could be like it once was.
All you have to do is ask,
And we could go back,
Back to when neither of us was afraid,
Back to when we were free
To touch and love and dream,
Back to when you were you
And I was me.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Dreaming while breathing
So I've been doing that thing again... holding my breath in my sleep. Its so weird. I don't know why I do it, and even though it most generally accompanies a dream where I am swimming (or worse yet, drowning), I don't realize I've done it until wake up and feel the aching in my lungs. If I am drowning, I wake up just before I presumably die, my chest heaving and tight; but most of the time, I don't fully wake and don't feel the ache until the next day. I think its those times that I must dream that I suddenly acquire the ability to breathe underwater.
Last night, I was swimming - in a pool with women I feel I know, yet don't recognize. The pool was in my elementary school gym, encased in old brick and containing the bluest of Maui waters. I was swimming lengths in the same lane with a beautiful acquaintance - though I can't quite remember who it was. The person I do remember, though, is the woman standing above the pool, in an all white pantsuit and a silver whistle dangling from her neck: it's Ellen. Yes, as in Degeneres. How wierd is that? She kept blowing that damn whistle. And, I kept holding my damn breath. Until, eventually, when I inhaled slowly, shallowly, and miraculously learned I could breath in the liquid and survive moments, minutes, hours immersed in this blue heaven.
Maybe seconds later or maybe hours later, I am crawling out of straw-covered ground into an open charred field and staring at orange fire in the sky, ready to dodge sparks that might be coming my way. This time I am with men, all of whom I recognize, some of whom I love, others whom I fear. Our bodies are covered in black soot and the air is thick with black smoke. And, strangely, I do not hold my breath here; no, here, I breathe in eagerly, freely, hungrily.
Last night, I was swimming - in a pool with women I feel I know, yet don't recognize. The pool was in my elementary school gym, encased in old brick and containing the bluest of Maui waters. I was swimming lengths in the same lane with a beautiful acquaintance - though I can't quite remember who it was. The person I do remember, though, is the woman standing above the pool, in an all white pantsuit and a silver whistle dangling from her neck: it's Ellen. Yes, as in Degeneres. How wierd is that? She kept blowing that damn whistle. And, I kept holding my damn breath. Until, eventually, when I inhaled slowly, shallowly, and miraculously learned I could breath in the liquid and survive moments, minutes, hours immersed in this blue heaven.
Maybe seconds later or maybe hours later, I am crawling out of straw-covered ground into an open charred field and staring at orange fire in the sky, ready to dodge sparks that might be coming my way. This time I am with men, all of whom I recognize, some of whom I love, others whom I fear. Our bodies are covered in black soot and the air is thick with black smoke. And, strangely, I do not hold my breath here; no, here, I breathe in eagerly, freely, hungrily.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Startin' off right...
$4600 in cash, only 2 broken champagne glasses, and a black eye ---- I'd say it was a good night.
Well, we pulled it off. Friend and I put on a party that seemed to live up to everyone's expectations. It lived up to mine. We worked our asses off and still had an amazing time - not an easy thing to accomplish. After we figure out our expenses, we will present a check to Athena Partners much bigger than we anticipated at the beginning of this little project. I can't believe it! What a way to ring in the new year - with almost all of your friends surrounding you, all giving to a good cause. I hear the rumblings of an annual plan in the mix....
The Convent (who says nuns can't score?) converted quite nicely to Hotel NYE, the living room strewn with passed out bodies remnants of a kickass celebration. Its nice to know that if there were ever some sort of natural disaster and our townhouse was the only livable structure available in a 2 mile radius, we could handle it - no problem.
Time for the letdown period to kick in... I am sure that it will happen sooner than later. I get like that, you know. I work non-stop on a project and then when its over, I feel a bit lazy, a bit lost, a bit bored. It hasn't hit me quite yet - my body is in shock, exhausted with aching muscles and trying its hardest to fight off a cold (keep going, you can do it, don't give in!). But it will come soon, I know.
But now I must get to sleep - yes, I realize it's not quite 9:00 yet. Live my life these past 2 weeks and then propose an argument.
Real quick before I go, I better add a disclaimer about the Black Eye: totally innocent, and definitely worth it - we'll call it a war wound (so hold the concerned emails; I am not in an abusive relationship seeking refuge).
So, Happy New Year - and, fuck the resolutions -- just have fun in 2007, okay?!?!
Well, we pulled it off. Friend and I put on a party that seemed to live up to everyone's expectations. It lived up to mine. We worked our asses off and still had an amazing time - not an easy thing to accomplish. After we figure out our expenses, we will present a check to Athena Partners much bigger than we anticipated at the beginning of this little project. I can't believe it! What a way to ring in the new year - with almost all of your friends surrounding you, all giving to a good cause. I hear the rumblings of an annual plan in the mix....
The Convent (who says nuns can't score?) converted quite nicely to Hotel NYE, the living room strewn with passed out bodies remnants of a kickass celebration. Its nice to know that if there were ever some sort of natural disaster and our townhouse was the only livable structure available in a 2 mile radius, we could handle it - no problem.
Time for the letdown period to kick in... I am sure that it will happen sooner than later. I get like that, you know. I work non-stop on a project and then when its over, I feel a bit lazy, a bit lost, a bit bored. It hasn't hit me quite yet - my body is in shock, exhausted with aching muscles and trying its hardest to fight off a cold (keep going, you can do it, don't give in!). But it will come soon, I know.
But now I must get to sleep - yes, I realize it's not quite 9:00 yet. Live my life these past 2 weeks and then propose an argument.
Real quick before I go, I better add a disclaimer about the Black Eye: totally innocent, and definitely worth it - we'll call it a war wound (so hold the concerned emails; I am not in an abusive relationship seeking refuge).
So, Happy New Year - and, fuck the resolutions -- just have fun in 2007, okay?!?!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Things I learned in 2006
A good New Year's kiss really is amazing.
Sunlight does wonders for the soul.
Say what you feel when you feel it – because it's what's real that counts.
A kumquat is not a squash; it's a fruit.
Returning home is sometimes harder than leaving in the first place.
It CAN happen to anybody, and it does more than you think.
Credit Cards are the devil.
A bottle of wine, chips & salsa, and a sunset on the beach with a good friend can bandage any emotional wound.
I may want you, but I don't NEED you.
Be careful what you wish for – it just may come true.
You don't have to like everybody. And, not everybody has to like you.
Trust your gut; if something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't.
Never sleep with a friend.
Gluten-free may be good for you, but it's not good (even when its served as breakfast in bed).
There's really no need to be in such a hurry.
Some secrets are good to keep.
I may not want to be with you, but damn it, I want you to want to be with me.
Soy really shouldn't be steamed hotter than 130 degrees.
Al natural is prettier than you think.
Being flattered by someone's affection is not the same as returning the feeling.
Sometimes, all you have to do is ask.
Blondes might have more fun; but, Brunettes get more respect.
When it comes down to it we really don't want to be with someone who doesn't really want to be with us.
Risking it all to have one thing is worth more than risking nothing to have everything.
Sunlight does wonders for the soul.
Say what you feel when you feel it – because it's what's real that counts.
A kumquat is not a squash; it's a fruit.
Returning home is sometimes harder than leaving in the first place.
It CAN happen to anybody, and it does more than you think.
Credit Cards are the devil.
A bottle of wine, chips & salsa, and a sunset on the beach with a good friend can bandage any emotional wound.
I may want you, but I don't NEED you.
Be careful what you wish for – it just may come true.
You don't have to like everybody. And, not everybody has to like you.
Trust your gut; if something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't.
Never sleep with a friend.
Gluten-free may be good for you, but it's not good (even when its served as breakfast in bed).
There's really no need to be in such a hurry.
Some secrets are good to keep.
I may not want to be with you, but damn it, I want you to want to be with me.
Soy really shouldn't be steamed hotter than 130 degrees.
Al natural is prettier than you think.
Being flattered by someone's affection is not the same as returning the feeling.
Sometimes, all you have to do is ask.
Blondes might have more fun; but, Brunettes get more respect.
When it comes down to it we really don't want to be with someone who doesn't really want to be with us.
Risking it all to have one thing is worth more than risking nothing to have everything.
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