A few more photos from Dow Diamond.

Last night's Great Lakes Loons game was great. The unseasonably cool weather we've been experiencing for the past few weeks finally gave way and some unseasonably warm weather came to town just in time for the Loons to welcome the Peoria Chiefs, the low-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Chiefs are coached by Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. I shot the game last night and thought I would share a few of the photos here.



Here is Ryne Sandberg coaching third base. I have to give it to the guy, too, because he looks like he could still step in and play the game.





This is a photo of Joe Becker sliding into home with Preston Mattingly right on his heels. Loons manager Juan Bustabad plays a great style of ball with runners moving a lot. This is the sort of photo I'll probably get to shoot pretty frequently this year.





This is just a nice-looking swing by first baseman Jaime Ortiz.





This is Jordan Latham, a pitcher for the Chiefs. I just liked the way this photo came out.





Joe Becker plays shortstop for the Loons. I know he's already shown sliding into home above, but like Latham's photo above, I just like the way this one came out.

You don't have to do it perfect. Just do it well.

I am here today to sing the praises of McDonald's.

Yes, you read that right.

Before we go any further, I think I should tell you that I'm not a fan of McDonald's food. I liked McDonald's when I was a kid and even when I was in college, I guess, but I don't really like the food there. I think I've eaten there once in the past few years and that was only out of necessity when I couldn't find anything else open while I was out of town.

There are two things I don't like about the Golden Arches. First off, they're a MegaCorp. In general, I'd prefer to eat/shop local. I make exceptions, of course, but to my mind, McDonald's is like Wal-Mart. They don't need my dollars.

That being said, I was in a hurry and heading out of town one morning and swung through a McDonald's drive-thru for coffee. I had heard that their coffee was good, so I grabbed a cup of coffee. In short, it was a good cup of coffee so I made the same stop a couple of weeks later when I was on my way out of town.

Here is what McDonald's does right:
1. When you order your coffee, they ask if you want cream and sugar.
2. They put the cream and sugar in the coffee and stir it.
3. The cup they use has some insulation that allows you to actually hold the cup without burning your hand.
4. They use an easy-open, easy-to-drink-from lid.
5. The taste and smell of the coffee is very good.
6. For less than $1.50, I get a good cup of coffee and friendly service.

Still, though, I felt a little guilty about patronizing McDonald's so the next time I was headed out of town I decided to try something different. I tried Tim Horton's. For anyone not familiar, Tim Horton's is a chain based out of Canada. They are much smaller than McDonald's and specialize in soup and sandwiches, donuts and coffee. The food is pretty good and Tim Horton played in the NHL for 24 years. What's not to like about them, right?

To my surprise, the answer is that there are many things to not like about Tim Horton's.
1. When I pulled up to the window--I'm the only car in the drive-thru--the girl at the window seemed bothered by having to deal with me.
2. The coffee comes in a flimsy-ish cup that gets really, really hot. It actually hurt trying to hold the cup for too long.
3. The lid on the coffee is cheap and not moving-car friendly for drinking.
4. They didn't ask if I needed cream or sugar and when I asked for some, she seemed bothered. Again.
5. A minute later when she came back with the cream and sugar she just handed them to me and couldn't get me out of there fast enough. Luckily the third-degree burns on my hand allowed me to stir the coffee with my finger with only a modest amount of additional pain.
6. The coffee sucked.

Bad service, bad cup, bad lid, bad coffee.

Tim Horton's has all of these ads on TV about their fresh food and no heat lamps and so forth. They throw their coffee away if it gets 15 or 20 minutes old and make a fresh pot. The ads are slick and some are even kind of cute. But what's the point of spending money on an ad campaign when your product can't deliver what you promise?


There's an old Woody Allen quote (it's attributed to him, although I can't say where or when it is from) that says that eighty percent of success is just showing up. It's not that McDonald's blew me away with the best cup of coffee in the world, but they gave me good coffee, great service, a fair price, and had me in and out of there in under two minutes. They just showed up and did what I expected.

Tim Horton's, on the other hand, did everything in their power to turn me away. And you know what? It worked.

Absolut-ely Ridiculous

Have you seen the ad above or heard the uproar over it? This is an ad designed to run only in Mexico, but of course it made its way to the mainstream media and has taken on a life of its own. I have a few thoughts on the ad.

The things that are okay with this ad...

1. It is visually appealing. I love old maps. You love old maps. Everybody loves old maps. (Also, as a fan of alternate-reality-type fiction/movies, it's an interesting prospect.)

2. Setting aside the fact that the ad is potentially insulting, it is clever. Absolut is masterful at combining visuals and headlines to reinforce their brand.

3. I think this could be an effective ad and that Absolut might sell more vodka in Mexico because of the ad.


The things that are stupid about this ad...

1. I don't have any facts to back this up, but I have to believe that the US buys more vodka than Mexico. Just based on per capita income alone, that would seem to make sense. I understand that they want the ad to appeal to the intended market, but to give what I have to assume is one of the largest consumer countries a black eye in the process is poor planning. Even if they sell more vodka in Mexico, those gains could very well be offset by sales dips in the U.S.

2. Does Sweden not have the internet? What in the world would make Absolut think that the ad would only be seen in Mexico. Nearly everyone on the planet has seen Britney's pantiless escapades. How could any major corporation be so naive to think that a potentially inflammatory ad would be contained by borders?

3. Earlier I said that I think it could be an effective ad, but that doesn't make it a good idea. I'm willing to bet you a fiver that Absolut could put together an ad that says, "In An Absolut America" with visuals of the Confederate flag and slaves and there are would be an increase in sales in certain parts of the country. Pandering works, but it's a low-road way to get a result. (Yes, I know that this directly counters point 3 above, but I've got a big brain and can see it from both sides.)



In the end...

Some people are calling for a boycott of Absolut products because of this ad this ad. Relax, What a stupid idea.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for boycotting Absolut, but let's do it for the right reasons.

Boycott Absolut because it's crappy vodka.

Finally!

The Great Lakes Loons opened their season last night against the Dayton Dragons. We beat them 5-2, so the season started off on the right foot. The weather is still pretty brisk, which took some of the fun out of shooting the game, but I know that soon enough it will be perfect. And while I'm waiting for it to warm up, I can work on getting my timing back. I felt a lot more rusty than I thought I would, partly because I was using a new lens that I am unfamiliar with, but it was great to be out there.

I am happy the Loons are playing ball again and am looking forward to a great season.

Happy Birthday. One Day Late.

I just realized that yesterday was the birthday of my friend, Gordie Howe. Okay, he's not really my friend, but I had an assignment to take photos of him and I did get to hang out around him and chat with him a little bit. It was a real thrill to meet the greatest hockey player of all time. He would have been 78 in the photo above and he's as sharp as ever. Mugging for the camera with girls and horsing around with young boys. He had a line of hundreds (maybe 500?) waiting for his autograph and he took time to talk to every single one of them and he maintained his sense of humor throughout.

At the end of the evening as he was wrapping up to go home, he took the time to pose for this photo (graciously taken by photo superstar Barry Rankin of Dirla Studio) and sign a puck for me to "Mr. Photo from Mr. Hockey." That was a pretty good night.

Happy birthday, Gordie.