Taylor Loftin

Posts Tagged ‘comfort level’

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Gimmicks

Monday, April 27th, 2009

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Is anybody else annoyed with Burger King’s most recent commercials?  I don’t watch much TV (just LOST and maybe an episode or two of Millionare Matchmaker – dont ask me why, but its addicting).  Nevertheless, I have still been completely inconvenienced by these spots.  In fact, every time one of them appears on the screen my comfort level drops about 50%.  The only thing more upsetting than watching one of these commercials is the fact that I missed this year’s free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s.

I have to hand it to the ad execs that came up with this atrocity. While it makes absolutely no sense for a guy dressed up  in plastic king costume to be dancing around to Sir-Mix-A-Lot with Sponge Bob in order to advertise burgers, they were able to catch my attention enough to instill a memory in my brain.  An irritating, obnoxious memory.  So in a way, I suppose it makes complete sense:

  1. Ad exec comes up with crazy, seemingly random commercial.
  2. Commercial airs and annoys a bunch of people who then talk about it with their friends and post about it on their blogs.
  3. While reading said blogs, people like Billy suddenly become hungry for Burger King and run to get a whopper.
  4. Ad exec lives happily ever after in his big house in the hills.

I guess what’s really bothering me is that everybody seems to have a gimmick these days.  Actors, musicians, businesses.  The problem arises when the gimmick overshadows the art.  I guess in the case of burger king there is no art to overshadow and maybe that’s why the commercial is so annoying.  At least some gimmicks are creative, interesting, thought-provoking or at least a lot of fun. Like Wayne Coyne in his giant space bubble.  Gimmick? Maybe.  Awesome?  Definitely!  Plus- it quite possibly gained him the love and affection of enough Oklahomans for them to name “Do You Realize?” as their state song.  This makes me wonder if California has a state song and whether it not it is anywhere near as cool.

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Auburn House

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

There are many, many things I love about where I live.  In fact, my current living location has been the topic of so many enjoyable conversations, I realized that my blog would be entirely incomplete if I did not post something about it.  One of the best things about Auburn House is that it is within walking distance to my place of employment, Trader Joe’s, Pink Berry, Starbucks, 7-11 and Ralphs as well as many tasty restaurants and one of a kind specialty shops.  Being able to walk places comes in very handy when everyone has consumed their weight in beer and munchies become absolutely imperative.

In addition to its close proximity to most necessities, one can maintain an extremely high comfort level simply by being within a few meters of Auburn House.  This magical karma diamond resides near the top of a hill away from the noise of the freeway and surrounding streets and located smack dab in the middle of an oasis of plants, flowers and fruit trees (including avocado!).  Not only is the location gorgeous, but we have transformed the dirty basement into a sick practice space with a control room/music listening, beer drinking space.  Auburn House is so great, there could be a blog dedicated to it.  Oh wait – there is!  Check it out to hear more about the fabulousness of the house and its inhabitants.

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Comfort Level

Friday, April 24th, 2009

Growing up in Southern California has definitely had an affect on my standards of comfort.  Comfort level is not something one can choose.  It is not a state of mind or a mood.  It is simply the overall effect of ones surroundings on a particular person.  My tolerance for things like smog, unsightly landscaping (or complete lack thereof!), and traffic has definitely improved since I left my lovely childhood stomping grounds, the planned community of Rancho Bernardo suburb of San Diego.

Upon arriving in Riverside (I only moved there because it was the only UC that I could get into!), it didn’t take long to realize that my comfort levels were about to take a beating.   Questions like “Why in God’s name would you move here if you already lived in San Diego?” are not something one wants to hear when arriving to a new town.  However, maybe it was my 17-year-old naivety or the fact that I lived within walking distance to Krispy Kreme (ok, I’ll be honest, there was not much walking going on) that kept me there.  And I’m glad I did.  Even though the summer heat, homeless drifters and lackluster surroundings tried my patience and my comfort level, I met a lot of really great people in the music scene and was able to focus my energy on creative outlets.

Moving to Northridge (again, for school) definitely improved my comfort level.  I admit that this is partly because of the abundance of strip malls and chain restaurants which were staples in my middle-class suburban upbringing.  Also, being in LA brought about so many more oppurtunities to find random jobs on craigslist (online marketing, focus groups, dating show contestant), endless concerts and events (getting on the guest list for these has become a hobby for me) and crazy fun people to party with.  Even still, living in the Valley was a pain in the butt when most of my adventures brought me to the Hollywood area, especially once I start working at small record label in Silverlake.

I knew that decreasing my commute to work would be of the utmost importance if I was going to maintain my comfort level during my post-college, what-the-hell-do-I-do-now?! phase.  Hence, after graduating I quickly began searching for a place closer to the area code 323 (yay! a legit LA #).   After finding Auburn House my comfort level has soared to heights I never imagined possible.

Occasionally, things come my way that temporarily manage to lower my comfort level such as temperatures that lie outside of my optimal range (75-85), burger king commercials and the fact that the side street next to my house is now one-way in the wrong direction.  However, I must say that life is pretty comfortable at the moment, even for a native San Diegan.

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