Every summer like clockwork, we have had a few days with high temps and the whirl of air conditioners fill the air.  It is a guarenteed recipe for loss of electricity and blackout situations.  Please be careful and stock up on batteries and keep a couple of promotional flashlights on hand. One of my favorites is the eco freindly pig generator light, not only is it wicked cute but it does not run on batteries.  It works by squeezing the lever to generate energy.

I've seen The Flaming Lips perform 3 times, all within the last year. But if you followed The Flaming Lips around last night, you could have seen them eight times.

The Flaming Lips set a Guinness World Record early this morning, breaking the record for most concerts performed in a 24 hour period by a performing artist. The group used their tour bus to travel to various cities that included Baton Rouge and New Orleans. This record was originally set by Jay-Z who flew on a private jet to 7 different destinations over the course of 24 hours. This was back in 2006.

Each performance was stripped of its gimmicks, lightshow and festivities that seemed to coincide with The Flaming Lips' performances for the last few years. Each performance was also 15-20 minutes only. Special guests included Neon Trees, Jackson Browne, Gary Clark Jr. and Grace Potter. 

Wayne Coyne issued a statement regarding the record:

"To be published alongside the man who ate 10kg of his own boogers, beside the woman with the longest toenails or perhaps even to be published beside an individual who has had maybe 1,000 cockroaches stuffed into their ears...that, to me, would be one of life's absurd joys."

The above statement may seem bizarre until you realize that this band has done everything strange from collaborating with ke$ha, released music on a promotional flash drive in a gummy skull, wrote a song for an episode of Spongebob Squarepants and even wrote a song that is 24 hours long. 

Well that would be with the use of a promotional calendar of course!  Pens, mugs and t-shirts are all wonderful ways to get you brand out to the public but, pens aren't used as much as they once were, mugs are used in the morning and perhaps midday, t-shirts worn everyday would not necessarily represent your company in the way you would like!  But calendars can keep you on your customers mind at all times 24/7 365 days a year!  We carry a wide varety of weekly, monthly and yearly calendars.  We have wall calendars, magnetic calendars and even pocket calendars.  Everyone needs a calendar, so for your next promotional item, make sure it's a calendar to "stay on your customers minds, at all times"!

     Oh summer, your here at last. The warmer weather and longer days are welcome by all. And with the return of the summer here, that also mean the return of the Annual Riverhead Cardboard Boat Race. Oh yea!

     As many of you know from my first blog post on this site, I entered this amazing competition last year. I, along with my crew, built a mighty sea vessel with nothing more than cardboard boxes and duct tape. When completed, it was approximately fourteen feet long and about three feet wide. It named the Box Muncher, because it was made out of boxes and was going to chew up the competition, or so we thought. The boat was held strong, but our rowing capability was lacking. This year, the boat returned as the Box Muncher II. A little shorter, little wider, and better prepared.

     There was A LOT more spectators and entrants this year than last. In fact it was double, leaving little parking space for the convoy of SUVs we had transporting the mighty boat. Like last year, we had the boat in pieces, with plenty of supplies at the ready to assemble the boat. Well, we thought we did. Somewhere between Queens and Riverhead, we had lost our spare supply of Gorilla Glue tape and promotional box cutters. A mad dash to the nearest Home Depot helped resolve our issue. We were able to resupply, assemble the boat, and were awaiting our fate at the hands of the Peconic River.

     Here we are again, standing on the dock, holding the boat over our heads, waiting for our spot in the race. It was a beautiful day. In fact, a perfect day for a boat race. A slight breeze swept across our faces as the boat's name was called. We approach the edge and begin to lower the might sea vessel into the water. Like last year, it began to float. Success! Now we begin to step aboard the boat one at a time. Last year, we had five men on the boat. Unfortunately, one could not make it, so we did the only logical thing and replaced him with two more people, evening us out at six people on the vessel. As we hop aboard, I begin to watch the boat sink deeper into the water, but after the final man gets aboard, the water stops rising and we remain afloat. Success again! Then we hear it... the countdown. "3...2...1... GO!" and we were off!

     From the land we can hear the growing roar of the crowd clashing with the sound of a hundred oars plunging into the water. We began rowing away from the deck, crashing into other boats along the way. Oars were getting tangled into others and boats were bouncing of each other as we made our way down the river. We were rowing well; much better than last year since we only rowed in circles. We made our way down to the buoy, but we were not the first ones to circle around it. As a couple boats started making their way back, we set our sights on the returning vessels in the hopes of sinking them. A loud "THUD" can be heard as we crashed into the Irish-themed vessel, alas the boat stayed strong as it bounced off of us heading back to the dock. We finally made our around the buoy and began to make our way back when we see that three other vessels are already ahead of us. Like madmen, we began rowing back furiously, hoping to catch when the the worse thing that could possibly happen...happened. Our boat was beginning to split in the half. It was happening slowly, but a bubble was beginning to form in the center of the boat. We began to row even faster, dodging the oncoming traffic of the other boats trying to make their way to the buoy. We began rowing faster, the bubble grew bigger. I move on top of the bubble, delaying the water from breaking through. We row even more, the dock is within reach. With the last ounce of strength, we crash into the dock. We made it. However, we made it into fourth place, meaning this will be the second year the Box Muncher returns without a trophy.

     There you have it folks, we didn't win. All was not lost, though we did learn a lot from the year. First, we made it all the way down the river and back, a personal best. Secondly, we need to have the seam of the boat be width-wise, instead of length-wise, thereby removing the bubble effect we were getting in the water. Thirdly, we need to layer up on the cardboard so it doesn't bend and give so easily. Other than that, we all just need to work on the rowing a bit more, and I think next year, we will have ourselves a trophy. That's right, we are returning. Keep an eye out next year for Box Muncher III: Revenge of the Munch. Also, like our Facebook page, were you can see highlights from this years race, along with ideas and construction of next year's boat.

How much had you accomplished by your fifth birthday?  Unless you were a child prodigy, probably not much.  But the iPhone, which went on sale to the public on June 29, 2007, has already had a profound impact on the world.

Let's look at five ways Apple's smartphone has made a difference:

1.  Smartphone revolution


In 2007, Matthew Lynn, a columnist for Bloomberg News, asserted that the iPhone wouldn't "make a long-term mark on the industry."  Looking back, his statement is completely laughable.  It's common knowledge that the iPhone kick-started the smartphone revolution and "continues to be a leader in terms of design and innovation, as well a top-seller," reports Wired.

2.  Mobile marketing


A 2011 study revealed that 80% of people who own smartphones don't pay attention to commercials when watching TV.  Why not?  Because instead they're fiddling around on their iPhones and other mobile devices.  That's why mobile marketing has become "one of the fastest and most innovative ways to reach new and existing customers for both small and large companies," according to Business 2 Community.

3.  Growth of apps


Anyone who owns a smartphone knows that mobile device applications, or apps, can help make life a little simpler and a lot more fun.  But we wouldn't have such easy-access to apps if not for the iPhone.  Gigaom reports that while the iPhone offered web-only apps in 2007, a year later Apple "introduced the App Store, kicking off the modern mobile app era. That market is now worth $8.5 billion and is expected to grow to $46 billion in 2016." Hugely popular apps like Instagram, Angry Birds, and Words with Friends would be nothing without the iPhone's intelligently-designed app store.

Furthermore, the increasing use of smartphone apps sparked huge job growth this year.  According to Mashable, "The new 'app economy' has created about 466,000 jobs in the United States since 2007."  The result?  More jobs involving programming, tech marketing, and interface design.

4.  Affordable technology


Last summer, Apple lowered the price of its iPhone 3G to a mere $199.  According to Business Insider, "After that, no consumer smartphone could cost more than $199 after subsidy -- especially because no rival was anywhere near as good as the iPhone."  Today, the price of the iPhone 3G has dropped to an astonishing $99.  As competitors also lower their prices, mobile device technology has become more affordable than ever.

5.  Video


In 2009, the iPhone 3GS was released, and unlike its predecessors it could record video.  Soon, it could record video in high definition.  More recently, the iPhone took its video capabilities to a whole new level with the introduction of Facetime.  Now video chatting is a standard feature among smartphones.  I'm excited to see this technology develop with future models.

The iPhone's come a long way in the past five years.  Motivators even offer dozens of iPhone promotional products, from headphones to cases.  How has your industry been affected by the Apple smartphone's success?

Do you all find that there is not enough time in the day to do everything that you need and WANT to do?  The other night as I examined the week before me and my impending Reggae Lobster Brunch (see previous Blog), I realized there were not enough hours in the day to get everything done!  I decided to head outside with half an hour left of sunshine and do a little gardening.  I found myself out there an hour and a half later with a flashlight and a shovel planting the last few marigolds and spreading some organic dirt onto my flower and vegetable gardens.  I wistfully wished for a head lamp.  If I had one, I could have stayed out there all night!  

So I think that I will invest in this for future nighttime gardening adventures!  The flowers are beautiful, and the vegetables are growing strong.  I can hide the laundry and the dishes! Ha ha.

"All women want to be Jackie Kennedy or Marilyn Monroe."

It's an idea that's been around even before those two women even existed.  AMC's "Mad Men" brought the concept back to the mainstream in Season 2.  And now Lana Del Rey is jumping on the bandwagon with her most recent music video for "National Anthem."

But the singer also throws in some controversy; Del Rey plays the roles of both Monroe and Kennedy, while rapper A$AP Rocky portrays President John F. Kennedy.  A$AP Rocky told MTV:

...I think the Kennedy relationship, certainly the triangle of Marilyn Monroe and Jackie O and Jack Kennedy, became this kind of ideal of what seemed perfect from the outside was maybe rotting from the inside.  And Lana was really interested in exploring this loss of innocence, this idea that what you think you're experiencing is maybe not what it's always going to be. 

Do you think the music clip is disrespectful to the Kennedy legacy?  Watch the video below, and decide for yourself!

Several times throughout the year, our Merchandising and Marketing departments clean out their closets and drawers and let the rest of us act like school girls by filling our break room with promotional goodies and putting them up for grabs. Being out of the office on such a day is rather stressful, as you know exactly what you are missing and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it... or is there?

Since I used to be present for Swagday, I know exactly how it all goes down: An e-mail is sent out from merchandising that the promo items are for the taking, slowly the email pops up in our inboxes, and not-so-slowly we all pour into the break room. Well atleast that is how it used to be for me (tear, tear) and so far, no one has gotten hurt.

Now, it goes like this: The email goes out that the swag is up for grabs, and those of us working from outside offices imagine the explosion of giggles and tug of war over the hottest new items while we reminisce about our own experiences with Swagday.

Okay, maybe it's not that emotional, but you know what I mean. Lucky for me, I have a team that has my back and makes sure I don't miss out. Upon my return to NY, I was greeted with a bag o' swag from my diamond team members, Adam and Sam (Thank you!!) They put aside an amazing selection and I will be forever grateful. What would you hope to see in your "Bag O' Swag"?

I finally received my order for the folding chairs from Motivators! They are the perfect item to carry in the trunk of your car, because you never know when you need it. They are the perfect giveaway at company picnics and summer events. Mine came in perfect time for the beautiful weather this weekend and the Turkish concert at the Eisenhower Park on Sunday 7/1/2012 at 5pm. Fatih Kisaparmak, a singer from Turkey will be here for the event. There will also be a bazaar and food stands which will reflect the Turkish culture. I will make sure to take my bug spray along for the night!

I’ve always been a fan of water bottles. I try to keep myself well-hydrated during walks so a personal water bottle is a must for me. I don’t like the idea of buying water in a disposable plastic bottle whenever I go out because, aside from the fact that it’s an additional expense for me, proper disposal of the plastic bottle is another thing that I worry about. So more often than not, I have with me my ever-reliable, 32 oz. spill-proof tumbler wherever I go.

Most of the time I try to keep away from flavored juices and sodas because I want to keep my sugar intake at a minimal level. I do admit though that sometimes I get tired of the flavorless taste of water and crave for a sweet or fruity zest in my drink. That’s when I found out that Motivators has a water bottle that’s just perfect for my craving – the promotional infuser water bottle.

This specific 27 oz. water bottle has a removable snap lock infuser basket that can fit fruits and other foods to help you create your own flavored water. Put in slices of lemon or lime to add a zest to your drinks! Dice up some apples to have apple-flavored water. You don't just get the flavor, but also the nutrients that can be found in your fruit. Besides, as they say, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away!"

These are just a couple of ways to make your drink more interesting and nutritious.  You can mix different slices of fruits and come up with flavors that suit you.  Also check out the brand new glass fruit infuser water bottle below.  Drink up and enjoy!