(00:00:07) It's first Friday. Hi, I'm Lynn warfel hold. I'll be your host today on our welcome to winter holiday special coming up this hour performing poets from New York's Lower East Side. They're bringing their unique brand of performance poetry to the Twin Cities this weekend. They give us a lesson in the finer points of competing in a poetry slam the Minnesota Center for book Arts unveils its latest printed confection and we have a preview from you and care a Minnesota artist. You may have met in a mall figures out how to cash in on the holidays and we find out why Storyteller Beth Gilliland won't be wearing an elephant head this holiday season. That's all in the next hour of First Friday. Stay with us. Tonight in Minneapolis the Minnesota center for the book Arts will hold a publication party for swimming snow. The book is the center's sixth handmade winter book where local authors celebrate some aspect of winter in the midwest only 200 copies have been made and the people involved say the finished product is both literature and a work of art this year story has a winter theme the death of a beloved father Minnesota public radio's euan Kerr reports (00:01:30) swimming snow by Paulette Bates Alden tells the story of a woman coming to terms with her father's death. She says it's autobiographical in a (00:01:38) sense. I knew when I was approached by Minnesota center for the book Arts to do the story that I wanted it to be about grief and that I wanted it to be about my father's death and to be a kind of a memorial to him but also because this story was going to be published in such an extraordinary way in a handmade Edition. I thought it might serve as an object that other people Hold in their hands that might represent or express some aspect of their own grief. (00:02:11) Just yards from Hennepin Avenue in Downtown Minneapolis. A paper maker is at work at the Minnesota center for the book Arts. Just one of the Century's old crafts practiced at the center. It has been here that a group of artists is come together to create swimming snow Center Director Charles. Alexander says the project serves both as an interesting Challenge and as a way to introduce people to the book Arts, if you sort of follow the fine book and rare Book trade, I think the pricing of this book within handmade books is kept in a reasonable enough level that I've noticed that we also attract people that are not regular buyers of fine print and Fine Art, but are just get interested either in a specific book or in book Arts work in general standard edition of swimming snow cost $75 a deluxe 175. The prices may seem extreme, but make more sense when you hear about the effort that goes into the making of each I think my daughter figured out that it was I touched (00:03:17) the I don't know 70 odd pieces of paper that I started with 3228 (00:03:23) times Mario Ross is the illustrator of swimming snow. She has produced a series of collages using layers of different papers. Some hand-painted others printed with swirling snow patterns. She says they are layered much like the emotions in the book you opened to an illustration and the illustration goes deeper either by looking through it or lifting actually lifting it up and going deeper into it. Mary Joe Pauly is the winter book printer and designer this entails looking into everything from choosing the paper in the type through the layout of the text to the tricky question of where to place the illustrations and then there is dealing with the specialized (00:04:10) papers when we were printing the Japanese papers the very very thin paper. We had it lying out flat to dry and every time someone walked past the thin sheets of this window wafting onto the onto the floor (00:04:27) the books have been bound the deluxe versions with handmade paper covers MC be a director Charles Alexander says there is mounting excitement about the publication of the book production using Arts that cover the centuries some of the printing presses Even in our facilities here are very much like the first printing press has ever developed in the late 1400s. I think the artistic Visions implied here may be very different the Minnesota center for the book Arts is publishing swimming snow its sixth annual winter book. I'm euan Kerr Minnesota Public Radio. (00:05:02) The publication party for swimming snow is free and open to the public tonight at the Minnesota center for the book Arts from 5 to 8 p.m. Paulette Bates. Alden will read excerpts from the book tonight and again at the hungry mind book shop in st. Paul on December 7th. Leslie Brody has a job most of us would envy she sits by the fire in her rural Connecticut home in opens packages of new books. Leslie is the book columnist for Elle Magazine every month. It's her job to read over 20 new books and pick her 10 favorites to review and capsule form in summaries of five sentences or less Leslie cutter teeth at the hungry mind bookstore where until last August she penned the store is newsletter fodder with short reviews of dozens of books each month. She also chosen promoted the authors who came to read at the store since moving to Connecticut and beginning her new job. She's made her way through over a hundred and sixty books in her quest for the perfect book list. We asked her to pick a few goodies for the holidays and to talk a little about the ups and downs of her new (00:06:33) career. Sometimes I get tired of reading, you know, it's very funny because this is great opportunity to do everything that I've ever wanted to do sit in my house and read books and tell people about them. It's just the greatest job on Earth, but you know after 20 books a month sometimes Times you just want to take a rest and an (00:06:51) app. What's it like to try to summarize a massive novel in five sentences or less? (00:06:57) How do you do that? How do you do it? Yeah, it's like he's got a stew on the stove. You know, you just boil it down and boil it down and boil it down and every word is is (00:07:08) precious given examples that you like that you can remember that you think wow. I I nailed it this time. This is a great one (00:07:14) when I really aren't ya okay here, let me tell you something about Elizabeth towns. This one worked. Are we to the show? Okay great. It's the stories and Elizabeth talents collection, honey probe the minds of exhausted Marriage Partners pregnant women on the verge and insecure step children as they appraise their lives in exciting exact Pros Talent describes, the things that can't be explained recreating the words. We say without thinking the conversation of Loops in which we lose ourselves the heat of unwanted arguments and unexpected forgiveness (00:07:46) that Nails it pretty well but Nails a pretty well, that's one you liked though. What happens when you get one you don't that you really think is a stinker (00:07:52) when I don't like a book. Yeah. Well, so I read you my Garrison Keillor review. (00:07:56) Go ahead. Yeah. It's more than my Jobs worth, but give it a (00:07:59) shot. All right. Well, here we go. It may be churlish to say but a little Garrison Keillor goes a long way his new collection the book of guys satirizing 12-step programs men's groups and other safe ground will tickle devotees Others May find Killers boyishness fatiguing after just a few of these high-concept hyper dysfunctional quirky. Darn guys. (00:08:26) Well, that sounds that sounds reasonable. That's not too nasty. Well, I absolve myself of all blame for that one. But now that's I get your point. That's that's a good I think that's a fair. You know, it doesn't sound scathing to me. I understand that that you've got some of the best picks for the holiday season. I understand that you're real excited about certain books can what's the best the top of the list right now? (00:08:48) My favorite book of the year is by an Australian novelist named David Malouf and the book is remembering Babylon, which came out I think in October. It's lyrical poetic beautifully composed this book about a collision of cultures. Somehow instead of ending in the typical tragic Violet catastrophe we're used to expecting an American cultural artifacts books movies. This one ends in a draw. I really love (00:09:15) this. So that's your top pick David Malouf, (00:09:18) but you want to hear what was cut. Yeah. I was good thing about this book and I put in way too many adjectives. So they cut that I said, it was a Mythic search for the two hearts of pioneers they cut when I started rhapsodizing all over the place about how Blissful a book it was. Yeah, like they cut when I said it was an unpredictable world where gentleness shocks just because he carries as much weight as (00:09:39) brutality. Maybe he'll come out with a (00:09:40) sequel (00:09:43) we're talking about David Malouf and remembering Babylon. What about Regional authors? Is there anybody writing about Minnesota or from Minnesota or around Minnesota that you've been reviewing their books or keeping track of their (00:09:55) careers apart from Garrison Keillor? (00:09:57) Yeah. Perfect Garrison. (00:09:59) Yes, of course. Well Louise erdrich rights. Well, she's a regional connections. It's about families on a North Dakota reservation and she has a new book coming out in January that I've reviewed its what's it called? Quite lovely. It's called the Bingo Palace and its really a fictional treatment about casinos and the growth of gambling on tribal lands. She really kind of decodes the conflict surrounding these casinos and she does it through her characters who are beautifully defined people there. If you read her previous books, there's some of the same families are represented and she's got besotted lover. She's got ghosts and there's a lots of discussion of luck people's luck is always changing. It's a lovely book (00:10:50) sounds like a good book and finally finally if you have money to blow, what would you recommend is the most wonderful thing to Stephen somebody stocking this (00:10:59) Christmas an Exquisite luxury stocking stuffer? Yeah. Okay. I have one I have been Have six there are six guides that Knopf has brought out called Knopf guides to the world's greatest cities and their gods to Amsterdam Florence in Istanbul. London, San Francisco in Venice. (00:11:17) Oh nice. What's so special about them? What do they look (00:11:20) like? Oh the paper that they're laid out on it's gorgeous. It's sepia. It's gold-toned. It's silvertone. You want to wear the paper? It's the language is really interesting. It's really readable for a change in a travel book that makes a difference. The jewel tone of the illustrations is beautiful. They they reproduce paintings from the city's I mean other other guys have done that but somehow the way these are put together makes them look more like a museum catalog. Let me tell you what the cut for my review. Okay, go ahead. I babbled on descriptively about this review, which I really loved and I said it was a dreamy Mozart Aria is elegant is evening gloves that it looks like elaborate Italian. Three like Silk shantung like a Chic hotel suite in the 30s movie. I said you want to keep it under your pillow for when you're alone. (00:12:13) Oh, I like that are they really decadently expensive (00:12:16) because I don't know something around 25 or $30 and there's six of them and they're six of them their decadent. I don't know how useful they'd really be if you went to the city with them, you know, but they're awfully beautiful and they're great gift. They think I'd certainly like to receive the ones that I don't (00:12:35) have Leslie. What do you want for Christmas? (00:12:38) I like to I think I'd like to exploit another sense. I think I'd like a really expensive great dinner. (00:12:49) Book on this Leslie Brody formerly of the hungry mind bookstore. You can find her reviews every month in Elle Magazine. She spoke to us from her new home in Storrs, Connecticut, Merry (00:12:59) Christmas. (00:13:48) You listening to first Friday on Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Lynn warfel Holt's sitting in for Beth friend picture yourself going out for a night on the town. You're dressed up ready for adventure and an evenings entertainment. But instead of small talk in a dark club or noisy restaurant. Don't you enter a warm room and inviting Cafe where all are welcome and all of come together not just to socialize but to hear and read poetry. We've talked a lot about poetry on First Friday and this weekend May offer. One of the biggest poetry events to hit the Twin Cities The nuyorican Poets are in town and they want us to get busy with words the poet's hail from you guessed. It New York where they're based at the nuyorican cafe. The cafe takes its name from the slang word for New York City Puerto Ricans who traditionally lived on the Lower East Side where the cafe is located. It's probably the only not-for-profit nightclub in the country. Its mission is simple to offer poets writers and regular people and inviting place to congregate and share their work weekly contest encourage aspiring writers. There have judged by members of the audience in poetry slams professionals like poets Allen Ginsberg and Gwendolyn Brooks have been known to stay until the wee hours offering support and good cheer to the contestants The nuyorican Poets who run the Fa are taking their show on the road in addition to workshops. They offer New York schools and neighborhoods. They're traveling to other states to jumpstart poetry slams and work with local poets. They'll be at the Walker Art Center tomorrow night participating in a Statewide poetry slam. We'll have details about that a little later on poets. Bob Holman and Tracy Morris joined the earlier to talk about the difference between reading or writing poetry and performing it in public at the cafe. The Traditions at the cafe merge the media merge, and I think if anything the cafe represents not being confined to a medium but to use whatever tools you have to fully explore what the words say the best way possible. So what we're trying to do is be expansive and people's perception of poetry and how words work and how they can function and be a part of the vibrancy of life and not be confined even though at the cafe we very much Sighs that the word should work on the page and they should have strong form. Even if you break the rules kind of knowing what they are strong work as a piece of literature and as a performance, we don't feel we have to compromise between the two and in fact, we encourage the development of both aspects of performance poetry. How is how is the poem improved by performing it? There's no improvement that you know, it's the same poem. You know, how it'll poem exists in a book, but does it exist until you read it, you know a poem exists in the air when somebody reads it to you a poem can exist on the radio poem can exists on the television. It's a different approach to it's a different way of letting that poem live. I think the problem in this country has been the Poetry has been confined to this jail sentence instead of the open-ended kind of sentence that a poem really wants to be and by having by using the Spoken Word by allowing entertainment and art to finding Intersection and poetry you are allowing that great generous enveloping impulse of the poem to be there. It should magnify the idea. I mean some of us approach the poem as a performance in a very different way than we approach it as a piece of literature, but when you read it, you should get something really wonderful out of it. Sometimes that wonderful thing is very different from the wonderful wonderful thing that you get when you see someone perform it live what give us an example now so listeners can get a grip on this to I'm kind of throwing you a curve here, but when you take a poem saying you look at Anna page give us an idea of what it might sound like and then give us a performance. Let's let's hear what it's like, I don't know who's going to go first or together. Well, okay, there's a piece that I wrote called the spot, right and it's about basically it's sort of about Malcolm. But it's also sort of about how we use cultural figures and we commercialize them but when I perform it because I'm addressing it primarily to people who wear X caps and just don't necessarily are committed to the ideas that he represented. So I do it in a hip-hop Style with the sampling with a backtrack sort of thing to kind of explore that idea in the piece. So it Go cross your heart and crisscross your heart and make it jump jump cross your heart and Criss Cross Your Heart cross your heart and hope to die should be why should be why you wear the gear the year to make the concept fly? Not just the iPad don't believe it. Not just a hype had to comply with other guys and complement Michaels 360, but that would take a bit more time. Yo the stopping by the five-and-dime flow to check the color match the size with your new shoes and your new name wise so bet you check out the display the Korean store around the way even got leather and even even got Leatherman. And even got leather and every shade. Oh, yeah, the Pickens fat black one with the black black one with the black black one with the red xxx goes best with your new high-tops. Something like that. Yeah, that's good. That's a lot of stuff in there though. That's what is indeed here two million times. You'd hear something different come. Yeah because I do it different every single time before every ride of catching things here and there but it's like, you know, well see that then when you look at something like that on the page, you'll see the density of the piece but you'll get to see more of the ponds more of the word play and the juxtaposition of The Words, which you could not get into performance. But when you read it on the page, you can't hear me say black the back the black Back to Black the back backwards. So that's an example. We have been described in your in your reviews as being sweet sexy and sarcastic. She's making a face but I mean you have been so that's that's one style and I think sort of I think the hip-hop brings that out to Bob. What's your style? Can you do a little something for us so we can sure I you know, I've been also very influenced by by hip-hop and not to say that all the poet's it who are here are involved in in in rap or hip-hop. Dana Bryant has a much more bluesy kind of lyrical narrative style. (00:20:16) Well (00:20:16) and Edwin Taurus is one of the original New York futuristic kind of sounds poets who creates words out of disparate sounds right before your ears, but here's a little piece called rock and roll mythology talking about how we of a certain generation might look to our history as what happened not so long ago. I got a rock and roll mythology. I got a total apocalypse pathology. I got the most opposed to sterile a poetry and if it ain't coming at you, it's Breeze down by I got the heavy duty political intent. I got the worm farm freeform diamond uttarakhand and I got three easy ways and Bop and raised and when the word explodes the mother lode is where I'm at and its light hair but you cannot see it doesn't matter. Anyway, since you cannot breathe, you see the words mean they're Puttin on the squeezed it can strangle you. Hey, what's that mean? What does that one mean to you? What does it what the plasticity of language the impossibility of communication doesn't mean that we all ought to shut up and go to her little Corners as a matter of fact, it's really thrilling here in the dying years of this Millennium to discover that the individual voice the voice of the poet is starting to be heard again, and it's thrilling to be traveling across the country and finding the ways that that the voice is being heard in these Grassroots movements called the slam where anybody who wants to can stand up and read their poems and partake in the Olympics of poetry or the mock Olympics of poetry. I was out in Elko Nevada couple years ago for the cowboy poet's Gathering where 8,000 people got together to hear the cowboy poets go at it and there's a lot of different cultures who are finally able to be heard not in through experts who tells you about it, but from The Poets who lived these lines now, you did mention poetry slam and you're in the Twin Cities now getting ready for the big poetry slam on Saturday now briefly. How does a Work what is it and and got some tips for contestants who might be coming to it? Yes, don't take it seriously and listen to Great poets like Mike Tyler and Paul Beatty who are also part of our gathering. They're supposed to be fun and they're supposed to help people get the message help people feel that poetry is something relevant and exciting that it's a viable medium for them and that it can be fun and engaging and also not to see the work that goes on to make it look effortless in terms of hints. I guess you could say, like I said, don't take it seriously bring your own stuff. Should you bring your own stuff? It's a mock competition. It's an excuse for people to read poetry just do your best and have a good time. And what was the deal the the lowest score the the worst one of the worst poet wins or something. What was it? I started. Oh Well, that's that's that's a slogan that we've got. Just a point to the absurdity of attempting to take a poor little thing of beauty called a poem and treating it like a double dutch date to an SAT exam the best poet always loses means that you The Listener the person who's decided with the best poet is not the whimsically selected audience member who might be sitting next to you with a pen. Exactly. But the thing about a poetry slam is that it's always entertaining that you're going to hear a lot of different kinds of poems that you poets out there better hightail it over for this slam and bring with you the stuff that you think is going to work and then once we get the collective oomph going you'll find words can take you out into orbit. Well as I'm talking to you, too you too. I'm getting in my mind something comes back from the East Coast. This sounds like a really hip sort of downtown New York thing to do. Would you have the nuyorican cafe or the group appealing to what we used to call? I guess the yuppies the establishment. White business people. Could you have could you have a nuyorican cafe Branch like in the Mall of America? Would it work? We're wouldn't it? And if not, why wouldn't it? Well, we don't know we don't have any doubts about them all in half an hour. Don't worry about the slam working. It's whether or not the mall will continue to exist after we talked about real life and poetry. You're probably the only poets I've ever heard of her making a living out of poetry. I mean, are you making a living running workshops and traveling and doing the slams and running the cafe well making a living as a relative term. I guess we are dedicated to the Arts. It's starting to happen right now. You know, there are there are poets on MTV and their poets who are signing recording contracts. It's a risky business, but I think it's more risk than this business at this point. It's great for you guys who are used to performing and getting up there but you might have some people who are more reticent. I mean, how do you get people to write a poem much less to go up and actually do something in front of people. You know, how do you how do you entice people to be creative? Well, there's the over way and then there's the covert way the covert way is just to read and people in a very non pressure situation. Right and we've had that situation happen with adults and high school students that we just read stuff and just by being open and presenting A diversity of voices people just write stuff out and sometimes they presented it immediately after our performances and sometimes it's been they've written us letters and stuff and the Culvert way is just like, you know pick a subject and write or I know you've got something in that book, you know, so One up and read it but the thing is to encourage a nurturing environment which is why we you know discourage the real competitive aspect of it, even though it's a vehicle to make it fun and interesting and really encourage people to come up and write and share great like to think we do want to hear one more before we let you go today or two. Oh, cool. All right. Well, I'll go to the sweet sexy and sarcastic Zion. It's it's short. It's so funny hearing itself is good. This is about my neighborhood deep sleeping men with sepia skin that glistens in the Moonlight the attitude seen in Bed-Stuy and all of them that they try to capture in liquor ads, right Messengers with locks and Lycra bike. Aghia Senegalese vendors out all times of the year thick brothers who dance clothes on records of any speed summertime Brothers with muscles that strain against short sleeves black folks and earth-tone clothes or Dayglo the holy configuration of unbraided cornrow Sunday salmon cakes and grits before bball Michael Jordan midair splits midair splits dudes who can Again, who give a good massage the strong and Silent type that is cool because they know they Lodge the ones that we're Kinte cloth. You can see when they enter the room the kind of thing. That makes me go. Mmm. That's got the got you a drink of water Bob. Can you top this it's not just a couple of Of shorties, I think would be appropriate. In order to save the relationship, we will never see each other again. And this will have anything else I can think that was one of mine actually. Yeah, that's it. Okay my shirt, I love to put it on my arms get long that way. (00:28:03) Bob (00:28:05) that's very successful job just says thank you to Bob Bollman and Tracy Morris and I hope you have a lot of fun at the slinky Sarah Bob Holman and Tracy Morris or two of The nuyorican Poets. They'll be judging a poetry slam at the Walker Art Center on Saturday night at eight o'clock. You're listening to first Friday on Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Lynn warfel Holt. Well, why don't decide for yourself what you like if you're interested in purchasing compact discs of maybe the st. Olaf choir or maybe a Tina Turner or any of the music you hear today on First Friday. You can do that by calling the public radio music Source at one eight hundred seventy five music. It's quick. It's easy. The music comes right to your door and best of all your purchases help support the program's you here on Minnesota Public Radio to order almost any CD by phone. You can call the public radio music Source the number again 1-855-828-4646 (00:30:04) with the Mercury button so they can save money on long-distance calls. Ho ho ho ho (00:30:10) you sick and tired of the commercial side of the holidays. Well, why not distract yourself by looking at somebody else's commercials later this month Walker Art Center the Best of British TV ads come to the screen and it's always standing room only believe it or not to help us interpret this High art foreign film Forum. We've invited an expert Rob white is an ad executive at the Twin Cities agency found Miguel elegant. He's also a native of the British Isles are native critic took a look at the award-winning ads and told us what to expect this year at the 1993 British a towards. (00:30:43) First of all, it's hugely entertaining. I think advertising in the UK has taken entertainment as one of the primary driving factors that has been for many years. That's partly because the British public don't react well to hard hard sales talk and so in a way to to be listened to they have to make it entertaining so I think that's one of the key takeaways you're going to watch some ads and you're actually going to find them amusing and entertaining (00:31:09) I lived in Scotland for a number of years. You can there's a difference between us and UK adds that that's very subtle but it's tangible and And you need to understand I suppose there's only four channels television channels over there only two of which run adverts on them. So how does that affect how they make ads over there? What's the difference in the culture who's buying the stuff? And and also how much money do they spend on ads over there as opposed to over here? Well, (00:31:36) one of the most important impacts of the the lack of channels if you like is that it's very easy for an Advertiser to reach virtually everyone in the country because people are limited in the number of channels for watching and one of the effects you find on on the advertising itself. Is that an ad for one brand can make a bleak usually fairly subtle references to other ads that they know people are seeing I think in this collection at the Walker you see a number of examples of that you see ads playing off other ads you see ads within ads. I think that's a trend that you don't see in this country because of the fragmentation of the (00:32:11) media. Well, there are a lot of stereotypes in the British advertising even talking about that a little bit in the commercials now, let's set one clip We're going to hear what the people are going to hear. Now. It's an award-winning ad for something called the Mercury button part of a phone service over there. We set that up and it's the commercials are shot in black and white and to me they looked a little bit like a bad take off on a 1940's British. B-movie like the cheap. Mrs. Miniver something. I don't know. How did it strike you could you (00:32:37) see much exact exactly. As you said I think was interesting about that is advertising and that's true in America as as it is in Britain is getting very sophisticated and very caught up in its cleverness these and you can look at very expensively produce commercials virtually any night. I think Mercury is approach was was very confident in a way they decided to be sophisticated by being deliberately unsophisticated and being funny with it. So what you look at looking at is a parody of old pitchman commercials, you see the boom mic. You see miscues. You see all the lip-sync goes completely Haywire you see long silence. He's as they're trying to wonder who's meant to be seeing. Next it's beautifully executed and (00:33:21) that edits the one I remember this when we're going to hear. I think it opens up with the with a spokesman standing over a fireplace, which is Flaming with a huge wonderful roaring fire and then all of a sudden there's a bad edit and the fire goes out. He's standing next to a completely empty right place. Well, let's listen to a bit of that but the Mercury button with a very fussy British couple (00:33:39) homebodies like us like nothing better than spending the evening chitter chattering on the telephone. (00:33:44) That's why we bought a thing with a Mercury button and plugged it into our existing fans suck. It not only did we make substantial savings on calls (00:33:51) over 35 miles see (00:33:53) also receive a fully itemized bill which we can read at our (00:33:56) Leisure. I can see you found the body Huntington's rather a lot (00:33:59) and I can see you constantly call the Chumley Warner's and we both press the marker button thank heavens for the market avastin. It's the mechina button that kids are managed happy and fulfilling. Yes. Yes. I love that one. It sounds like the queen though. Doesn't (00:34:15) it very much (00:34:16) now, why was this commercial so appealing or (00:34:19) Successful it's as many of the most successful commercials on this and this collection show. You can you can view it and it works on many different levels. There was a lot of very very factual information delivered their you heard very much about what the features and benefits were but it was delivered in such an unusual way and such an engaging way in such an amusing way that it really invited people into the commercial sort of commercial people would talk about but they wouldn't just talk about it as a funny commercial. I think they would also be picking up the point of the commercial behind it. You think that ad the ad (00:34:54) works then I think we'll likely to buy (00:34:55) it very well. It's actually part of a fairly lengthy series to three years old now and they keep coming out with new and I would you know, I would argue better executions every year. It's it's becoming one of the famous campaigns in the (00:35:09) country. Now the Brits also seem to use a lot of American types in the commercials for Levi's there's the handsome hunk in jeans on a motorcycle and their Hollywood directors. I saw one with a Character plays a Cliff Clavin the character from cheers and Leslie Nielsen doing fraud Squad his takeoff on all his great comedy movies of recent years. Now. There's one that have sort of sort of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans types in there and they're selling breakfast cereal out on the ranch. They're selling Swiss muesli out on a ranch somewhere in the sons of the Pioneers types come in and sing along at some point. Now, how would you set this one up do you think this is a successful ad? Why are they using Cowboys to sell granola to a British audience? I (00:35:49) think it was a the similar Theory to the one from America in a way. It was taking a an old classic advertising style. You've right down to the the happy jingle, but they've added some twist to it to try to to make it more parody unless the conventional advertising. I don't personally think that works because they didn't make the distinction clearly enough and I don't think it's funny enough to get away with it. It ends up leaving you somewhat Lots at the end of it, (00:36:20) let's listen to it album use lie down on the ranch. (00:36:23) Hi there. Thanks for stepping all over for breakfast. There's usually muesli it's this one folks out a are PE m is the appetite feel lots of crispy. We Flakes and some less raises pay is for the pleasure taste and texture. I have real player and in bore them their hazelnuts. So they're your friend just happened for the best part of the day's Trail. You look after yourself now. (00:37:01) We said that one didn't work. How would you evaluate it? You don't think that would make the average Brit run out and buy granola. (00:37:07) Hmm. Not in my opinion. I just think it was flat. I think there were two open spots and that was the weaker of the two. I think it's one of those campaigns that they'll learn from this these first executions and I wouldn't be at all surprised. If next year they made the stick with it, but they make them a lot better. I just think these are kind of flat and they don't grab your interest nearly the same way as American reinstated (00:37:31) now that was in the awards as was a newcomer of the year. Do I remember that correctly think so. Yeah, but I think I think it was now are there any favorites that we should watch out for any ads you really think out do the Americans that the Brits have just really (00:37:44) I think the the beer commercials are almost an art form in Britain now (00:37:51) well beer drinking is an art that's true. (00:37:53) Actually that could be true of this country to when I was (00:37:57) fussy about our beer though. I don't think I think the (00:37:59) beer commercials there. They've got to a point now where they're trying to get their almost getting too clever some of them but some of the classics look Heineken and Carling Black Label continue every year to come out with really funny fresh executions that remind you of what they're all about. So I'd say that's what you know one thing to (00:38:17) watch for now. Is there anything you'd love to design the advertising for? That's that's British. I'm course. I'm thinking coming out of st. Andrews Andrew's day. You know, I mean, how would you sell haggis to the American public or is there (00:38:27) anything funny you should mention that I had haggis and Sunday with some Scottish friends in town here. Yeah, I guess would be an interesting case. It's gonna it's gonna I'd say for those who know that's got some product perception problems. That would be a hard case for advertising but an interesting challenge. (00:38:45) Well, thanks a lot Rob (00:38:46) white pleasure. (00:38:48) Rob white is with the Twin Cities advertising agency. Foul Miguel get the 1993 British television. Advertising Awards will be showing at the Walker Wednesday, December 15th through Saturday, December the 18th. (00:39:01) When you press the marker button calls to the USA and neighboring Canada are half price. Don't forget Americans use words like trashcan (00:39:08) sidewalk and but by a foam of the makani button from August colors Dixon's and other electrical retailers, (00:39:54) you're listening to first Friday on Minnesota Public (00:39:56) Radio. Last year Beth Gilliland spent the month before Christmas marching down Nicollet Mall in an elephant costume. She still can't get the Holidazzle Parade tune out of her head. She shares her tail of seasonal overload when Easter just for fun. I dressed up in a pink sweat suit. I fashioned some ears out of coat hangers covered them with white material and fix them to my pigtails. I painted whiskers on my face dotted my nose pink and headed out to make deliveries as I gaily took the steps up to my friends house to buy to a basket of eggs on my arm a child yelled over to me from the yard of a neighboring house. Hey, I turned eager to assist in keeping the magic of Make-Believe alive. Fuck you. Mr. Bunny, something happens to you when you are suited up in a costume for a public forum other than a theater where people expect you to be in costume. You are affected in ways both temporal and permanent in ways both good and bad you are waving you are handing out shopping bags. You are dodging the spitballs and lewd gestures of the Adolescent set who are ever eager to help you remain painfully aware that you are not who you are dressed up to be and you are almost always doing it to Relentless holiday music when artists are not gainfully ensconced in the food or temp service Industries, they often utilize their downtime and augment their vast incomes by posing his animals or make-believe creatures from Storyland. I have been employed at one point or another as an elf a loon a bunny a fairy in schools department stores street fairs a casino last year. I was an anonymous elephant clown in the Holidazzle Parade. I say anonymous because my entire head was covered with a fur one much bigger than my own even when I'm thinking well, Myself this hollowed-out first shell was outfitted with two huge ears and inoperable stuff drunk and a conical party hat rested playfully on top the view through the elephant's eyes was limited like looking through a Viewmaster. No peripheral vision straight on was all that could be managed the screen like material covering the eyeholes was painted over so that one could look out but not in like a one-way mirror. It was somewhat claustrophobic but would mask my identity. So that comforted me there was an Armature on the inside for precision fitting a plastic ring with holes bored through it like a hospital bracelet for the head. It's swung on hinges to allow for some freedom of movement and had a velcro chin strap that secured that freedom. This was reminiscent of the time. I wore an elaborate orthodontic contraption that slid into silver caps cemented on to my upper molars and wrap tightly. Around my neck. My orthodontist told me it would be my best friend for the next six months. I emphasize this head because for the next 25 nights, I would try to get it to be my best friend. With the fitting completed I arrived at the evening of my first parade what an operation hundreds of people are gathered together for the March costumes are pulled pinned plugged pressed and wired for light a lot of work went into the preparation and planning of this event. We are dressing in a big Ballroom in one of the big hotels downtown. I am wearing long underwear under jeans a turtleneck under a sweater under my down jacket a scarf and a wool headband. I step into an oversized spangly clown suit pink and silver with touches of turquoise a Big Stiff ruffle around the neck obscuring the wires that feed the electric lights in the elephant's hat and collar. I am given long orange plastic clown shoes to wear over my boots and big white plastic clown gloves. Then the head goes on chin strap secured. I am Plugged In Lights Ablaze and ready to go. And I am hot at the signal I spill into the hotel hallway with my cohorts Little Red Riding Hood the wolf the Three Bears the three pigs Raggedy Ann and Andy Miss Muffet Bo Peep the dish the spoon and countless bumblebees snowflakes footmen and Christmas bulbs of various colors. Some take the stairs some try the elevators out of town patrons stare open-mouthed at this unexpected outpouring of characters. Some costumes get stuck on others as we make our way outside. We line up in succession in a way dark use some like Cinderella and her prince will ride on floats supported by human doll stands some like me the elephant clown and my parade partner the Chipmunk clown will walk the music begins a whistle blows and the parade Captain gestures our turn comes and we are off the seen through my eyes is festively surreal. Lights and snow and characters all moving in a kaleidoscope of color to primer music people lined up six feet deep on both sides of the street in front of shop Windows it is as if I am in the family car on the family vacation, but it's all taking place inside my head people waving happy their breath creating delicate puffs of steam in the cold night air in Mobile babies bundled up like tightly wrapped packages scarves up to the eyes hats on hoods up blankets covering them only their little black eyes likewise planets peering out at the human Zoo before them some children scream if I take one step toward them others greet me with upturned faces offering tiny cherubic kisses and wide-eyed. Hold up there miniature parka d'armes for elephant hugs. I see my nephew. Are you my aunt? He asks tentatively. I wag my head. Yes. Then a policeman's whistle Pierce's Our Moment. Hurry up elephant. We can't wait all day for you. We are supposed to time our kindnesses to the traffic lights. I had lingered too long. Some older kids hold out their hands ostensibly to shake mine. And when I comply they pull on my plastic glove in an attempt to claim it as their own inside my head. I am frowning but the elephant's face is friendly smiling and moving on. I am commandeering the Jill in the Box float with the chipmunk clown. There's a person inside the Box driving it but that person often needs assistance as the little float veers off course, I suspect he also has a limited view of the scene before him. We can talk we can shout but our voices cannot be heard from outside our big heads. So we pound on the box with our plastic hand so that he will write his course the young girl playing Jill Rises 7 feet atop the float. She's an exchange student from Japan experiencing her first Minnesota winter dressed in a thin pink sequined outfit and white cotton gloves. She jerks as a float finds its way. With an elephant and a chipmunk as her protectors by long plastic clown shoes begin to pose a health threat, they slip into slush beneath my feet as I try to sidestep the piles left by the horses that preceded us not easy to do with Viewmaster eyes and laughing pointing teens. My nose is running but that's too bad anything that happens inside the head has to wait then my chin strap on velcros and the band circling my head slips down over my eyes. I can't see at all. I wiggle my forehead in an attempt to get it back up up is not working and I am concerned about inadvertently knocking over small children. I am still walking and waving I have to or I will be mowed over by the Bumblebees behind me. I work the ring down and grab it in my mouth between my teeth like a horse's bit grimacing with discomfort but grateful that my face cannot be seen I hold it in my teeth like that for the rest of the parade. Until I am able to remove the Behemoth head. Well, I could go on I could talk about the lights that went out the overheated snowflake who fainted how we all crammed into to city buses for the ride back to the hotel our heads off and next to us on the bus seat. The painted eyes merrily staring Straight Ahead our hair stuck to our scalp stamp with sweat Jill out-of-the-box teeth chattering next to me suffice it to say that it is a growth experience to participate in a community event like the Holidazzle Parade your head grows a little bit bigger for it Storyteller Beth Gilliland. You can see her without her elephant head in power breakfast at the Loring Playhouse beginning next month, January 7th (00:49:22) dreaming. White Christmas just like the ones I used to know. We're go straight job. Listen, sleigh bells in the snow the snow. (00:49:49) Well, that's our holiday program for this final month of 1993. When we talk to you again. It'll be next year on Friday, January 7th. And Beth friend will be back in this seat in just a few months if you have questions about anything you heard today struck a chord made you laugh or just made you crazy. Call us. The Minnesota Public Radio. Comment line is 2901191. That's to 901 191, you know calling the comment line is a good way to vote your support for Arts and Cultural coverage on Minnesota Public Radio. So It's your Christmas greetings. We want to hear from you our listeners about what you think of our programs are comment line number again is to 901 191 music you heard today came from Minnesota guitarist. Tim Sparks, Tina Turner the ventures and The Drifters if you're interested in hearing more, we have one other number for you the public radio music Source can deliver almost any CD right to your door in time for Christmas and best of all using it helps support programs like this. So pencils ready the public radio music Source number is First Friday is produced by Kitty Isley. Our technical director is Randall Johnson and we had help this month from Sasha. Aslanian. I'm Lynn warfel Holt. Thanks for joining us. Have a great (00:51:12) month (00:51:16) and Christmases be white.