byrd gone south

I am always the last to know anything cool

2008-10-24T16:37:00.002-04:00

Dr. Ronald Chevalier - Inspiring Oneself

Live Web Cam

2008-09-12T12:25:00.002-04:00

http://www.cyriak.co.uk/lhc/lhc-webcams.html

Here is a little help.

2008-09-10T13:41:00.002-04:00

http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/

I have found this helpful in tracking the end of all things. But you probably already know this site for all your large hadron collider updates.

This is not funny people.

2008-09-10T11:20:00.002-04:00

Google,
We have a good chance of being sucked into the 11th dimension. I am not making that up. That is where some scientist believe we would go if not into a black hole. This is not a laughing matter. Don't you realize how bad the housing marking would become if our world was brought into another plan of time and existence. This could spell trouble for the election in November. Would I have to pay back my school loans? Would Volkswagen really need that stuff for the website in the morning?
Maybe, it will be worse than that. Will time cease to be linear. All things happening at once. Our minds will not able to handle the change. Resulting in all humankind going completely insane. In this panic world leaders will kill us all by firing weapons of mass destruction upon each other. In so called defense of each other.
In short stop doing the cute cartoons. Your only encouraging science.
Seriously come on,
Your Average Joe

The beginning of the end

2008-09-08T13:15:00.002-04:00

The date has moved and is due to be turned with in the next few days. Nice knowing you all.

First Week.

2008-09-01T23:40:00.006-04:00

This is everything I thought it would be. In 5 days I had 4 all nighters. I am working very hard but I am working with great people. Everyone around me is great and I cant wait to get to know them better. The weekend was great Alisha's sister came to visit and we got to check out Boulder.

The great thing about the housing that we are staying in is that we can sign out bikes to ride around town. On one ride out this weekend we were able to see a great rainbow.

Well I guess I need to get some more photos. But in short we are really enjoying Boulder. There is a lot to do and the weather is great. So far this is been a lot of fun.

The Crooked Man

2008-08-19T20:43:00.003-04:00

"In 1956, somewhere in the mountains of West Virginia, Hellboy encounters Tom, a man who in his youth sold his soul to a backwoods demon known as the Crooked Man. Together they travel back into the dark heart of the Appalachian mountains to confront that demon and see if Tom's soul can't be saved." dark horse comics preview

This is the new series of Hellboy comics now in its second issue. I am enjoying this new story very much. I can not wait for the third to come out. Now I know that you are thinking "I don't read comics" I don't think it matters this is a great story. If you are in NYC stop by Forbidden Planet in Union Square. If not check your local comic book store...it might be fun.

Wii Golf

2008-08-19T19:35:00.005-04:00

After a night of showing Alisha's dad how the Wii works by playing golf we decided do the real thing.

Alisha's Dad on the Wii.

EB on the green.

Much better doing the real thing.

Monday afternoon baseball

2008-08-19T00:33:00.006-04:00

Large market baseball is awesome. Getting on a crowded subway to see a ball game on a Monday afternoon is one thing I will miss about New York.

What logo came first the GeicO or CasiO? I never noticed this until I went to a really boring Mets game. No, it was pretty fun just to be there.

Love stadium dogs and stadium mustard. So we took as much as we could get into our pockets.

Dallas BBQ in NYC

2008-08-18T23:59:00.004-04:00

The best BBQ in NYC is at Dallas. We had fun an d got E.B. feed, no more needs to be said.

The bouncers were really big.

Chicken Tenders...what is a tender?

Alisha doing some fake drinking.

A new member of the family

2008-08-11T01:18:00.002-04:00

EB and I went out this weekend and found what we have been look for. The Wii is not just a gme system, its a member of the family . More updates as they unfold.

The Olympics have started.

2008-08-10T19:45:00.000-04:00

When we were young.

2008-08-10T10:50:00.006-04:00

While looking over photos of school I ran across this photo. This was one of the greatest days of my life.

Now sure some people might say, "Hey Dave you got married, graduation, and so many other great things." Well, I would say to that you don't know me. So shut your face!
This was a time of great joy in my life.
This was a time were everyone came together. I had not seen my classmates all summer. The First Years had shown up and for some reason they all looked like they could be drafted by some pro sports team. This was really bad because we were looking forward to the biannual softball game. A game that we had lost both times that we had played. We wanted wanted to stay positive and say that this was "our year", but we knew that the odds were against us.
The day of the game came around and it was like something out of a bad sports movie the first years not only had shown up in uniform but they had cheerleaders. But for all there show they really did not play well. After the game started we took over and never looked back.
Now looking back I remember us playing like a mix of the 1969 Mets and the 1985 Edmonton Oilers. But, in fact it was an ugly game full of mistakes. But my point is that the game that we were supposedly going to lose was the only game that we won. I mean really. Any day that ends with Pat doing victory laps on a scooter with a helmet way to small for him is a good one.
I hope that everyone that was there that day has that photo of everyone after the game in their wallet or somewhere they can see it often. Because it needs to be a reminder of what is suppose to happen doest have to.

Leaving W+K New York

2008-08-08T11:40:00.006-04:00

I guess I forgot to tell anyone I even came to Wieden + Kennedy in the first place, but here I am leaving. I have been here a little more than two months and I have had some ups and downs. I have wanted for a long time to work for W+K and for a long time wanted to work on Nike. I was able to do both before leaving New York and for that I am truly happy. I look forward to see how they take on the challenges of moving into the interactive space. I have learned a lot from some really great people. They really enjoy the work but more importantly they enjoy life.

I am now moving to Boulder, Co. to work with Crispin Porter + Bogusky in their interactive department. I looking forward to the time to learn and working my butt off.

Goodbye giant shoe. I will miss you the most.

Great President or Greatest President

2008-06-21T23:21:00.002-04:00

Building EB a Home

2008-06-18T22:29:00.003-04:00

What have I been up to while here in New York? Building a space for EB to live in that's what. Josh came up with me to hang in New York and we ended up working pretty hard on a suspended bed for EB to sleep in. All I can say to EB is don't toss and turn to much or you'll die or just break something. Stay tuned to see the final space it should be pretty rocking.

Coming to the End

2008-06-13T11:12:00.005-04:00

School is over. I don't feel ready. My close relationships with friends and professors are now becoming long distance relationships. People that I have seen everyday will now be people that I see every now and then. I am moving to a place that is bigger than life and faster than anyway I have ever been. I am taking a job that might not be there for me in 6 months at a place that expects amazing work. I don't think am amazing. In short I am scared out of my mind.
I hope that I can find a way to have fun. I hope that everything that I learned does not fail me. I hope to stay close with my friends.
I have meet some of the greatest people since being here. I have meet some weird people here too. Most overlap. Please keep in touch. I don't know how long I will be in advertising so I can't really depend on work keeping us together.

I don't think this was ever about advertising. It was about finding out what I am all about. Sometimes I found a lot of pride in what I was doing, a lot of the time I HATED what I was doing. I guess in short is what I am saying is just because school is over for me I still have so much more to learn. I guess you could see that one coming. That's why I am a "art director".
To my friends you have a place to crash in New York to everyone else you have gotten rid of me. Good Luck to you all.

Thinking Differently

2008-06-12T20:10:00.002-04:00

Just looking at one small part of the puzzle and ask why? It seems so easy sometimes. It drives me crazy how simple the solution can be.

What can you do in 88 years?

2008-04-19T17:58:00.003-04:00

I can not believe that Ann Tucker is 88 years old. She has lead such a great life so far and has always been there for me in life.
She has been married twice.
First when she was 14 years old.
My first grandfather died of cancer at 44. Now that she has lived twice his life time she still talks about how much she misses him and loves him. She married again to the man that my mother would come to call father because she was the very youngest. In fact her older brothers and sisters had already moved out. This man was abusive and was murdered in a robbery by a friend of after being released from jail. Not much of a friend.
She is what comes to mind when I think of a strong woman. She has lost two husbands to death. Three of children passed on from diabetes, suicide, and cancer. She helped raise me and my brothers and sisters when my mom and dad were out making a living.
So, how can I apply this in my life?
As I am getting ready to leave school I realize that 88 years is short. This world is to big to try and live it in one place. Keep moving. Keep changing. Keep learning. Don't keep things to your self. Share and you will live forever. My grandmother shared with me. I will share what I have with others.
OK...back to advertising.

It is spring time. Save me Gebus!

2008-04-17T10:21:00.004-04:00

The good weather is great. But, not for work. It is calling me to leave my computer all the time. I can't take it. I want to run away so bad. I am so close to the end of school I can taste it and it doesn't taste too good.
Most people leaving higher education have some idea were they are going next. I have no clue. All I know is that I want to go to the river. But the river doesn't have a creative department. So sad. They really need one.

The Tooth Fairy

2008-03-14T11:09:00.003-04:00

A lot of people ask the question: Dave when are you going to grow up? Well, on a recent trip to the dentist I discovered a way new way of knowing when I need to grow up. I still have a baby tooth. The top x-ray shows the front left adult tooth still hanging out.

The tooth fairy is going to not only going bring me a dollar but, bring my adulthood. I hope she comes around before I start to have kids that is just embarrassing if your kids have all their adult teeth while you are still waiting for that stupid dollar.

The new Hayward is right on.

2008-03-13T12:35:00.004-04:00

Nike's new Hayward running shoe or the new Pre shoe is awesome. I was so disappointed with the first attempt at putting Pre on a shoe. There was nothing cool about it. They just threw Pre's face on a crappy heavy shoe. Now the new shoe is based on a drawing that Pre had for a running shoe. I don't know if I believe that but, the shoe has a great feel to it. The Hayward has a retro look to it and it is light weight. The shoe's stability is pretty good as well.
This is going to be my next shoe purchase in getting ready for the Monument Ave 10k. I say that because the light weight nature of the shoe would make it a good racer. The Hayward has restored my respect a some what for Nike in fixing a shoe that bares the name of one of the greatest track athletics of all time.

NOTE: I still feel that the Nike brand has been hurt by losing touch with the runner. The fact they launched the Pre line with such little thought says something about how they really have forgotten were they came from.

This is what an ad shop should look like...

2008-03-11T00:50:00.003-04:00

Can you see the ad agency in this photo? Talk about a gear change from W+K Portland. After visiting Wexley School for Girls I can see why they have such a following. This is a smart shop that I am not cool enough to work for. Yes it has happened yet again, much like the time that we visited Droga5 in New York. They are having fun. Are you having fun in what you are doing? If so, is it any good? That is it. Thats all you can do. But, you already knew that.

Protest this.

2008-03-09T23:25:00.002-04:00

I ran into this protest for a free Tibet this morning. Hey, remember how Tibet is still being occupied by China.
Why did I forget?
Because I listen to the media?
I am all about the green movement.
Why?
Because the media told me?
Maybe so and that is not a bad thing. I think the bad thing is when I forget. When I turn peoples lives into a side project is when things go wrong. The goal is remember that change for good is not just a side project but, a everyday project. That the media is not always evil but I need to have my own opinion and do the research.

What I learned today.

2008-03-09T00:04:00.004-05:00

I learned that I need to act more. There are so many opportunities to change and create. I have been asking the wrong questions.
I was able to spend some time with John Jay of Wieden and Kennedy Portland this afternoon who was able to give some good advise. The first eye opener I had was that John attended Ohio State. I also attended Ohio State. An even bigger opener was that we shared a professor. The professor was an old Swiss designer who would allow only four typefaces. This was big because it help me realize something about my thinking. Swiss type and poster design is not that interesting. Graphic design is only the start. It's just one of many languages you can use.
John reminded me that people are different. Common knowledge right? (Just a note. I felt really dumb by the time this was all over.)
But sometimes when you become so wrapped up in something you fail to see what is right in front your face. It's not about being a designer or an art director. Its about doing what you want and what you think is cool and let others try to put tags on you. I need to worry less. Live my life more. Create. Create. Create.

A Grand Old Opening

2008-03-08T15:07:00.002-05:00

Rick did it. He built this thing that we can all go to class in and to kick it off lets all get hammered.
The building has now be properly showed off so lets get back to work. I think Kevin Proudfoot of W+K New York gave the best advise to the students there. "Live up to the hype." Anyone at ESPN can tell you this is one of the hardest things to do as an athlete. Ask David Beckman who had more hype coming to American than any other athlete in sometime. Who on his coming out did very little to help his team in LA. I think we can do it. Good luck everybody.

How to kick Peter's @#$!

2008-02-21T10:00:00.003-05:00

Remember when we had that class that taught how to escape from Peter.
Yeah, good times...good times.

Adcenter twins strike again

2008-02-21T09:53:00.002-05:00

I don't know if it is cool or sad when you and your partner start dressing alike.

Rugby

2008-01-26T09:25:00.000-05:00

Am I going to be large enough to play Rugby? I would say NO. Am I large enough to play at Rugby that answer is an overwhelming YES. I had a blast with my first practice. I had no clue what was going on but to be honest it really felt like no one knew what was going on. I was very grateful for friends that that help push you to do things that you don't necessarily think you can do.(Josh and Pat) So I will see you guys Monday, for another practice of the VCU Rugby Club.

Oh, quick note I am 5'10 and 155 pounds when wet. The power of friends.

It's Real.

2008-01-11T10:29:00.001-05:00

It is real. I've been there and seen it with my own eyes and took photos . That you are now seeing with your own eyes. On the internet. Thank God for the internet. May we never leave our homes again.

I wanted to write about this a long time ago

2008-01-10T10:44:00.000-05:00

When I was in New York for Designism a few weeks ago I heard a lot of people talking about what we can do and what we should do. There was even talk about how nothing is really being done. This was Designism 2.0, it was to be an answer to the question left after the first event of were is the action? Again the event was 99% talk. At lest I thought.
While at this event I had the great fortune of meeting Paul Lavoie from Taxi president of the ADC and I thought for just a moment that this is just more talk. But, a week later I found out about the 15 below project that Taxi is doing for there 15 th anniversary.
Go to http://www.15belowproject.org/ and decide for yourself if these guys are all talk.

I give up

2008-01-08T09:28:00.001-05:00

I just give up. What am I saying? I can't give up. Oh, that's right, there is nothing I can do because it is a football game that has already been played. Now that I mention it I am not on that team. Even if I was I would not be able to catch the ball. All I do is purchase the "team gear" online and yell at my TV late into the night.
In the end I and hundreds of thousands like myself are so invested in there team and are powerless to effect the out come. All the fan can do is talk. That is all we have. Well, that and gambling our rent money away. Never bet on your team...love gets in the way. Just to wrap this up, all the fan has is talk and in sports talk is cheep. So if your a real Buckeye fan go turn a car over and start some kind of soccer like riot. Action speaks louder than words. GO BUCKS.
Just kidding Mom, please don't break anything.

We can win.

2008-01-06T23:35:00.000-05:00

I have found faith in this the last hour. We can win! All I have heard is how LSU is going to have this home field advantage, they are the better school, and Ohio State has not played anyone. Living in the south right now, I just have to hear from everyone how the south is so much better than any team in the Big Ten. I am tired of hearing it.
So I am putting this up at the last minute to just get it out of the system and if the lose I am going to have to take this off. But, you all know if we win you will all never hear the end of it. GO BUCKS!

What to get when you exchage your gift

2008-01-04T11:08:00.000-05:00

"Listening is an act of Love" by Dave Isay is great exchange gift this year. I have found this not only interesting but, it gives you tools in how to record your own family history.
These stories are so simple in that everyday people are giving there insight on the world around them as they grow up, face challenges, and just live there lives.

But you don't have to take my word for it.

Times Square ball goes green?

2008-01-02T08:12:00.000-05:00

I kept seeing over and over this past week about how the new ball for Times Square's New Eve event is going green.
The revamped ball is covered with 9,576 light-emitting diodes, or LED bulbs, that will use the same amount of power as 10 toasters or one oven. But the lights will be twice as bright as the mixture of incandescent and halogen bulbs used for last year's ball.
That is great to hear that they want to go "green" but is it really going to offset the amount of waste that is generated by the crowd that gathers to see this new "green" ball.

As revelers headed home early Monday, the first day of 2007, work crews moved in to sweep up the remnants of 2006. Their mission: picking up 3.5 tons of confetti (a record-setting amount), as well as sandwich bags, food wrappers and other debris from the big bash.

The Bubble Project

2007-12-26T13:23:00.000-05:00

The bubble project has been around for sometime. I first started seeing the work last year when I was working in Manhattan seeing them in almost every station to and from work. But, this time in the city my friend helped me see how great it can feel to take media back.
Ji Lee took his own money to get this project started and that has inspired me. Sometimes you have to take things in to your own hands to make the world the way you want it to be.

Adcenter Twins

2007-12-26T13:05:00.000-05:00

When you are in the space station that is the Adcenter you might start becoming to close to your friends. These photos are not doctored in anyway, nor where they set up. This is not a joke... just an observation.

Let's go Running

2007-08-02T22:24:00.000-04:00

We are going running. We are going running up the east coast over three days next week. This is in part to show Saucony how they have inspired us to just go out on the open road. We are going to document this by blog and video. http://sauconyrun2007.blogspot.com

The Real Deal

2007-08-01T12:21:00.000-04:00

It is way cool when something you designed gets made.

Is bigger better?

2007-08-01T11:21:00.001-04:00

Is bigger better? Some of the things that we do for Bloom is really just making it big. This truck for example is just that…bigger. A large shopping cart doesn’t really break any rules or say anything. But, it grabs peoples eye and gets them talking. So will people shop at Bloom over other stores because they seem like a store that is fun? Why do you shop were you shop?

a new year is coming...

2007-07-31T12:34:00.000-04:00

It is really weird but I can’t wait for school to start. I really have enjoyed this summer and working for Boone Oakley I could not ask for much more. We have gotten work produced and were not treated as interns but as a creative team. But, I look back on last year with not the same dread that I would have the night before something is due. I remember the small victories and friends that I have made and miss. This is the last year were if I mess up I don’t lose my job. I look forward to what can happen in this up coming year.

I was on the radio?

2007-05-16T20:55:00.000-04:00

I guess I was on NPR this week talking about design. Check it out.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10169159&sc=emaf

Good Magazine

2007-01-15T09:19:00.000-05:00

Good is people that give a damn. Good Magazine is a new publication in its second issue this month. The cover this month has John Hodgman, who most people know from the "Mac and PC" ads he plays the part of the nerd PC. I am a big fan of his work on the Daily Show as the "resident expert". His comments in the article about why what they do on the Daily Show is so funny is great. He talks about how the source of the humor is the truth. The day to day of our government is so insane that you can ether laugh or cry about it...they choose to laugh.
The magazine on a whole is very GOOD and insightful with helping you not only become a better consumer, but a better designer. When we as designers understand what the problem is we can find the better solution. Design is problem solving. I know that is cheese and said a million times, but that is the core of what we do. Now more that ever we need good design to solve the problems that we have created with short term thinking.
goodmagazine.com

Designism and Afterthesemessages.com

2006-12-29T14:36:00.000-05:00

What a great visit to New York City this Christmas. When I first got to Greenteam they had been invited by the Art Directors Club of New York to discuss the problem of Designism and how there are so many people that wanted to become part of this movement when there is no one to pick up the torch. They are of course ready to do so and answer those questions in the next few months. In the mean time the students here at VCU are going to push forward our efforts to educate students on the power of design toward social change. I am also proud to announce that Afterthesemessages.com is going to help our efforts in getting this out to the student bodies here in Virginia and around the country.

What is designism?

2006-12-07T23:53:00.000-05:00

I don't know what Designism is but I do know that a small group of students got together tonight to talk about how we can change the world. We started the night with An Inconvenient Truth the Al Gore movie about global warming. This went really good we had people show up late and by the time we started talking about our plan of action we had about 30 students. We talked about all the different things we could do to help change things in the Richmond area. We kinda got out of hand at times but we want to start small so we can build off of what we know. The first attack is going to be mostly internal to get people in the Adcenter thinking differently. The task for us is to do this and stay in the bounds of environmental design. We just heard from Brian Hurewitz with Greenteam and he was talking about the difficulty of keeping the standards that they have set for themselves. I am just now understanding how hard it really it is as we are trying to keep those same standards with no money. My hat goes off to them and what they are able to do and still stay to their standards.

2006-11-25T00:23:00.000-05:00

Alisha has been learning the ropes of the bike and I think she is on the way to some thing big. In using the bike we are reducing fuel use. We are able to get around the Richmond area and the bike is also made of strong recycled plastic that is lightweight making the bike faster. Little things can be done to help the earth and Alisha and I want to be part of that solution.

The Poem

2006-10-13T20:12:00.000-04:00

Sock puppets pushing beer

2006-10-11T23:39:00.000-04:00

The work goes on as are group worked the other night till 5:30 a.m. to get the best shots. I was kinda out of it toward the end of the shooting I would just lie on the floor. This forced me to take a minute to reflect on how we were using puppets to sell beer and how hard it was to find any real merit to what I was doing. But, to be honest I was having fun. I think that is how I was able to smile that morning as I dropped everyone off. We need to find something in everything we do to be able to make it to the projects that really do. That is the only way to keep your head above the water.I am not sure if I can do it, but I am going to try.

More on Oscar

2006-09-30T13:45:00.000-04:00

Oscar the Pug

2006-09-30T11:54:00.000-04:00

The crazy things we do.

2006-09-30T10:50:00.000-04:00

When the weather channel is outside your house you know some thing is going down.

2006-07-25T22:38:00.000-04:00

This the first of many reports from the new location in Richmond, Virginia. We have moved in to a great new apartment in the downtown area near wear I have classes. The summer has been pretty hot! It is a lot more hotter than it is in Ohio. I have not started class yet but I am working for VCU ging the whole graphic design deal. Well, Hope to show more later.