Happy Friday the 13th.   Hope you have survived it so far without any bad luck.  Here are some links from around the “creative world,” courtesy of Marina Del Rey, California-based recruiting/staffing agency Eleventh  Hour.

• The Other Guys holds the top spot at the weekly box office heading into another weekend.
• Deadline: ‘Pinkberry’ Actor Miles Fisher Lands Movie
• “The Office” will be opening a new branch in China.
• ADWEEK: ‘Eat, Pray, Shop!’ Movie Tie-Ins Grow Up
• ADFREAK: Sydney airport helps you manage your rage
• Spirit Air decided to take advantage of the whole JetBlue/Steven Slater thing.
• Mashable: Facebook Launches a Live Video Channel
• BrandFreak: Foul-mouthed Kenny Powers already giving K-Swiss a nice boost

We are halfway through June–about two and half weeks from the fourth of July. What do you do? What do you do? Summer is here. It is going somewhere. You better seize the moment. (Or maybe this is just what I’m telling myself right now.) Either way, enjoy these links from around the creative world, check out Marina del Rey-based Eleventh Hour, and then go outside and do something.

• Karate Kid won a, quite frankly, really weak box office this weekend, grossing $55.7 million.
• Two different studios are trying to talk Peter Jackson into directing “The Hobbit” films. At this point, it seems that we can expect these films in 2020.
• Hollywood Reporter: Boxoffice futures market gets green light
• AdAge: Japan’s BeeTV Draws Big Buzz by Only Broadcasting to Mobile Phones
• ADWEEK’s Ad of the day: ESPN’s “Power of 10″
• BRANDWEEK: Exxon Blogs About BP Spill
• Best Buy has released a mobile app that works in conjunction with the new 3D film Despicable Me to translate the speech of the “minion” characters in the film. I don’t know what the minion characters are, but it sounds cool.
• Mello Yello is back with a retro logo. (I didn’t know it was still around either.)
• Bud Light has crammed 32 fans (one from each country competing in the World Cup) into a house and “eliminating” them from the house when their team is eliminated. Should be interesting. Hopefully they checked criminal records.
• Speaking of the World Cup: The Internet Loves/Hates the Vuvuzela [Randomly Viral]

Brian Laesch is an independent blogger blogging for Marina del Rey-based recruiting/staffing agency Eleventh Hour.

It looks like NBC read my previous post, “Does Jay Leno own NBC?,” and decided to show him who was boss. Just kidding. But “The Jay Leno Show” has been cancelled, and rumor has it that Jay Leno has been asked to host a half-hour show at 11:35 p.m., followed by Conan at 12:05 a.m. According to inside sources, Conan is not happy about it.

And that’s all I have to say, about that…

Here are the links:

• Variety: NBC kicks ‘Jay Leno’ out of primetime
• Variety: Conan O’Brien ’stung” by NBC
• Avatar won the box office for the fourth consecutive weekend with $48.5 million domestically. In related news, I’m still waiting for a rapper to paint their car “Avatar blue”…
• Boxoffice.com tracked the total weekly Tweets about The Book of Eli, The Lovely Bones and The Spy Next Door. Not sure why they The Lovely Bones led the way, easily, with 7,123 Tweets. (I actually thought it would be a lot higher than that…)
• You’ve seen the new Domino’s campaign that basically says, “our pizza sucked, but it’s good now,” right? BrandFreak wonders why we should believe Domino’s now, if they lied to us before…
• In case you are interested, Hornet’s Peter Sluszka created the animation sequences from the new Michael Cera awkward comedy, Youth in Revolt.
• The Simpsons celebrated their 20th anniversary last night. Did you watch the special? Morgan Spurlock hosted it…so I didn’t feel like watching, for some reason. Or maybe it’s the fact that the show has been on for twenty years. I love The Simpsons…but it feels like they celebrated their 20th anniversary in 2002.
• Want to turn your Apple iPhone into a World War II fighter plane!? Oh…you don’t? Never mind.
• MediaFreak: The return of ‘Lost’ is less than a month away, and still so many questions (Let’s hope they get cleared up.)
• Rumors has it that the Apple Tablet will have a webcam and 3G connectivity… Good thing AT&T’s map won’t get in the way of viewing someone’s webcam. Hey-oh!

Thank you. Thank you, very much.

Brian Laesch compiled this list of links from the worlds of entertainment, advertising, marketing, tech, and more for boutique recruitment agency Eleventh Hour.

Right before the Cowboys game

Happy Thanksgiving Eve Eve. I hope you are ready for a great meal with family, friends or loved ones. If not, I hope you have somewhere good to go, or good people to be with. And, if not, I wish I could help you out…but I’m too busy being underemployed…

Here are some creative links from around the “creative world.” This is the blog post that updates you on the intangibles, tangibles, and intangibles wrapped in a tangibles’ clothing. Some of these links are business-related, but most are reviewed under the criterion known as “cool.”

• ABC is halting production on “FlashForward.” My initial reaction was that the general public learned their lesson from “Lost” (myself included). But apparently, the work stoppage was built into the production schedule from the beginning. In related news, the fact that Daily Variety calls ABC “the Alphabet” irks me.
• Speaking of production, general public, and irking–in no particular order–FX has won the rights to air the first Twilight film. (I only included this link for SEO purposes. )
• Apparently, Axe body spray is stronger than destiny. Just buy it and you’ll be stealing someone’s soulmate in no time!
• HootSuite has added support for Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter lists. Good for them. I’m a fan.
• Mashable: 5 Important Tips for Successful Web Meetings
• German government officials believe Google Analytics is illegal. I’d say, “nein,” but I don’t speak German.
• Domino’s Noid is back. In my opinion, you can thank those idiotic former employees who posted disgusting videos that I won’t link to.
• Oooohhhhh. Apple throws a grazing hook in the direction of Verizon. (I told you this feud is getting good. Let’s get it on.)
• OTB New York has won the right to show a hot chick in their ads.
• Is Foursquare the next Twitter? (I think it all depends on whether or not CNN’s Rick Sanchez embraces it.)
• In closing, since this is the “Creative World,” here’s a Yahoo! Digital Short called “The Creatives.” I’m glad these three don’t actually dress like hipsters. It gives me hope that I can someday be a normal creative guy. But then again, I also have a big problem with the whole “we actually don’t pay them very well at all” thing.

Brian Laesch is a blogger who compiled this list of links for Eleventh Hour.

The Balloon Boy’s father (a.k.a. the poor man’s Bruce Jenner) just called me. He said he wanted to be mentioned in this post. Geez. Some people just can’t get enough publicity. I’ll let the lesser, CNN, cover him. We will continue to tackle the real, pressing issues.

Here are your links for the 21st day in August in the year 2009:

• The Lebron James movie, “More Than A Game,” may be in 33rd place (with limited release) on Daily Variety’s Box Office list, but I think it should be first. I saw it this weekend. Great documentary. Of course, maybe everybody didn’t played high school basketball like I did.
• Here’s another weird ad that will never be on television but is featured on CREATIVITY. I’m a big fan of New Balance shoes, so I won’t hold them accountable for this stupid advertisement. (Do I get a free pair now?)
• Here’s an interesting interview with Twitter Co-Founder, Dom Sagolla. He answers every question in 140 characters or less. Hey-oh! (No? Nothing on that one? OK.)
• Barnes & Noble has launched it competitor to Amazon’s Kindle: Nook.
• Burger King has added the quarter-pound double cheeseburger to it’s $1 Menu. I guess it’s not really “creative” but it does make me hungry.
• Vanilla Ice is back…and promoting South African beer.
• ADFREAK (via College Humor): Pixar lamp’s future suddenly not very bright
• Adidas is making a push with their “Basketball is a Brotherhood” campaign to remind fans (and kids who remind their parents to buy basketball shoes) that they have NBA All-Stars on their roster too. It’s not all Nike.
• Bing has signed a deal with Twitter and Facebook to include status updates in their results. Wow. I can’t wait to see more status updates! (Not really.)
• Are you ready for Google’s new music service? It will be interesting. But, are you ready for cragislist’s new music service, in which you download text files of the song lyrics and sing them yourself? It’s going to revolutionize the digital music industry. (I mean, Google. I made up the craigslist thing.)
• Did I mention that Eleventh Hour is on Twitter?

Brian Laesch wrote this using a computer.

After Chicago lost in the first round of the bidding for the 2016 Olympic Games, I spent the weekend entire weekend in deep though, sitting on the same rock and eating nothing. I didn’t sleep. I just pondered the meaning of life. And at the end of the weekend, I came away with a clearer conscience, and a view of the future eerily resembled ABC’s new one-hour drama, FlashForward.

Just kidding. None of that happened. But it does suck that Chicago lost.

Here are the links:

• Is Twitter ruining the Hollywood studio movie marketing machine? (I’ve been saying this for months. About time someone wrote an article about it.)
• Speaking of Hollywood, Zombieland won the weekend Box Office with $25 Million. And here’s a Twitter search that shows overall good comments about the film.
• Have I mentioned in the past…and don’t stop me if you’ve heard this before…but have I mentioned that Eleventh Hour is on Twitter?
• The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is starting to crack down on blogger payola and celebrity Tweets. Meaning, bloggers will be required to disclose any free money or stuff received in exchange for endorsing a product. I guess there goes my under-the-table endorsement deals with Ab Circle Pro, Time Life’s Golden Age of Country CD collection and the Snuggie. It was fun while it lasted.
• Who else thinks Bud Light Wheat sounds pretty good for tailgating this fall? (Full disclosure for the FTC: I did not receive free Bud Light Wheat beer for posting this…unfortunately.)
• BrandFreak.com: Twinkies are beating Coke and Pepsi in movie product placement as of late.
• AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com is blowing up, with a book deal and a Universal Pictures deal. Does this mean they have to pay a percentage to every family member who appeared in a photograph on their site? That would be cool.
• Are you ready to watch the end of the world, again, in a movie? From the Director of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow (no…seriously) comes 2012. Maybe I’d find this more entertaining if I’d stop watching those history of the Earth shows on History Channel late at night. Here’s my tagline for the film: “Trust us, the special effects really do make it a good movie this time!”
• Are you ready for the “Battle for Milkquarious”? (I actually saw this actor’s real band play at The Roxy on Sunset one time. Not surprisingly, it was just as weird as this commercial. But I give the guy props for getting paid, if nothing else.)
• And, The Simpsons recently did a send-up to social media.
• Did I mention that Eleventh Hour is on Twitter?

Brian Laesch is an independent blogger, but would not hesitate to become a corporate one…as long as he was still able to write exactly what he wanted.

I just found out via an unrelated Google Alert for “blogging position,” and a website called “Hypetrak,” that “Best Rapper Alive,” Lil Wayne is blogging for ESPN.  What?

Now I’ve listened to Lil Wayne mixtapes, so I actually know that he’s a huge sports fan (because he said during an interlude that all he watches is sports…and repeats it in the introduction of the blog).  But what I didn’t expect was the Michael-Phelps-inspiring rapper to be so prolific with his blogging.  As Hypetrak puts it: “the clarity.”  I didn’t expect conversation about the Packers being his favorite team, Aaron Rodgers, Kurt Warner being a viable option for his fantasy team, and Federer and Nadal.  It’s pretty cool to hear a rapper with tattoos on his face talk about a broad spectrum of sports, including tennis.  Of course, being good at reaching a broad spectrum is why Lil Wayne sold a million albums in his first week.

I’m sure the allure will wear off…but this first post did it’s job.  Just hearing, “Lil Wayne is blogging for ESPN,” is awesome enough.  Just when you think ESPN can’t get anymore Hollywood…  But they will continue to become sucked in by Hollywood, since they are moving to LA soon.  And I guess you can’t really blame them, considering they were originally supposed to be an Entertainment and Sports network.  They are just now getting around to the Entertainment part, I guess.

Check out the Lil Wayne blog post here.

Brian Laesch is a commercially unsuccessful rapper and major sports fan.