Sunday, September 30, 2007

Friday, September 28, 2007

Until You Walk a Mile In a Pair of Crocs…

This was written by Katie Kasprzak, one of the students in my PR Writing class. The assignment was to write a column. Katie's was really funny and blogworthy. With her permission, I have posted it below

Until You Walk a Mile In a Pair of Crocs…

We have all seen them, might even own a pair or two, and if not, then we are curious what the buzz about Crocs really is all about. These plastic, holey shoes that range from a variety of colors and are ridiculously overpriced seem to be getting everyone’s attention these days. Famous for outfitting boaters, chefs and gardeners, these shoes have taken fashion to an entire different level.

I vowed I would never wear them. They reminded me of gardener shoes. They were big, bulky and not even mildly attractive. Then I got a job at Cabela’s. My friends told me that I would become a victim because they are “comfortable.” I laughed. Then one day it rained, no, it poured. My shoes were soaked and I had a nine and a half hour shift to work. I gave in. I headed straight to footwear and bought a pair of khaki Crocs. I was hooked. They really are comfortable!

Customers comment that they are hideous and tacky. I can’t agree more. Now that I own them, I have vowed only to wear them to work. Okay, and walk my dog. Okay, and maybe the next time it rains on campus. Okay, so maybe I’m just not ashamed to wear them anymore. The truth is they are just shoes. Really, really, comfortable shoes. Crocs are indestructible, washable, colorful, slip resistant, weightless, yet hated by virtually everyone that comes across a pair.

So whatever happened to allowing and respecting a difference of opinion? I don’t personally like the shoe, even though I own a pair. I don’t harp on Croc owners, yet every time I wear mine I get a reality check and people point out how unfashionable these ever-so-popular shoes are.

Crocs are ugly; in fact there are more than 500 Facebook groups that allow people to express their concerns regarding Crocs. In 2002 only 1,500 pairs of Crocs were sold. In 2006 however, Crocs were projected to reach sales more than $200 million. Now that is a lot of ugly shoes!

So, until you have walked a mile, or stood on your feet all day, in a pair of Crocs, back off those that have.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

When the past comes back to haunt you...

Mom recently scanned some old photos. Doug saw this one and deemed it "blog worthy." Come on folks, it was the early 90s, this hair style was fashionable. Still, it's a little embarrassing. I can't wait until Doug's mom scans some photos of him and I post those. I seem to remember some photos with a mustache -- now those are funny.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Snake terrorists

Check out the front page story in today's Statesman. Seems like some folks thought it would be funny to throw a python at a guy working the drive-thru at Taco Bell. The Stateman broke the story last night and now it's being picked up by KLBJ, KXAN and KVUE. As the Statesman reporter told me, funny stories go a long way. Next thing we know folks will be tossing alligators at the Wendy's drive-thru.

Time wasters

I officially waste too much time on sudoku.

Your time: 3 minutes, 46 seconds


0 min 60 mins
Rank: Top 5%


Medium level average time: 8 minutes, 6 seconds - more details.


The other thing I'm wasting my time on is learning Web design. See the changes I made to my site. Yesterday I started learning Dreamweaver, which meant I went out and bought Adobe Creative Suite 3 (with an academic discount, of course). Next week I'll learn about Photoshop. I've tried to play around with it today, but man, I didn't get it. I also played around with InDesign. It's been years since I've been in Quark, and while InDesign is similar, it has a lot more features. Of course we're not even using InDesign for the Web design class. Anyway, by the end of next weekend I should have a fairly decent site.

Monday, September 17, 2007

When it comes to heart disease, there are no mulligans

One of the things that kept me busy this summer has been coordinating the marketing for Heart Ball and Go Red programs for the Austin American Heart Association. Our first event, the Third Annual American Heart Association Classic Golf Tournament, is in 10 days at the Avery Ranch Golf Course. (If interested in playing, visit www.americanheart.org/austingolf.)

I really think the graphic (below) and the mulligan headline are catchy and I'm pleased with the results. Although I have to admit, the creative concept for Go Red (Go Red, Austin Style) and for the Heart Ball (Hearts of Hollywood) really blow me away. Those designers did an awesome job. I'll show those off closer to those events.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Simponize Dara

A fun little way to waste time. Upload a photo and Simponsize yourself.

Arrrgh!

Last weekend we went to Houston, visited the Johnson Space Center and saw the Chiefs game. I thought I posted a few blog posts from my cell phone, but I guess something happened. Freakin' AT&T. The week has been crazy and I'm going to spend the next four days grading, writing a test, trying to organize Mass Comm Week and trying to get my arms back around the stuff for the American Heart Association.

In the meantime, check out my new Website. In addition to teaching four classes, I'm taking a Web design and production class.