Philadelphia, PA 19147

Ellen Ridyard, Diner

Is culture enough

plz tell me it can be. even if yr poor, but want to be comfortable too

KRISTEN STEWART'S STUNNING NEW LOOK mk. 2

Big ups to Oh! It's Max!


You crazy fo this one, Max!

Don't Forget to Cruise Ahead An Hour!

Kristen Stewart's Stunning New Dress

Special Blog Review

Recently, I was lucky enough to discover a very special blog: Letters To Look Forward To. The blogstress is a girl named Lisa. AT&T has released a PSA for their customers not to drive and text. Lisa makes a good case for Blogspot to roll out a similar campaign, Don't Drink & Blog. Let's take a look at one of her masterfully crafted entries:

D R U N K

Entries on LTLFT, like the one addressed to ABC Lost star, Matthew Fox, are usually open letters to public figures, like CEO's, comedy writers, indie rockers, serial killers, and sometimes the anonymous internet citizen. The tone of the missives range from backhanded compliment to flat-out insult. The hook--if you will--is often a plea for a concert ticket gift.

Lisa cuts to the chase in her panhandling, doling out flattery only where she can feel she is being honest, even admirably blunt. All the letters are tailored to the celebrity written to; this is no copy/paste job. When it was a Phoenix show she wished to attend, she was not remiss in mentioning to director Spike Jonze that his ex, Sofia Coppola, was dating the band's lead singer. And she was good enough to explain to SNL regular player Kenan Thompson just who Phoenix actually was (incidentally, Phoenix played SNL in '09). She is generous in that way. Lisa even extends to her would-be benefactors the invitation to accompany her to the rock shows in question, should they pay her way.

The Very Lonely Island

Persistence, it seems, does not go unrewarded. Lisa won a bet and got Spoon tickets when she somehow remained sober for a month. Burger King (a.k.a. Burger Tyrant) awarded her two complimentary Whopper hamburger vouchers for her renegade investigative journalism [see below]. And just recently, she received Animal Collective tickets in the mail, anonymously.

A letter to Burger King a.k.a Burger Tyrant

Click to see full size.

There's nothing groundbreaking in fans writing letters to those they adore, asking for favors, and generally being creepy. And it's perhaps even less innovative for this to occur in our net age. What makes LTLFT remarkable in a crowd of many is the apparent gusto with which Lisa misspells simple nouns and verbs and ruins syntax to artful and flowing effect. The archive list on the right-hand panel of the blog reveals a list of names and entities which were probably chosen in scatter shot manner. Taken in as a single list, it manages to capture the youth zeitgeist with an authenticity so specific, advertisers should really be taking note.


Although some of Lisa's actions toe the line of legal acceptability (i.e. serial, surreptitious photography of Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerburg at his favorite diner), it seems with her recent Animal Collective ticket triumph, she may be on to something yet. Could we be witnessing the birth of the next big internet 'thing'? Will Bill Gates be shelling out to learn secret keyboard shortcuts? Blogs like PostSecret have made it into the mainstream consciousness, and with acts like Lady Gaga on our radios, I think it's quite plausible that lush Lisa has key-stroked herself a winning riff.

We wish yiu luck in you rendeavors, Lisa.




Visit: Letters To Look Forward To