Don Kowalewski
Writer. Ad Sales and Marketing. Social Media Content Creator. Aeropress Coffee. Makes the best salsa in the world.
Super Bowl Halftime Should Have a Pop-Up Video or Manning Cast Option
I’m old. Not really, but when it comes to modern hip-hop, I’m as old as my uncles were in 1985 when they would “beat box” at family gatherings and say, “that’s all rap is,” …and they’d make puh, puh, huff, huff sounds.
Kendrick Lamar is performing at halftime and I’m so out of the loop. I’m writing this on a Friday. I’m going to binge Kendrick Lamar all weekend in an attempt to appreciate his artistry and maybe I’ll recognize something on Sunday. I’ll watch a YouTube video or two that comes up when I search “why is Kendrick Lamar great” and “history of Kendrick Lamar.” Then I’ll ask AI to “give me a brief history of Kendrick Lamar and his career, summarize the story behind his top-5 streaming songs, and do it in less than 500 words.”
But what I really need is an alternative half-time viewing experience and, ideally, it would be a pop-up video. When he riffs a lyric and his fans go crazy, I’d like a quick pop-up that says, “this is in reference to his longtime girlfriend, (name-the-girlfriend) and her affair with (name-the-other-guy).” Or “this song is off his second album, released in YEAR, and it’s an anthem to famed SOMEONE who Kendrick credits for giving him his big break.” Read More
Signature Brands, Part 1: Shave Cream
My shaving life has been torture on my face and neck. When I started shaving, I think I used Barbasol. And for my teens and 20s, and into my 30s, my post-shave life was filled with acne, sensitive skin, razor burn and rashes. I tried the fancy stuff from the cologne brands. I tried bar soap. I tried just a basic lotion. I tried hot water soaked washcloths pre-shave, cold water post-shave, and electric razors. I was convinced my shaving-life was cursed to pain and suffering (well, discomfort more than “suffering”) and it was time to give up.
Then came Trader Joe’s and everything at Trader Joe’s is just a little friendlier – especially their shave lotion. Finally, I’d found a brand that didn’t immediately burn or irritate my skin and so, for about the past decade, I’ve been happily shaving with their stuff. I guess it wasn’t a money-maker or big seller, because late last year, Trader Joe’s discontinued it. Read More
The Top-10 Songs of all (My) Time, Part 3
It’s important to the world-at-large that I finish this project where I tell you my favorite ten songs of all time. Remember, these are my all-time favorite songs and was born of Rolling Stones‘s attempt to define the 100 Greatest Songs and 100 Greatest Albums of all time, which I believe is impossible. My full rationale is here. Impossible because your opinion, and my opinion, and my barber’s opinion …it’s all about “where you were when” and so no list can ever be right (or wrong).
If you were an 18-year-old college freshman in 1967 smoking your first doobie in your dorm room with a girl who you’ll eventually marry and raise a family with, and Bob Dylan was on the record player, well, chances are, Bob Dylan songs and albums will be in your top-10. If you were the future George and Lorraine McFly at the Under the Sea Dance in 1955 and you just punched your bully, Biff, and have your first kiss on the dance floor, then “Earth Angel”, The Penguin’s version of “Earth Angel”, is going to be in your top-10 and you’ll never appreciate Dylan. Read More
Mary Lou and the Cabbage Patch Kids
I’m writing this Blog entry on what would’ve been my Mom’s 79th birthday. Happy heavenly birthday, Mom.
My siblings and I are “80s Kids”. Born in the ’70s and grew-up in the ’80s. Star Wars. GI Joe. MTV. After school specials. The Cosby Show. Miami Vice. Break Dancing. Atari.
My generation, and the ’80s, are defined by pop-culture and fads. And nothing is more early-1980s than Cabbage Patch Kids.
Before social media, somehow, fads happened. Some fads were obvious, like Star Wars action figures or anything born from the characters on Saturday morning cartoons. Other fads were driven by shopping mall culture which, by virtue of a thing being in stores (Jordache jeans, parachute pants, Member’s Only jackets), became a fad. Read More
I Want In-Ear Communication Devices (A Review of Back in Action on Netflix)
I’m not a movie snob. I’m a proud member of the “mass” part of “the masses” and “mass media and entertainment.” So when Netlflix drops a movie with Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx and tells me that movie has fighting, guns, and explosions and at least one funny moment in the preview, I’m in.
This wasn’t a cinematic masterpiece and I wasn’t expecting it to be. The jokes were funny. It was predictable with a small twist on the secret-past plotline. Lots of action and John Wick-esque fight scenes. There’s a double cross and another cross (a triple cross).
4 out 5 Hoorays on Don’s Hooray-O-Meter.
For me, however, the most interesting thing were the miniature in-ear communicators – something quickly becoming my favorite Hollywood cliché. I love them and I want some. Read More
Let’s Stop Using Hypophora (If You’re Not Going to Use it Correctly)
In 2025, let’s stop using hypophora in speaking and writing – unless you do it correctly.
See what I did there? I wrote a clear, concise statement of opinion.
Too many people, in real life, are using hypophora or anthypophora – figures of speech in which the speaker poses a question and then answers the question – in weak and unnecessary ways. Further, way too many “professionals” on radio, television, and especially Podcasts use hypophora to such an extent, it sounds like word-salad and makes it hard for the listener. Which is me.
This next paragraph begins with hypophora, but done correctly.
Can hypophora be clever and useful?? According to Ultius, a writing website, hypophora can enable the speaker or writer to anticipate the listeners’ concerns and then address them within the context of the speech or written piece. Read More
Commercial Critique: Discover Card
I’m a stickler for a good commercial. I overanalyze commercials. Probably because I consider myself part of the “advertising community”. The latest commercial I’ve noticed is from Discover Card and features Matt Leinart. In this ad, a guy (a Dad/dude) notices he’s standing next to Matt Leinart and then notices they both are using a Discover Card. The guy calls “twinsies” and embarrasses himself in a series of Matt Leinart run-ins. Fairly ridiculous, but “ridiculous” can be good in a commercial. However, I think this commercial was trying to be clever and funny instead of “ridiculous.”
This Discover Card commercial is good because I noticed it and remembered it. Points for that. This commercial is bad because of a plot device used to have the Dad/dude notice Matt Leinart and Matt Leinart’s Discover Card.
The dude’s pre-teen (or teenaged) daughter notices and points out Matt Leinart. Read More
Give to Caesar What is Caesar’s
If you were giving me a letter grade on my understanding, reading, and quoting of The Bible, I’m probably a C+ student at best. In fact, when it comes to paying attention in Church, I probably deserve a C there, too.
But when I pay attention, I really pay attention and there’s a Gospel I like and think about often. It’s a great lesson in time management and how you spend your time. Which I know is not Jesus’ intended message, but let me explain.
In Matthew 22:21, the Pharisees asked Jesus what they thought was a trick question or, as we say these days, a “gotcha moment.” They asked Jesus if it was OK to pay taxes to Caesar and waited for him to say “yes” or “no.” If Jesus said “yes”, they’d say he wasn’t loyal to his fellow Jewish people and he’d start to lose his followers. And if he said “no” then they could show him as treasonous against Rome. Read More
My Wife Won Christmas 2024 – And I’m Officially Surrendering
They key to a happy marriage is having an intense rivalry with your spouse. Happy couples should always be tracking who does more around the house, who garners more love and admiration from their children, and other markers like “who remembers more things” and “who had a higher ACT score back in 1990” (for what it’s worth, it was me in the context of my marriage).
Kathy and I have each been in the winner’s circle on various things, and one of our biggest battles is the one-upmanship of who “wins Christmas” or who “wins Mother’s Day/Father’s Day”. But mostly it’s about who “wins Christmas.”
The problem is, Kathy is an incredible gift-giver. She listens. She watches. And she hasn’t bought something from my Stuff I Want List in years. She doesn’t need a list. Kathy has her own ideas and she absolutely nails it every time. She has, like, a 100% success rate. I can’t remember a gift from Kathy that I didn’t like or that I wanted to exchange or return. She’s really good at it. Read More
The 2024 Christmas Card Letter
I love getting Christmas cards.
I appreciate the generic. It’s nice to know someone thinks enough of me to address an envelope and write a little something, even if just “Miss you” or “Let’s get together in the new year.”
I really like cards with pictures of my friends and family. It means they poured over photos that represent a near-perfect moment from the past year, and then also that I mean enough to that person that they sent me a card.
Extra points if the cards are addressed by hand.
But I love, love a good Christmas card letter. Always have. Done correctly, the Christmas card letter is like a mini newsletter updating me on everything with the sender’s family and their year. It was Facebook before there was Facebook. Read More
Don Kowalewski 