Release that inner power.

If you haven't seen the esurance ad featuring Kaz Nomura (known as PWRFL Power), then you've probably been living under a rock.

(For those of you who haven't seen it, here's your AWESOME LINK OF THE DAY: http://www.esurance.com/pwr)

I've talked to a lot of people about the ad, most of them are turned off by it, but those who have heard Nomura's other stuff or are already a fan of his PWRFL Power stuff are happy to see him getting a little of the limelight. It's an effective little ad, combining Nomura's amazing guitar work, awkward, yet distinct voice, simple lyrics, and a silly caricature of him into a delightful little slice of 30 seconds of TV time. I'm happy to see companies and advertising agencies add a little style and flair to their ads instead of patronizing their audience. Some goods examples of this are the Linerider ad for McDonald's and the stop motion ad for Gogurt. I will admit that I'm kind of worried about large companies like McDonald's stepping into the viral marketing world, but it can't be all that bad right?

Well...

I'll share with you guys (if anyone read's this) my fears of corporations abuse of viral marketing. Since it's inception (I guess), small companies and mom 'n' pop shops have been using word-of-mouth and local reputation as a way of getting new business, since they don't generate enough money to pay huge marketing agencies to make flashy ad campaigns for them. Some businesses have used some very cheap, yet effective ways to gain attention. One of the best examples of this, that I can think of right now is Mystery Science Fiction Theater 3000, who encouraged fans to videotape episodes and pass them on to their friends. But, companies like Burger King, Outback Steakhouse, and Mellow Mushroom have taken advantage of these methods and have begun using them themselves (i.e. Burger King's "Subservient Chicken, Outback Steakhouse's use of Of Montreal's 'Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games)", and Mellow Mushroom's website designed by the same people who did Homestar Runner). It's cheap, it gets attention, and it's been proven to be effective. That's dangerous for small business who depend on viral marketing in order to get new business. With all these corporations stealing all the imaginative young folks working for small marketing firms, or ripping off a smaller company and their ideas, it steals more attention to these smaller businesses.

"But Sebastian, people are smart enough to not buy into THE MAN'S bullshit, local businesses will be able to stay afloat and eventually, people will get tired of the same bullshit being fed to them over and over."

I wish I could say that's true, but people still have been eating at Micky D's and Burger King for over 50 years right? And the number of overweight people has increased over the last 50 years? RIGHT? So no, people really don't get tired of the same bullshit over and over, it's just that large corporations have found a way to appeal to that group of people who have learned better than to (ugh I hate saying this) conform to the same standards and practices.

Whatever, I'm still not going to eat at Outback Steakhouse, their food is nasty.

I'll still listen to Of Montreal though.

You take three clicks of FAGGOT

I got into HeroClix hard this summer and it sucks cuz I live in SHITTREECITY GEORGIA

Back when I lived in Pensacola, I had the opportunity to go to a local comic book store and play HeroClix on Thursday evenings. I didn't go because I had classes or Aikido, but I had plenty of chances to play with other people during the summer. But I didn't because of my fear of ridicule from everyone else. I mean, yeah, comic book geeks and TCG/CMG fags are nothing to be afraid of, but when you enter their domain (Internet, comic book store, a MC Chris concert) they can get ruthless. Also, the owner scared me because he screamed whenever he talked.

Now, I have a fairly formidable force and funds to get new clix, but no place to play them. It kind of sucks, but I saw it coming. Plus, I don't think many people like the game. There are atleast three comic book stores in my area that sell HeroClix and none of them give an inkling of whether people go there to play HeroClix or not. They sell them, duh cuz it's a miniature gamed based on comic book heroes/villains, but it doesn't have an outrageous following like the Pokemon TCG, Magic, Warhammer/Warhammer 40k, or the StarWars TCGs. HeroClix is based on already popular franchises/characters just like Pokemon and Starwars and have characters that have been developed and fleshed-out for years and years, but it can't compete with those other games for some reason. Granted, there are probably some people who may have the same complaints (i.e. People who played the Medabots TCG, I KNOW I DID HA HA i'mafaggot), but a game that allows you to have Superman and Lex Luthor beat the shit out of Batman and the Joker HAS to appeal to some people. You could imagine my surprise when I saw that a comic book store was advertising a tournament for the Bleach and Naruto TCGs, but had nothing on HeroClix. I know I'm biased (animu HURR), but how can a TCG based off two formulaic, predictable animes gain so much popularity? Fuck. It kind of pisses me off.

Whenever I look at my figures, I can't help but feel lonely. The figures just scream out, "I'm a faggot with no life" and my encyclopedic knowledge of every character freaks people out (And it doesn't hurt that I harass everyone who comes to my house, usually my sister's friends, to a game.) I'm so desperate to play a game, but I have no one to play with. Occasionally, I'm able to bother one of my family members to sit down and play a quick game with me, but they quickly get exasperated. My father, who is a genius by the way, becomes frustrated when I beat him. He knows the rules, is familiar with the mechanics of the game, but doesn't take the time to think of good force builds, or learn what a character can do. I know he only plays to keep my quiet, and I don't remind him that I'm glad he played with me, but it'd be nice if he thought about what he was doing. My mother doesn't understand the game at all, and nods off to sleep during play, but she's always happy to play with me because it makes me happy. My sister doesn't play at all and won't let me forget how crappy a hobby I have. No one really cares and wants to play.

I'm a faggot.

I guess this is how people felt like before the internet. People with odd interests and hobbies, but no one to share them with. I sometimes wonder how those people dealt with that. Did they try to seek out people like them who were nearby? Or did they just give up on it and move onto other things? This conundrum only adds to my sense of abandonment and self-isolation. I feel abandoned by my community, for not providing a venue near-by where I could enjoy my hobby and I feel isolated, because I never try to go out and find people to play with, or bother showing up to an event because of some bull-shit reason. In the end, I like to make myself miserable.

But goddamn, I'm going to show up at Heroes this Friday whether anyone else does or not.

Perhaps I ought to try starting a group here in PTC.

Perhaps not.

I'm going to give myself a swirlie.

I'll write something about the new Klimt album tomorrow.