Four + One Blog

Where the search for a well-rounded existence can stretch its legs.

If you’re new to the blog, here are a few things to get you started. The game behind the name tells the tale of where the name 4+1 originated. Here's a series on my philosophy on work. We've got a running series called What Three Guys Think and you can listen to my appearance on The Quasi-Glamourous Life podcast. Enjoy.

Light and Shadow

I was laying in bed last night with my two-year-old daughter, Evie, trying to get her to go to sleep. She was laying on her back and looking up at the ceiling. “Talk to me about shadows and light, dad,” she said.
This wasn’t out of the blue. About a month ago, while trying to get [...]

#thenewcom. What is that?

I certainly should have posted about this event earlier. But better late than never.
We’re reaching the midway point of the three day event that is The New Communicators. A quick look at their website will divide you into one of two categories: 1) I don’t get what’s going on here, it seems vague. That makes [...]

Netflix – Making My (POPUP) Life Easier

There is a new series we’re starting here on the blog called “Mr. Grumpy Pants Has the Floor”. Written by Director of Client Services Andrew Pugmire, this series allows him to respond to all the things in the world that bother him. Here is the first entry:
Mr. Grumpy Pants is a name that was given [...]

Can Levi’s Live up to it’s ‘Go Forth’ Campaign?

In David Meerman Scott’s The New Rules of Marketing and PR he stresses the importance of monitoring your company’s online reputation. What is being said about you online? How are you interacting with your potential customers online? Are you ignoring important complaints? Are you finding solutions to problems?
Last Wednesday I posted here about the great [...]

Vin Scully Friday

With the trade deadline minutes away, all Dodger fans are on pins and needles. In order to switch the nervousness to goose bumps here are a couple of great calls from Hall of Famer Vin Scully. We found out that Vin will most likely be calling the Dodger games for one more year before retirement. [...]

Ingenuity Observed: Levi’s and the New Frontier

Sometimes an advertising campaign nails the sensibility of NOW so well you wish it weren’t pitching a product but were simply the anthem of the times. The rally call for those ready for action. The fire lit under those wandering. The spark that brings the unfocused eye clarity and direction. The direction to the future.
The [...]

Technology and Baseball

In 2001 I moved away from Southern California to go to college. I made the move in July to increase my chances of finding a job before school started. It was a difficult transition. My main concern upon arrival was how to follow the Dodgers from out of state.
I was out of their TV market, [...]

A Day in Court

Hot off the wire! Correspondence piece from guest contributors Niel and Yoon, a story from their youth told in collaboration.
Niel: I met Yoon in the early 90s when we were both in junior high. We quickly became close friends largely due to the fact that we both played the trumpet and the seating chart put [...]

Regaining Excitement: Lessons From A Spontaneous Dinner Club

When you’re married and in your late 20s or early 30s your life can become routinized. You’ve got responsibilities, kids, bills, work, volunteer opportunities, housework, yard work, etc. In order to get it all done, you fall into a routine. Routines are useful and helpful, but rarely fun. I would describe marriage with kids as [...]

You Have a Story to Tell: Intro

You are a person. Or a person running a business. You have a story to tell. How do you tell it? This is the crux of advertising, public relations, and marketing; How are you going to tell your story in a way that is interesting to the people you are addressing?
There are thousands of books [...]