Posted by Chris Walbert on March 2nd, 2009 and has no comments.
Yesterday as I was getting ready to leave New York and return home to Baltimore, I checked my email to find a disturbing email from Megabus. It simply said,
“Dear Megabus customer,
Please be advised that the trip listed below has been canceled due to winter weather. We apologize for any inconvenience and would like to emphasize that this decision was made with concern to the safety of our passengers and operators. Please contact 1-877-GO2-MEGA to change your reservation or receive a refund.”
Obviously, canceling my bus was a huge inconvenience to me. I immediately called the number, hoping they might be able to help me find an alternative means of getting home. But instead of getting a customer service rep on the phone, Megabus had a generic voicemail message stating that due to the inclement weather they could not answer any phone calls.
Posted by Chris Walbert on February 9th, 2009 and has no comments.
I wrote this post for my agency’s blog and wanted to include it here as well.
It’s not news that the United States economy, as well as the global economy, is in serious turmoil. The US government is pondering the largest bailout in history and the unemployment rate continues to climb. In such an unsure and volatile time, does it make sense for your company to cutback or stop advertising to decrease your expenses?
Initially, this may seem like the best course of action. However, history has shown that companies can receive great value by advertising and continuing to innovate during a down economy.
Here are a few reasons why:
Fewer advertisers mean better rates
At Media Works we have seen this firsthand. When other advertisers stop or reduce their spending, it opens up inventory and reduces rates. This allows clients to get even more value for their advertising dollar.
Instead of the typical yearly increase in media costs, we have seen at least a 10-15% drop in ad rates. For certain forms of media, the reductions are even larger. Our clients’ ad dollars are going farther, giving them increased exposure for the same spend. This savings on current media buys also allows companies to invest in testing new media or technologies.
Posted by Chris Walbert on January 19th, 2009 and has no comments.
On Saturday afternoon I joined 40,000 of my fellow Baltimoreans to welcome President-Elect Obama to our city. Tomorrow, of course, Mr. Obama will be sworn-in as president. For many people, especially older African-Americans, this is a day they thought would never come. Tomorrow, January 20, 2009, the United States of America will inaugurate our first African-American president.
While we were waiting for Obama to address the crowd, I stood next to an older African-American couple and their friends. You could just tell that the election of Barack Obama meant so much to them. They lived through the worst and most disgraceful part of American history and now are seeing an African-American man take the office of President of the United States of America.
Our country has come so far in the 45 years since Dr. King gave his beloved I Have a Dream speech. Many are even saying today that Dr. King’s vision has now been fully realized. CNN released poll results this morning saying that “More than two-thirds of African-Americans believe Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision for race relations has been fulfilled.”
Posted by Chris Walbert on January 15th, 2009 and has 1 comment.
For anyone who doesn’t know (though I can’t imagine any of you who read this blog don’t) Hulu.com is a joint venture from NBC and Fox to bring their shows to the web. In addition, Hulu includes other various TV channels as well as tons of movies. While this sounds like a fairly simple concept, many in the internet world predicted that Hulu will fail miserably.
Since its launch in the fall of ‘07, Hulu has grown to user base of nearly 4 million per month.
To be honest, I have no idea why more people don’t watch Hulu on a regular basis. Last night there was nothing on TV that interested me, which has been a recurring theme of late. So instead of wasting time watching some nonsense on MTV or obsessively searching for Ravens-Steelers coverage, I decided to watch some old episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Posted by Chris Walbert on January 12th, 2009 and has 2 comments.
For the past two weeks, Baltimore has been filled with the kind of excitement that can only mean one thing, NFL Playoffs. Our beloved Ravens have gone further than just about any analyst thought they would and now face the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. It’s a huge accomplishment just to be at this point with a rookie coach and quarterback, but we’re not done yet.
It’s only fitting that we have to go through Pittsburgh to make it to the Super Bowl. The Steelers defeated the Ravens in both matchups this year. Their first win came in overtime and the 2nd with only seconds remaining in the game. Despite losing both games this year, the Ravens and their fans should feel good about Sunday’s game.
It’s going to be a battle, but one that we can win. Of course, the Ravens will count on their defense to stop Roethlisberger and limit the number of touchdowns the Steelers score. What we shouldn’t count on is our defense to score TDs. Cam Cameron has to open up the offense and score at least 2 offensive touchdowns for the Ravens to have a legitimate chance at winning this thing.
I don’t know about you, but I’m a believer.
And just for fun I had to include a video of my favorite hit from Saturday’s game against Tennessee. Ray Lewis might be getting older, but boy can he still hit.
So what do you think? Do the Ravens have a shot this Sunday?
Posted by Chris Walbert on December 23rd, 2008 and has 4 comments.
I’ve been thinking about this list for the past few weeks and trying to narrow down my favorite albums of 2008. There were lots of albums that I listened to for a little while, but didn’t really keep my attention past a handful of listens. I really wanted this list to only include those albums that I listened to religiously this year.
I was just looking back at my Top Albums of 2007 post and realized that I still love about half of those albums and the rest haven’t been listened to much at all this year. I’m sure at least a few of the albums below will suffer that same fate.
So, here goes. These are my favorite albums of 2008 and hopefully a bit of an explanation of why they made this list. I’m also including a video of my favorite song off of each album. Enjoy.
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes/Sun Giant ep
Fleet Foxes was everywhere this year. They put out both an ep and full length album in 2008 and both are incredible. The Fleet Foxes self-titled lp is not only one of my favorite albums of 2008, but one of my favorites in quite a long time. Both albums feature beautiful harmonies and a sound that is very 2008, although it probably also could have fit in well in the late 60s or early 70s.
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
It was really hard to choose my favorite song from For Emma, Forever Ago. Throughout the summer and fall, once I finally gave Bon Iver a chance, I couldn’t stop listening to this album on repeat. The second For Emma ended, I needed to hear it again. From the falsetto vocals to the light acoustic strumming, Bon Iver’s album really stuck with me this year. His 2009 Blood Bank has already leaked and is also quite fantastic. I can’t wait to see what else he has in store for 2009.
Wye Oak - If Children
How about a little love for Baltimore’s own Wye Oak? I’m not including them on this list because they’re from my city, but because this album is so well done. Jenn’s voice is really beautiful and Andy is a spectacle to watch play live. He plays drums with his right hand and feet while playing the bass lines on a keyboard with his left hand. I was really into this album, but seeing them play this summer at Golden West Cafe really cemented them as one of my favorite new-ish bands.
Posted by Chris Walbert on December 17th, 2008 and has no comments.
Flight of the Conchords is one of my favorite shows and I have almost not been able to wait for season 2 to drop. Well friends, Flight of the Conchords, HBO and Funny or Die have joined forced to allow us all to watch the season 2 premiere online.
I was so pumped when I saw this that I haven’t even watched the episode yet. I wanted to get it up here as soon as possible.
So here it is. The season 2 premiere of Conchords, in it’s entirety.
Posted by Chris Walbert on December 15th, 2008 and has no comments.
Last night, Wilco graced Baltimore’s Lyric Opera House with their amazing rock n’ roll show. I had heard many times how great Wilco is live and my expectations were quite high going into Sunday evening.
We arrived close to the scheduled start time of 7:30 to find the lobby area quite full of people milling around drinking beer, wine or coffee. I actually didn’t even realize the opening band was on until we walked up and tried to get to our seats. I say tried because there is a no cup rule in the theatre which forced us to finish our coffees before checking out opener Benjy Ferree. Benjy and his band were pretty good, even though they played to a less than half-full audience.
From the first note, it was obvious why Wilco is as heralded and respected as they are. Their huge sound filled up the opera house in a way that few bands could hope to. From Jeff Tweedy’s signature voice to Nels Cline’s face-melting guitar solos, Wilco has crafted their sound to one that is perfectly suited for an amazing live show.
Posted by Chris Walbert on November 7th, 2008 and has 4 comments.
My grandmother, Mary Smiraglia, passed away this Wednesday at the age of 85 after a bout with liver cancer. Each of the grandchildren were asked to write a letter to or about her. This is mine.
From my earliest memories, my grandparent’s house was always filled with what seemed like a thousand people. Whether it was Thanksgiving, Christmas, or just someone’s birthday, my entire huge family was always there. I looked forward to these events so much because I knew how fun they would be.
As a kid, I thought everyone had a large family that they were really close with. The older I got, the more I realized that this was something very special and a thing to be cherished. Despite having 7 children, 18 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren, my grandmother always made time for each of us. I remember her coming to my elementary school for ‘grandparents’ day’ and bragging about having 18 grandchildren and how amazing they all were. They would ask all of the grandparents to stay standing until their number of grandchildren was called. My grandmother was always the last one standing.
Sometimes you don’t understand how strong a person is until they have to deal with tragedy. My grandfather passed away rather suddenly when I was 10-years-old. This was a very tough time for my family and something that I know devastated my grandmother. Some people would have been defeated by the loss of their true love, what must have been an overwhelming experience. My grandmother, however, dealt with the loss by bringing the family even closer together.
Posted by Chris Walbert on November 5th, 2008 and has 1 comment.
November 4, 2008 was a historic day in America. It was a day that we will all remember for the rest of our lives. Forty-five years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, the United States of America has elected Barack Obama, our first African American president. This is a major accomplishment and one for which I feel extreme pride.
We also have many other things to celebrate today. A huge number of new voters came out yesterday. People who previously couldn’t care less about politics were bursting with pride and passion for this candidate and becoming involved in the political process. Countries around the world are looking at America once again as a place where anyone can rise to the top.
President-Elect Barack Obama’s acceptance speech last night was absolutely amazing. He spoke with much honor, thankfulness and hope. One of the most powerful moments came when he told the story of the 106-year-old Ann Nixon Cooper who voted yesterday. He talked of all that America has accomplished in the last 100 years and all that we hope to accomplish in the next century.
