One of our clients, the ingenious inventors of FunSlides Carpet Skates has asked their dedicated PR team at BLAST to design an interactive contest geared towards college students. We decided to design a FunSlides Facebook page and pull some awesome videos from Youtube showing the creativity that transpires when people get their hands on these plastic sliders. But why should college kids have all the fun? Here's what happened when I strapped a pair on...
This week, a BLAST client, was featured on Star Magazine’s Web site. It’s our first mention in the Hollywood gossip mag and we love it. Since I’m now officially a “source,” it’s time I find a disguise!
Over the weekend, Chantal and I had the pleasure of heading downtown to check out the Art vs. Art Paint Day - an annual event put on by local non-profit Primary Colours. Every year, local Indy artists pay $10 to create original paintings to enter into the Art vs. Art competition, where the artist with the winning painting receives $2500.
The Paint Day is just the first leg of the event where the masterpieces are created. All of the paintings have been photographed and are now posted anonymously at www.IndyMojo.com for online voting. IndyMojo is a super-cool new client of ours by the way, so check out the site if you're from the Indy area.
The top 32 paintings (including the top paintings from Cincy, Columbus and Louisville, who also participated) win a spot to the Main Art vs. Art event, held at the Fountain Square Theatre on Sept. 7. Here, attendees have a chance to vote for their favorite paintings, and the top 16 then go head to head. The only way a losing painting can be saved from sudden death is if someone bids on it for cash. If not, paintings meet their fate on the "Wheel of Death," where they can die by fire, acid bath, chainsaw, or any other number of ugly endings.
The event drew more than 800 people last year so we can't wait to attend! If you want more info, head on over to IndyMojo for more details and to cast your vote.
Last year we took a visit to Kings Island and then the Sherman House for dinner. So, when we started thinking about this year’s Summer Outing we were wondering how we could top all of our favorite thrill rides and roller coasters as well as the office favorite White Water Canyon? We didn’t have to look too far….The Indiana State Fair was in town!
The fair has its own set of thrilling rides in the Midway, but this year we weren’t looking for rides we were looking for Fair Food! While Corn Fritters took the prize of Best Fair Food, the BLASTmedia crew enjoyed a variety of fried goodness including Corndogs, Elephant Ears, Fried Potato Swirls, Fried Tenderloins and the biggest Turkey drumstick any of us had ever seen! As the temperature neared the upper nineties, several folks headed for Ice Cream and Snow Cones to round out their nutritious lunches.
A few things that didn’t happen at the fair….
- We couldn’t get anyone to try the Fried Pepsi!
- No one was subjected to Trans Fat…The Indiana State Fair was the first state fair to ban trans fat
- No one from BLASTmedia got married at the fair, but these folks did!
We ended the day by taking in a minor league baseball game downtown. The Indianapolis Indians were victorious over the Louisville Bats and the BLASTmedia team ended the day rested, rejuvenated and few pounds heavier!
Due to some heavy storms, we lost our phone system and internet server and they have not been restored yet today. Gasp! If you need to reach us for any reason or if you are on immediate deadline, you can go through me - lindseygroepper@yahoo.com or 317.777.0197 and I'll put you in touch with the appropriate person. We hope to be back up and running tomorrow...
This week, the Duggar family made news by giving birth to their 17th child. The children range from 19 years old to a week old. For Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar, each child is a gift from God. They are evangelical Christians, and have decided to let God dictate the size of their family.
This family is not your typical American family, and they have been splashed across the media over the past couple of years. They are the focus for a show on the Discovery Health Channel and over the years have appeared on MSNBC, CBS News, the Today Show and other top news programs. While the Duggars continue to be a presence in the media, they have received much scrutiny for the way that they are raising their family.
Before any of the media attention began, the Duggars lived in a very small house with only two bathrooms. Since their Discovery Health Channel show began, they have moved into a 7,000-square-foot that they built themselves and received many donations of furniture, food and necessities for the children. All of the children are home-schooled and are living what many people believe to be “cult” life.
After watching this family a couple of times, I can’t help but believe that this family is just trying to live a life that they love. These parents seem to love each and every one of their children whole-heartedly, but the media wants to intervene and claim that not all of these children are getting the attention they deserve. Some outlets have even condemned Michelle and Jim Bob of exploitation of their own children, claiming that they continue to have more children in exchange for more media attention. To me, the Duggars seem like a healthy and happy (albeit large) family, but the media wants to turn it around into a negative. In this day in age, 17 children seem like an excessive number, but how can the media portray a loving and happy family as wrong? What do you think—are the Duggars in it for the media attention, or love of their children?
I work on several healthcare clients and, therefore, read a lot about the growing health problems in America – especially obesity. I am all for American pride and respecting people for who they are, not what they are, but this has gone too far: “If people keep gaining weight at the current rate, fat will be the norm by 2015, with 75 percent of U.S. adults overweight and 41 percent obese,” U.S. researchers predicted a few weeks ago. Is this really where America is headed?
There are obvious reasons why this is happening - namely less exercise and more eating, but because the epidemic is so widespread we cannot point at one thing. I am a firm believer in people making their own choices and reaping the rewards or dealing with the repercussions that follow, but this is your health and well-being we’re talking about. No matter your body type, people need to take a sincere interest in what they put in their body – and there are plenty of programs out there that can help people reach their health goals. For example, our client CalorieKing believes that food choice is the most basic and easiest step people can take in their weight management and offer a simple calorie counter. All the tools exist for people to make healthy choices – but it’s not rocket science. Put down the daily cheeseburger and move. Plain and simple.
If America doesn’t care about being overweight or obese for the sheer look of it, at least care about it when it comes to your life and how it affects those around you. There are millions of people that struggle daily to lower their blood pressure or cholesterol, but due to family history, exercising and eating right may never be enough. So get out there, exercise, eat well and live life! Carpe diem America, before your health seizes you!
