Hi. I'm Sean... an entrepreneur into creating successful business ideas for the social web. I run a digital strategy company called Freeworld Media.
This blog is where I talk about the intersections of my life... past, present and future.
On my flight this weekend, I sat next to a young Mormon man returning from his mission work for the LDS Church. He had been in Japan for two years and was on a 20-something hour flight from Tokyo through Atlanta, he was finally heading home to see his family in Ohio.
He seemed pretty worn out so I didn’t want to bug him, but later on he began to open up and talk about his re-entry into the West. I could tell it was overwhelming for him — after years of hearing mostly Japanese, he was able to fully understand all the conversational noise around him — which was alot to take in for a tired traveller.
I was genuinely curious about his experience spreading the word of Jesus in a foreign land but didn’t push for too many questions. Eventually, though he opened up and started telling me about his experience. He’s had no interaction with the media world for the past two years and I was the first non-Mormon American he had talked to. He was allowed to email his parents from time to time but no internet, no tv, no music, no movies. At this point, I realized I had been given a mission to teach him about all things pop-culture related from the year 2011-2013. We talked about the election. He heard Obama had won. I told him about the controversy with allowing drones to strike citizens on American soil. He was shocked about that and so am I.
Best Taco Innovation - Cool Ranch
I asked him what he missed the most and he said, “You know, nobody has asked me that… I’ll have to think about that.” So after a long pause, the first thing he said was his family. He told me he missed mexican food and especially Taco Bell. Good answer… I’m always up for talking about tacos, so I asked him what he was going to order when got home.
I realized he didn’t know about all the “innovation” that has been happening with the Taco Bell menu. So I told him about the Doritos Cheesy Shell tacos and the new Cool Ranch Shells.
Then I told him about Chef Lorena’s Fresco Menu and the Drive Thru Diet. He wasn’t convinced that you could really lose weight by eating a Taco Bell diet, and I told him that’s okay nobody else really believes it either.
The Worst Music Ever - Dubstep
He also really missed listening to music, because during Mission, they are only able to listen to hymns and Tabernacle Choir music. I asked him what he used to listen to and he named some groups I didn’t recognize. I was trying to explain the garbage that now passes for music and the now popular apocalypse of music known as “DubStep”. I explained that this is the worst thing ever to happen and he should shield his ears and stay away from it.
He proudly took out several photo albums from his bag and showed photos from his trip. It brought up memories of how hot they were riding bikes in a full coat & tie and how sometimes, they would be run off the road by Japanese drivers. I learned alot on that flight to Cleveland. Upon returning home, my fellow passenger plans to enter college, get married and get a job. In that order. We wished each other the best and went on our ways.
I grew up on Pace Picante Sauce and this commercial made an impression on the Texas youth.
In the early 80′s, there was a local Houston commercial that still sticks with me.
“When your transmission’s got you down, and your motor falls apart
It’s time to come to Thunderbolt, You don’t need a brand new car
We still believe in value, and we pass it on to you
At Thunderbolt we fix it right and we guarantee it too
WE PUT THE YEE-HAW BACK IN YOUR MOTOR AND TRANSMISSION!!”
Moustache with a Cause!
In 2010 tragically more than 32,000 men will die as a direct result of prostate cancer.
This month kicks off “Movember” which is a fund raiser for men’s health and cancer research. To participate, I will be growing a moustache for the month of November.
The whole point of this is to raise funds for cancer research and I’d really like to get your support. Please check out My Mo Space page to donate.
So it turns out that people had a sense of humor 50 years ago. Here’s a classic news reel shown at this year’s TED Global conference.
On April 1, 1957 the British television programme Panorama broadcast a three-minute segment about a bumper spaghetti harvest in southern Switzerland… The segment concluded with the assurance that, For those who love this dish, theres nothing like real, home-grown spaghetti.
bbc – Spaghetti Harvest – 1st April 1957 by ashankuruppu
This is an amazing scientific discovery…
Hi. I'm Sean... an entrepreneur into creating successful business ideas for the social web. I run a digital strategy company called Freeworld Media.
This blog is where I talk about the intersections of my life... past, present and future.
