About the other side of the tv… #TOTV #grammys

I had trouble keeping up with all of the social media this week. The truth is, after Grandmeré passed, I didn’t feel like blogging or tweeting. But, I realized that certain moments have to be captured. Here is one of the videos I shot for myself during Grammy rehearsals. It is short–only a moment. But it should give you some insight into what I was thinking as we built the stage for our performance.

This is closed captioning. Use your own moments and they will always be remembered exactly how you want them to be.

-George 2.0

Shepherd’s Words (Official Video)

Turn off the TV

I originally posted this last week, but to the tune of only 30 downloads because yousendit has a cap on the amount of downloads one can…well…download.

Here, enjoy and play for your kids.

TOTV (Pilot) [New Mix] <—TOTV

TOTV: I slept in an airport again.

Before jumping right into the ins and outs of how #TOTV was presented to the folks at the American Association of Advertising Agencies let me give you some back story on how worn out I was by the time I got to San Francisco.

(For those of you who have been wondering where I have been, I have been in the future. Helping to tie the strings on a project that will surely change your life.)

We’d just capped grueling week in production for the videos that accompany the two lead singles off of The ArchAndroid (May 18th) and had flown from Atlanta to New York where Jane Ripped the Runway. She was doing 2 and 3 photo shoots a day it seemed all while we were feverishly preparing for the Listening Experience playback of the album.  All the while I was preparing to explain to a room full of strangers how I had managed to qualify for the many hats I wear, simply by turning off the tv.

In what seemed like minutes after Rip the Runway in New York, I was due in San Fran for the 4a’s conference where we would be presenting TOTV to a focus group. Though it had been planned months and months in advance, getting there was a beast…leaving was…well…let’s just say I fell asleep at the gate in San Fran 40 minutes BEFORE my flight. I woke up, and Rodrigo was the only person in the airport and he didn’t speak English, he only spoke vacuum, the only thing he was concerned with. He didn’t even flinch as I woke up in despair screaming every word that you are not supposed to scream as a black man in an airport. Yeah, already 3 hours behind where I was supposed to be the following morning. Getting back was…painful.

Back to the conference and the presentation.

I landed, Benny scooped me and we met Lincoln for a “meeting”. It just so happened to be “Happy Hour” so we met a little longer than expected. (approx. an hour I think)

Our goal over the course of the almost 10 hours that I was slated to be in town, was to introduce as many folks as we could to the concept of Turn of the TV and to gain as many contacts and potential investors as was humanly possible. So immediately after our “meeting” we went upstairs to the “meeting hall” (read:open bar) where they were having yet another “meeting” already in progress.  There were tons of ad execs all circling around the bar and massage tables, talking shop, looking for the next big thing…and we were it. They just didn’t know it yet.

And as we turn the corner, looking for the perfect place to set up shop we see: THE YAHOO IDEA LOUNGE.

Benny starts pitching, Lincoln starts drawing, I start filming…and before you know it we are in “talks”. (fellas if you are reading this, let this be the subtle reminder to follow up, ya dig?)

Later, we met a gentleman who insisted that he’d not owned a television in 20 years and that his children know a world without it. I asked him to speak on #Laptape, but he declined. Though he did say he would scribble me an essay to be used in TOTV 2.

So we went to the venue where our event was to be held and began to loosen up for the presentation.

The emails received, the donations received, and the spike in San Fran based Twitter followers suggests that the event went really well. But I’ll let you be the judge. Stay tuned for video from the event! (Kenji shoot me over that raw footage so I can chop it)

Best,

2.0

*special thanks to the Marcus Graham Project.

Turn off the TV turns ON the radio and goes West!!

For those that might have missed it, didn’t know about it, or didn’t think the revolution would be on Blog Talk radio yesterday afternoon, here is a rebroadcast of me on The Drum Radio yesterday.

The Drum 2/21 – Turn Off The TV

Below is a flyer and press release for an event we are hosting in San Francisco next week. If you or anyone you know of in the Bay area wants to come out, be inspired, and meet a couple of Marcus Graham’s this is the event for you. It is a listening party/talkback based around my Sitcom Mixtape “Turn off the TV”.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Patsy Perkins
(917-214-8401)
patsypr@marcusgrahamproject.org

Movement inspired by Eddie Murphy Tells Ad Industry to “Turn Off The TV”

Grassroots Advertising Incubator Returns to National Conference to enlighten thought leaders on how a new generation is able to create their own content faster, cheaper and with greater cultural relevance.

On Tuesday March 2, a movement of the new school of culture creators, brand builders, thought leaders & social change agents goes to San Francisco again and this time with a message of media transformation.  Hosted by George 2.0, co-founder of grassroots organization The Marcus Graham Project, the event will take place immediately following a day-long series of discussions hosted by the 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies) during their annual leadership and media conference entitled Transformation 2010.  The event, entitled, Turn Off The TV, will be held from 6pm until 9pm at Eve Lounge located at 575 Howard Street in San Francisco and is named after a recently released project created by George 2.0.

Turn off the TV (TOTV) is a sitcom mix tape that suggests that anybody and everybody can do what they see on television, as long as they turn it off long enough to be proactive about chasing their dreams. As almost all of the music and videos inspired by the mix tape were developed, recorded, shot, and edited with a Laptop, cell phone, or an improvised audio/video device, TOTV is proof that artists of any age and skill level can produce competitive content with little to no resources.

The event will underscore the importance of supporting individuals and organizations that have minimal resources, but have amazing creating potential. The Marcus Graham Project is an emerging network that is strategically focused on building the next generation of diverse leadership in the advertising industry through mentorship, training & career development. “As we prepare to officially launch our organization, we are excited about returning to San Francisco to the 4A’s Leadership Conference as this is the location that we made our industry debut,” says Lincoln Stephens, founder of The Marcus Graham Project.  The program was named after a character that Eddie Murphy played in a 1992 movie entitled Boomerang.

The event will encourage attendees to the Transformation 2010 Conference to think about how they can transform their thinking and pursue their dreams all by turning off the TV.

In addition, the event will feature remarks by Jason Rosenthal, COO for Ning.com. Ning is the social platform for the world’s interests and passions online. Millions of people every day are coming together across Ning to explore and express their interests, discover new passions, and meet new people around shared pursuits.

To RSVP contact patsypr@marcusgrahamproject.org For more information on The Marcus Graham Project visit www.marcusgrahamproject.org

###

President Obama insists that we “Turn off the TV”

You bet your broadband this is going to show up as a sound byte in the TOTV2!

Turn off the TV has 35,000 hits–INTERNATIONALLY!!!

YOU should be number 35,001

I mean really it’s only $5

Go to this page and donate $5 or $10 to Turn off the TV. It’s for a good cause…

Music Monday

tune in and download the complete sitcom mixtape here!

2.0

Too much TV may mean earlier death??

Click here for the full article from CNN.com.

Kids try THIS at home.

I will not stop talking about Turn off the TV

I watch how rappers and singers go on talk shows and radio shows and tweet and in store and facebook and surprise appear and expose themselves for the week or so before and after the release of their album. I understand that there is often an advance to be paid back, a contract to be upheld, and a goal to attain. They need to sell records or their label will drop them, people will drop them, endorsements will disappear.

I don’t have that problem. I don’t have a label, no endorsement deal, and I surely ain’t seen no paaaaaarts of an advance. I, simply, believe in my art. I am giving this project in the present and for posterity to prove that I was alive and that I mattered to the culture. So for that reason I am going to be annoyingly persistent about promoting this project. Sure, I’d love for you all to donate $10-$20. But even if you don’t I am going to do this anyway, because I BELIEVE in this project. I know that it is good. I know that it is real and there is nothing wrong with making some noise about something you BELIEVE in.

Here is the first Channel that I released off the Sitcom Mixtape: the title track “Turn off the TV”

For the full TOTV experience go to georgetwopointoh.com

House votes to turn down volume of noisy TV ads

WASHINGTON — The House has voted to level off the abrupt spikes in volume felt by television viewers during commercial breaks.

The bill — approved by a voice vote — is aimed at stopping TV ads from playing noticeably louder than programs.

Supporters say the measure would alleviate a common irritation that leads consumers to scramble for the mute button as they watch their favorite shows.

The legislation requires the Federal Communications Commission to adopt guidelines developed by the TV industry.

Right now, the government doesn’t have much say in the volume of TV ads.

An identical measure has been introduced in the Senate.

Closed Captioning: “Same as it ever was.”

Television

by Roald Dahl

The most important thing we’ve learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set –
Or better still, just don’t install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we’ve been,
We’ve watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone’s place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they’re hypnotised by it,
Until they’re absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don’t climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink –
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK — HE ONLY SEES!
‘All right!’ you’ll cry. ‘All right!’ you’ll say,
‘But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!’
We’ll answer this by asking you,
‘What used the darling ones to do?
‘How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?’
Have you forgotten? Don’t you know?
We’ll say it very loud and slow:
THEY … USED … TO … READ! They’d READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching ’round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it’s Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There’s Mr. Rate and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They’ll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start — oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They’ll grow so keen
They’ll wonder what they’d ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.