Best Product Placements on Videos...

I am running out of things to blog since I haven't really bought much this year thanks to being coped up most weekends in the apartment doing homework and not being able to watch TV (maybe I should stop watching TV altogether! Think of how much $$ would I save from not watching product placements!)

So, I thought about what to blog tonight and I came up with instead of what is shown on TV, how about movies? I am going to list three top product placement in movies.

# 3 would be: It was a toss up between Runaway Bride or Castaway but I chose Runaway Bride since it featured FedEx. What I love about this part is when one of the characters said, wherever it is, she will be there tomorrow morning at 10:30AM. Brilliant!



Number #2: Défilé du 8e Battalion. I picked this one because it really shows how consumerism transcends our generation and did not start in the 80's like a lot of people think.

Product placement originates back to its film debut in the 1800's. In the film titled "Défilé du 8e Battalion" (Girel, 1896), a wheelbarrow displaying the Sunlight Soap logo and accompanied by a tuxedoed Lavanchy —Clarke, is placed in the foreground between the camera and the parade. The business of product placement had begun.



And the Number #1 goes to (drumroll please) You've Got Mail.

In its first ten minutes, "You've Got Mail" covers probably half its budget with unabashed product placements.

The fact that the movie pimps America Online was a given -- this internet-inspired remake of "The Shop Around the Corner" has no cute catch without it. But when Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks conspicuously frequent Starbucks (five or six times in the course of the movie) and make purchases with Visa cards they shamelessly flash in the camera, it's enough to make one stop watching the movie and ask aloud why Warner Bros. still wants my eight bucks.

Dreaming of Manolo Blahnik...

When Carrie Bradshaw, the shoe-loving central character of the HBO TV series Sex And The City, took a wrong turn after lunch in SoHo she found herself on one of New York’s grungier side streets and face-to-face with a mugger. “Please sir,” she pleaded. “You can take my Fendi baguette, you can take my ring and my watch, but don’t take my Manolo Blahniks.”

Unfortunately for Carrie, the mugger did just that and ran off with her favourite pair of strappy sandals. Thanks in part to Sex And The City Manolo Blahnik has become one of the handful of designers whose name is synonymous with their product. In his case it is his Christian name, because “Manolo” is now used as slang to describe very expensive, very beautiful shoes: even by the millions of people who have never actually seen a pair of Manolo Blahniks and could not dream of spending $300 or $400 to buy them.

Well, before Sex and the City, I have never heard of Manolo...but I quickly fell in love with these pair of shoes Carrie was wearing on Sex and the City above. I then found out what shoes they were and that is how I heard about Manolo Blahniks!

They are so expensive but they make you feel so gorgeous. You put on high heels and you change," says Blahnik. This philosophy perhaps explains why so many of Manolo's signature styles feature frighteningly high heels. Manolo devotees know that the higher the heel, the longer the leg and the more flattering the style.

Someday when I am rich, I may buy a pair of Manolo, but in the meantime, I will keep dreaming about them.

I want That! Kitchen

Another show I absolutely love is I want That! Kitchen, which is the ultimate go-to guide for insider information and seak previews of the next big thing in kitchen. I was watching one show a few weeks ago, and they were doing a feature on Kyocera ceramic knives.

I remember it went along this line-Imagine cutlery that goes months--even years without sharpening. This line of cutlery from Kyocera is made from a material called zirconium oxide. It's almost as hard as diamonds and can slice through nearly anything. They're perfect for prep tasks such as chopping veggies, fruits or boneless meats. Unlike metal blades, you don't have to sharpen these blades very often. Forged metal blades are soft and susceptible to chemical corrosion, and over time, the edges get nicked and pitted. Kyocera's zirconium oxide blades resist wear and will hold its edge for months to years without sharpening.

I hear that all the times but what really convinced me was when this caterer was using it for the first time. She looks so skepical about using a ceramic knives but she went ahead and used it for one day. She had a bunch of asparagus still held together in a rubber band and without taking the vegetable apart for easier chopping, she cut through the whole bunch without any problems. She said, "Wow! It is like cutting through butter!" (I have enclosed a video below to show what I mean) I knew I have to get this. I do so much cooking and I am constantly having my knives sharpened and I am constantly complaining how hard it is to cut through something thick at times. But when I saw this caterer cutting through that THICK asparagus, I was amazed and I knew it would be the perfect knife to use.

I still haven't ordered it yet, I am waiting for the price to go down a bit before buying it! I will be sure to post a blog to let you know how I like it!

Phantom Gourmet...

I am a big foodie, there is nothing better than good quality food. (must be the Italian in me!) You could call me a food snob, since I refuse to eat anything out of a can with the exception of tomato sauce and eat any frozen dinner. When I go out to dinner, I expect the food to be exceptional.

I have this favorite TV show that I try to watch when I am at home on Saturday morning between 11AM and 12PM (not very often since I am out and about doing errands and chores or doing homework!) It is called the Phantom Gourmet.

A little bit about The Phantom Gourmet Television Show:
The Phantom Gourmet's first television broadcast was on June 26, 1993. The Phantom Gourmet quickly developed a cult following, winning 'Best Talk Show' from Boston Magazine in 1994, and it's now the most recognized name in the region for restaurant reviews and food information. In September 2003, Phantom Gourmet, Inc. signed a deal with Viacom, bringing the Phantom Gourmet program to UPN38 Saturdays and Sundays from 11am-12noon. In addition, Phantom's 'Restaurant Report Card' segments air regularly on CBS 4 News at 4:30pm and UPN38's Nightcast at 10pm.

According to the website the Phantom "pays his own way" and dines under a disguise to give the most trustworthy restaurant reviews the company can possibly give to their viewers. This is done because the producers believe that recognizable critics are given special service above what average customers receive, whereas concealing the Phantom's identity allows him a more accurate representation of what other customers experience. To this end, the Phantom Gourmet staff refuse to disclose the Phantom's name to the general public. The only clues that have been given are that he doesn't live in Boston or Providence and it has been stated that the Phantom is not an Andelman. On the June 3, 2006 show, host Dan Andelman conducted an interview with the Phantom, whose voice and identity were altered. They revealed that the Phantom's favorite food is pizza, and also that, despite the show's use of "he" to refer to the critic, the Phantom could still be a woman.

I love this show because it is all about the restaurants in New England, mostly in Boston area, where I live. My boyfriend and I absolutely love going out on a "date" on a weekly basis and we try to go to a new restaurant that we haven't experience at least once a month.

We tend to pick out the new and some old favorites from the this show. We both live in Waltham, and there are at least 100 restaurants on Moody Street and whenever Phantom Gourmet raves about one of the restaurants, we head on down there.

Some we have been to thanks to Phantom Gourmet are:

Bison County -the BEST BBQ ever around here
Carl's Steak Subs - just like being in Philly!
Taqueria Mexico - OMG, this is the BEST mexican food on this side of USA
Lizzy's Homemade Ice Cream -so sinfully good....

This whole show is just a product placements. Whenever the "Phantom" raves about it, I am practically jumping up and down and writing down the places that we have to go.

How to be a Domestic Goddess

First thing first, a little about me. I am a domestic goddess. My idol is Martha Stewart. I absolutely love to cook, bake, clean and just doing domestic things. I am obsessed with cleaniness.

The other night I was watching Home Show 2008 and I came across this:



I literally jumped off the couch, shrieking how I must absolutely have this! It was late at night so I couldn't just drive to my nearest Target to pick this one up. I couldn't sleep in excitement of having this divine mini vacuum cleaner and how it was going to make my life so much easier, not having to drag this heavy vacuum cleaner around just to use the little beater.

The next day, I went shopping and got this most beautiful Dirt Devil Kone in Charcoal Black. After having to wait 4 agonizing hours for it to be charged, I was able to use it! I went nuts with it and I am so in love with it. So in love with it that I wanted to take it to bed with me like a teddy bear. Unfortunately, my boyfriend wouldn't allow it! :)

Flowers on my Wall...

Back in 2006, I came across this amazing wallpaper (on left) in Domino's Magazine. I fell in love with it. Below right, from Domino's archives is another glimpse of the wallpapered bedroom photographed by Gemma Comas. I did think it was way too much, over the top by having all of the the walls covered with this wallpaper. I thought it would be totally cool to have it on just one wall, have "fake" frame around it. But unfortunately for me, I live in an apartment where I absolutely cannot have wallpaper, let alone paint my walls!


Since I couldn't make any changes to my walls, I quickly forgotten all about it until I saw it again on Donald Trump's TV show, Apprentice 4. I saw it in a frame, rather than on the walls. I thought it was absolutely brilliant! I could easily just do that, frame the gorgeous wallpaper, rather than pasting it on a wall! I knew right there and then, I had to have it!


Luckily for me, I got all of the information from the the show's website (It is Clarence House's "Flowering Quince") but one thing was against me, I couldn't just buy it from Clarence House, I had to buy it through decorators or through a wallpaper store that sells Clarence House. I spent the next 4 months trying to find this wallpaper, I was bent on having this!


Thanks to my fabulous sister, who works in NYC, and knew a lot of people was able to track down this wallpaper for me. She got it for me as an early Christmas present! I was so excited about the wallpaper but sadly, I didn't have the right frame that I wanted.


But about one month later, I went to Jordan's Furniture and came across this really ugly white frame with an ugly picture in it but it was the perfect size and the price couldn't be beat! I got my father involved and together we were able to rip the picture out and replace it with the wallpaper of my dream. I spray painted it textured black. My father and I got it all back together and it has a great home right in my Asian inspired living room (see below). I absolutely love it!

CSI: Obsession

I was just thinking about CSI: Las Vegas this morning and I realized one thing. That whole show is a product placement itself! How could this be, you may ask...

It is odd but they have products for consumers from this hit show such as:
Forensic Science Kit
Crime Scene Drawing Template
Forensic Light Kit
Lanyard
CSI Board Games
Books
And even clothes

I actually have read some of the books such as Mortal Wounds and CSI: Snake Eyes.

I have a computer game on CSI: Las Vegas, in which I have beaten in two days about 4 years ago. I still have this game (see right), and I refused to throw it out because I am hoping that I would forget how the crimes were solved so I can play it again in the near future! :)

I realized that I have an obsession when I found about CSI Interactive Exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston in November and December. There were advertisiment for it all on the flags near the Museum of Science and I walk by the museum everyday on my way to work and back to the station. I quickly googled the exhibition as soon as I saw the advertisement. I learned all about the exhibition on this website:


http://www.csitheexperience.org/index.html


I couldn't wait to see if I have what it takes to be an crime scene investigator! Not even one week after the opening of the exhibition, I dragged my boyfriend and paid a fortune to participate in this exhibition. After a mere 80 minutes going through the exhibition, I was so disappointed because I felt it was way too easy and I felt like it was NOT worth 25 dollars!

Due to the major disappointment of the exhibition, I will not be buying any other CSI games or participate any other events for CSI. (Unless it is free)

Even the poor experience could not deter my love for CSI: Las Vegas TV show. I have been watching this show since that very first episode. I will continue to watch it until the end of the show!