Blogspace, that is.  Come over to http://thinkingandplanning.blogspot.com/ to check it out.  

To commemorate a local nightclub called The Sanctuary that got demolished in 2004 to make way for a new IKEA, 200 folks from the English town of Milton Keynes turned up to the furniture store recently and hold an impromptu rave.

Caroline Kennedy introduced Uncle Teddy tonight to the American people at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, which followed a moving tribute to the man and his delightful life.  To me, she did a brilliant job of connecting the idea and ideals of her father to those of Barack Obama by explaining, “I’ve never had someone who’s inspired me as much as people have told me my father inspired them.  Until now . . .”

Here’s something for those of you who are still unsure of the election process here in the US of A.  These guys do a great job of taking a seemingly complex process/technology and whittling it down to a very simple, clear, short speech — much like planning should do for great advertising.

A few recent favorites of mine.  First, let’s pause to reflect on our education:

Now, let’s change focus.  Following IDEO is my new favorite hobby.  Here’s a brief lecture:

This spot first caught my attention a few weeks ago, before the olympics even began.  It makes me smile.  Not because of the birdies or the humorous and subtle ways that a story is quickly developed, but instead I smile because of the melodrama and . . . well, real drama that has happened over the past handful of days during the Olympics.  Despite not getting the gold, poor judging, or shitty weather conditions, this very periodic event serves as a mirror to the world for viewing a superordinate identity.  Although Beijing is the host city, it is [in theory] an event that celebrates people coming together to compete as humans.

And Wieden+Kennedy has shown this with birds.  The tone and the message aren’t about the athletes or the competition directly, but instead show the set-up for the games.  

Where are you?  How do you anticipate each night of games? What do you go through or put up with to prepare a comfortable seat at the games in front of the TV?  

The media and creative decisions in this short spot are great — W+K should (yet again) be proud, and chalk this up as a planning win.

Congratulations, Washington D.C.  You are the first of many.

Please read.  Finally, America has adopted a trend found only in Europe.  A city-wide bike system finally gives a more realistic and exciting way to get around the urban landscape.  Most cities aren’t blessed with the subway system that New York has to offer, so transpo can be ridiculous.  The argument for pro-urban life just received more fodder for their side of the discussion.

One trend at a time. Genius.

A few nights ago, I brushed my teeth in the shower.  It was a refreshing experience.

Uttering the acronym PLA conjures up thoughts of teachers and parents coming together in the cafeteria late at night to discuss recent updates on standardized test scores.  And then I think of the troubling history of Israel.  

See, this is what happens when yet another acronym is thrown at an unsuspecting recipient like me.  Let’s be real, though.

Check out a recent post to PSFK where they discuss Personal Learning Environments a bit more.  After some further reading, I found some examples of these PLEs, including this one.  Cool, huh?!

It raises an interesting question:  If these PLEs are individually prescribed, are they for our own benefit (which is what the discussion around them seems to indicate) or are they for someone else (such as a potential employer or a friend)?  Taking a step back, whatever the answer is to the aforementioned question, I don’t think it matters [much].  Either way, these serve as a reflection of how we’re learning in our lives.  

I’m also incredibly interested in how this compares to blogs and resumes.  This is much more comprehensive, and much more “liberal” of a format, obviously.  

It kind of creeps me out, but I’ve driven to it.  Like a fly to poop.

A great idea.  Let’s draft our own.  What does it tell someone else about you?  What does it tell YOU about you?