Well, I can’t let this go by without a comment. As you probably know, the Saints captured their first Super Bowl victory last night. Now, in addition to the excellent game, there were some really catchy commercials all designed to entertain and capture your attention for their brand name. I have to say that I think my favorite was the Betty White/Abe Vigoda Snickers commercial. I just love it when older generations of Hollywood receive some recognition and get reintroduced. Here’s the commercial so you can see it for yourself if you missed it.

Just read a great article from Yaro Starak about getting exposure for readers. He lists some simple things for getting your name and blog out there. For instance, he advocates writing pillar articles. These are posts that are designed to be a somewhat comprehensive lesson in a topic. If you want to write an article about commercial lighting, discuss the advantages of certain fixtures, explain how to wire them properly and provide some benefits to doing so. Once you get a few articles written, Starak then says to get yourself out and comment on other blogs. This will alert people to your presence, and if your comments are insightful, people might come over to take a look at what you’re writing. There are some other great ideas that he lists in the rest of his blog, so check it out.

I’m watching the JG Wentworth opera commercial, where people are on a stage singing about how they need cash and to call JG Wentworth now.  While I don’t need money now and have no need to call, the commercial leaves an impression for its uniqueness.  I can honestly tell you that I won’t forget the name any time soon.  My point is that making a name for yourself in a unique fashion will help people remember your name in the future.

Ok, I may be biting off more than I can chew, but I am taking some of Matthew Stibbe’s advice and creating a different type of post today.  And with the Super Bowl coming up, I decided to select my top Super Bowl ads.  These top 3 are my own opinion and does not reflect the effect the commercial had.

• Monster.com moose ad
• Bridgestone’s Screaming Squirrel
• Doritos Snow Globe

Now, there are some other great ads out there, so let me know what your favorite is.

photo from NIOSH at flickr.com

I was reading an article today by Matthew Stibbe from a while ago. The post is dated from November, 2006, but the ideas he presents are great for anyone looking to start a blog and gather a readership. Some of them are ideas I’ve even touched on which makes me feel good, since it tells me I’m getting some of these things right. One of the things he writes that I really like is to have a scratch pad available. Since you want to try and establish a readership with continuous content, adding an entry every day can sometimes be challenging to find topics and material. Keep a notepad on hand so when you get an idea, jot a quick note down so you’ll remember it when you go to blog. You can read the rest of Matthew’s post here.

Ok, I usually don’t go into politics too much. I learned one thing from my mom growing up and it’s this: there are two things you never discuss unless you’re looking for a fight; religion and politics. And there’s a good reason those lead to arguments. Both of these topics are so connected to our inner nature and personality that the second someone says their own view of religion or politics is better or that your views are wrong, we immediately go on the defensive. As you should because if you don’t you are not a person of strong conviction.

That being said, I have to just sit back and marvel at the political landscape over the past year. I guess I’m a political moderate. I agree with the Republicans on certain issues and Democrats on others. Because of that, I don’t take offense when one party calls out the other. The recent senatorial race in Massachussetts is a prime example. I have a friend who lives near me in the midwest who had some choice words for the people of MA due to the election results. His anger stemmed from the effect it would have on the healthcare debate. I have another friend whose mother is a government employee and is facing some health issues. There’s a lot of bureaucratic red tape this poor mom is dealing with, and as a result, my friend doesn’t want to see government healthcare. Now, in his State of the Union Address, President Obama calls out the Supreme Court for a decision they made recently. This caused a visible reaction from one of the justices. Of course, the justice is going to disagree otherwise he wouldn’t have voted the way he did in the case. Like the title says, politics is fascinating to watch. I believe in the democratic process, but boy, does it get funky sometimes.

I don’t post this to lessen the seriousness of computer viruses or the need for good protection.  But, I know a few people who go overboard in terms of sending warnings.  So, I think this parody from “Weird Al” Yankovic is quite humorous.

I beleive that life is interconnected in a way that lessons for one aspect can be taken from other aspects. Foxnews.com ran a slideshow story about older male celebrities and the cosmetic surgery they’ve had done. According to Fox news, all the men they selected are candidtates for the worst results ever. After going through their nominees, Mickey Rourke is the one I wholehartedly agree with.

If you remember what he looked like when he first broke into the scene, you will definitely notice the differences.

So, what is the lesson?  The choices you make can have drastic effects on your life.  Now, some decisions and choices are such that you can reverse the effects or mitigate them, but some are not like that.  Any big decision you get set to make, take a second and think of ANY consequences that you might encounter as a result of this decision.  If you’re ok with dealing with any negative feedback, then go for it.  If a consequence scares you a little, put the decision off for a while.

I was reading an article earlier today from Darren Rowse about blog posts. Bascially, I wanted to see what others are saying about post length. What Darren says is quite interesting.

If you plane to post something, ultimately the determining factor is the topic you pick for the day.  Some may say that long blog posts are are sure way to turn people away, but if you are writing a post on something that’s more detailed than normal, you’re going to need a longer post.  In general, keep normal posts under 1000 words.  You can get more great ideas by reading the entire post here.

With Haiti devastated, organizations worldwide have sprung into action.  Websites have been setup to collect monetary donations from anywhere there is internet access.  That’s what humanity is all about.  As a global community, reaching out to others in times of crisis, whether it is by donating time or money.  You can give to the relief effort by pledging here.