• conversational
• lyrical
• fairly concise

Generally, press events are good for communicating new services, products, or events for the various constituencies a business may accommodate. Recently, Spotify held a press event to announce (drumroll, please): a partnership with Coca-Cola.

Now, in fairness, the rest of the world may very well identify the United States with apple pie, baseball, and Coke. And to the international community, such a partnership with Coke might merit a press event. Well, maybe.

But not here.

Coke may be an internationally recognized brand, but there is nothing new happening in the world of Coca-Cola soda. No new flavor. No new packaging. No new news.

So to the folks at Spotify, I offer this: Welcome to America. Welcome to the new carousel.

“I feel like I’m in [a] partnership with the musician. And between the two of us, we’re both creating this sound that we want.”

Define ‘craftsmanship.’

God is in the details with this beautifully crafted piece (from every angle, showmanship, writing, production, lighting – this is just a phenomenal piece of viral marketing). You’ll notice in the background, the various news and communication feeds scrolling down the board, Twitter-like. One of the feeds looked to say, ‘Where’s Weyland going with this?’ Again, Twitter-like.

I can’t wait to experience this story. Ridley Scott has a great track record for sci-fi.

(Thanks to Gruber at Daring Fireball for the find.)

I have Netflix streaming, too. I enjoy it; though admittedly, it’s mostly for background noise while I do other things. I surrendered cable about two years ago. I’m just not interested in most of the shows on television (with the possible exception of the FX Network).

Homeland is excellent (in a first season of 24 kind of way). Game of Thrones, Louie, Justified, and Boardwalk Empire are all fun to watch as well, though The Walking Dead seems to have some pacing issues to me. It seems that the film version of The Walking Dead loses some of the nuance the comic communicates. I suspect comic books are just a better vehicle through which to tell those stories.

I’ve yet to catch American Horror Story and Friday Night Lights.

Still, I like Complex’s list a bit more.

UPDATE: Checked out a few episodes of American Horror Story online. It’s good. Meanders a bit here and there, and the season finale’s denouement is forced (it seems to me as though it was not written backwards), but I’ll check out the second season when it airs.

“Every scene must be dramatic. That means: the main character must have a simple, straightforward, pressing need (goal) which impels him or her to show up in the scene.”

Mamet’s writing credits include: Wag The Dog, Glengarry Glen Ross, Homicide, The Untouchables, Heist, and Red Belt.

I love each one of those films for the crisp dialogue, scene structure, and plotting. And who could forget that unforgettable ‘enthusiasm’ speech utterly devoured by Robert De Niro in The Untouchables?

“A man stands alone at the plate. This is a time for what? For individual achievement. There he stands alone. But in the field … what? Part. Of. A. Team.”

Beyond that dialogue, the element that really sells that scene to me is the fact that everyone around the table is wearing a tuxedo. Brutal, thuggish contrast.

I could watch this video for hours. It’s truly an amazing time in which we live, wherein a house above the world offers us a glimpse of heaven and a spectacular collage of light shows.