raves Archives - Page 22 of 36

Interview with Suzie Robb of Boobs Bacon Bourbon

For the “Man Up!” issue of On Tap Magazine, I had a chance to interview Suzie Robb of Boobs Bacon Bourbon, a web site that covers these important male interests. Given her web site, I thought she’d be perfect for the dude-themed August edition of On Tap.

If you live in DC and are on Twitter, sooner or later you will meet Suzie. She’s like a female Kevin Bacon, connected to everyone. I met her at a show of iPhone photography at Fathom gallery. She knew all the photogs I knew and everyone else in DC, it seemed.

Given her ubiquity in the local Twitterverse, it’s not surprising that she was given the opportunity to talk to the Social Media Club of DC about her approach to blogging and new media. Her advice is practical – be real. Write about things you’re passionate about, even if it’s your morning commute.

But what I like about Suzie – she just went for it. Most people, after waking up sober the next morning, would dismiss the idea of web site devoted to boobs, bacon and bourbon. Not Suzie and her friends. She registered the domain name and got to work, enlisting people to write content, installing WordPress and scheduling the launch party.

Web sites sometimes get planned to death, with Gantt charts and Microsoft Project replacing what is, essentially, an artistic venture. It doesn’t have to be this way, as Boobs Bacon Bourbon cheekily demonstrates.

Suzie Robb: One of the Guys
By Joe Flood
On Tap Magazine | August 2012 Issue

You know that girl with the food issues and the unfathomable neuroses? Suzie Robb is the opposite of all that. As the founder of the Boobs Bacon Bourbon web site, she’s a guy’s girl who enjoys nothing more than pitchers of beer and rowdy friends.

On Tap: Were you born this way?
Suzzie Robb: I’ve been a “guy’s girl” my entire life. I have two brothers that I’m very close with and always had male friends growing up. I don’t dislike women, I just relate more to the drama-free lifestyle of guys. Plus, they never borrow my clothes.

OT: Any advice for the women of DC?
SR: Tone down the crazy, learn to love bourbon and stop sending me hate-mail.

OT: What’s next for Suzie and Boobs Bacon Bourbon?
SR: The web site has taken on a personality of its own and become something I never predicted it could be. I’d love to host more events and find ways for readers to be able to interact with each other. What’s next for me? Beyond a glass of bourbon on the rocks, I have no idea.

GE Lights Photo Walk: Insta-Marketing with Instagram

How do you get consumers to learn about new products and build engagement with your company?

Photography.

Lured by the promise of an open bar and the chance to wander the city taking pictures, I attended the GE Lights Photo Walk. Sponsored by GE and organized by iStrategyLabs, the idea was to have a couple drinks at a downtown bar and then take photos and videos of Washington’s monuments at night. Using Instagram and the video-sharing service Viddy, participants were to tag content with the hashtag #GELights. The event was limited to 250 participants and the prizes were two trips to London and a “re-lamping” of your home.

One missed opportunity: at Penn Social there was no information on GE Lights. Handouts, swag and some actual GE Lights to look at would’ve been a good idea.

After two hours of drinking, staff from iStrategyLabs gently herded the well-lubricated techies toward the door, so that they could get pictures of the city at night.

I headed toward the Navy Memorial. I didn’t want to get the traditional night shots of Washington landmarks. Since the contest was about lights, I wanted to get pictures of bright lights, with lots of lens flare, something I knew the iPhone and Instagram were well-adapted to do. I got this:

I like the flags whipping in the breeze and the fact that it takes a moment to realize that you’re looking at the mast of a ship.

I tagged my photo in Instagram with #gelights and headed home. It was really fascinating to watch photos from DC and around the world get uploaded to Instagram with the #gelights tag.

What’s next? The photo with the most “likes” on Instagram wins a trip to London.

Would you sit through a commercial on GE Lights? Not if you could help it.

But attending an event that is fun, social and with just a slight bit of marketing is a much easier commitment to make, especially if it involves playing with our favorite gadgets. An open bar is not required.

Instagram is a powerful way to connect with consumers, because it is participatory. Rather than passively watching a commercial, consumers are actively involved in creating an experience.

While GE has been a leader in using this social photo-sharing service, it’s not the only company creating some awesome Instagram marketing.

The era of the 60 second commercial is over. The future of marketing is prizes, experiences and audience participation.

Friday Photo: Moon Over the Jefferson Memorial

As seen on DCist. I took this iPhone pic right at sunset, when the last light of the day illuminated the Jefferson Memorial. Notice the moon on the left. The photo was processed in the Sutro filter in Instagram.

Like it? Buy it on Instacanvas!

Interview with Morgan Spurlock, Director of Mansome

What makes a man?

I had a chance to interview Morgan Spurlock for On Tap magazine. The director of Super Size Me discusses his new documentary Mansome, which explores male vanity in modern America.

From beard contests to the epidemic of manscaping, being a dude has become a lot more complicated.

I Was a Game of Thrones Skeptic

I was a Game of Thrones skeptic. When I heard George R.R. Martin described as an “American Tolkien”, I scoffed. This struck me as heresy. Lord of the Rings is one of my favorite books of all time. How could some contemporary American author match the artistry of the Oxford-educated Tolkien, a master of linguistics, a scarred veteran of World War I and a brilliant stylist?

And the HBO series didn’t help. While I still haven’t seen it (I don’t have the cable channel), the swords and sorcery epic seemed more about sexposition than anything else.

Seeing all the Game of Thrones books in the book store, so many of them and with tiny print on cheap pages, made me recoil. The books looked too long and too pulpy.

What changed my mind? Reading the first book – A Game of Thrones.

While I don’t think he’s an American Tolkien, he’s a good storyteller, capable of propelling a plot over thousands of pages. So many characters – it really changed my mind about how much readers can absorb and remember. The first fantasy novel I’ve picked up in a couple of decades, A Game of Thrones is good, dirty fun, filled with sex and violence of all kinds.

What makes his authorial vision unique:

Amorality – There’s no divinity guiding the characters, no Valar or Gandalf pushing the world toward good. No selfless men like Aragorn. The characters in Game of Thrones are just like us, with our desires for sex and violence. People who are too noble end up being killed while the most intriguing characters (Tyrion) are a mix of good and bad.

Plotting – Martin should write a book on plot. The action starts immediately, from the first page. Characters are placed in real peril and forced to make life and death decisions. There are consequences to what they do – nothing can be undone. Rarely do white knights arrive to rescue people and, if they do, it usually leads to greater peril. Martin cleverly alternates perspectives, challenging readers to keep pace with his breakneck story.

Game of Thrones is a tale for our times, for the readers of today. I wouldn’t call George R. R. Martin an American Tolkien. I’d call him a modern one.

Photo Walk: Buffalo Bridge and the Bier Baron

This Dupont Circle to Georgetown photo walk is ideal for a late Sunday afternoon. Along the way, you’ll see historic architecture, cute Georgetown homes and find plenty of spots perfect for that classy DC portrait.

Where: Dupont Circle/Georgetown

What to See: Secret gardens, homes out of Architectural Digest and the best little bridge in Washington.

When to Go: 2-3 hours before sunset, preferably on a Sunday.

Time to Complete: 60 minutes.

How to Enjoy: Slow down! Take your time and really look around. Notice interesting door knobs and wrought iron fences. Take in the textures of the city – brick, stone, wood, glass, steel. Be in the moment.

Map of the Buffalo Bridge and Bier Baron Photo Walk

Dupont Circle Metro – Start here, at the Q Street exit of the Dupont Circle Metro. Be sure to get photos of the Whitman inscriptions on the Metro entrance. And if you’re into street photography, this is a great spot to get photos of interesting city folks.

Walt Whitman inscription at the Dupont Circle Metro

Continue reading “Photo Walk: Buffalo Bridge and the Bier Baron”

Beasts of the Southern Wild – A Mad Fever Dream of a Movie

Check out my article on Beasts of the Southern Wild for On Tap. It’s one of the most visually stunning movies I’ve seen all year. Set among a crew of misfits in the Louisiana swamps, it’s a harrowing look at environmental calamity, with the type of real-life danger that you rarely see in films these days.

My Instacanvas Gallery – Photos from Washington, DC

Instacanvas is is a marketplace allowing users to buy and sell Instagram photos as canvas art. This Southern California company has gotten tons of press and has been featured in TechCrunch, Forbes and elsewhere.

And I’ve joined in the fun, opening up an Instacanvas gallery at http://instacanv.as/joeflood

Now you can buy my Instagram shots of city life in Washington, DC. My interests include bikes, beer and soulful black and white. I definitely have a thing for black and white iPhone shots.

Included in the gallery are photos that have appeared in the InstantDC and Fotoweek gallery shows, as well as local blogs such as DCist, We Love DC and Prince of Petworth.

Canvas prints are as inexpensive as $39.95 and shipping is free. Here are some of my favorites:

little girl in art gallery *First Place, Fotoweek DC Mobile Phone Image Competition*

squares on F Street *featured in We Love DC*

morning commuter on 14th Street *featured on DCist*

early cherry blossoms at the Jefferson Memorial

Check out my complete gallery and get some inexpensive art for your bare walls!

Don't Mess Up My Block – Free Thru Memorial Day!

Don’t Mess Up My Block is free through Memorial Day! Normally $2.99, I’ve marked the price of the Kindle edition of my funny novel down to zero. Download it today!

Even if you don’t have an Amazon e-reader, you can still read the book through the Kindle app on your Mac, PC, iPhone or iPad.

Don’t Mess Up My Block

The secret to success is to not let other people “mess up your block.”

Or at least that’s what Laurent Christ thinks, in this satiric novel disguised as a self-help book.

Laurent comes from North Dakota, like Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby. He thinks his teachers got it all wrong – Gatsby is a hero.

And like a modern-day Gatsby, he reinvents himself with a new name and history. Laurent drops a hundred pounds, shaves his head and goes on the road as a management consultant, providing advice to corporations around the county. Everywhere he goes, comic disaster follows as companies follow his glib counsel.

But failure is not going to stop him. One man and a story – that’s all you need to make it in America.

As a management expert, he’s inevitably drawn to Washington, DC. But even he is appalled by the intransigent bureaucracy he finds in the city. Maybe he’s been wrong about everything. Maybe you need more than a catchphrase to find success in this country.

Laurent tells the sprawling story of his life in Don’t Mess Up My Block, a novel that examines the American faith in gurus and easy solutions. It’s a satire that takes aim at the times we live in, skewering incompetent bureaucrats, greedy consultants, social media experts and Baby Boomers everywhere.

Don’t Mess Up My Block is a fast, funny read and one that’s perfect for your weekend beach trip. And it’s free!

Friday Photo: Occupeeps Edition

A movement that promised revolution is now reduced to globs of sugar. There’s something truly American about that. We’re not Europe, with class-based parties flooding the streets in protest. We distrust mass movements and frequently respond to strident appeals with mockery.

The Occupy movement made for good theater, but little more. That they find their end in Peep form is about right.

The Occupeeps are part of a whole series of Peeps dioramas on the ninth floor of Artomatic. Check ’em out!