jmoiron.net

Somehow, the little afro guy next to me (his name translates to: 'pretz holding-kun') and about 3 hours of diving through youtube all came about because I wanted to see a katana slice through an egg at like 1000 frames per second. One thing led to another, and I came upon the most insanely saccharine thing ever produced: an Aya Matsuura pretz commercial. In the middle of this pink dreamworld, you see a picture of an guy with an afro on the back of a pretz box holding a pretz.

Japanese commercials are pretty famous for being unusual or freaky, but there's actually a pretty good reason for it. Tivo-style technology took a hold a lot faster there than it did here, largely because VHS never really became ubiquitous like it was here for a variety of reasons (It's not Sony, Laserdisc did much better in .jp than it did here, VHS tapes are big and bulky, et alii). A average Japanese citizen, being far more advanced technologically, and for more inclined to accept new gadgetry and technology than Americans (that part is actually more important.. more in the next paragraph), has been using their PVR's for quite some time. They know how to record their favorite programs so they can go out for a drink with the coworkers, and then watch them later without commercials, and this was creating a big problem.

It was so big, in fact, that a national advertising campaign was started in an attempt to get people to remember the 'good side' of commercials. One of the best ones featured a salary girl home from work, crying, while the campaign's monkey mascot Komasaru (since it's Japanese, of course it's a pun: 'komasaru' = commercial, 'saru' = monkey) is jumping around on a ball trying to get her attention. She looks up at the television, bleary eyed, with probably the most sympathetic face a human has ever conjured, and komasaru falls flat on his ass. She cracks a smile, and then laughs. The song in the background, an endless repeat of "I love, I love, Commercials", fades.

It sounds like Orwell, but it was actually quite a touching moment to behold. It didn't have the same oomph as, say, choco party girl, but it's heart was in the right place! It just proves, on top of all the obvious evidence that traditional program interruption advertising is under attack, that the advertisers feel under attack. At least, they do in Japan, which basically amounts to the future. So commercials are made increasingly zany and eye catching, and a culture that seems to thrive on making as little sense as possible just gets more amusing to onlookers.

Pretz Motteru-kun is a cool cat and all, but what I really should be talking about is the epic change I'm undergoing as we speak! I am currently unemployed and will stay that way until... Monday. Upon Monday's arrival, I will start working at a small startup called Attila Technologies. I'll be working on the commercial incarnation of a project that I worked on for a time 3 years ago when I first started at WiNSeC, but this time with a chance (albeit a tiny one) of coming away with fat sacks of cash money.

So a little more than 3 years after it started, I've left the first full time job I've ever supported myself on. It's a brave new (very uncertain) world: I don't really live in one place, I don't really have any idea what months that will happen this year will be like. Take December. Will i still be employed? Will I be exactly the same as I am now? Will I finally be done with my masters degree? Will I be destitute? Wealthy? Living in America? The exciting thing about this move (and the dangerous one, I suppose) is these are all possible (some more than others), and the weird thing is that I wouldn't mind any of them if it means I can change the status quo for a little while and do something different.