I enjoy all aspects of television. I like thinking about what went into the writing and how a plot comes together while incorporating dramatic moments that coincide with commercial breaks. I also love soundtracks. I know enough about music in general, but you probably wouldn't quite classify me as a big music guy. However to me, the music is as important to a scene or story as almost any other element. I like the way television and film try to make people feel a certain way, and often succeed. Before going on too much of a tangent, my point has been made about how much I enjoy and appreciate the craft of television production. I like it so much, that it sometimes bothers me to be unable to check out a new show or follow through with a series that I've seen a few episodes of and liked because there's just not enough time to invest in it. That's the thing though, I think the time might be there if I really wanted to work it in. So if I'm really honest with myself, this might actually be a little more psychological.

   I almost feel like a fraud calling myself a television enthusiast when I have never seen an episode of 24, Sons of Anarchy or The Wire. I mention those three examples specifically because I actually have the first season of those three shows sitting on my DVD shelf just waiting to be watched, lent to me by friends that thought I would love them. Not only would I love them, but it might even quench my thirst for a show I had once loved and lost. Pun intended. Yet despite having three quality shows to choose from at my disposal, I find myself flipping through channels and getting stuck on Super Nanny or Hoarders: Buried Alive. Or take last night for example, when I couldn't get to sleep I decided to watch the pilot episode of Terra Nova on my phone while I was in bed. 'What in the world are you doing?', I thought to myself. Not only was it getting late, but I knew I already made plans for this weekend to start watching The Wire and catch up on the new J.J. Abrams series, Alcatraz. So I basically committed to following another two shows already assuming they're as good as I have heard they are and could be. Yet here I am, wanting to get sucked in to a show that as far as I was aware, involved an island, dinosaurs and time travel, but that's all I knew. All of the sudden I am apparently very ambitious about watching all of the shows I've wanted to start watching for a while, all at the same time, despite the fact that I have had years to start doing it.

   I guess the truth is now that I've committed myself to finally watching at least one of the shows I've been putting off forever, I am excited to get involved in a new serious show again and maybe that excitement has caused me to get a bit overzealous. Maybe I should wait on the Terra Nova and see how the network thinks its doing after it's first season. Even though I sort of knew I shouldn't, I would of course be attracted to Terra Nova for obvious reasons. As an avid, some might say obsessive LOST fan, I kept wanting to find the show that would satisfy my craving for more LOST and it seemed for a while that the networks were trying to pump out shows that were meant to do just that. I couldn't resist NBC's The Event, especially since it's pilot episode was so well timed with the ending of LOST. Unfortunately, I couldn't devote my attention to it enough to see it through to it's cancellation. It's not like all television was boring or couldn't live up to LOST, I just watched more comedy while all the networks tried to do something to pull in all of those LOST fans that felt a void in their television watching lives. When I think about it now though, maybe I wasn't in the mood for another serious drama at that time even though I sure was trying to convince myself that I was. Apparently I wasn't very persuasive since I knew I had three quality dramas right there in front of me, yet I never watched an episode of any of them. 

I think I am fully ready now. There won't be another LOST and I don't think I want there to be. I loved it, it was great while it lasted but I almost feel as though I am going to want to reject anything that attempts to recreate or replicate LOST's magic. To be honest, that's actually the reason why I was initially a bit apprehensive about Alcatraz seeing as all I really know about it is that some weird, creepy, potentially supernatural stuff happens in a scary, legendary prison with a nod to Jorge Garcia as an obvious lure for thirsty LOST fans as he will be again working with LOST creator J.J. Abrams. I'll go into it with an open mind, especially since I also recently found out that it features a soundtrack composed by the extremely talented Michael Giacchino, whom is also responsible for the LOST soundtrack. OK so I guess I am sort of taking the bait on Alcatraz, but at least I know that if I don't love it I am ready to dive head first into shows that are critically acclaimed and have already been tested and proven over time. After all, there must be a good reason why I've seen a few of these 'Jack Bauer 2012' promotional bumper stickers around.  

          Well nation, I have some dire news to share with you. If you haven't already heard, the great Stephen Colbert has called off his exploratory committee and will not be running for president in 2012. This news came as a shock to a lot of people earlier this week. Even more shocking is the fact that his good friend Jon Stewart, refuses to relinquish control of the Colbert Super P.A.C. back to Stephen. This of course has Stephen outraged. How dare Jon hold his money hostage!

          For those of you not in the "know", this has been a running theme on the Colbert Report, which is Stephen's television show. He has been poking fun at a controversial ruling by the Supreme Court called "Citizen's United", which essentially states that corporations are people and are protected by the First Amendment, and therefore can supply unlimited amount of money to campaigns, with little to no regulation or accountability. Hearing this, Colbert decided to capitalize on the idea and form his own PAC (Political Action Committee). At first he was not allowed to because of his affiliation with Viacom and by proxy, FOX and NewsCorp. But, when there's a will, there's a way! Colbert was able to submit for a Super PAC to congress, which after scrutinizing review, they had to allow it to him. He can now collect UNLIMITED amounts of money from anyone or anything, and use it to make advertisements that can be in support or against any candidate, as long as the candidates are not coordinating with the PAC. He named it the "Colbert Super PAC"

          Anyone was allowed to donate to the PAC, and many did. Those that did, have their name displayed on a running scroll at the bottom of the television screen during the Colbert Report. You also could donate by buying a promotional t-shirt on the Colbert Super PAC website. The shirt states the disgust turtles have over peanut butter, which references a joke on his show. The PAC was making good money, and then began making commercials about the candidates. The PAC had so loyalty to any one candidate at the time, so the commercials would bash any candidate or political issue available. They were funny, and he began getting attention for it. What he was doing was allowing most people to understand how this fairly new political system works. He was  doing it in a comical way, but he was also using the same techniques that the politicians are using right now.

          Then about a month ago, Public Policy Polling released a poll that was taken on their website, saying that Colbert would beat out Jon Huntsman in the South Carolina Primary. With news that enticing, Colbert just couldn't pass this up. He announced on his show that he was going to set up an exploratory committee to run for President of the United States of South Carolina, playing off of the significance of the primary in that state.  However there were two obstacles he had to tackle. One was the fact that he cannot be a candidate and run a Super PAC. Second, was the fact that the deadline to put your name on the ballot had passed. How does he get around this?

          Well folks, Colbert is a smart man. First, he transferred ownership of the PAC to his friend and host of the Daily Show, Jon Stewart. Now that Jon is in control, he can collect money and use the money to make ads in support of Colbert, and against the other candidates. Now on to his other issue, the ballot. The ballot for the South Carolina primary was already locked, meaning that he could not get on it. It also meant that people who are already on it couldn't get off of it, including people who have dropped out of the race like Michelle Bachmann or Herman Cain. So his plan, as he announced on his show, was to state that if you vote for Herman Cain, it will be counted as vote for Colbert. This was followed by advertising blitz airing commercials about how a vote for Herman Cain is a vote for Colbert. If there were enough votes for Cain, that would be enough evidence for his exploratory committee to put Colbert's foot in the race.

          As quickly as the primary comes, it finishes, and the votes get counted over the weekend. It is revealed on that Monday Newt Gingrich is the winner. Herman Cain only gets one percent of the vote. With news that grim, Colbert reluctantly calls off the exploratory committee and announces that he will no longer be seeking his run for the presidency. On top of all this, he goes to his friend and ask for control of the Super PAC, and Jon turns him down. He is too busy living the good life with all the PAC money, and is in no rush to be giving it up. Now what is Colbert to do? He can't seem to catch a break. Also, what am I going to do with the all the promotional t-shirts, promotional buttons, and promotional bumpers stickers I bought supporting his run?

   So if you've been following along, part one talks mainly about Jeff Lewis' new series because I am very intrigued by the fact that in addition to his typical antics on Flipping Out, he will now be acting as personal therapist to his interior design clients as well. Part two talks mainly about three shows that Bravo is calling new. In fairness, they are 'never before seen shows' but in spite of that, I still feel like I have seen them before because of their similar content or concept. Here in part three, I intend to come full circle with my initial assessment of Bravo's 2012 television lineup and talk about the shows that seem to be the most interesting to me. Two of them are truly brand new, nothing like it has aired on television before and each of them seem exciting or at least interesting enough to tune in for. Then there is a third show that I believe will be very good, but oddly enough, Bravo has it listed as a returning series even though it seems newer in concept than some of the previously mentioned shows that are being billed as new series' but seem like they've been done before.

   To be fair, this show does sort of fall under the House Hunters / House Hunters International thing. Or even similar to how Selling Los Angeles and Selling New York compare to one another. Essentially they are the same show filmed in a different location. It just so happens that location has almost everything to do with those shows, so while it does make sense that they are promoted as new or different from each other, the concept is exactly the same. 

   Tabitha Takes Over is one of Bravo's 'new' shows, and I go out of the way to call this new even though Bravo calls it 'returning' because in my opinion, it varies from her original Bravo series, Tabatha's Salon Takeover more than Love Broker varies from Millionaire Matchmaker even though Tabatha and a 'takeover' are common to both shows. Maybe I am just biased since I think Tabatha's Salon Takeover is interesting and enjoyable and I assume that this new installment will be more of the same. That being said, taking over and rejuvenating a restaurant or night club is quite different than taking over a new salon each week. In fact, this new concept reaches out to a broader audience because not every male is going to find it interesting to watch a salon get made over, but seeing the transformation of a restaurant's staff and space might tickle their fancy a bit more. I actually think that Tabatha and her advice to struggling business owners and their eventual turn in the right direction is appealing enough to watch regardless of the establishment. Therefore watching her try her hand (and likely succeed) at turning around businesses or stores that are outside of her hair salon expertise will be just as attractive as her original series. 

   Unlike anything we have seen from Bravo before, Ryan Seacrest's Shahs of Sunset should be intriguing and hopefully somewhat informative on the topic of how Persian-Americans balance their traditions and culture with the busy, demanding and sometimes chaotic lifestyles that are typical for working American families in Los Angeles. At the heart of it, this 'docu-series' will probably pan out as a typical reality show does, but it should be interesting and much more educational to the average American reality television show viewer because a majority
of them probably have very little awareness of how difficult it can be to maintain one's cultural traditions in a society that operates much differently than the one they grew up in.

   Finally, Around The World in 80 Plates is Bravo's new reality competition series and anyone that knows me knows that I love food-related shows, especially if they are based on competition. I also enjoy the work and personality of both hosts, Curtis Stone and Iron Chef Cat Cora. When first seeing the title of this series, it seemed to me that this show was going to involve the hosts eating and describing traditional, ethnic cuisine from various countries around the world. From seeing lots of shows similar to what I just described, I assumed there would be an interesting story to go along with each meal in each country and although I would give it a chance, it probably would have appeared in my prior post where I talked about all of Bravo's 'new' shows that look like shows that have already been done in some way. However, I was pleased to find out that this was not the case for Around The World in 80 Plates. Instead, from what I gather this show is more of an Amazing Race type series that involves cooking or eating along the journey. With that being the case, I expect to see plenty of promotional products being distributed in one form or another, so you imprinted giveaway enthusiasts will definitely want to be on the lookout for that. Bravo calls it one of the network's 'most ambitious productions to date' as it will 'follow 12 chefs as they compete in a culinary race across 10 countries in 44 days.' Sounds awesome to me! So unlike many of the other Bravo shows I've commented on, I will be setting my DVR for this one and look forward to seeing how this show puts a new twist on the cooking competition reality show.

   As I was writing what turned out to be part one of my thoughts on Bravo's 2012 TV lineup, I realized that although I had a substantial amount to say about Jeff Lewis and his new series, Interior Therapy, there isn't much to talk about when it comes to some of the other new series' that Bravo has green lit for the upcoming year. Perhaps it's because at least two of the 'new' shows seem like shows I have either seen or heard of already. Granted, I don't expect that Interior Therapy is going to be exponentially different than Jeff Lewis' prior series, but at least there is a major difference in the concept of the show.

   Whereas shows like Love Broker and Million Dollar Listing: New York, both set to premiere in March, seem too similar in concept to already existing series'. Love Broker is described by Bravo as a 'series that follows New York's most passionate matchmaker, Lori Zaslow, as she hits the streets of Manhattan searching tirelessly for soul mates for her clients.' Since at first I didn't realize that Lori Zaslow was in fact a different person than Patti Stanger (host of Bravo's Millionaire Matchmaker) I was about to go on a tear about how Love Broker and Millionaire Matchmaker were the exact same show with a different name, which really shows you how much I watched any of Patti Stanger's shows. 

   But even now that I am aware of the fact that there is a different host, I'm still not convinced that this show is all that much different than Millionaire Matchmaker anyway. I'm willing to bet that not everyone whom is featured on Love Broker is a millionaire and I suppose Millionaire Matchmaker was not limited to New York City residents as it seems Love Broker is, but if those are the only two differences, is there really that much of a difference? I know my view on this may be skewed because I am a male and should be chugging a bottle of Dr. Pepper Ten as I say this, but I can't even picture this being interesting to women. Is it really entertaining or satisfying to watch complete strangers get matched up with other complete strangers, especially without knowing if they even last longer than the filming of the show? To each, their own I suppose, but I certainly won't be tuning in to Love Broker to find out what the subtle differences are between it and Millionaire Matchmaker.

   Which leads me to the next 'new series' on Bravo's 2012 lineup; Million Dollar Listing: New York. Initially my biggest problem with this series is that it is being promoted as 'new'. Yes, technically it is new even though from the title alone we can probably expect the same type of show as the original Bravo series, Million Dollar Listing, only this time the series is based out of New York instead of Los Angeles. 

   I'll call myself out for being a bit picky here in my interpretation of 'new' because in reality, spinoff shows that feature an alternate location do make it different enough to warrant a new title. After all, HGTV's House Hunters International is only different than the original House Hunters because of the locations that the aspiring homeowners are looking in, yet I still enjoy both shows. Therefore, people that enjoy the original Million Dollar Listing are probably looking forward to this new installment of it, especially if they live in New York or are New York enthusiasts. I don't even have a problem with the fact that watching million- or billionaires look at real estate is very un-relatable to the typical viewer because hey, it's fun to dream big right? However after doing a little research to help prove my theory that these shows are too similar to one another or even Selling New York / Selling Los Angeles, I found that there is actually an additional twist that separates the concepts of these shows from one another. Unfortunately, that is where they started to lose me. Despite the fact that at first this seems like nothing more than another version of the original, apparently this new version of Million Dollar Listing will focus on the personal lives of the real estate agents as much as it focuses on the sales of the featured high-end properties. Joey Arak of curbed.com described the concept as being comparable to what a 'Real Housewives of Real Estate' show would be like. Joy. So I guess this is another new Bravo series that I probably won't be setting my DVR to record, but hopefully I helped to raise awareness for a show that is catered to those of you that enjoy both real estate and unnecessary, potentially secretly scripted drama.

   Finally, the last new Bravo series that feels like it's been done before is Kathy, sort of. Kathy premieres some time in spring of 2012 and is a one-hour talk show hosted by Kathy Griffin that will air once per week. To my knowledge, Kathy Griffin has never had her own talk show and there's probably a good reason for that. My intention here is not to hate on Kathy Griffin, but I'm not the biggest fan of hers and yet I still feel saturated with her. I know she has a fan base and two Emmy awards for her prior Bravo Series, Kathy Griffin: My life on the D-List, and I also know that there are much worse, more annoying celebrities out there. 

   I'll even admit that before I go on talking about how unexcited I am for her new show, I should probably give her Emmy award winning show a chance. But alas, as renowned as her previous show was, I just don't think it warrants her very own talk show. Griffin's success as a reality show star will not necessarily translate to being a successful talk show host. Not to mention, don't we have enough talk shows to choose from? Bravo itself has Watch What Happens Live! which is a rant for another day, but late night television in general has a plethora of talk shows to already choose from, some of which are being hosted by people that perhaps don't necessarily deserve that role either. The most amusing part of Kathy Griffin's talk show so far is the fact that Bravo describes it as 'unlike any other talk shows' because this one 'will be the destination to get Griffin's thoughts on everything pop culture as she rants on the week's biggest headlines and tabloid gossip.' So how it is unlike every other talk show? If I understand this correctly, the only difference is that every other talk show isn't hosted by Kathy Griffin, right? Because every other talk show I have ever seen also features a host that rants about pop culture and the other biggest headlines of the week. I guess if you want Kathy's perspective on things, you're looking forward to this new show. As for me, I'll be tuning into Bravo this season for the shows that I'll talk about in part three of my feelings on Bravo's 2012 television lineup.

   In the mean time, my advice for Bravo would be to focus on developing some more original content. You have to give Bravo credit where it is due for coming up with some of the most unique, entertaining and innovative shows to date, and I understand the strategy in producing programming that piggy-backs on the success of their former shows because they know that it worked in the past. Sometimes that strategy does in fact work, and I will talk about a show in part three that is a perfect example of that. I just feel that in most cases, I would rather see
more of Bravo's innovative show ideas that got them to where they are today, rather than a similar show with a different name.

   The Bravo network has certainly become a leading cable network over the past several years, boasting some of the most popular shows on recent television including the likes of Top Chef, America's Next Top Model, Project Runway, The Real Housewives series' and I would be remiss to leave out the show that many would argue was the catalyst in boosting the network's popularity and rise to what it is today; Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton. I can't say that I've watched all of those shows, and to me some of the programming on this network is just unwatchable but that's for another post, and hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion and whether you like it or hate it, Bravo is a major player in the cable television circuit and they're claiming that 2012 is going to be their biggest and best year yet. 

That remains to be seen, but since everyone is entitled to their opinions, here is part one of my initial reactions to Bravo's 2012 lineup of shows that includes the classics, some new series' and even some old show concepts with a new twist.

NEW SERIES (Old Show Concept With A Twist)

Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis (premieres Wednesday, March 14 at 9pm)

   Anyone familiar with Jeff Lewis has probably seen or heard of his original show, Flipping Out. Flipping Out is a clever play on Jeff's profession and his personality. He is a quirky, obsessive and demanding interior designer / project manager, often for celebrities or high end clientele. His personality at times seems like it would be hard to tolerate, let alone work for, but he does get the job done and as they say, "you can't argue with success". However, arguing is a fairly regular element of the show because he tends to melt down or 'flip out' during the process of 'flipping' or renovating a home or living space. 

   The people that work for him know how to deal with his attitude, his wants, needs and sometimes ridiculous demands, which is what makes the show somewhat entertaining. He is certainly an amplified version of most bosses and even borders on comparisons to rock stars that require a bowl of m&m's with all the brown ones removed in their dressing rooms. That being said, there are moments where the audience gets to see that deep down inside, Jeff Lewis seems like a good guy at heart and is if nothing else, loyal to those that help him maintain his success. All of that describes his original Bravo show, not his new upcoming series. I just felt that a proper back story and brief description of the reality star that is Jeff Lewis was necessary before talking about what we may see in the new show, Interior Therapy.

   According to Bravo's description, Interior Therapy follows Jeff Lewis as he 'takes over someone's home to redesign not only their space, but their lives. Jeff will observe the homeowners and diagnose their problems with the goal of improving them inside and out.' To this I say: RRrright. So in other words, it is more or less the same show as Flipping Out except this time, the man that seems to need the therapy himself is now for some reason qualified to observe and judge other people so that he can advise them on how they can improve their quality of life. Maybe he is a good mediator of problems amongst friends, colleagues or employees, but I am curious as to how he is going to find the time to counsel and advise people while still at the same time fully immersing himself in a home redesign project. Not to mention, it will definitely cut into the time he usually sets aside for sending his assistant out for food. In an early episode of Flipping Out he sent his assistant to pick up some lunch with these specific instructions for his beverage: "Ideally, 70% lemonade, 20% punch, 10% Sprite. If they don't have fruit punch, do like 85% lemonade and 15% Sprite. If they don't have lemonade, do 85% punch and 15% Sprite... or 7UP." With requests such as these, Jeff Lewis would be wise to provide all of his staff with custom note jotters to help keep track of the detailed and often ridiculous direction that he dictates to them. As far as I am concerned, this show will probably end up ranking slightly higher than most other reality shows (which isn't saying much) simply because the shock value of Jeff's behavior and his obsessive, perfectionist demands can be mildly entertaining as it is, but with the additional task of now also playing therapist to his clients can only add additional stress, which will likely result in more melt downs or 'flip outs'. But if you're not into watching employees get tormented by a borderline crazy person, you might just want to check out the show to see what Daniel Tosh will look and sound like in twenty years. I know it sounds weird but trust me, anytime I've seen Jeff Lewis on television, it feels like I am looking into the future. 

          We are midway through January here in New York when we finally get our first real blast of winter weather. We have been spoiled so far with relatively mild weather up until this week, where we finally had temperatures in the mid 20's to low teens. It is usually at this time when we pine for the warmer weather. Where we look for a beach break, and Corona has the answer.

          We all have seen the commercials for Corona beer. They are very simple, yet very effective. It just involves a guy and a girl, whose faces you never see, just sitting on the beach in their promotional chairs, enjoying an ice cold Corona. Recently, they have taken the commercials a step further, by using people in social situations being "taken" to their beach once they grab the Corona. These commercials send a clear message: "Drink our beer, and feel like you are in a tropical paradise." However, with the use of promotional products and social media such as Facebook, they have taken their ad campaign one step further by introducing a contest aptly called "Corona Beach Break".

          The concept of the contest is pretty simple. On Corona's Facebook page is the tab for the Beach Break. Each week, Corona puts up challenges that the participants must complete. The challenges either involve "checking in" at a particular location, taking and uploading a picture doing whatever Corona describes, or creating an event through Facebook that pertains to the guidelines set by Corona. Every time you complete a challenge, you earn points, which can be redeemed for Corona branded promotional products or prizes. The prizes range from promotional keychains, promotional luggage tags, promotional bottle openers, promotional cups and mugs, and promotional apparel, to more high end items such as kayaks and vacations. The contest is simple to compete in, and Corona went as far as to make an app for smart phones so you can "play on the go."

          The simplicity of this contest is what makes it engaging. I have been playing this for a little while now, and I have accrued a good amount of points. My goal is to win the sailboat, but I have enough right now for the kayak. Since the prizes are all promotional products that have Corona's logo, it's a great way to advertise the brand without the participant realizing it. Integrating the contest with Facebook allows the brand to stay in contact with its consumers, as well as grow the fan base with the contest as bait to their page. They stand to gain a lot of useful information to help market their brand, while rewarding loyal customers. Corona has come up with a great concept and has executed it beautifully.

          With the climate of the economy being the way it is for the past few years, advertising campaigns are as important as ever. Shoppers have a limited amount of money, so it's the sellers job to convince the buyer to buy their product. One very successful ad campaign is for Dos Equis beer, and it's about "The Most Interesting Man in the World".

           The commercials would show a distinguished man performing outrageous acts and amazing feats, along with catchy lines like "He has won trophies for his game face alone". All commercials would end with his classic catch phrase "I don't alway's drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis. Stay thirsty my friends." Not only are they hysterical and catchy, but they give the beer a more debonair look. Also, it's working. The year following the economy crashing, beer sales either fell or stayed flat for most major brands like Budwesier, however sales of Dos Equis kept rising, by 22% to be precise. That is a huge impact. Trying to capitalize on the sudden interest in the beer, Dos Equis took one step further with Facebook in 2009, where they launched one of their most successful contests ever, The Most Interesting Academy in the World, and I was one of its Most Interesting Apprentices.

          The Most Interesting Man in the World announced through Facebook, the grand opening of the Most Interesting Academy in the World. He also announced that there were seven openings up for grabs. So I click the link provided and it takes me to this very prestigious looking website. I create my account to log in, and begin reading about the academy and then about the contest. Throughout the summer, they will be creating classes that you must take. They consist of a brief lesson, followed by a test (a game) that you must take. You are allowed to take these classes as many times as you want. These classes go over subjects like "Circumnavigating the Globe" to "the Eclectic Arts", and even have a lesson taught by honorary professor Bear Grylls. The lessons were entertaining, and the games were addicting. At the end of the semester (September), the classes had ended, and you were given a final exam based on what you learned throughout the summer. The test consisted of forty multiple choice questions based on the lessons, followed by an essay question explaining why you would be a good fit for the Apprenticeship. Your prize, should you win, is a bunch of Dos Equis gear to aid you in your adventure, a spot in the Most Interesting Show in the World where your apprenticeship will take a place, and a year supply of Dos Equis. This contest is a great way to keep your consumer connected. They are forced to follow your site for months, keeping them engaged in your brand with the hopes of winning a grand prize that you as a seller can market and publicize. It worked so well that it even sucked me in... and I won! Woohoo!!!

          Shortly after being notified that I was one of the seven chosen, I received a prize pack and a letter from The Most Interesting Man. In the letter, he states what my upcoming tasks will entail. I must prepare myself soon because by November 12, a limo will pick me up and take me into Manhattan, where I will be put up at The W Hotel in Union Square for a couple nights and partake in an act at the Most Interesting Show in the World. The prize pack contained plenty of promotional items, such as a custom imprinted shirt, an imprinted journal with the map of the world printed on it, and a debossed leather custom messenger bag. They are all high quality items, and I am glad to see Dos Equis spared no expense. This shows an appreciation to any consumer that receives this. This will help keep them loyal to the brand.

          Around ten o'clock at night on November 12, a limo arrives at the front of my house to pick me up for my adventure. I arrive to my hotel (which was amazing), and after checking in and unpacking, I head out for a late meal courtesy of Dos Equis. The next day, there is a knock on my door from room service. There is a gift for me from Dos Equis, a lovely Smoking Jacket. It is beautiful and even has the Dos XX logo on the back in gold. It's very classy and I wear it often, even though I don't smoke.

          After a late breakfast and lunch, the time was approaching for my apprenticeship at the Most Interesting Show in the World. I head to the show a few hours ahead to meet with the some of the performers and get myself prepared for what's in store for me. I meet some of the performers, including the one I will be performing with. He goes by the name Mark "The Knife" Faje. He turns to me ask "So which act would like to be, the whip act or the knife act?" and without skipping a beat I exclaimed "The knife act!". My cue was to wait for the siren to finish singing because the next act would be me. So I hurry to the V.I.P. area to watch the show, sip my free drinks, and eat my free food.  I even got a set of promotional playing cards commemorating the event (see second picture). There was such as wide range of acts like a human slinky, a rope act over our heads, a romantic duo that shot arrows at each other, a beatbox goddess, the Siren, and of course, Mark "The Knife".

          As the siren was finishing up her beautiful singing, I made my way for the front of the stage. Mark comes out and graces the audience with his presence. He begins to wow us with his daredevil antics such as balancing a bowling ball that is on fire, on top of his head. After that, he takes a live scorpion and shoves it down his pants. I swear I am not making this up. He then has his assistant wheel out a red board that it six feet tall and about four feet wide. He then calls me up to the stage. He begins to explain to the audience "that this brave soul has volunteered himself for a dangerous act of knife throwing." He then had his assistant blindfold me and placed me against the upright board. Now what I didn't know, was that after I was blindfolded, Mark blindfolded himself, too. Don't forget he still has the scorpion in his pants. I brace myself as I began to hear a "THUD" near my feet, followed by another "THUD" near my hip. I hear a couple more knives bounce off the wall before several more "THUD's" near my head and back down my body. I then hear Mark shout out, "You may remove your blindfold now Dan!" I remove it and see Mark remove his. There were a few knives at my feet and plenty more in the board, making an outline of my body. I took my bow and left the stage, not before thanking Mark for a truly unforgettable experience. However, Mark was not done, yet.

          He then decides that he wants to make a salad. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, Mark wasn't going to make it simple. He brings out a lawn mower and calls me back on stage. He hands me and two other people a large bowl of lettuce. He then grabs the lawn mower, balances it on his chin, turns the lawn mower on, and tells us to begin throwing the heads of lettuce into the machine. It truly was an amazing sight. We must have gone through about a dozen heads of lettuce. There was chopped produce all over the stage!

          All in all, it was an "interesting" experience (pun definitely intended). I got to do interesting things, have interesting experiences, and meet interesting people. But more importantly, this shows you the value of the Dos Equis, and Most Interesting brand. This ad campaign is so powerful, that it spawned millions of followers who now enjoy and drink the beer. Plus, Dos Equis was smart enough to capture the momentum of their television ads, and coupled it with Facebook, to gain the most exposure, and create something that is recognized internationally. This is a perfect example of a perfectly executed ad campaign.

Now is this the end of my winning streak with Dos Equis? No way. To all the people out there in Internetland, stay tuned for when I share my adventure into The League of the Most Interesting.

  If you are interested in home, room or yard remodeling projects, or if you enjoy the intricasies and processes of purchasing, staging or selling property, HGTV is and has always been the best source of television programming for this type of content. Now that the obvious has been stated, I wanted to dive a little deeper into one of their shows that I recently caught a few episodes of and took an immediate liking to. The show is not only entertaining, but unique in its concept, which is no easy feat for a show on such a niche focused network. Property Brothers is a show in which a twin brother tandem named Jonathan and Drew Scott bring their respective talents in real estate sales and contracting to people that are looking to buy a new home.

   As I eluded to, HGTV has a plethora of shows that feature do-it-yourself and contracted renovations, and there are certainly several shows that document the journeys of people whom are looking for a different place to move into. Shows like House Hunters and Property Virgins are the most popular programs on the network that follow buyers to a few prospective listings, one of which they'll eventually decide to buy based on a number of factors including the location, budget, their wish list and how move-in ready the place is. It is interesting to see the price tags on all the different types of homes based on the style of the architecture, the market in that particular location and how updated the space and appliances are. As interesting as each of these types of show concepts may be, Property Brothers is a show that includes both home renovations and the property purchasing process, but it ties the two together in a unique way that has never been done before.

   The new home seekers are typically a couple that is looking to move out of their current place for a number of different reasons. Some need more space, some need less space, while some just want a place that is closer to their job. Regardless of their reason for moving, the common thread that all of these buyers tend to share is the fact that their wish list coupled with their desired location winds up being priced substantially higher than their max budget. But instead of the Scott brothers trying to verbally convince the buyers that they will be hard pressed to find a home within their budget in the location they want with the features they want, Drew (the real estate agent) finds listings that include all of their wants and needs regardless of their max budget. The brothers walk them through this home, showing them all of the features that they are looking for. Most of the time the couple wants something move-in ready and updated, so they are thrilled to see that the house they are viewing has everything they want and seems to be in great shape.

   Granite counter tops, a finished basement, a huge backyard, great location and all within their budget! Or is it? As you have probably guessed by now, not only is it over their budget, but by a significant margin, sometimes even doubling the maximum amount of money that the couple has to spend. The buyers assume that the real estate agent is taking them to a home that is within their spending limits, so when they see that the first house has everything they want, it is like a dream come true. But the bliss and excitement that the buyer is experiencing soon turns to crushing disappointment when they find out that what seemed too good to be true, actually was. This part of the show is borderline cruel when you have to watch a couple have their hopes of their dream home get shot down, especially in the deceiving fashion that it is done. Some couples even become angry, but this is in fact the most effective way for the brothers to begin their ultimate pitch.

   The idea is to show the buyer a realistic expectation for their future home within the budget they have available to them. This method, albeit seemingly a bit mean, definitely gets the point across. The brothers then bring the buyers to two more homes that are not only within their budget, but in most cases under budget. The problem is, the buyers are not enthusiastic about what they are being shown. The home within their price range is often run down, dirty, old, outdated and in some cases has very obvious issues that need to be addressed before they can even safely move into the house. As they move through these affordable options, Jonathan (the contractor) describes to them some of the renovations that can be done in order to turn the old run down house into their dream home. The problem is, most of the buyers have little faith and not enough imagination or trust to be convinced that these less expensive options can be transformed into the house that they ultimately desire. That's where state of the art computer generated imagery comes in to play. After seeing both options in the buyer's price range, the brothers sit down with the couple and show them how the existing space will look once they renovate it. Jonathan describes the work he will do and how much it would cost them, while Drew explains that the asking price of the house is low enough (and often negotiable) to leave the buyer with enough money to purchase the home, make the renovations and still wind up spending less than their original max budget. The computer generated images of what the home will look like when it is done not only baffles the buyer, but also goes a long way in convincing them that they can have their cake and eat it too.

   The rest of the show goes pretty much as you might expect. I have noticed that in almost every episode I've seen, there tends to be a snag in the original plan once Jonathan starts ripping up the walls and floors. The original homeowner either concealed problems without actually fixing them or they may come to find out that there is a structural, electrical or plumbing issue that costs the buyer more money than was planned for the renovation, which in most cases leads to a change to less expensive materials so that they don't have to compromise on the design transformation that they agreed upon when purchasing the house. I don't think I have ever seen a home renovation show in which the recipient wasn't happy with the outcome, kind of like how people are always happy to get something for free even if it's a cheap promotional giveaway, but despite the fact that there are never any unsatisfied people, you have to hand it to these guys for doing what they do so well and combining their skills to create beautiful custom dream homes for people within their budget as long as they're willing to put up with and sometimes even lend a hand with the renovation process.

After several weeks of watching House reruns because nothing else was on my DVR, I was super excited to see some of my shows had returned from the holiday break. Don't get me wrong, House reruns are great, especially since I didn't watch the show from the beginning so I have lots of catching up to do; it's just refreshing to see some new options available. I also like having half-hour shows that I can watch before going to sleep. They give me just enough time to unwind without pushing too far past my preferred bedtime. Anyway, back to the topic...

With Suburgatory, Modern Family and The Middle staring at me, I chose The Middle last night. It was, not to my surprise, a very cute episode about New Year's resolutions. Instead of making traditional resolutions, the family decided to pick resolutions for each other. The deal: if they all stuck to their resolutions for one week, they would go to an all-you-can-eat restaurant for dinner. Sold.

And they did it! I know I've said time and time again how much I enjoy the realistic image this show portrays, but I'll say it once more: no one sticks to resolutions for a whole year (well, I'm sure some people do but the vast majority of us give it a valiant effort for a period of time and then either little-by-little or abruptly give up), so I like that they chose one week.

I always like hearing what people choose for a New Year's resolution. I also think it's really interesting that people choose to change things starting January 1st. Because it's a new year? Does that mean you can't do it any other time? Eh, maybe I'm cynical, but I think it takes something more drastic than a change in the date to make any kind of significant change in your life. Anyone have New Year's resolutions they've stuck to?