VerveCast

Image courtesy of whoinvented.org

Yesterday marked a significant and victorious day for the U.S.A.  As we all know, U.S. forces have killed Osama bin Laden.  After seeing Facebook and Twitter erupt with various posts, one caught my eye that stated that on May 1 in 1945, Adolf Hitler was killed.  This sparked my interest as to what other events have happened on May 1 over the past decade.  Here are some May 1 happenings throughout history:

• 1931 – The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City
• 1945 – Adolf Hitler’s death confirmed by German reporter
• 1956 – The polio vaccine is made available to the public
• 1989 – Disney MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida
• 2003 – President Bush gives “Mission Accomplished” speech where he declares, “major combat operations in Iraq have ended”
• 2011 – President Obama announces that U.S. forces have killed Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.

God Bless America!

So this blog is two-fold.

First, I have become a victim of the StumbleUpon epidemic.  In my stumbling endeavor through the world wide web, I came across this website with fun ice cube trays, among numerous other interesting sites.  I thought some of these were really creative – especially the Gin & Titonic ice cube trays.

Photo courtesy of demilked.com

And these guitar ice cubes….

Now for the second part.  See that lime on the edge of the Gin & Titonic glass?  What if it was cut like this:  Cocktail Genius

Fake or not, that’s still pretty entertaining.  With one of those bartenders and shaped ice cubes….there could be a whole new spin on Cosmo Friday!

What are some of the coolest ice cube shapes or bartending tricks you’ve seen?

I am a sucker for new products or new innovations to old products.  My mom makes fun of me for being drawn to new, “shiny” products and constantly wanting to buy them and try them out.  I can’t help it.  I guess I’m just really easy to market to.  With that being said, here’s a list of new products that I’ve been impressed with in the last year or so.

Orville Redenbacher’s Pop Up Bowls

No bowl to wash and no sloppy hands from digging in the popcorn bag? Yes, please.

Photo courtesy of iqsplus.com

Lysol Healthy Touch No-Touch Soap System

I own one of these and I love it.  I just wish they had better smelling soap or a container where you could add your own soap.

Photo courtesy of islandlife808.com

Miller Lite Vortex Bottle

The theory behind the bottle is that it allows the beer to flow through the bottleneck easier.  It’s debatable on whether or not this actually works (there have actually been tests done to prove that it pours the same way as a regular bottleneck), but, it looks nifty.

Photo courtesy of 2beerguys.com

Sun Chips Compostable Bag

This bag has been the loudest chip bag….ever.  Sun Chips apparently did some market research and found out that others were annoyed with the loud bag and now they are making a “quieter compostable bag.”

Photo courtesy of greenseduction.com

Oster Wine Opener

I don’t know how “new” this is but it’s ergonomic design and ease of use is awesome.  It’s fairly cheap and it lights up fun colors when charging!

Photo courtesy of osterwineopener.org

So, what are new products or new innovations that you have found intriguing?

Or, what products do you think need new a new edge to them?

Photo courtesy of acouponchick.com

Along with thousands of others, I’m a broke college student.  Although I’m not a victim of the Top Ramen epidemic that surges through colleges everywhere every year, I still try to be cost conscious when buying food, shampoo, etc.  It’s hard to do because it seems like every time I need something, it’s not on sale anywhere and I end up paying full price for the item.  I thought this was just one of the “beauties” of retail…until this weekend.

While working at my part-time job at a retail store, I had the pleasure of seeing a woman’s $56 purchase go down to $16 after coupons.  She paid her $16 and, in addition, got above $16 back in in-store coupons that basically work the same as cash (you can use them on anything in the store).  I was in awe and she knew it.  She said that “couponing” is like having a second job.  I wondered how she managed to do this as sitting in the seat of her cart was a brand new, adorable baby.  Apparently she was also a mind reader because she immediately said that she heard about “this one website on The Nate Berkus Show.” She left the store saving oodles of money.  I was jealous.

Curious as to what “that one website” is, I did a little research and found out exactly what she was talking about.  So, without further adieu, I introduce to you thekrazycouponlady.com.  There are separate pages for each retailer although the list is a little limited.  It tells you what the store has the item on sale for, where to find coupons whether it be off the manufacturer’s website or the SmartSource coupon insert in the papers and then what the final price of the item is.  It also tells you if you will pay a small amount for the item, if it will be free or…..IF YOU WILL ACTUALLY MAKE MONEY OFF OF THE PURCHASE!!!

Some of the critics of this “couponing” are saying it’s only going to be a matter of time before coupons are eliminated altogether because of abuse and websites like these.  What are your thoughts?

Happy shopping and saving!

Last Thursday, Cory made the trek down to a place that I have called home for the past five years – UW-Whitewater. He spoke to a Public Relations Tactics II class taught by Ann Knabe about how he started in the marketing business and how Z2 came to be. He reiterated how important it is to never let anything stop you from achieving your dreams and how going through turmoil and hardship is sometimes a blessing in disguise.

Through some amazing photographs, including ones he took of Aaron Rodgers, C. Thomas Howell and a little girl named Emily, he showed students what inspires him to go to work every day. What he didn’t know, but had hoped for, was that he was inspiring UW-Whitewater students with every click of the mouse.

After Cory’s presentation, I hung around the classroom for a bit and was thrilled by what I was hearing from the students.

“He was so cool!”

“Definitely one of the best speakers that I’ve ever heard.”

“I really want to intern there.”

“He was so funny!”

And one girl, “I’m so jealous he got to meet Aaron Rodgers.” (So am I!)

These students may have walked out of the classroom feeling inspired, but the biggest change that Cory made in those students was having one student by the name of Brendan, change his minor in public relations to a major in public relations that very same day. I also left the classroom inspired and that feeling of “I am definitely in the right industry” and all fluttery-in-the-stomach about public relations and marketing, came back to me. Not to mention the fact that I am extremely grateful to be interning at such an amazing place as Z2.