The Vernacularist

Cannes-a-go-go

I'm also at the Cannes Film Festival until May 24.  It's the final event for a class I took on the Craft and Commerce of Cinema.  26 of us from Stern are taking in all the sites, sounds and films in the beautiful south of France.  It's a massive event with easily 20 venues to see films each day.  I saw the world premier of U2 3D, a film of U2 concerts in 3D.  It's about an hour in length and makes you really want to see the band live, if you haven't already.  In fact, U2 performed 2 songs (Vertigo and Where the Streets Have No Name) live on the steps of the Palais (the famous red carpet of Cannes). It was a great performance and a fun movie...not a must see though.

Because of the industry panels we are required to go to, I haven't seen many movies yet.  But that will change today. I will miss the new Cohen brothers film, No Country for Old Men. But Caramel, My Bluberry Nights and Paranoid Park are high on my list to see today and tomorrow.

Last night I worked the reception desk for the Variety party.  Variety is hosting us here, so we were all thrilled to help them and get a taste for the industry parties.  We had a great time, but maning the registration table was exhausting.  Everyone wants to get in and few are on the list.  So it ends up being a judgement call on entry.  It was fun to see Harvey Weinstein, Malcolm McDowell, Peter Bart, Peter Gruber and other notables among the guests.  McDowell could not have been more fun and friendly. Just what you would expect from a guy with his career (Clockwork Orange, Caligula, Entourage, etc).

More reviews and updates soon....   

First year of B-School...Done

I finally finished my first year of business school two weeks ago.  Everything has been a blur from Japan in March until today. In sum, my first year of school was fantastic.  I finally put a language and conceptual framework to many of the professional experiences and best practices I've learned over my 7 years in working since college. Some of my favorite classes were things like Finance and Negotiation, things that I've had little exposure to but loved to formally learn.  I've decided to specialize in Marketing and Finance because they are such a cohesive combination to get the full breadth of business education.  I've already picked my classes for next semester.  It's going to be jammed with more quantitative classess in Finance and Statistics...hold on to your seats for that wild ride into Excel goodness.

Fall Classes will (hopefully) be: Decision Models, Competitive Strategies in Marketing, Competitive Strategies in Entertainment and Media Companies, Entrepreneurial Selling, Valuation, Customer Relationship Management.

Overused words in B-School: synergy, leverage, strategic, value (I'm guilty of this last one)

I start my Unilever internship on June 4.  It's going to be a tremendous eyeopening experience into major marketing. More lists to come...