So, today is National Sea-Monkey Day, and it's kind of a big deal. Let's be honest here, it's probably the biggest holiday of the year, right after Boxing Day and Groundhogs Day. The day brings us back to a simpler time, our youthful past filled with a child-like innocence. Back to a time before the weight of the world crushed any hopes and dreams you may have had. This is one of those holidays that offices should be closed for.

     For those of you robbed of a childhood and do not know what a sea-monkey is, sea-monkeys are a species of “brine shrimp.” They are small crustaceans that live in salt lakes. These underwater creatures got their names from having long tails and demonstrate playful, monkey-like behavior. They also have the ability to live for years as an egg before hatching. Purchased sea-monkeys only begin to hatch and grow once you’ve added the proper nutrients to the water environment. Here is an interesting fact for you: Did you know that sea-monkeys have three eyes and breathe through their feet? Yea, I am like a walking Snapple cap, filled with pointless trivia.

     So take this day to recapture your childhood. Mark May 16 on your promotional calendars, and don't forget to celebrate this day. After all, how often do you get to relive part of your childhood?

     So as many of you heard by now, as of Tuesday, Abraham Lincoln invented Facebook. I know... crazy, right? I mean we all knew he was a smart man, and some would say even a visionary. But to come up with the primitive version of a modern day multi-billion empire data collecting empire, he sounds Nostradamus-like. It may sound a little hard to believe, but we all read about it on a blog on the internet, so it must be true, right?

     A blogging consultant by the name of Nate St. Pierre first reported this discovery on Tuesday as a happy accident. While at the Lincoln Museum, he discovered a rejected patent from 1845 for a Facebook-like newspaper. Here is an excerpt, as well as photos, from St. Pierre's experience.
    
         Lincoln was requesting a patent for "The Gazette," a system to "keep People aware of Others in the Town." He laid out a plan where every town would have its own Gazette, named after the town itself. He listed the Springfield Gazette as his Visual Appendix, an example of the system he was talking about. Lincoln was proposing that each town build a centrally located collection of documents where "every Man may have his own page, where he might discuss his Family, his Work, and his Various Endeavors."

         He went on to propose that "each Man may decide if he shall make his page Available to the entire Town, or only to those with whom he has established Family or Friendship." Evidently there was to be someone overseeing this collection of documents, and he would somehow know which pages anyone could look at, and which ones only certain people could see (it wasn't quite clear in the application). Lincoln stated that these documents could be updated "at any time deemed Fit or Necessary," so that anyone in town could know what was going on in their friends' lives "without being Present in Body."

     This is incredible. I mean, this changes a lot about what we know about Lincoln. This also opens up other questions. I wonder if any living descendants of Lincoln will join the Winklevosses in a lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg? I mean, there is a lot of money at stake. I also wonder what it will do to Facebook stocks since it is about to go public soon. St. Pierre got a few bites and the story spread through the Internet and Twitter as a newly-discovered fact. However, a story this grand was clearly, without a doubt, a hoax.

     Now one may ask one's self, why anyone would want to go to such great lengths to create such a hoax. Well, St. Pierre had several reasons. First, he said he was bored with the blog posts of that particular day and "wanted to do something fun" that would make him laugh. Another reason for the hoax was to "to illustrate one of the drawbacks to our 'first and fastest' news aggregation and reporting mentality, especially online." Most notably, St. Pierre wanted to draw attention to a consulting service he launched the following day. Yep folks, this was a marketing stunt. He write this story in the hopes of selling his services to a larger audience, just as I am writing this blog in the hopes of selling more promotional products. Did it work?

     Cinco de Mayo is almost upon us and it just so happens to be on a Saturday this year, so I am sure plenty of festivities will commence. What also makes this year special is that it marks the 150th anniversary of Cinco de Mayo. So with that in mind, Dos Equis is celebrating the event by releasing the Feast of the Brave, a mobile truck that scours cities looking for worthy daredevils to try some taco concoctions.

     Dos Equis let loose several highly decorated food trucks to roam major metropolitan cities, offering unique interpretations of tacos to anyone willing to try it. They can be found in Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami (NOT New York, which has me very disappointed), offering unique ingredients such as pig ear, chicken gizzard and iguana to alligator, crickets and hog stomach, and even a "mystery meat". Each taco comes with "bravery points", pitting those who dare to eat in a challenge with rival cities to be the bravest. Dos Equis partnered with the following taco trucks and chefs in each city to create Feast of the Brave taco concoctions: Austin’s Andrew Brooks and One Taco Austin; Chicago’s Taquero Fusion with Salvador Alcazar and Evelyn Arroyo; Dallas’ James Quinonez and Rock And Roll Tacos; Houston’s H-Town Streats with Jason Hill and Matt Opaleski; Los Angeles’ Lawrence Lie and Dominic Lau’s Don Chow Tacos; and Miami’s Jefe’s with Jack Garabedian.

     For those of you savvy with social media, you can go to the Dos Equis Facebook page (make sure you like them once your there!) where you will find a tab for the Feast of the Brave. There you will find a local map, schedule for the taco truck stops and menu for each city, an updated leader board of “bravery points” and photos from the events. You can even challenge friends to chow down with you through a customizable invitation. Plus, you can follow the feast on Twitter with Dos Equis’ handle @StayThirsty and hash tag #DosEquisFeast.    

     Now if any of this sounds familiar to the mass amount of followers I have, it should. That's because I blogged about this a few months ago when this was first introduced last year, and when New York was one of the tour stops. I had the cow tongue taco, which was as appetizing as a sponge. Even though it is not in New York this year (which breaks my heart), I urge all those daredevils that happen to have the truck in their city to try as many of the taco concoctions as possible. Let's be honest with ourselves, how many of you are willing to PAY to eat chicken gizzard or hog stomach? So suck it up, fight your fears, grab a free taco, make sure you have a drink with you (you can place it one of these awesome Dos Equis promotional coasters seen below), and enjoy the feast. After all, once you have finished the tacos, you will earn plenty of bragging rights!

     Since this past Saturday was the last day of summer-like weather for the rest of this month, I decided I needed to take advantage of it by getting out of the house. After careful consideration, I decided to spend the day in Brooklyn. I figured I would head over to the Brooklyn Museum since I have never been to it before, plus they are having an interesting exhibit showcasing the artwork of Keith Haring from 1978-1982. The Brooklyn Museum is much more impressive than I imagined. It is housed in a 560,000-square-foot, Beaux-Arts building, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the country. It has permanent collections range from ancient Egyptian masterpieces to contemporary art, and represents a wide range of cultures. The Museum is part of a complex of parks and gardens that also includes Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Prospect Park Zoo. As I said, it's more impressive than I expected.

     So I walk in, get my ticket, and head up to the fifth floor for the Keith Haring exhibit. Now I am sure plenty of you are saying to yourself; "I don't think I ever heard of Keith Haring, or seen any of his work." I can guarantee that many of you have, and don't even know it. If you live in New York City and have taken the subway in the last thirty years, you probably saw some of his work in the stations. If you had taken a beginner art class, you probably had an  exercise involving his work since it involves relatively simple shapes and lines. The exhibit involved a lot of large scale mediums, along with his experimentations with video, and even included excerpts from his journals. The art that was on display involved some of his classic subway drawings, as well as art that was more graphic in nature, and even works that were never seen before. You really got to see and feel the struggles he went through in his life, such as  life, death, and his sexuality. Unfortunately he died at a young age due to AIDS-related complications.

     I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit. His art was intriguing, and the whole exhibit was curated very well. This is one of the few exhibits were I felt like I was able to get into the mind of the artist a little bit, and see what he was going through and how he was dealing and coping with issues in his life. The museum did a great job in showcasing his work. They even had a whole shop just for the exhibit, selling things from reproduction prints to small toys, and they even had custom caps with his artwork on the front. All in all, it was a good day and I recommend this exhibit to anyone interested in art.

     Last week, I posted an entry about my friends and their recent acquisition of an unorthodox pet.  Little did I know that this will not be the only time I would hear of someone in my circle getting an unusual pet. Last week, my girlfriend's cousins got a pet that I have heard about, wanted to play with, and even contemplated owning myself. It's exotic, not too many people own one yet,  and once they get to know you, they get very attached and you pretty much have a friend for life. I present to you Nika... the sugar glider.

     Now look into those eyes and tell me you aren't already in love with her. She sits in the palm of your hand, with her body only being about four inches long and her tail nearly doubles her length. Her diet is fifty percent insects, twenty five percent fruits, and twenty five percent vegetables. I began to look up the sugar glider online to see what else I could find out about the animal. Did you know that they originate from Australia, are marsupials and not rodents, and also feed off gum and sap (typically from the eucalyptus), acacia trees, nectar and pollen, manna and honeydew? Me neither. My favorite part of this animal is that it has a patch of skin that connect the front leg to the rear on each side, making the animal capable of gliding! How cool is that?

Now I must confess, I have not seen the pet yet. She is a bit skittish around her new family right now, and it may take a few months to acclimate to her new surroundings. So I will be patient and wait. But I will see her, and when I do I will make sure to wear one of many knock-around promotional t-shirts...just in case. 

Growing up, I didn't have the luxury of owning many pets due to the allergies both me and my mother suffer from. With that being said, that doesn't mean that I don't like animals. Sure, I like some more than others. If I was able to handle it, I would have loved to own a dog. However, I had to settle on owning an iguana. That did not last long, considering they can be mean and are not something a young boy can play with it. Recently, friends of mine Lisa and Steve (yes, the same Lisa and Steve from my Disney wedding post), acquired a pet. They live in an apartment, so they had to be careful about what type of pet they can get. So without further ado, I present to you Hemmingway...the hedgehog.

Adorable, isn't he? About the size of a promotional coaster, this little scamp is about four inches long and weighs just under a pound. He doesn't do much yet because he is still timid around people, but he has no problem just chilling in your hand and rolling up into a ball. Hedgehogs tend to be nocturnal and habitual, as they like to use the routes they are familiar with. A hedgehog will eat the equivalent of one-third of its body weight in one night. Its favorite foods are insects, earthworms, snails and slugs. Commonly, this is replaced with cat food and ferret food and is supplemented by insects and other small animals. Hedgehogs are considered a low-maintenance pet. Their curiosity and need for stimuli make for quick adjustment to their owners, and their eating and waste habits make for a relatively clean household for the pet. This makes the hedgehog an ideal pet for urban and suburban homes, and the perfect pet for Lisa and Steve.

     As we all know, presentation is everything, especially when it comes to our food and beverages. Companies that brew alcoholic beverages are especially aware of this, and take great pride in the presentation of their product by way of the vessel it's presented in. Companies like Sam Adams and Stella Artois have glasses specially made for their beer to enhance certain aromas and flavors. However, Newcastle Brown Ale has decided to take a jab at these companies with their "NO BULLOCKS" advertising campaign.

     While using Stella Artois as an example, Newcastle makes fun of practically all beer advertising by mocking Stella's affinity for their chalice, their custom made glassware for their beer. Newcastle launched an outdoor campaign with ads placed around those for Stella with the phrase "Who uses the word Chalice?" Their "no-nonsense" (I mean "no-bullocks") approach to their advertising seems to be gaining attention. I first noticed this on my Facebook feed when someone stopped to take a picture of it; from there I had to see it myself. I suggest you keep an eye out for one of these ads in your city.

     Humor is probably the best form of advertising. Equating a positive or joyful emotion with a brand will help drive a consumer to your product, and Newcastle definitely accomplished that. Not only was their campaign funny, but they were also able to make fun of a competitor. Plus, they are also making a valid point; "I don't know about Stella, but our beer tastes good no matter glass it is in." I am sure the consumer agrees. Whether my beer is poured into a goblet, glass, stein, promotional glass mug, or even a chalice, it should taste the same.

Boy has this March weather been crazy the past few weeks here in New York. Where are the warm, sunny, summer-like days I was bragging about in my previous blog posts? It was only a week ago when I was waking up to temperatures in the low sixties. I wake up this morning and its thirty degrees...THIRTY! "Oh Mother Nature, you be a cruel mistress." For weeks you tease with sublime weather, luring me into a false sense of security into summer-like weather. You keep the warm weather here just long enough for me to put away my jackets, fleeces, and sweaters, just to bring back this cold weather. That's so sneaky of you. All right Mother Nature, I'll play your game... for now. Consider yourself lucky that I keep the promotional outerwear giveaways in my car, just in case...

     I don't know about you, but I am really enjoying this unseasonably warm March weather. It makes you want to go and see what the world has to offer. In fact, the weather could not have at a more perfect time, because this past weekend was St. Patrick's Day. This year, it was on a Saturday, so many people were in Manhattan to enjoy the parade and all the bars the city had to offer. I was also in the city that day, but for another reason. For my girlfriend's birthday, I had gotten her tickets to the Broadway play "Anything Goes", and the tickets just so happened to be for the performance on St. Patrick's Day.

     For those of you who don't know, "Anything Goes" is a Broadway revival and a three time Tony Award winning show. The story involves wild antics aboard a cruise ship bound from New York to London. Billy Crocker is a stowaway in love with an heiress named Hope Harcourt, who is engaged to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Nightclub singer Reno Sweeney, who is also a good friend of Billy's, and Public Enemy #13 Moonface Martin aid Billy in his quest to win Hope. The play is filled with plenty of dancing, choreography, and tons of humor.

     The show was actually better than I expected. It was funny, the choreography was spot on, and the singing was entertaining. I am not one for musicals, but I did enjoy this one a lot. Our seats were great, too. We were six rows from center stage, which only added to the great experience we had. The "icing on the cake" for the evening would be that sitting right in front of us was comedic legend Jerry Lewis. Unfortunately, he was not in much a mood to be dealing  with any fans. He came in right before the lights dimmed out, was escorted to and from his seat by staff of the theater, and left the theater from a special exit. What a shame too because I enjoy his work and would love to have gotten a picture with him, or even an autograph, instead of settling for the candid shot you see above. I even had one of my custom printed pens with the "Anything Goes" logo in my hand, but I just wasn't able to get the autograph. None-the-less, we had an amazing time in the city, which is just one of many we will have.

     Boy, it's amazing how fast things change over the course of time. With technology becoming a bigger part of a person's daily life, things are changing at a faster rate than ever. I remember when I was going to school, the aggravation I would have because of all the textbooks, notebooks, and other school supplies that I would have to cram into my backpack. I would dread the extra weight on back as I would walk to school, or up the several flights of stairs once I was in the building. However, with all the new technology out there, the need for so many books is obsolete.

     With the advent of laptops, iPads, and the ever so popular USB drives, all the information a child would need throughout a school year can be kept on an electronic device that weighs less than a pound. No longer do children need to worry about bringing in pencils, pens, and notebook. Everything can be typed into a computer, saved on a USB drive, then taken home and plugged into a USB hub or any other custom USB device to be worked on at a later time. Thirty pounds of textbook information can now be downloaded onto an iPad, or any other e-reader, which is a fraction of the weight. I didn't even get to enjoy any of these luxuries until I was in college.

     Technology has come a long way for the younger generations. They have no more pencils, and no more books. They just have the teacher's dirty looks.