Friday, February 23, 2007
HBD
Happy birthday PEP blog. You are more than 1 year old. I forgot your actual birthday, so to celebrate, I will make you cupcakes this weekend. Of course, you won't be able to appreciate them without me mushing them into the keyboard, so I'll take some pictures of me and others enjoying them so you can see how your birth brought happiness -- and vanilla, flour and sugar -- to the land.
As long as they don't corner the OCD market
Hallmark has released a 176-card collection which touches on "sensitive" issues like depression, accidental death, losing your job, cancer and eating disorders.
The Journeys collection is mostly focused on the "encouragement" angle. PEP has discussed similar topics, but definitely from a younger, lighter perspective ... which some many consider "insensitive." We consider them cards you can get/give with a close friend who understands. The inside jokes of cards that are shared by more than you and your friends.
" If you keep washing your hands ... I'm leaving you in the bathroom and taking away your soap privileges"
"I swear ... the stove is off. So are the lights. And the door is locked. Really. I swear."
"That was quite a spill you took off the wagon. I'd help you up, but I'd have to put my martini down first."
If you're afraid of offending, go Journeys. If you want to tell it like it is, go PEP.
The Journeys collection is mostly focused on the "encouragement" angle. PEP has discussed similar topics, but definitely from a younger, lighter perspective ... which some many consider "insensitive." We consider them cards you can get/give with a close friend who understands. The inside jokes of cards that are shared by more than you and your friends.
" If you keep washing your hands ... I'm leaving you in the bathroom and taking away your soap privileges"
"I swear ... the stove is off. So are the lights. And the door is locked. Really. I swear."
"That was quite a spill you took off the wagon. I'd help you up, but I'd have to put my martini down first."
If you're afraid of offending, go Journeys. If you want to tell it like it is, go PEP.
Paralysis
This pre-VTD opinion piece explores the idea that "words on cards make men nervous..." Luckily, for some men, it just makes them silly (says the girl who got her very own "Wild Thing" musical VTD card this month. Patrick, unlike me, says he enjoyed opening all of the musical cards and listening to the sound clips.)
I agree with the main sentiment on of this commentary -- don't overthink the card, just buy it. You probably want to steer clear of a woman who takes every word some "hack" writes in a super-sugary card to heart anyway.
I agree with the main sentiment on of this commentary -- don't overthink the card, just buy it. You probably want to steer clear of a woman who takes every word some "hack" writes in a super-sugary card to heart anyway.
Where is Scooby when you need him?
I like to think I'm up on what the kids are watching, including my 31-year-old best friend Jenny who loves Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, but I have never heard of My Gym Partner Is a Monkey. It sounds like I would like it too:
"The story revolves around Adam Lyon, a human student at Chester Arthur Middle School. After a typo changes his last name to "Lion", he is sent to Charles Darwin Middle School a school for anthropomorphic animals. Shortly after his transfer, he is partnered with Jake Spidermonkey (an actual spidermonkey) in Gym, hence the title. While Adam has to deal with the obvious difficulties humans have performing animal-like tasks, Jake just has fun at everyone else's expense."
Luckily, Hallmark is partnering with Cartoon Network, so I can learn all about what makes this program and its partners so funny via simple illos and tag lines. Spidermonkeys are a good start.
"The story revolves around Adam Lyon, a human student at Chester Arthur Middle School. After a typo changes his last name to "Lion", he is sent to Charles Darwin Middle School a school for anthropomorphic animals. Shortly after his transfer, he is partnered with Jake Spidermonkey (an actual spidermonkey) in Gym, hence the title. While Adam has to deal with the obvious difficulties humans have performing animal-like tasks, Jake just has fun at everyone else's expense."
Luckily, Hallmark is partnering with Cartoon Network, so I can learn all about what makes this program and its partners so funny via simple illos and tag lines. Spidermonkeys are a good start.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Celebrate Black History month
American Greetings is working with Ebony Magazine to promote cards marking February as BHM with images from past covers of the magazine. Those featured include Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks and Josephine Baker. You won't be able to get them everywhere, but they will be $2.99 on the shelves and will most likely have a lasting historical and cultural value.
$14B in love
Business owners say it's profitable -- and that has only grown in recent years. The obscene amount of candy, the 189 million roses and the date nights at fancy restaurants (something I recommend against, as do most restaurant critics, since it often affects service quality. Just go on the weekend and make something at home that night!). VTD is also the top time of the year for OTC sales of greeting cards. 65% of households will celebrate with one.
Apparently, one of the biggest things in Mississippi this season will be choosing the right tune...
"They're $4.99, but it's worth it, I tell you. You open the card and it will play a few lines from a song - like 'Jamaica, Bahama, come on, pretty mama,' " Singh sings, reciting lyrics from the Beach Boys' Kokomo.
Ah, the beautiful romance of the song my 7th-grade boyfriend performed with his best friend at the school talent show in 1988. And true Beach Boys fans the world over wept.
I was in a card store last week and checked them out. They were big -- fat with graphics and images -- pricey and kind of heavy. The envelope looked like a cross between your acceptance letter to college and your taxes going out. And the music was very loud and played immediately upon opening the cards -- so it didn't make for quiet browsing, which may be a detterent for some. One of the great things about buying cards in a card store is reading through at least 5 of them. If everyone knows you are more drawn to the "I Love Lucy" designs, it's like allowing a peek into your soul. That may be a little intimate than what you want to reveal at (insert name here)'s Hallmark shop.
Apparently, one of the biggest things in Mississippi this season will be choosing the right tune...
"They're $4.99, but it's worth it, I tell you. You open the card and it will play a few lines from a song - like 'Jamaica, Bahama, come on, pretty mama,' " Singh sings, reciting lyrics from the Beach Boys' Kokomo.
Ah, the beautiful romance of the song my 7th-grade boyfriend performed with his best friend at the school talent show in 1988. And true Beach Boys fans the world over wept.
I was in a card store last week and checked them out. They were big -- fat with graphics and images -- pricey and kind of heavy. The envelope looked like a cross between your acceptance letter to college and your taxes going out. And the music was very loud and played immediately upon opening the cards -- so it didn't make for quiet browsing, which may be a detterent for some. One of the great things about buying cards in a card store is reading through at least 5 of them. If everyone knows you are more drawn to the "I Love Lucy" designs, it's like allowing a peek into your soul. That may be a little intimate than what you want to reveal at (insert name here)'s Hallmark shop.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
