Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Barilla Pasta

By now, you've probably seen the commercial. It starts with a handsome mustachioed man and his family in an Italian field. The man is holding wheat in his hands, expounding on its virtue to his children. Before you know it, you, as the viewer, are immersed into a novella that brings you across the ocean to the United States. Into a New York that looks remarkably like the Godfather II's flashbacks. A small shop making and selling spaghetti by hand. The shop growing and making racks of pasta at one time, a large "family" portrait of all the workers of the Barilla pasta family. Into the present and the wonderful luxury of buying pasta in a store until suddenly we're back in the field with Guisseppe Moustache and the wheat.

Sounds too good to be true right? I mean, this commercial is immediately more immersing than most of what's on TV. Pretty ambitious commercial when you figure it's about a minute long. Clearly the good people at Barilla want consumers to know there's a story behind their pasta. And you know what - it worked. I'm convinced - I want to be part of that story.

In the meantime - screw those fat cats at Prince brand Spaghetti.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

New Look, New Beginnings, Soaring Pessimism

So, I've decided to try out the blog one more time. I've changed the layout and while I still have no concrete plans, I am hoping to at least get back to some writing. I'm not going to lie. The outlook is still bleak. I know how things are and the odds are still more likely I will not be proficient. But I will die trying. Otherwise I'm just the Brett Favre of blogging - coming and going, crying and annoying millions, all without the painkiller addiction.

Did I mention I sincerely hope to see Urlacher snap his leg when we play the Vikes this year?