Apr292010
Steve Olshansky
Raleigh En Plein Air, the Raleigh City Museum’s newest exhibit, is opening to the public on First Friday, May 7, from 6:00p.m. to 9:00p.m. The museum collaborated with the Visual Art Exchange to showcase some of the city’s finest local artists and their paintings inspired by the city and the immediate surrounding areas. The exhibit includes nature scenes such as local lakes and gardens and also urban landscapes such as Moore Square. All artists featured in the exhibit are part of the VAE Plein Air painting group. Plein Air will remain on display through July 2010. During the May 7 opening, we will also feature our First Friday favorites: live music, delicious food, and free-flowing drinks! Admission is free.
Our art buyer and producer, Ann Neely had her painting of 500 Blount Street juried into the exhibition.
http://www.raleighcitymuseum.org
Check out painting:
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Apr232010
Steve Olshansky
From music, dance, and performance art to discussions, craft demonstrations, and hands-on workshops, there is so much to see and do during the Grand Opening Festival at the NC Museum of Art this weekend. Do as much or as little as you like, after all everything is free!
Saturday 5 pm: Check out the new media exhibition in the Museum’s East Building. Many of North Carolina’s most talented digital artists, filmmakers, and designers are teaming up to present an innovative mix of light and sound projections, experimental performances, short films, and imaginative fashion creations.
http://ncartmuseum.org/interim/home
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Apr222010
Steve Olshansky
Raleigh’s 5th annual ‘Local Color’ Plein Air Paint Out was held on Saturday, April 17 in the historic Brooklyn neighborhood of Raleigh.
The ‘Paint Out’ was open to all 2-dimensional artists, except photographers.
Paintings were completed on location and framed between 9am and 5:30 pm, Saturday.
Quite a challenge!
Our art buyer and producer, Ann Neely took part, painting in Devereux Street. Her work will be displayed at the Local Color Gallery on Glenwood South during May with a wine and cheese opening reception on First Friday, May 7th.
Here’s a link to the info: http://www.localcoloraleigh.com
Mar242010
Steve Olshansky
For those of you who haven’t already stumbled upon it, Chatroulette.com is a surprising new site that enables users to engage in an anonymous webcam-to-webcam chat. Huge potential as an ad medium and of course, illicit stuff. Here’s how it works: like roulette, it randomly assigns you another person. You then have the option to engage in an online chat while seeing them live or letting the roulette wheel spin and bounce them to the next person.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting: in just a week and a half “Merton the Chatroulette piano chat improv guy” has become an overnight internet sensation (500,000 views in a week and 200,000 youtube subscribers).
www.youtube.com/user/PianoChatImprov
How? By doing something interesting. Creating entertaining, unexpected content. He goes on chatroulette and waits to be connected with someone. Then, he instantly improvises a song about that person with accompanying piano. It would compelling enough on its own but many people are now suggesting that PianoChatImprov is none other than Ben Folds.
Ben Folds denies. However, in a recent concert, he did an ode to Merton on stage. Is it Ben in disguise? Is Merton real? You decide.
youtube.com/watch?v=1wuO4R8Y73M
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Mar202010
Steve Olshansky
There is much speculation as to the exact origin of the bagel. One theory is that it was born in Austria in 1683 when a Viennese baker wanted to pay tribute to King Jan III of Poland for saving the Austrian people from Turkish invaders.
Regardless of its ancestry, the bagel quickly caught on and crossed the Atlantic when hundreds of thousands of Eastern European Jews introduced it to New Yorkers in the 1880s.
Sometime in the next 100+ years it made its way down to Raleigh, North Carolina in the form of round insipid bread sold by Bruegger’s and Dunkin’ Donuts. Both versions, a shell of what a real bagel should look and taste like.
One baker in Raleigh, the NY Bagel & Deli on Falls of Neuse and Strickland, was paying homage to the original bagel with their yeasty yet crunchy kettle-boiled version.
The best bagels in the South by far.
The HM&P Bagel-off
This past Friday, I schlepped all around town buying bagels for a blind bagel taste test. Why? Because a few of my co-workers suggested that Bruegger’s makes delicious bagels and couldn’t see why they were any different from those at New York Bagel & Deli. Another co-worker even piped in that Dunkins’ were the best. What? Blasphemy!
And so, to prove my point I conducted an in-office bagel taste test:
Winner: Ny Bagel & Deli.
All in all, a good time had by all.
Mar162010
Steve Olshansky
After hearing things like “I like Dunkin’ Donuts’ bagels” or “I don’t see what’s wrong with Bruegger’s” this frustrated former New Yorker will host a bagel-off to prove that NY bagels rule. This Friday, I will be blind taste testing the vapid, cardboard-like bagels mentioned above against the crisp, moist and always delicious bagels from NY Bagel & Deli. Stay tuned and may the best bagel win.
Mar102010
Steve Olshansky
After a long departmental absence (thank you PR and Jim Stevens for picking up slack), our very own lawsuit waiting to happen, Chris Gupton, has set aside his freelance work to make a vital contribution to the agency blog.
Join this tattooed Senior Art Director as he takes you on a journey through the oval halls and inner workings of HM&P.
Continue Reading >
Aug192009
Steve Olshansky
Check out BR’s Mad Men Campaign. Click on the style guide. Genius.
http://madmencastingcall.amctv.com/
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Apr62009
Steve Olshansky
For this I’m missing the Daily Show? They just made a huge announcement. Michigan State has had eighteen turnovers. I think, if given the opportunity, I could eat eighteen cherry turnovers. maybe 15 apple ones. I like donuts too . Just went down to the Krispy Kreme on Peace Street for the first time. 67-49 UNC. Check it out if you get a chance or if you’ve never been. Great place to take young children. Cheap entertainment. And the donuts always deliver. We had a cruller and two with sprinkles. Great Raleigh diversion. It was the perfect cap to a day at the ‘Cuegrass Festival. Plenty of BBQ and Bluegrass music to be had down at the pit. Food courtesy of pitmaster Ed Mitchell. The more I think about it, Raleigh is a great place to live. Ignore the Forbes articles on #1 city and all of those pieces on quality of life. Check out stuff on newraleigh.com – Pillowfight championships, ‘cuegrass festivals, a mellow mushroom and great ad agencies. Come on down.
UNC 72
Mich 53
7:33 left
Apr62009
Steve Olshansky
UNC 62 Mich St 43 13:00 left to go.
Oh wait, it’s now 62-44 UNC. Now 46. They’re coming back. . Hansbrough is number 50. Mercedez commerical just came on. Weird freaky red lighting surrounding the car and silhouettes of a pit crew. Huh? Coke Zero commercial. Love this campaign. So unexpected.
