Go Forth!

If you have watched any television over the last month or so, you may have seen the new Levi’s commercial campaign titled “Go Forth.” I absolutely LOVE these commercials. One in particular is my favorite and it is titled “America.” It took me a while to understand why I love these advertisements so much, but I have decided that it is because they are inspirational, fun to look at, and in my opinion, an excellent, well though out, streamlined campaign!

Here is the “America” commercial as shown on television currently, narrated by an old wax recording of Walt Whitman reading from his poem “America.”

I suppose that I understand this commercial more so now that I have read the print advertisements and other information on the Levi’s website for this current campaign. Their goal is to motivate and encourage Americans during this economic hardship to get up, get out and get moving! We are the future, we are the progress, innovators and leaders, and we can take the bull by the horns and make a mark for ourself and our generation in this world. I think that this statement is all summed up in their manifesto for the campaign:

“I am the new American pioneer, looking forward, never back. No longer content to wait for better times… I will work for better times, ’cause no one built this country in suits. All I need is all I got. Bruises heal. Stink is good, and apathy is death, so I strike up for the new world! A newer, mightier world. The one I will make to my liking, for after the darkness comes the dawn. There is a better tomorrow. Look across the plains and mountains and see America’s eternal promise. A promise of progress. Go forth with me, Go Forth!”

Now, if that does not sound motivational, patriotic and extremely applicable to the current economic times, I don’t know what does. I find it satisfying to have something this wonderfully poetic, along with all of the various other advertisement slogans for this campaign to have such a wonderful tone! Very good Levi’s, very good!

 

Lingering in Summer

There are very few things that I enjoy more than camping. All of my life, camping has been a family recreational activity that I will always remember and love, which is perhaps one of the many reasons I love camping. Since moving to Colorado two years ago, I have loved the plentiful outdoor recreation and camping opportunities that the state provides. Additionally, I have a number of friends who enjoy camping as well, so we do a lot of group camping which makes camping even better. Excellent food, campfire, friends, laughter and the Great Outdoors cannot compare to any other form of relaxation for me! One of my favorite blogs, “The Art of Manliness” has a great blog post that I think sums up my feelings of spending time in nature. You can read it here.

This season, I was fortunate enough to partake in a number of camping trips: Memorial Day Weekend in Deckers, 4th of July weekend in Frisco/Breckenridge, Labor Day weekend in Winter Park and various other non-holiday trips this year! Every single trip has been filled with fun and many memories have been made. So, you can imagine how I felt a few weeks ago when I had to pack up the tents and camping gear for the winter.

I am not the best at unpacking the tents after each camping trip, cleaning and airing them out and then re-packing them. In fact, I have two tents that had two years of camping in them and not once did I clean the inside of them. That is a bad habit that I need to break. In any case, after the Labor day trip, I opened all my tents (three to be exact) and cleaned all of them, in side and out. As soon as I opened the tent bags, the smell of tarps and tents, campfires, fresh air and fun came oozing out. I was instantly taken back to all of the fun trips we had this year and years past. Laura, my fiance, came over and helped me with the cleaning, and we ended up sitting in one of the tents for a good twenty minutes just smelling and reminiscing. I think you can now understand how much I love camping!

Just a few weeks ago, I found myself on REI.com and Coleman.com looking at camping gear. Of course, whenever I am looking at camping gear, I am also looking at the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, but that is another story! With Laura and me getting married in June, we are going to need to get some new gear for our married life: camp stove, food prep items, mugs and plates, cutlery, even some camp chairs and a cooler, lanterns and canopies. When I was looking at these websites, making an online list of items we need (and probably don’t need but I really want), I realized that I am pathetically addicted to camping. I cannot stop thinking about it! I am having withdraws, and the sad part is that I have come to a realization that in all likelihood, I will not be camping again for at least 8 months; until after the wedding in June! That means that it is going to be a very long winter!

So, in the interim, I guess I will be doing a lot of daydreaming and “window shopping” for camping gear and future camping trips. I may also need to unzip one of the tent bags and get a big whiff of camping. As time rolls by though, I am sure that I will fully embrace winter. I love the snow, the smell of firewood burning on a cold evening, the crunching sounds of the snow and of course, sledding and snowshoeing! It will all work out, I am sure!

To see pictures of previous camping trips, see my online web gallery!

Up From Below

Recently, I downloaded an iTunes sampler of music consisting of about 20 free songs. In most cases, I end up deleting a number of the songs as they are no good, hence the price tag! However, in my most recent download, I became the proud owner of a single from the new album “Up From Below” from Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. When I listened to it, I really fell in love with the song titled “40 Day Dream”.

I ended up purchasing the album after a few days, and fell madly in love with this group! They have a soulful, playful, whimsical sound and lyrics. I cannot listen to this album and not smile! With whistling, clapping, shouting, brass, piano, accordion, violin and tambourines, the group creates a modern retro hippie vibe that is absolutely addictive!

This first song, titled “40 Day Dream” is the song that I first heard from this group. The second is titled “Home” and is at the top of my play count for this album. Press play and close your eyes; listen closely to the lyrics and lose yourself in the music, you will find yourself smiling and tapping your foot to these songs and probably thinking of some happy thoughts!

Artist: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Song: 40 Day Dream

Artist: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Song: Home

Whenever I hear any song from the album, I remember why I love music! Good music takes you to a place that ordinary words cannot, produces emotions and feelings that are extra ordinary, and allows you to lose yourself in each individual note and chord without even trying! It is so refreshing to hear artists like this who are pure talent: nothing synthesized, no funky computer generated sounds; just good, old fashioned, beautifully crafted music!

Edward Shapre & The Magnetic Zeros have me as a new fan, and hopefully you are now one too! Buy the album, you won’t regret it!

Obama’s Nobel Win

HEADLINE: OBAMA WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE; ACCEPTS AS A ‘CALL TO ACTION’

In case you were unaware, Obama won the Nobel Peace prize this morning for what the Nobel committee stated as “…Obama’s initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism.” So apparently anyone who voices their opinion on world peace, but doesn’t really act on it, can be nominated and win the Nobel Peace prize and the $1 Million dollar prize money! As if that wasn’t bad enough, the deadline for the Nobel nominations were February 1, just 2 weeks after Obama was sworn in as President! I was looking at Fox News’ website this morning and found this funny post from a conservative blogger:

How to Win the Nobel Peace Prize in 12 Days

Let’s take a look at the president’s first 12 days in the White House according to his public schedule to see what he did to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize.

Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize this morning. Over the last decade the only requirement to win the prize was that the nominee had to be critical of George W. Bush (see Al Gore, Mohamed El Baradei and Jimmy Carter).

President Obama has broken new ground here. Nominations for potential winners of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ended on February 1. The president took office only 12 days earlier on January 20.

Let’s take a look at the president’s first 12 days in the White House according to his public schedule to see what he did to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize:

January 20: Sworn in as president. Went to a parade. Partied.
January 21: Asked bureaucrats to re-write guidelines for information requests. Held an “open house” party at the White House.
January 22: Signed Executive Orders: Executive Branch workers to take ethics pledge; re-affirmed Army Field Manual techniques for interrogations; expressed desire to close Gitmo (how’s that working out?)
January 23: Ordered the release of federal funding to pay for abortions in foreign countries. Lunch with Joe Biden; met with Tim Geithner.
January 24: Budget meeting with economic team.
January 25: Skipped church.
January 26: Gave speech about jobs and energy. Met with Hillary Clinton. Attended Geithner’s  swearing in ceremony.
January 27: Met with Republicans. Spoke at a clock tower in Ohio.
January 28: Economic meetings in the morning, met with Defense secretary in the afternoon.
January 29: Signed Ledbetter Bill overturning Supreme Court decision on lawsuits over wages. Party in the State Room. Met with Biden.
January 30: Met economic advisers. Gave speech on Middle Class Working Families Task Force. Met with senior enlisted military officials.
January 31: Took the day off.
February 1: Skipped church. Threw a Super Bowl party.

So there you have it. The short path to the Nobel Peace Prize: Party, go to meetings, skip church, release federal funding to pay for abortions in foreign countries, party some more.

Good grief.

Read more Tommy De Seno at www.JustifiedRight.com.

I have decided that you really do not need to do anything in order to win this prize, you can just talk about your ideals of peace. Since I need the money and believe that we need a peaceful world, I would like to officially request that all readers of this post nominate me next year for this prize! You have some time as the deadline is February 1, 2010 but do not feel pressured to get it done right away. You can wait for 12 days before the deadline to send in your nomination!

In case you are wondering, I am not upset at Obama except for the fact that he accepted the prize. My ilk is with the Nobel committee who decided to award it to him. He has done nothing tangible to be awarded this prize, yet, on the wave of speculation and hope, and perhaps as a coercive measure to persuade Obama to not increase the troop numbers in Afghanistan and have control over future policies, the committee awarded it.

Oh well. You cannot control everything. All I can say is that I am looking forward to the annual JibJab film “Year in Review” to see how they make fun of Obama in their video. We will see if this particular even is included!

Me? Addicted to my iPhone? No Way!

Today is the last day of summer, and yesterday in Denver, we enjoyed a very beautiful 83 degrees with partly cloudy skies! Today, the last day of summer, Denver has rain, snow and temperatures varying between 38 and 52 degrees depending on your location. The mountains and front range areas of Colorado have had a few inches of snow today! Crazy, crazy, crazy! I guess the new edition of the Farmer’s Almanac is correct: this winter will have below normal temperatures and above normal snow fall! I say “BRING IT ON!” I love fall/winter weather!

If you are looking for a wedding update (yes, in case you didn’t know, Laura and I got engaged a few weeks ago), check out the wedding website at www.weddingwire.com/brentandlauradowney. All the information is there and more is being posted every week. We also have a wedding blog with more information at www.wordpress.com/blwedding.

OK, now onto my main topic: “Me? Addicted to my iPhone? No Way!”

I have a confession to make. I am an Apple addict. I am not talking about the fruit. I am talking about the company. I have an iMac at home with a Time Capsule, I have a Classic iPod, and a new iPhone 3GS. I love this company! I cannot stand to work on a PC all day at work. I have to come home in the evenings and use my iMac just to work out my frustrations and have a fun and exciting computing experience. I follow Apple and Mac news, I get excited when I start hearing rumors about new products, and I even have an Apple logo sticker on my car.

Knowing that deep, dark secret, you can imagine my frustration and pure heartbreak when my iPhone stopped working last week! Here is what happened:

I purchased the iPhone knowing that AT&T service was crappy in my area, but I wanted the phone so bad that I purchased it anyhow. After just about two months of service with AT&T, I canceled my service, unlocked my iPhone and switched to T-Mobile. I love T-Mobile as they have excellent coverage, they have excellent customer service, and they have great value with pricing and service. So, I switched and was happily using my iPhone with no issues whatsoever.

About a week ago, Apple announced and released their new iTunes 9 which very quickly downloaded and was enjoying. I plugged my iPhone into my computer to use some new features of iTunes with my phone, and when prompted, click “OK” to an iPhone software update. I updated the software and went to re-unlock my phone but, to my horror, was unable to unlock my phone! CRAP! I spent the next 3 hours trying to figure out how to get my phone to work with no avail. Come to find out, the unlocking software I was using hadn’t released an updated unlocking software for that updated iPhone software and the company that provides the unlocking software said that they would not have a program available for a few weeks! AAH, what was I supposed to do! I ended up getting one of Jon’s old T-Mobile phones to use in the interim, but it has been a really hard few weeks!

Let me first just tell you that until you have had a smartphone, you don’t understand what you are missing! Once you have one, you cannot go back to a regular phone. You realize that it is a matter of convenience and an element of “cool factor” to have a smartphone, even though they are becoming more commonplace anymore. Within the smartphone community, the iPhone is an amazing product and the best smartphone I have ever used! So, when my phone stopped working, my wold came to a complete stop. I was lost without it! I then realized that I am so totally dependent on my phone to the point that it was ridiculous. I needed to see a map the other day to get to a location downtown, and I was freaking out because I didn’t have my GPS Google map available. You find that things like identifying songs and then purchasing them directly from your phone through iTunes becomes very important. So, hopefully this weekend, I will have the software update from the unlocking company which will allow me to use my iPhone again, and once again, I will be complete!

**iPhone Situation UPDATE – 10/14/2009**

Since publishing this post, I have sold my iPhone to Gazelle (a tech recycler) for $373 due to OS 3.1 software issues and my unlocking software! I have purchased the brand new HTC Hero Android smart phone on the Sprint network, and I am quite satisfied. In fact, I love it more than my iPhone! There are some things that I miss on the iPhone, but those a trivial things like the animation of the windows and programs, the way the scroll bar bounces in an email or text message window and so on. All trivial.

I have to say that if you are thinking about ditching your iPhone, DO NOT HESITATE! It will be the best thing you have done! Take a look at any Google Android phone. I heard that Android phones will surpass iPhones in sales around 2012 so jump on the bandwagon early, and congratulations!

PS: If you are interested in getting rid of your iPhone and don’t feel like selling it to another person (that can be a hassle), check out Gazelle at www.gazelle.com. They have very good rates for iPhones right now and you do not have to pay a cent to get the phone to them. I have done a review on their services and provided the link in my blogroll. Have fun!