John Hughes Tribute from the Oscars
Posted on March 8, 2010 | By Robert LaFrance | No Comments
The stars of such classic Generation X movies as Breakfast Club, Ferris Beuler’s Day Off, and Sixteen Candles were in full view last night at the Oscar Awards. They paid tribute to the late who wrote and directed the coming of age films that so impacted our generation. The actors may not have aged all that well but I certainly think the movies have stood the test of time. Or maybe I’m just biased.
Anyway, you can watch the tribute here:
I’m no George Clooney but…
Posted on March 5, 2010 | By bmasterson | No Comments
Brian Masterson?
Some think it’s all fun and games when traveling for business. Movies are made about it (Up in the Air, Airplane, the list goes on), books are written about it, and hundreds of stories are told at businesses all over the world. Different cities, different countries, new faces, new adventures. To be fair, I have traveled more than my share in my short time of business travel, and have visited hundreds of cities and towns around the world. I have visited friends halfway around the world, eaten interesting cuisine, seen some amazing things, and had my share of fun. Someday, I hope my children can experience the same things I have been able to experience.
There is another side of business travel that most either do not know about, or care to think about. The DARK SIDE of business travel. From sitting next to and meaninglessly chatting with the nameless (and sometimes smelly) faces on airplanes, to eating dinner on your own (again), getting lost because the GPS you rented is not working, driving through snow/ice, it’s not always glamorous as some folks think it is. Think about it in these terms – for a normal week long business trip, it takes about 6-8 hrs of preparation – setting up appointments, booking flights, finding hotels close to the meetings, booking car rentals, figuring out directions to each appointment. The list goes on. And this is PRIOR to you even leaving.
So the night before, you pack up, confirm your itinerary, send it to loved ones, recheck it, go to bed. Next morning, you wake early and head off to the airport. There of course, you encounter long lines, crying babies, tons of people that are not “frequent travelers” and confused on where they should be, go, do. Wait in line for your ticket, wait in line to get through security, get patted down because you look like you might be bad news, wait in line to get some food for the plane (because we all know how good(not) and cheap (NOT) the food can be on planes). Then of course, you get to wait in line to get onto the plane. Just too much fun.
So you get there, rent your car, take your train, get picked up, whatever your means of transportation may be for this leg of the trip. Head to the hotel, first meeting, and so on and so forth. This of course assumes the airline has not lost your luggage. This goes on for days and in some cases a couple of weeks. No sleep in the hotel, wake up early to construction; eat a crappy FREE meal at the hotel, and the days starts again. Honestly, there have been trips where I literally forgot not only what room number I was in, but what HOTEL I was staying at. At the end of the day you eat alone or sit at a bar and talk with some stranger that is in the same situation as you. Small talk, blah blah blah. Gets old, you know?
As I mentioned initially, frequent travelers may say they have their share of fun on the road. However, each trip is not just a joy ride. Live one day in another man’s shoes, they say, and you will truly have your eyes opened to a whole new world.
It’s what we do, and we love it.
MTV Pushing out ‘cynical’ Generation X
Posted on February 24, 2010 | By Christian | No Comments
Here's to you MTV!
Well, its official. MTV has announced their focus on Millennials, casting aside Generation X… the generation that made MTV. Sad news indeed. I’d like to give a big FU to MTV. Not just for this recent admission, but for the crap they have been broadcasting for the past 20 years. There was a time when MTV was about music television. It was certainly a revolutionary, but simple, concept that changed music forever. Play popular music but with supporting video. It changed everything. No longer were we sitting by the radio listening to music while doing something else. Now we were completely focused on the music as a total sensory experience. And when I say focused, I mean sitting like a zombie starring at the TV, one music video after another… completely enthralled. It was a perfect formula and our generation shaped it. Read more
reBlog from jenx67.com: jenX67 | are you there God? it’s me, generation x
Posted on February 17, 2010 | By Christian | No Comments
From our friend JenX67…
I found this fascinating quote today:
Back in December the Harvard Business Review had a podcast featuring Tammy Erickson who recently penned What’s Next Gen X? In case you missed it, you may want to find 12 minutes to listed to this interview about how Gen X leads. Interestingly, Erickson sheds light on how rules-oriented Gen Xers are despite being rule-breakers in their personal lives.jenx67.com, jenX67 | are you there God? it’s me, generation x, Feb 2010
You should read the whole article.
Gen X Has Its First Midlife Crisis: Billy Corgan, Jessica Simpson, and You!
Posted on February 10, 2010 | By Robert LaFrance | 2 Comments
Prototypical Generation X'er, Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkin fame
At the risk of getting all gossipy here, blogger Lisa M posts this article about Billy Corgan and Jessica Simpson. An interesting read on its own but it also provokes some very grave thoughts.
Considering Corgan fronted one of Generation X’s seminal bands (and probably my all-time favorite), The Smashing Pumpkins, it’s with great amusement that we are now linking our icons with midlife crises. Are we really middle age already? Is that possible?
Let’s see… according to the all-knowing wikipedia, the average life expectancy in the US in 78.2 years. Uh oh. My quick, back-of-the-napkin math reveals that half of that figure is roughly 39. And I am 39 now. Suddenly, this has taken an ugly turn from amusement to bewilderment. I always thought the stereotypical ”mid-life” male was fat, balding, and incorrigibly boring. Wait, I think I match a couple of those descriptions (I’ll let you decide which ones).
So, while it’s possible that I may now qualify as middle-age, in typical Generation X fashion, I will rebel against any social norm! Which, in this case, means going to the gym, hairclub for men, then partying all night in NYC! Are you with me?
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