this effect that’s used in marketing really gets me.  i never realized how much i use this scenario to make my decision and it works.

say you see shoes that are being sold for $100 that you really like that has everything and the style you wanted it in.  there’s also another pair of shoes being sold for $75 that you see but doesn’t have the same comfort you had in the $100 shoes but they looks pretty close to the one you want.  it’ll get the job done but it’s not the one you want.

now here’s the kicker, there is a third item that is $135 that fits perfectly and is ridiculously comfortable, perfect style, etc.  in marketing, this is the decoy product.  it’s the product that makes you realize that the highest price object is great but you don’t need all the bells and whistles.  this then makes you refer to get the first item you initally were looking at when you came into the store.  it’s almost right to never to second guess yourself if you know what it is that you want or choosing something.  it’s interesting…  it’s a ploy to make you spend more than you want to but make it seem reasonable.  almost happens with everytime you buy a car also.  negotiations, man.

just like the impulse aisle in the grocery store when you’re waiting to check out.  they put all those candies, small gadgets and magazines while you wait because it’s pretty easy to glance around and pick up another item you don’t need on your way out.  it makes you spend without even really thinking about it.  ahhh, gotta love the impulse buy.

i’m sure this was written all out of whack.  just typing off the top of my head.

two artists i admire for their soul. put them together, it’s an experience. raul is something else.

joe – man in your life

nas – hero

i like the fact that you can sell the same beat to two different artists and remaster. i guess it’s fine and both songs sound totally different but hey, money is money i guess. i can understand doing a cover or sampling a song but it just doesn’t sound right when you’re listening to a song and you swear you heard that layer on another track. sure enough…

same thing on beyonce’s new song – diva. has the same cymbal hit from lollipop. i’m sure it’s all legit but it kinda killed the songs for me. just making an observation.

i’m in the wrong industry. not that my information is useful or credible but for some reason i care about this stuff. haha it’s a hobby.

release: 12/09/08.  i feel like he just came out with his last album.  his music has been pretty consistent, there’s nothing that really stands out but the tracks are always good for when you’re working or laxin’ or whatever it is you do when you listen to albums all the way through…

raphael saadiq – never give you up feat stevie wonder & cj

this song…it really vibed with me this weekend.  all i kept thinking was if this song ever came on and a girl wants to dance with you.  …keep her.  haha  it’s one of those tunes.  she has an ear for old motown soul, stevie wonder, and the fact she chose you to groove.   ha!

so home movies like this make me appreciate family. better yet, it makes me excited to have a family of my own one day. i just hope that it can be as happy and carefree as this movie makes it to be because as much as people sometimes say it can’t, i believe that it can. there are hardships but it’s the people and that one person you’re with that will make those hardships bearable and worth it. make your complications simple and your days full. meanwhile, i’ve never seen so many happy faces in one video before and i appreciate that.

jason mraz has always been one of my favorite artists because of his wordplay and his melody. not to mention he sorta gets life as he sees it. this clip just has a great capture of life while spontaneously walking down the street of paris. everything just seems relative and carefree. i like days like that.

for those who have seen the movie, once, it’s one of the movies on my top movies i’ve seen list. glen hansard is a genius in his art. his music for the movie are all pretty melancholy and i thought this was hilarious because hey…people can have a sense of humor too in all their seriousness. not to mention he’s an artist from dublin and this was at stubb’s in austin, this woulda been a great thing to see live. i guess i like moments that aren’t rehearsed but sorta just happen in the moment cuz you can’t get those moments back. if you weren’t there then you basically just…missed it.

strike of emo.  listened to a handful of songs this morning and all of them hit me with that feeling you get when you forget about things that make you feel meh and appreciate all the good things.

14 days til this album drops.  there’s a lot of music out there.  the killers are good in the sense that their music gets better on each album.  i liked them but i just always thought of them as overkilled radio producers.  it’s catchy and that’s why.  anyway, it drops the same day kanye drops 808′s and heartbreak.  i’m just glad to know there’s music, in general.

love this damn show.  i was about to compare life to the show, entourage.  i wrote a couple paragraphs and thought it was kind of whack to compare life to a tv show.  not that it’s bad to but it sets standards low to compare something of a fictional sense.  maybe i want to be more of a realist about things now but i still got dreams, dude.  but i have to say, entourage this season is pretty ridiculous.  girls are hot, ari is a badass at his job, and the entourage is doing what they always do.  ultimate respect to their friendship tho.  those are true friends.  i like that.

i just aspire to find a passion again.  i seriously don’t see what i’m doing right now (as a career) as what i’m going to be going in the long run (but maybe i am).  i don’t feel like i have a niche for it or that the people around me motivate me to be more.  yeah, on my previous project i had a boss who trusted me and actually believed that i’ll be in his position one day and he’d be proud to work under me when that day comes.  when he said that, that was a big moment for me and from that day i put my chin up and held my head high after he said that.  i think that was one of my proudest moments in my life.  it’s something to hear it from family but to hear it from a superior who you worked with 2 feet away from you 10 hours a day/7 days a week for 6 mo, that kinda means a lot.  not to mention how stressful that job was and what kind of bar it sets on the productivity you want to have at work.  but right now, i’m going numb at work.

i’m sort of going through another crossroad in life.  i’m trying to figure what it is that i want again.  sure, stability is good but it’s boring.  i want stories i can tell people.  i’m tired of people asking me “how are you?” “how have things been?” and i have nothing to tell them.  it’s the stories, the accomplishments, the relationships, the hardships, the victories that people care about.  people say not to care what other people think but if know one knew anything then how does anyone know it ever existed?  it’s your own history that people can remember you by, right?

my thing is that i want to find things that i can tell my kids when they grow up.  i want those stories of what i did to get where i am.  learning to take chances without regret and coming out on top.  some story it would be to tell my kids “yeah i worked at this company for 35 years since a week after i graduated college.”  and then?  “i retired?”  wow.

i think that’s why traveling is my crutch.  you meet people, you see things, and you learn to be more open-minded about the world.  some people never leave where they come from and i’d love to live everywhere.  that may or may not happen but i won’t ever give up that hope to do so.  i’ve seen what the world has to offer and it’s exciting.  the strangers you meet who can become your closest friends, the one chick that makes you see things in a different light and everything all of a sudden makes sense, and the simplest connection between people that we forget about when we get used to our surroundings.

anyway, i’m just saying it’s always gonna be in me to never be satisfied until i find whatever it is that is keeping me restless everyday.  i’m not content with being content.  it’s not who i am.  if i ever just stop doing stuff, please knock me out of it.  cuz that’s just not me.

anyway, cop the q-tip – the renaissance album.  it’s pretty dope.

robin thick – something else – damn good album

rascal flatts – still feels good – so i like country music…and?

kanye west – november 25

common – december 9

jay-z – blueprint 3 – tba

david archuleta – november 11 – yeah, so what?  lemme see your itunes collection then.

lemme add my top 10 shows right now too.  been a while since i’ve blogged anything.

1 – eli stone
2 – little people, big world
3 – entourage
4 – the office
5 – heroes
6 – fringe
7 – how i met your mother
8 – private practice
9 – grey’s anatomy
10 – 90210 (jailbait and jennie garth)

need more comedy sitcoms.  tv is too damn serious nowadays.  not enough funnies.  funnies never get old.

have a great november, kids.  i can’t believe it’s almost 2009 already.  life really does get fast after you get done with school.  it seems like there’s never enough time…