The Grinch who stole Christmas ... from North Korea

Today started much more comfortably than yesterday, as it was my turn to drive to work. Instead of worrying about who I wanted to say "I love you" to before I die (as a result of Robert's, my business partner's, driving), I was able to think about things more relevant to the purpose of this blog, like providing a look inside the minds of the clowns, I mean creators, of Cross the Line Designs. So one of the things that came into view from the front seat today on the commute to work was how Bush (and his gang of merry grinches - is that an oxy-moron? Emphasis certainly on the "moron" part) is trying to steal Christmas from the cute little character leading North Korea (Kim Jong Elf, I think).

I believe the hope here is that Mr. Elf will decide to drop his nuclear program in exchange for a reinstatement of his abilities to acquire "luxury" items like ipods, TVs, watches and liquor. Don't I feel stupid for thinking that almost all of those items were already made in Korea (well at least the ones I have in my house) ... but I guess I can actually learn some things from George W... Nonetheless, what a bold (I couldn't resist the emphasis, sorry) move! Now, I admit that I'm not the quickest person in the world, so please bear with me as I ask a few questions that I think may help me understand this move because, I have to admit, I'm having a little trouble at this point comprehending the move:

1. If a nation has the technology to manufacture a nuclear weapon, why can't they make their own ipods and TVs? And are there no bootleggers in North Korea?
2. If a nation really couldn't figure out a way to manufacture or acquire those items, why would they choose continued access to those items over the power they may gain from having a nuclear weapon? Have they not seen Pirates of the Carribbean? If you're guns are bigger can't you just take what you want?
3. Isn't Samsung both a huge manufacturer of "luxury" electronics items AND a Korean company?
4. If Kim (if I can call him that) is really using most of these items to give as gifts to people (as the reports suggest) why wouldn't he just start replacing them with gifts that he's already received as gifts (that he hates) from other people, like the rest of the planet does?
5. If Kim is actually giving away these luxury items to people, how bad can the guy be? It seems he may have a better understanding of the spirit of Christmas than Mr. Bush does. Remember George ... it's better to give than to receive ...

Anyway, I hope someone can help me out here because I'm sure there's a funny t-shirt idea in there somewhere that Cross the Line Designs could use ... if I only understood it better.

Sometimes no news is good news

Today, like every second weekday, started out a little uneasy for me as it was my business partner's (Robert) turn to drive us to work. I think the uneasiness (and I'm sugar coating the feeling quite a bit here) leads us (well at least me) to chat a little less about our business and about what's going on in the world that we can solve. I don't know about you, but I find it somewhat difficult to focus upon the world's problems when I'm trying to calculate the probabilities of making it to the next traffic light safely, but I think I'm getting a little better at it (perhaps I'm starting to fear death slightly less than before). On the positive side, I seem to appreciate my life (and even sometimes my job) a little more every second day as well, once I arrive at work.

Anyway, here's what was on my mind this morning as I was catching up on what's going on out there. Like every responsible adult (maturity level was not considered when choosing the term "adult") I have my homepage set to a site providing me with the most recent news from around the world (my choice is MSN), so I can start my day in the know, if you will. However, it often amazes me what things actually make the news. Like Pam Anderson and Kid Rock's SHOCKING break-up or Britney Spears hanging around with Paris Hilton and forgeting to put on her underwear ... why is this news to people? We all already know that any celebrity marriage will ultimately end, regardless of the number of times the same couple gets married (by the way, if you get married to the same person 3 times in 3 separate places, when you break up does it also count as 3 divorces? Or are they only getting divorced in one State but remaining married in two others? These are the types of things I'd like to see in the news ... something we can all learn from).

And the whole young, drunken, forgetting to wear underwear and then letting someone take your picture thing is also not news or even somewhat surprising anymore. By the way Britney, now listen closely to me sweetheart, you may be interested in acquiring a very fashionable "Where not only the eagles are bald" thong from Cross the Line Designs. That way you stay a little warmer plus we'll still get the idea without you actually having to show us everything ... just a suggestion ....

Now, here's my plea to MSN (but don't take me wrong, you're still one of my favorite sites): please give me some REAL news to talk about (and maybe even make some t-shirts about) ... you're killing me here!

The Launch of The View from the Front Seat

This is a very exciting time around here! Not only is it getting closer to the morning I wake up and find all kinds of wrapped goodies with my name on them stuffed under a beautifully decorated tree, but it's also an exciting time on the business and creativity fronts as well. My hope is that I can share these exciting things with you on a very regular basis. However, before getting into these things in detail, I think I'd better give you a little background on what I and "The View from the Front Seat" are all about.

My name is Drew. I have a business partner named Robert. We own a business called "Cross the Line Designs," focusing (at least at the moment) on creating unique, funny designs on apparel (mostly of the t-shirt variety) and other miscellaneous gift items. Um, yah, and the other important thing to know is that we carpool to work together everyday, which can be problematic on a whole number of different levels, as you'll discover if you continue to stay in touch with this blog. Anyway, a great deal of things happen during our daily commute, the least of which is planning the strategic (I laughed when I typed that) direction of our business. There are no issues too taboo to come up here and there aren't many that we don't think we know something about or at least can come up with something to say about. I must warn you though .... not all views expressed by us seem to be completely accepted by everyone else (although I think they should be).

This blog is intended to be kind of a behind the scenes look (or better yet .. .the view from the front seat), if you will, on where the ideas come from, for Cross the Line Designs, as well as provide a commentary (often including unique solutions) on the issues being experienced throughout the world. I hope you'll find this as fun and interesting to read as I will to write it AND I hope you'll be engaged enough to provide your own views in response.