Michael VanPutten » fun

Up There documentary tells the story of hand painted billboards

Michael VanPutten — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:39:40 +0000

A big thank you to Adam Flanagan over at the 160 Over 90 blog who shared a link to a lovely documentary, titled Up There, about the men who hand paint billboards in New York City. The documentary was directed by Malcolm Murray and produced by Mekanism. As an aside, if you get a chance, go check out Mekanism’s home page — the random, fun, clever videos that load may inspire creativity or laughter.

For an even more in depth look into advertising, copyrighting, and creativity consider viewing the documentary Art & Copy. This documentary, directed by Doug Pray, also includes a section about a family owned billboard company — which gives you a parallel story, to that shared in Up There, into how billboard advertisements are designed, manufactured, and installed.

Fun music video from movie 500 days of summer

Michael VanPutten — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 12:33:27 +0000

I really enjoyed this music video starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel — the video/dance number is a promotional piece for the movie (500) Days of Summer. The style of the video reminds me a lot of Christopher Walken’s performance in the music video for Fatboy Slim’s Weapon of Choice. The music video has become a great platform for dance and expression — something we used to enjoy during the golden age of musicals (1940-60) from the studios like MGM.

How to make wearing a bike helmet fun

Michael VanPutten — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 16:10:49 +0000

What can you do when your child doesn’t want to wear their bike helmet? We all know that wearing a helmet can reduce our risk of injury when falling from a bicycle. Yet, kids really aren’t keen on the logic and stats behind safety — for them, wearing a helmet means something tight, itchy, and otherwise “uncool” on their head.

A creative solution that makes wearing a helmet “cool”

Noginsox.com sells a variety of fun bike helmet covers. Why wear a boring helmet when you could be sporting a cute lady bug, t-rex, spike helmet, and or crazy frog? Imagine the fun and comments while riding a bicycle around with one of these neat-o covers. Prices range from $20 to $25 (U.S.).

My favorite bike helmet cover

The Screamin’ Frog

The Screamin' Frog Bike Helmet Cover

“This grown-up tadpole has a personality – the Screamin’ Frog animates as you move through the wind; his tongue flapping and his feet furiously flopping! He’s typically at home in a warm, shallow body of water, but attached to the top of your helmet, this amphibian’s convinced he’s an endangered species! (Designed to fit bicycle-style helmets).”

Avast me hardy, September 19th is talk like a pirate day

Michael VanPutten — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 11:20:45 +0000

September 19th is “International Talk Like a Pirate Day”. Take part in the fun and embrace your inner pirate.

More information about this special day may be found at:

Inspirational and motivational materials include:

Evil Stevie’s Pirate Game: Pirate Glossary
Read John Baur, Mark Summers, and Dave Barry’s book “Pirattitude!: So you Wannna Be a Pirate?: Here’s How!”
Terry Breverton’s book “The Pirate Dictionary”
John Baur and Mark Summes “Well Blow Me Down: A Guys Guide to Talking Like a Pirate”