Obamania Theme Song

Don't get me wrong, I'll vote for the man, but the who Obamamania (an actual word in use in the US) is a bit much.

Dubai as Product Placement

One of the many nice things about the Internet is that I can watch television shows from across the world, which really means the US (and in one case Canada), with the occasional Taiwanese drama thrown in. This includes Little Mosque on the Prairie (the Canadian exception). One of the characters just went to Dubai (temporarily) to work on the "World's Tallest Tower." Secret Dubai reports that Dubai was also in the US show Gossip Girl, that time referencing the Palm. Now, if this were a brand, or a specific resort, I would be confident that it is product placement. As it is, I am pretty sure that it is as well. Dubai does have a lot of hype surrounding it, but characters very rarely leave the scene of their shows, and the city is nothing if not good at self promotion.

This looks like a paid advertisement as well, although given 60 Minutes reputation as a major show I would like to think they haven't sold out that much, and are merely buying into it all (Dubai is pretty cool, after all, much as we like to complain about the negative aspects).

Update: I just saw the next Little Mosque on the Prairie and yes, it is product placement. The main plot line was about a character getting engaged, but within the first few minutes another main character (the one that came to Dubai in the last episode), was back, had an amazing time, mentioned that the restaurants are "indeed fabulous" and then got into an argument with his wife because, despite all of the wonderful shopping opportunities, he forgot to bring her a gift, which itself carried out into the first half of the show. The same wife character read her husband's Dubai guide while he was gone and mentioned that she learned about Sheikh Mohammaed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum. I love Dubai, and I agree, there are some good restaurants and shops, but it really makes no sense for the city to be featured in a show about a small town on the Canadian plains.

Photoshop madness

After writing my last entry about real estate companies Photoshopping out neighboring buildings and Photoshopping in plants, greenery and waterfront, I cam across a new blog (or at least new to me), appropriately titled Photoshop Disasters, which showcases Photoshop errors in major publications. Whereas this blends my two interests of graphics design and advertising/PR/media agenda, I thought it might be fun to show a few as well as two videos showing how it is done.

Decapitated Observer

I know moving her waist in makes her look thinner, but either someone was lazy with their distortions or Ann Coulter is part scary monster. Which would explain a few things.

I am sure that the two photos were taken at least a few months apart, but still, the difference is less than natural.

And two videos on how it is done (body and face). Warning: the body video (the second video) includes the image of half of a woman's naked derriére, and so may not be suitable for playing in some areas, such as that big conference or your three year old's birthday party.

The Face


The Body

Cool Sights Around Moscow

Moscow architecture, though attractive (large Soviet era apartment complexes excepted), is usually fairly conservative, so when I saw this building near the Patriarch Pond, it was a very pleasant surprise:


The following monument not far from the Kropotkinskay Metro is also pretty cool. It is a memorial to Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, an author most famous for writing And Quiet Flows the Don, and depicts the author on a boat, taking a herd of horses across that river in a scene based on that book.

This Parking Lot Brought to You by the Crown Prince of Dubai

A few weeks ago Sheikh Mohammad announced that his third son Hamdan would succeed him, and that his second son Maktoum would be deputy ruler. Hamdan is also known as Faza'a (very rough translation; cool guy. He sort of chose this nickname when he started publishing poems under it, but the real origins before that are less clear. Maybe he chose it, maybe it was given to him, maybe a PR team did, I've heard different versions).

I suspected he was running for political office, so to speak, when large billboards with his face and website started popping up over town over a year ago (maybe earlier, but that's when I first noticed them), officially in connection to a traditional sports competition (they didn't mention the sports and they stay up a lot longer as well). The old site was even more dramatic, with Haman on a large horse, rearing up over the sand. The new one just has photos of the crown prince looking alternatively visionary (in a pose similar to that of father on the latter's book, My Vision) and cool, yet traditional. It also plays inspirational music that sounds a bit like second half of the finale in the Daniel Day-Lewis version of Last of the Mohicans. You can also vote on what you think of the new site design; good or wonderful.

Sheikh Hamdan also has a logo, which is on the photos below, based on his nickname Faza'a and the tendency of Arabic writers to write the letter غ(with or without the dot, which changes the pronunciation in Arabic) as 3 when typing in Latin characters. It's actually a pretty good logo; it incorporates the colors of the UAE, uses his nickname, connecting him to common appeal, and uses a combination of Latin, Arabic and transliterated characters, showing inclusiveness yet hipness and a it of tech savvy. The designers earned their fee on that one, in my opinion anyway.

It, and him, have been even more prevalent since his new role was announced. Although I'm in Moscow until the end of March, I went to Sana'a' very briefly (and in a lack of forethought, used up my last entry on my visa), which was amazing, and stopped in Dubai on the way back. For all the years they've been having it, I never went out to the Global Village, so I went to check it out.

The festival itself was mixed (some of the stores and salespeople were very interesting, a lot were not, and I avoided the rides section, as it reminded me more of the time I played a polo exhibition match at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair than anything else), but that is another post. Another interesting point was how heavily the entrance was covered with Hamdan and his logo. Sheikh Mohammed's image was present, but it was Faza'a (and that was the name that was everywhere, not Hamdan), who was really omnipresent. His logo was on the parking signs, one of the main buildings and there was an entire Faza'a gift shop where you could buy hats, T-Shirts, and even a Faza'a alarm clock. I bought the alarm clock, because I couldn't resist, and a hat for Diana. I'm not sure if I'll give it to her though; I think Faza'a was ripped off by his suppliers, as the quality is pretty poor. The resolution of the small printed logo on my alarm clock also isn't good, and a basic ink jet could take care of that. Anyway, I left with the impression that they really wanted me to feel grateful to Hamdan for proving all these wonderful things, as well as buy and show my support later throughout the UAE, plus reinforce my own support by doing so. It's not a new tactic, and in the UAE it is common to see events as under the patronage of one dignitary or another (both to give the even legitimacy, even more importantly to remind you that everything good stems from the current establishment) but it is still noteworthy because of how strongly it's being executed.

This parking lot brought to you by the Crown Prince, Our Guy Faza'a

This early morning alarm also brought to you by His Highness, Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai