DJ AM, Mac Attack and a Letter of Rec

Just wanted to start today off with a sick video that I found while surfing. DJ AM (Adam Goldstein) was found dead a few days ago in New York. If you remember, Goldstein and Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker were the only survivors of a plane crash nearly a year ago. I never really knew of Goldstein's musical abilities, but knew Goldstein more for his celebrity romance with Nicole Riche back in the day. Anyways, I decided to do some YouTube research of his work and the above video is what I found to be the coolest one. Fitting that it has both Goldstein and Barker in it too. It's eerie, and kind of like a real life Final Destination -- creepy.

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I'm buying a Mac in 1.5 weeks and I can't wait! It's going to be a big investment, but it's one that I feel is long overdue. From all the reading and video research that I've done the past 1/2 week, it just seems like the Macbook Pro can handle more of the creative work that I do and want to do more of, especially video ventures. And now, with the compatibility between PC's and Macs I have nothing really to worry about in terms of sharing files with friends, work and family. I will never again have to worry about viruses, virus software, malware, trojans or any of the other damaging stuff that often happens with PC's. The sleek and stylish design is very attractive as well and the tipping of the cap is the apple care protection plan. Next weekend I'll be traveling to my local apple store to test drive the Macbook Pro and see if it's for me. From what i've read and watched, I most likely won't be disappointed.

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My former teacher, Nancy Kirby, asked me for a letter of recommendation of sorts for her review file. It took me so long to write it because I didn't know how to start or what to write. It's not that I couldn't think of anything, but that I didn't know how to write down what I was thinking. She was probably the most valuable teacher I've had in my life because, frankly, she helped me get to where I am today. Accuracy, journalistic integrity, timeliness, dedication and hard work were all values that she helped me fine tune en route to graduating with a B.A. in Journalism -- a degree I've turned into a job as the Director of Media Relations with the Chicago Bandits.

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@aophillips

this week in my life...

This week at the Bandits (@npfbandits), I've been working hard at designing and making our 2010 marketing packet. Above is a few of the pages that I've designed so far, pages that will probably get changed next week as everyone (hopefully) takes home a copy of the packet this weekend to critique. To plan for this I did a ton of research on google and various sports marketing blogs to find sample marketing packets. I then modeld verbage and layouts after some of the ones I really liked. Eventually the packet will probably be on our website and you can all see it (in it's entireity) for yourself.

Hopefully by mid-week (next week) we can have this done/finalized and start planning where we're going to reach out to for partnerships this off-season. Hannah and I have been talking/researching and discussing partnership ideas and strategies. It's been kind of fun. I used to not be interested in any form of selling, but ever since her and I went to Frozen Ropes and made a partnership deal with them (well actually she did, I just tagged along),I've this interest in giving it a shot this offseason. Hopefully I can help get some new/more companies to partner with us for 2010 and beyond.

Other than that, we're getting ready (hopefully) to announce where we'll be playing next year and that storm of joy and questions that will come with it. Personally, I have a very good idea of where we're moving, I just have questions/fears about it. I don't want our organization to get too excited and make rash decisions about field/stadium design and forget something -- like # of bathrooms, or size of storage space, or things that will factor into the 'fan experience.' Yes, it will be great! to have a brick & mortar stadium of our own, one with actual offices in the stadium, actual ticket booths, etc. But, what's the point of rushing a stadium of sorts if mistakes are made in the process.

Last week all of our interns finished up their internships, and the office is SO quiet now. You could hear a pin drop during parts of the day. Us 4 remaining employees usually plug in our individual head phones and listen to whatever while we do work.

Something else going on in my life (random thoughts keep popping up): My former teacher, Nancy Kirby from North Central College -- who taught me so much in terms of journalism, professionalism and design etiquite -- asked me for a reccomendation. I don't know where to start and I really should but I just can't put my thoughts onto paper with this. She taught me so much and I feel like my education was really worth it, but I just don't know how to transcribe it.

Back to the music @ work thing...Lately I've been listening to stuff like the Kings of Leon. They're a great band and that link will take you to my favorite (their popular) song right now.

And I will leave you with that.... enjoy!

-@aophillips

Welcome back Micheal Vick

Finally, the Mike Vick drama is (somewhat) over. He has signed with the ....... Philadelphia Eagles? Ok, not quite the situation most people were expecting, but regardless it's a fresh start for the conVICKted QB. Truth be told, I was a huge Micheal Vick supporter back in his Falcon's days and i still have the VHS of his "return" after that horrible knee injury. I remember that game, the Falcons were in red and it was at the Georgia Dome. Indoor fireworks, a great introduction video showcasing all his highlights and then the explosion of sound from the crowd when he came rushing through the tunnel -- it was like watching a WWE event or something.

Anyways, I'm glad he's getting a second chance in the NFL. Obviously what he did to dogs is clearly wrong and he went to jail, lost nearly every penny he had and his public image is destroyed -- all of which he deserves for what he did. But truthfully, people across the country (not just in sports) have been allowed to re-enter society and their jobs for far more criminal acts. He deserves a second chance and as long as he stays clean and trouble free, good for him.

You don't have to like the guy, (I've switched my favorite tag to Matt Ryan) but, he does deserve a second chance to earn a living at what he does best -- football.

@aophillips

Battle of the Sexes

July 27 will probably go down as one of my favorite days so far in my career as the Director of Media Relations with the Chicago Bandits. If you aren't already aware, July 27 is the day that the first ever Battle of the Sexes (baseball version) took place. This event, pitting my Bandits against the Schaumburg Flyers, garnered more media coverage than I ever imagined. Not only was this story all over print publications, it was on the web, on tv, on the radio and had a constant buzz with everyone involved and attending. What a day it was, here's a look at the timeline:

4 am -- wake up, rising before the sun was kind of fun but not something I reccomend

545 am -- I pulled into Alexian Field for the morning shoot with WGN

645 am-930 am -- WGN arrives, and we (along with the flyers) proceed to shoot various segments that appeared on the moring show on WGN. It was a blast, but the PR company for the Flyers messed up a little. They failed to relay the message that our girls were supposed to bring their bats, mitts, helmets, balls and other equiptment. Kind of a big slip up on their part, and it made us look bad until WGN found out we never knew. But, a few of our players had bats in the car, the Flyers had balls -- and some yellow ones too -- and we all made it work. The footage was great (as I was told by my mom and others) and hopefully it made people a little more aware of the Bandits.

930 am - 730 pm -- mayham as we all got ready for the game and did some last minute tasks

730 pm - 12 am -- Battle of the Sexes takes place, I help in merchandise (where we made bank) and also enjoy some of the game from Bill's suite at Alexian Field (given to Bill for the night by Rich, the owner of the Flyers) ... Media outlets that covered the game included the Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald, Fastpitch Blog, WLUP the Loop (radio & they were at the game too), examiner.com, and some more... all in all I was thrilled with the media coverage and Bandits owner Bill Sokolis was very pleased with the whole event.

Hopefully the Battle of the Sexes, which we won by the way, will result in more fans coming out to our final two homestands in August. Truth be told, we could really use the upped attendance, badly.

But, that's enough for now ... off to our "married friends" place for a fun night of rockband and movies...

@aophillips