creative riff

Coffee gets me up in the morning

Ruth Loose88 — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:02:01 +0000

In case you didn't read my earlier post about the Aeropress coffee maker last week, this is an example of some damn good coffee. Brewed a 15 ounce cup today of Cafe Americano... essentially the same as a triple expresso. Woooo! Seriously, everyone should pick one of these coffee presses up. $26 on Amazon.com with a bonus 250 filters.

Weirdness

Ruth Loose88 — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:13:01 +0000

Tonight I found out that a "friend" buddy of mine from UNC won Sony's Playstation Tester reality show. The contestant, Cyrus, or Will Powers went from being a waiter to now a video game tester after a series of events that have little to do with any kind of real skills or abilities a video game tester needs.

So what exactly does a video game tester do you ask? They are the people who sit in cramped cubicles and play early/unfinished builds of video games for hours on end for minimum wage. I repeat minimum wage. How many jobs can you think of that have the audacity to pay you $7.25/hour? I can count them

Hosing down the car

Ruth Loose88 — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:34:00 +0000

So spring is officially here. It greeted me this afternoon with a thick coat of pollen the color of mucus (no sniffles here yet). Also, the oak tree in my yard is spreading sap all over the place leading to sticky stepping stones out to the street.

Anyway, this evening I was hosing the worst of the weekend's "seasons greetings" off of my car when I thought to myself, "Am I washing my car because it is still new (a 2006 Lexus but I acquired it one year ago this April) or will that wear off after some number of years?" What is that point in time when you look out to your old car and think

I’m about to be wired

Ruth Loose88 — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 21:38:56 +0000

Lordy me, it's Easter. I think the website is officially 1 year 1 month and 1 day old at this point. Things have changed dramatically from last year. I had just gotten back from Florence, Italy, and was living back in the dorms for a semester my senior year as I was scrambling to apply to a number of ad schools. Yes, that was my take on what these schools were for.

Now, I have two bedrooms and I am student at the VCU Brandcenter in communications strategy. 2009 already seems like it was eons ago. Yet, I feel like I have grown a ton over the past six months here in Richmond. I am now an loyal podcast/NPR

I buy a lot of trivial things

Ruth Loose88 — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:58:16 +0000

This is what greeted me yesterday when I opened my computer after napping all afternoon (hangovers are fun).

It is crazy to believe that I have been an eBay member since July 14, 2003. Back then everything had to come in my mom's name since I did not have a debit or credit card.

To recap here are the items that pushed me over to the 100 feedback milestone this Christmas break:

-7 For All Mankind "Dojo" Women's Jeans (sister wanted them)

-Armani Code by Georgio Armani Mens 2.5 Oz. Tester Bottle

-Burberry London for Men Spray 3 Oz.

-American Ninja

My New Year’s Resolutions

Ruth Loose88 — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 04:00:26 +0000

As follows (thought I would put them in writing this year): -Floss more (figure it out for yourself) -Move my lard-ass self off of the couch -Find love -Learn some new bass scales Future Resolutions -Host/guest on a podcast before I die -Actually read books again -Buy a new pair of in-line skates and not look like a sordid mess wearing them (impossible) -Learn how to bake pies better Continue reading

Why is it that I long for NBA Jam?

Ruth Loose88 — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:35:00 +0000

It has been a long time coming. Hi, I am back in the saddle again. The first semester at the VCU Brandcenter is long over and I am beginning to take back the physical detriment it caused my body. Weight gain aside, I am becoming so much more involved in the advertising process.

So where does that leave me for the second semester? Longing for some NBA Jam. Yes, the game franchise that began on SEGA Genesis has had more staying power than anything else I have encountered over the past month. Fans of Saturday Night Live will remember Andy Samburg’s turn as a victim of ADD ("Automatic Death Disease") fulfilling his wish to commentate a professional basketball or football

Oliver Stone to begin shooting “Wall Street” sequel

Ruth Loose88 — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:18:01 +0000

Aptly titled "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps," Oliver Stone is set to shoot the sequel to his movie that glorified excessive greed to some, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). To others it was a warning of the toll trading can take on an unwitting stock broker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen).

Stone laments how the first film resonated

Out of the office

Ruth Loose88 — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:17:37 +0000

It sure has been awhile since I last checked into the office. Basically half a month to be exact. My excuse: stealing a wireless signal in muggy Richmond makes one look more than a little suspicious. Now that I have had working Internet (I like how I think of it like running water) for over a week now, I have had no excuse for abandoning my infant. Or is this thing a toddler now (the website is 5 months old now)? I thought I would upload some pictures of my blog's analytics.

So here is my built-in blog stats generator:

Man, September

IRS saves money by making advertising push in Second Life instead of with NASCAR(?)

Ruth Loose88 — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 20:32:40 +0000

They say there are two constants in life: death and taxes, so when the Internal Revenue Service decides to invade the virtual computer massively multiplayer online [MMO] game known as Second Life a few heads should turn (as well as a few eyes start rolling).

Virtual Worlds & Social Networking Project Manager Frank Stripe said, "In 2008, the IRS project team established a presence in the Second Life virtual world with the goal of exploring the potential use of this environment for recruitment and training purposes. The team has created the IRS Careers Island and constructed a sky platform with an IRS Careers Center and an IRS Education Center. A number of building