STANANDLOU MARKETING/ADVERTISING

So another thing about me is that I am a little bit of a hippie. Or at least I try to be. I am really interested in all that Green discussion that seems to pervade all of our lives. I remember reading a while back in The Economist about the food crisis in the world. It talked about the rising prices for rice and how it would push millions of people into unheard-of poverty levels. I can’t remember the figures exactly, but there would be millions of people in the world forced to eat less than $1.00 food per day.

That stems from many different factors – natural disasters (floods, etc), changes in farming techniques, but also government intervention in agriculture, specifically subsidies for food products to create biofuels like ethanol. Other articles also talk about the ratio of energy produced versus consumed to create these new fuels to cut the use of fossil fuels. All interesting reading.

In the June 28th issue of The Economist, they discuss Brazil’s biofuel industry. There were many interesting points to the article, but what stood out in my mind the most is that the ethanol that the brasileiros produce “packs 8.2 times as much energy as it used in its production, compared with just 1.5 times for corn ethanol, according to the Woodrow Wilson Centre, a Washington think-tank.”

My main problem with all of this talk is that people are living on less than $1.00 in food and people are concerned about using food to produce fuels that will preserve our future. Why don’t we care about people we can save right now, using those same resources?

Last night, as I was tossing and turning in bed thanks to my not so dear friend Insomnia, I started thinking, among other insomnia-crazy thoughts, about what I wanted to change in my life that would influence the planet where I live, the planet where my children will live, and probably the children of my children…and future Badurina generations. I came to the conclusion that I want to become a more eco-friendly person. I’m not talking about spending a lot of money on products, or transforming my house into a green house, I’m just talking about pequeños cambios. Tiny things that, with time, will add up and make a difference, at least, to the arboles and pajaros around my casa, and the squirrels too, por supuesto.
So I’m open to try some little things that are easy and cheap to do and make the earth a little better. Things you can also do, little things for Un Mundo Mejor:

Air-dry your clothes: I know it is easier to put your clothes in the dryer, but I’ve actually found that taking five extra minutes to hang things on a small rack, which you can easily find in IKEA, can make a really big difference. It not only reduces energy usage, but it also makes your clothes last longer. I started air-drying my clothes six months ago, and I can seriously say that I have fallen in love with it. I’m not only using less energy, but I am also preventing my clothes from ruining. If you can’t air-dry everything, at least try it with big things, like sheets and towels. They’ll dry in less than a day, or even half a day with Houston’s weather.

Živjeli,

Danica

On Sunday, August 10 a bunch of us from STANANDLOU went to the
Verizon Theater to watch our friend, Reggie Bibbs, be honored by the Houston Roller Derby. Reggie has neurofibromatosis. The severity of his disorder has caused Reggie to miss out on a lot of life. With his “Just Ask! Foundation”,
Reggie is making up for lost time by attending as many public events as
he can, spreading awareness of NF while having a great time, too.

Here are some shots from that night. You can enjoy more photos when you click the word, Lou_Is_One_Good_Looking_Guy!!! Click Reggie Gives Thanks to watch Reggie thank the Academy!

SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THE SKATERS, FANS, REFS AND FRIENDS WHO HAVE
MADE GOING TO THE ROLLER DERBY EVERY BOUT A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE! YOU
HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THAT IS APPRECIATED! EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS TO FRO-ROCIOUS, THE COLONEL, MISTILLA THE KILLA, CARMEN GEDDIT, JEKYLL & HEIDI, DEMENTIA, DEATH BY CHOCOLATE AND SO MANY MORE.

The gift-wrapping job that new STANANDLOU Account Service and Media Service hire, Danica Badurina, did today was absolutely incredible.

I bought a large piece of embossed paper from Texas Art Supply (it was on-sale for a buck) yesterday in which to wrap two T-Shirts I got for my best friend who is getting engaged today: 8/8/08 at 8:08 pm. He’s Chinese, you see, and the number eight has some spiritual significance, as seen in the opening of the Beijing Games.

I had originally planned on making a shirt myself with iron-on letters, if they even still make that kind of stuff, but then I had an idea. Good old creative production agency 808, Inc. sells some very well designed shirts, and they seemed appropriate. Very appropriate. I called up Robert Campbell, the Creative Director over there, and he set me up with two shirts. They have two little owls joined together at the ass and “808” underneath. Perfect.

Back to the real story.

With the aforementioned piece of large, embossed paper, I was simply going to roll up the shirts and tie it up with a piece of robin’s egg-blue ribbon that I swiped from my mom’s sewing room on my way to work. (Yes, I still currently live at home. Think what you want. I have good reason.) I asked Kate and Tiffany if they could tie a nice bow, because all girls are born with, or are taught early on, how to make nice bows and wrap the hell out of presents. I still can’t really do it — the ends get all messed up. Kate told me to ask Danica to do it. She’s really good at it, Kate says. I was skeptical.

I quickly went to Danica’s office where I found her at the computer wearing her ubiquitous scarf. She is always cold. I pity her. I showed her my tube-package-thing. “Ooh, that is so unattractive,” she said in her lovely Latin voice. Oh, how I love the Latin accent, “You cannot give that as a present. I will take care of it.” And my shirts, my ribbon and my paper tube were whisked away.

An hour later I returned to my office (I had to play a few games of foosball) to find something magnificent, something odd, something abstract — my present. What was once a large piece of embossed paper, some stolen ribbon and another business’ promotional material, had become a stunning objet d’art. I knew immediately that my friend and his soon-to-be-fiancé would love it and that all of their friends would know how thoughtful I am, and then, of course, question my sexual preferences.

There must be some sheik in Dubai, dripping in Euros, who would erect a building modeled after Danica’s design. I will not rest until my friend’s engagement present dots the desert horizon of that Emirate city-state!

And if any of you want Danica to wrap your presents for you, call her at STANANDLOU. 713.683.8000. Her name is pronounced DAN-IT-SA. I don’t know what she’ll charge and I haven’t figured out what I will charge as her creative agent. Just know it’ll be a damn fine-looking present.