Boardwalk Empire Title Sequence

The cool opening sequence for Boardwalk Empire - a new time piece crime drama from HBO that chronicles the life of Nucky Thompson, the undisputed ruler of Atlantic City, who was equal parts politician and gangster during the prohibition in the 1920s.

The Last Guardian Official TGS 2010 Trailer

New trailer for The Last Guardian, from Tokyo Game Show 2010. I'm so damn excited for this game but also so very pissed that it's taking them so long to finish it. I was hoping I'd be playing it this holiday but it looks like I'll have to wait until next year.

Title: The Last Guardian
Genre: Adventure
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: SCE Studio Japan
Release Date: Q4 2011
Exclusively on: PlayStation 3

Mad Men - The Carousel

Nostalgia – it’s delicate, but potent. . . . ‘Nostalgia’ literally means ‘the pain from an old wound.’ It’s a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone. This device isn’t a spaceship; it’s a time machine. It goes backwards, forwards. It takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called the wheel; it’s called the carousel. It let’s us travel the way a child travels – around and around, and back home again, to a place where we know we are loved.

The reason Mad Men is my favorite TV series is mainly because the show is filled with scenes that really stand out; I guess it would be more accurate to call them moments. These moments usually come from nowhere and can make a good episode great in just a few seconds. One pattern that has emerged however as the show has progressed is that every season finale to date has featured one or more of these true Mad Men moments.

"The Wheel" as the season one finale episode is called is still to this date my favorite episode from the show, largely thanks to the scene above. The first season is really special because everything was still new and mysterious, but what I think really set it apart was the sense that the writers were unsure whatever or not they would be coming back for another season, so it really felt like they weren't holding back at all when it came to the story.

So I guess it's natural that season one has many of my favorite episodes from the show and is literally filled with great scenes and moments. None of them are equal to the scene above, in which our protagonist Don Draper pitches a campaign to Kodak for their new line of "wheel projectors" - the projectors ended up being renamed "Kodak Carousel Slide Projectors" and this scene speculates how that could have happened.

Instead of focusing on reinventing "the wheel" in a modern way as Kodak higher-ups suggested, Don decides on a nostalgic pitch where the projector becomes more than just another new piece of modern technology and instead becomes "a time machine". A carousel of memories that takes us on a ride to the different places and moments in our lives. This whole scene is made even more powerful because Don uses his own personal family photos to pitch his campaign to the executives.

Don's blatant longing for his family and the clear ache of separation / isolation that he feels towards them really is heartbreaking and sealed Mad Men as the best drama series on television for me. However this scene is especially poignant to me personally, because now years later I still watch the scene from time to time and I actually feel the emotion that Don Draper must be feeling in it. I've lost some important people in my life these last couple of years and I can feel myself aching to go back again, to that place / time where I knew I was loved.

I have recently noticed this shift in perspective that I have experienced as I've followed the show, more and more I am relating to Don Draper rather than Pete Campbell when I'm watching new as well as old episodes. My life has been turning for the better in these past few years, despite the sad things, and my success actually seems feasible and almost certain at this point. However at the same time I have the distinct feeling that a lot of what was originally me had to be sacrificed to get to this point.

I just hope there is more redemption in my life, compared to the life of Don Draper.

Boardwalk Empire

I love HBO, or more specifically I love HBO one-hour dramatic television series. In the past I've rested by button eyes on Oz, Rome, Deadwood, The Sopranos and now I'm currently following The Wire (I know, I'm late.) and True Blood. All brilliant TV shows in their own way. Especially The Sopranos, and since then I haven't gotten quite the same fix of a great gritty crime show focusing on a crime perspective of the story.

However it looks like in exactly one week my wish is about to be fulfilled and I've been waiting eagerly since I first heard about it this summer; I'm of course talking of HBO's latest project which really seems to be shaping up to be something extraordinary. Boardwalk Empire is a new original TV series from HBO about 1920s mafia activities in Atlantic City and the reason I'm so stoked is because of the gentlemen involved.

Martin Scorsese has produced and directed the pilot episode of the Boardwalk Empire, and he is expected to continue to be creatively involved in the ongoing production. Add to this script by Terence "The Sopranos" Winter, Steve Buscemi (Fargo) and Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road) in leading roles and set design / costume that has cost more than the entire production budget of all four seasons of Dexter - and you have a series that I would not miss for all the honey in the world.

The series begins in 1920, when America is facing major changes. Alcohol Prohibition, The Great War is over, Wall Street is about to boom, a time of social change when women are getting the vote etc. Atlantic City seems to be filled with corruption, murder, beatings, promiscuous women and classy outfits. I think it's going to take a lot for me not to end up loving what appears to be another success heading our way from HBO. Will it become the next Sopranos? We'll just have to wait and see.


Boardwalk Empire Promo #1
Boardwalk Empire Promo #2
Boardwalk Empire Promo #3

Just Do It.

Nike feat. Oscar Pistorius - Bad Listener.
Nike feat. Oscar Pistorius - This Is How I Fight.

Speaking of great advertising, I've been meaning to blog about one of the best ad-campaigns and slogans of all time for a while now, as you might suspect I'm referring to Nike's "Just Do It." slogan and the general idea in their advertising that come along with it. You can tell that the slogan carries weight from the simple fact that Nike has stuck with it for the past twenty years, and since companies don't run on charity it is a pretty good indicator that it's getting the job done. And why wouldn't it? It's advertising based on pure emotion and actually throws a direct competitive challenge to anyone viewing these ads, which can only be right and appropriate for a company so associated with different sports.

Nike are regularly brilliant at advertising and there are many classic ads over the years that have come from them, they have a smart strategy of repeating their mantra over and over again while at the same time associating their brand with new and hot sports and the different top level athletes found in these sports. The ad above is one of my favorite Nike ads of all time, it has come in a few different versions thought the years. Oscar Pistorius is simply inspirational and epic-looking despite his disability, the fact that the disability is barely acknowledged at all is telling, there is no shred of pity for him anywhere in the ad. However the strength of this ad is not Oscar's great achievements, the strength is that the ad challenges you to strive and be the best that you can be.

Looking at the ad above I instantly get an urge to go running and all excuses of why I shouldn't or silly doubts about why I can't are made to sound ridiculous and petty. And that is why these ads are so effective, they are clean, emotional and they associate with the best within all of us. I'm personally a big fan of positive advertising and Nike have here managed to associate their brand with the one trait humanity can actually be proud of; the ability to overcome. I've grown up with their slogan and their ads, and from personal experience I feel that they have worked on me for I now aspire for the day when I'll own my own quality Nike running shoes. I will associate it with my own success. I can do more and I can do better, and so can all of us. I want to believe in the best of us and not the ugly and the low. Just do it.

House - Season 7

House season 7 starts in just a few weeks and judging by the promos, the tagline "Love/sick.", as well as the summary for the season opening episode have made me cringe and decide not to tune in. When I started watching House it was probably one of the boldest shows on television and I could never have imagined it would sink to the hotchpotch mess of the past few seasons. Still, I remained a loyal viewer for the sole reason of Hugh Laurie's brilliant portrayal of House, but even that no longer seems to keep me interested. The story lost any idea of going somewhere a long time ago and the writer have sunk to the level of just delivering fan service these days, House as a character has become a caricature of the quirky genius from the early seasons, but the main issue I have with the show is it's terrible attempt at becoming a multi-character drama like Mad Men, with the result reminding me of some bad soap opera. House used to be my favorite show when I first started watching it and it really saddens me to see such a decrease in quality but at the same time I finally feel that now is the time to move on. There are better shows to watch out there and I'm no longer wasting my time for old-times sake.