Friday Find: Sweet Short

A sweet short indeed.

After a very successful festival circuit, running on over 180 film festivals and winning more than 50 awards, we’ve decided that it’s finally time to share “The Present” with the rest of the world. “The Present” is based on a great little comic strip by the very talented Fabio Coala. Make sure to check out his page: www.mentirinhas.com.br “The Present” is a graduation short from the Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg in Ludwigsburg, Germany. We really hope you enjoy the result of our hard work. Thanks to everyone who help creating this film and everyone who supported us during the festivals. Thanks a lot for making this such an incredible journey. Soundtrack by "Zealand" https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/present-feat.-septemberkind/id915500091 A more detailed list of all the festival awards: 01. Int. Festival of Animation Cinema and Comics Cartoon Club - Cartoon Kids Award 02. Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival – Grand Prize Best Animation 03. FESA - Best Film for Children 04. Animago Award - Nominated for Best Short Film 05. Int. Student Film Festival Pisek – Special Jury Award 06. Animalada - Best Short Animated Film 2014, Jury Award 07. Anim Arte – Maxi Second place: Audience Award 08. 15 Short Film Festival – Jury Award Best Animation 09. PISAF – Audiences Prize (International) 10. International Family Film Festival – Best Foreign Short Animation 11. Enfoque, Int. Film Festival of Puerto Rico – Best Animation and Audience Choice Award 12. Filmschau Baden Wuerttemberg – Best Animation 13. El Corto del Ano - Special Jury Mention 14. Watersprite 2015 – Best Original Film Music 15. California International Shorts Festival – Best Animated Short 16. Short Tiger, Next Generation – Short Tiger Award 17. Landshuter Kurzfilmfestival – Audience Award Kids 18. Soul 4 Reel Festival – Best Animation 19. Canada International Film Festival - Best Animation 20. CMS Int. Children´s Film Festival – Special Mention 21. Monstronale – Int. Children Jury Award 22. Sehsuechte Int. Student Festival Konrad Wolf – Best Children Film 23. RiverRun International Film Festival – Best Student Animated Short 24. VAFI – MIDI Section First Prize 25. Newport Beach Film Festival – Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking 26. Timeline Film Festival – Filmmaker Award 27. Animayo Festival de Cine de Animacion – Director Award 28. Chile Monos Festival Internationcional de Animacion – Second Place Int. School Short Film Competition 29. Carmarthen Bay Film Festival – Best Animation 30. Int. Film Festival for Children & Youth - THE HERMÍNA TÝRLOVÁ AWARD FOR YOUNG ARTIST AGED UNDER 35 31. Rendezvous Festival – Best Animation 32. Accolade Global Film Competition - Award of Excellence Special Mention: Animation (Student) 33. Long Day Short Film – Grand Jury Prize 34. Animatio Curtas Vila do Conde IFF – Curtinhas Prize 35. Anima Mundi – Best short film for Children 36. Maramures International Film Festival 2015 - Audience Award 37. Real to Reel International Film festival – Best Student Animation 38. Giffoni Film Festival – Second Most Voted Film 39. Traverse City Film Festival – Audience Award for Best Kids Short 40. Ariano Film Festival – Best Animation 41. Int. Film Festival Nueva Mirada for Children and Youth - Golden Kite" Award 42. Joy House Film Festival – Media Super's Best Film 43. ArTelesia Film Festival – School and University Award 44. Summer Slam Film Festival – Best Animation Short 45. Catalina Film Festival – Best Animation Film 46. Sapporo Shorts Fest - Best Student Children Film Silver 47. Sapporo Shorts Fest - Best Student Director Award 48. AKUT – 2. Audience Award 49. NYLA International Film Festival - Best Animation 50. Austin Film Festival - Animated Short Audience Award 51. Seoul Guro Int. Kids Film Festival - Best Animated Short Film 52. Filemon - Best Short Film 53. Virginia Film Festival – Audience Award for Narrative Short 54. Ojai Film Festival – Honorable Mention 55. Gold Coast International Film festival – Jury Award for Best Student Short Film 56. Short Film Awards – Best Animated Short 57. Roshd Int. Film Festival – Third Prize 58. Olympia International Film Festival – Children´s Jury Award for Best animated short 59. Los Angeles Independent Film Festival - Best Animation

Liking Lately: Trader Joe's Staples Edition

Despite having shopped there for, oh, a decade (what year is it?), I'm repeatedly surprised by Trader Joe's convenient and reasonably priced vegetables. I am particularly fond of their chopped and prepared veggies: anything that makes it easier for me to eat more plants with a smaller amount of effort is a-okay in my book.

Specifically, I've been buying a lot of the following lately:

Sliced cremini mushrooms. Sauté and throw on a pizza, add to a soup or sauce. Put them raw in a salad, if you're so inclined.

Photo from traderjoes.com.

Shredded carrots. Chop roughly, or don't, and add to salads, soups, stir-fries, and anything else you can think of. I'm always meaning to quick pickle them and eat them with some Korean beef and rice.

Photo from exploringtraderjoes.blogspot.com.

Cruciferous Crunch. More or less the same base as my beloved Costco kale salad, but cheaper, and I don't have to brave the Costco parking lot for it. I typically eat this mixed with either salad greens or quinoa as a base for my lunches.

Photo from traderjoes.com.

Broccoli florets. We eat a lot of steamed broccoli with meals, so hooray for saved prep time.

Photo from healthydivalife.com.

Broccoli slaw. Saute, throw in stir fry, chop and add to salad or quinoa dishes. I love this stuff, because broccoli stems.

Shredded cabbage mix. Again: Salads! Quinoa dishes! Chop it up and cook it with other greens. Saute with butter and throw it in with noodles, because I hear that's good.

I love shaved Brussels sprouts: I hate shaving Brussels sprouts. Sauté these bad boys with onion and bacon, or make one of my favorite salads (I use one whole bag for the recipe).

Photo from traderjoes.com.

Riced Cauliflower. Again, I enjoy riced cauliflower: I do not enjoy ricing cauliflower. Find it in the refrigerated section, but when you get home feel free to throw it in the freezer until you need it.

Also good: English cucumbers, and cheap bananas. Their cheap basil (and delicious little balls of fresh mozzarella) make my Caprese Pasta a cinch. Recipe to come at some point: it's perfect for summer.

On the other side of the cold aisles, their crumbled feta is my favorite, and I always grab a few containers when in the store.

Photo from traderjoes.com.

TJ's tri-color quinoa is a favorite for both quality and price point (though when Costco has their 4 pound bags for $10, they've got them beat), and I usually grab a bag. I have a big glass container that I keep my quinoa in, and when I get home I throw it in there. I eat a lot of quinoa for lunches, and buying it once in a while and adding it to the mix keeps my stash from hitting threat level orange. Now and then I let the glass jar go fully empty before adding a new container, to make sure it's all still fresh.

Photo from traderjoes.com.

And finally, the Swiss chocolate bars by the checkout. Hoo boy. I try not to buy them too often because they quickly become a dangerous habit, but dang are they good. I am a fan of the milk, and my husband likes the dark. We each get our own bar and are thrilled not to share. Sometimes being an adult is a-okay.

Photo from amazon.com.

Marketing Monday: Marketing Nuggets

This LinkedIn listicle is a treasure trove of interesting B2B marketing facts, inspiring tidbits, and thought-provoking stats for "the modern marketer". This has been fun to go back to and browse from time to time. Something new pops out at me with every pass, and I'm curious to see where we are in another year with these numbers.

My personal favorites are:

“Content Marketing is all the marketing that’s left.” (Seth Godin)

78% of marketers said they saw increased traffic with as little as 6 hours a week invested in Social Media Marketing.

"Content is fire, social media is gasoline.” (Jay Baer)

82% of marketers who blog see positive ROI for their inbound marketing. (Holla!)

54% of B2B marketers said they have generated leads from social media. 

“Whether you’re in the B2B or B2C sales side and whether or not your product is a cheap impulse buy or a multi-million dollar long term sales cycle, your business is now – without a doubt – a media company as well.” (Mitch Joel)

66% to 90% of the buying journey is complete before prospects contact a vendor. (Takeaway: Would you buy from you? What are roadblocks in your research and buying paths? Reduce as many of those barriers to entry as you can for potential clients. Also? If a client has determined they need you, they need you.)

95% of website visitors leave without leaving an email address. (Dang.)

80% of marketing emails are never opened. (Double dang. Though as both a consumer and an email marketer, I believe it.)

"Marketing is telling the world you’re a rock star. Content Marketing is showing the world you are one.” (Robert Rose)

Do you have any favorite marketing quotes, stats, or facts?