Why I bike

Pasadena Advertising is currently designing the "Bike to Work" promotion for Orange County Transit Authority, and it is not only an exciting project, it inspired me to explain what over a decade of biking to work and beyond has meant to me:

Why I bike

I bike to work

to shop
to play
to get away.
to get from here to there,
to feel the road
the rush of air
racing through my helmet
whistling in my ears.

I bike to hear the music

of the pavements
parks and river paths
back roads and byways
unique to every landscape
on my way.

I bike for all the sights to see

on quiet morning city streets
and barely used back roads.
I nod to runners, walkers
dogs and fellow bikers.
as I lean into headwinds
and focus on the safest path
down a long and winding stretch.

On weekends I ride far and wide

to feel my body bend
and muscles strain
to overcome the uphill climbs
to push myself through flats and turns,
and kaleidoscopes of neighborhoods

as landscapes pass me by.
From sun-swept early morning glories
through the white washed blues of afternoons.
into reddened evening orange hues
in a fading dance of shade and shadow.

And almost every weekday,

I bike to work
for fun
for health
for that natural burst of energy
that helps me through the day
from my arrival at my desk
until the sun's departure.
Then on my uphill homeward ride
with every pump and push and pant,
the cares of office
work and worries melt away.

The icing on the cake is when I bike,

         I clean the air
         and clear the streets,
         free up spots in parking lots
         have a laugh at the price of gas
         tone my heart and legs and lungs
         And in some small way
         share my choice of health with
         everyone who breathes.

Pasadena On The Brink

Chris Leinberger addresses Pasadena stakeholders about General Plan slow growth dangers.

The City of Pasadena is at a tipping point. On one hand, it has the potential to set a standard for urban excellence for the nation as it did during the rehabilitation of Old Pasadena in the 70’s and 80’s. We worked together to turn a slum into one of the premiere destinations in Southern California. On the other, if we allow Pasadena to be smothered under any of the ill-thought out, growth-stifling General Plans being proposed, Pasadena could suffer a strangling stagnation for the next 20 years.

On the upside, our potential to excel is stunning. According to Christopher Leinberger, a Brookings Institute fellow, recognized as one of the top urban thinkers of all time, we can reverse the last decade of decline and decay in our City, if we just take the necessary steps to extend the walkable urban community of Old Pasadena throughout our central district. If we chose to move in that direction, we can reduce traffic, reduce pollution, increase revenues for our schools and city services, and accelerate our recovery from the recession.
What’s more, he adds, Pasadena has already done the hard part. A thriving walking urban community already exists. We can see the success of Transit oriented development centered around the Del Mar and Memorial Park stations.  These developments are already reducing pollution and green house gasses by 50 to 80 % compared to the Drivable Suburban Communities that surround the city. And if we only continue this kind of development, we will achieve additional benefits: increased revenues to support our schools and city services and the creation of thousands of jobs.
This "teaser" video is based on a 1 hour and 45 minute video of Chris Leiberger's seminar to residents and business people of Pasadena. This edit was created by Michael Marks, a film student studying urban design at Cal State Monterey Bay, at Pasadena Advertising Marketing Design. Special thanks to Robert Montano for archival footage of Old Pasadena and Steve Mulheim for additional graphics and maps of Pasadena's Gold Line transit oriented development.

The San Gabriel Valley Sees the Future is On Track

Lookie, lookie. Our interactive maps for the Foothill Extension Authority just went live.

The Azusa interactive map highlights Gold Line station locations and designs, connecting bus routes, bike routes and the walking radius from each station.

On November 29, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority posted six new interactive maps we created here at Pasadena Advertising Marketing Design. They all show how easy it is to use bus routes that serve local neighborhoods to connect to the Gold Line, and also display bike routes, local landmarks and attractions, and walking distances from each station.
Now residents of the next five cities on the Gold Line route can get a preview of the full potential that the Foothill Extension can have on their lives. They can visualize how they get to and from Gold Line stations or to their final destination, and how much more productive they can be using light rail over riding solo in their cars.
With a click or rollover, each city’s residents can see not only how the Gold Line connects to their neighborhood bus routes, but also how it connects their neighborhoods to the rest of the San Gabriel Valley – all the way to downtown Los Angeles.
The interactive maps that the Foothill Extension Construction Authority released today cover all six stations in the five corridor cities along the Foothill Extension from Arcadia to Azusa. The maps – located on the city pages of the Authority's website - highlight many of the important points of interest along the 11.5-mile segment currently under construction.
 “The excitement in the Foothill Cities is growing, and we wanted to create maps that graphically displayed the promise of what is to come,” explains PAMD owner and President Suzanne Marks.
The maps are easily accessible by clicking on the interactive map links on the city pages of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, and Azusa stations, at the foothillextension.org site.
Construction has already begun, and now the future is in sight.
A little background information:
PASADENA Advertising, Marketing & Design is an award-winning, woman-owned, creative advertising agency located at 51 W. Dayton St. in Old Pasadena.  Owners Suzanne Marks (member WBE) and Tony Nino have a long history of public service including support of Public Education and the American Cancer Society. Tony currently serves on the Old Pasadena Management District board and Suzanne is the marketing chair of the Boy Scouts of LA board.

Scouting Got Game – and We Helped

When you invite the commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig, to be the main speaker at your fundraiser, you’ve got to kick things up a notch or two. We helped the Boy Scouts Los Angeles Area Council create a compelling campaign to fill the seats and an inspirational environment to capture the imaginations, and open the wallets, of 270 invited donors. Pasadena Advertising created all the graphic support from invitations and fund raising collateral, to table talkers and a set design made up entirely of banners.

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig speaks against a backdrop of iconic Boy Scout Banners.

The banners for the set, designed by Pasadena’s David Ensz, an Eagle Scout himself, avoided the overly used red, white and blue for colors exclusively associated with Scouting. “Olive, khaki and crimson are the colors I remember most from Scout uniforms and badges,” explained David, “They are an intrinsic part of the memories Scouts hold onto from their meetings, scout camps and Jamborees.”

All our materials used the same color palette and vocabulary.

The graphic style was reinforced in all the support materials, from the Eagle "hero graphic" to the program, pamphlets and response cards. The Character Counts event was primarily a fundraiser to support Scouting and the youth of our community, but it was also an opportunity to raise awareness for Scouting, and recognize the support of deserving volunteers and benefactors. Honorees included Los Angeles Area Council Board members Don Crocker, Rita Illig Liebelt, Dave Meshulam and Robb Scoular.  Charles E. Blake, Sr., the Presiding Bishop of The Church of God and Christ, was presented with the The Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award

The Scouting program focuses on leadership, character, development, and important life skills. This event makes it possible for the "Friends of Scouting" campaign to fund programs that make it possible for youth living in poverty to gain the skills and citizenship they need to become assets to society.

We are proud to be a part of it.

Falling For Scouting

Involvement or commitment? The difference is easy to see. Consider scrambled eggs and ham. The chicken was involved, the pig was committed. Here at Pasadena, our relationship to the Boy Scouts is a whole lot closer to commitment, but without the carving, curing and pan frying. One prime example of this is how we dealt with the Boy Scouts Los Angeles Area Council's "Over the Edge" fund raising event. We promoted the excitement and thrill of dropping 27 stories over the side of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, but we took the extra step – literally.

Pasadena Advertising Creative Director and Eagle Scout David Ensz strapped on the full-body industrial harness and rappelling gear for the 250 foot drop... then took the big step. He had his very own cheering section down below near the pool deck a safe distance away from the landing zone, shouting encouragement and taking pictures. Thanks to the The Los Angeles Fire, and Building and Safety Departments, every precaution was taken to preserve life and limb. And in the end, the Los Angeles Area Council of the Boy Scouts raised over $135,000 to support inner city youth through Scouting.

Celebrating, Old Pasadena

Speaking as a totally unbiased Marketing Director at Old Pasadena Management District (OPMD), I have to say… Old Pas knows how to have a good time.

This month alone we’ve got the ongoing “Locals Only” Thursday specials with great savings throughout Old Pasadena for anyone who lives or works anywhere in Pasadena. And on Sunday the 16,th we are holding our annual Cultural Dance Festival from 1:00-6:00 p.m… Which oh by the way, is FREE… and everyone’s invited. And of course this is the first week of “DineLA,” and six of our restaurants are participating: La Grande Orange Café, POP Champagne & Dessert Bar, Quadrupel Brasserie, Sushi Roku – Pasadena, The Melting Pot on Colorado, Vertical Wine Bistro, Villa SORRISO and Yujean Kang's Gourmet Chinese Cuisine.

That not enough to celebrate? Let’s talk Halloween. From Saturday, October 22 through Monday, October 31, there are stunningly Spooktacular activities going on throughout the district: kids pumpkin decorating, store-to-store trick-or-treating, costumed characters “meet and greet,” and free outdoor screenings of Monsters Inc. and Corpse Bride. Still not satisfied? How about free haunted photos, a kid-friendly haunted house tour, and more!  

There's a lot happening all over town, starting at One Colorado.

Halloween eve, Monday the 31st, features free store-to-store trick-or-treating at over 75 stores and restaurants in Old Pasadena starting at 4pm. There’ll be a variety of festive candy and confections for all the little ones.  Free caramel apples will be given out on Colorado Blvd and at One Colorado Courtyard kids can get free haunted professional photos against a festive background among hundreds of pumpkins.  One Colorado is also the site of free outdoor screenings of “Monsters Inc.” at 6pm and Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride” at 8pm. And for a little variety, you can meet and greet various popular Halloween costumed characters who will be roaming Old Pasadena on Halloween evening. 

And for those who love a little Halloween Horror, up-close-and-personal, the Old Town Haunt, Pasadena’s award-winning scary haunted house is back, dwelling in the basement of the historical Union Savings Bank Building where rumor has it, mysterious occurrences have taken place in the buildings’ deadly 109 year history Now the building is open to the public for chilling tours into the catacombs where ghosts and goblins meet from 7 pm-12 am. A lights-on, child friendly tour and walk-thru is also available from 12pm-4pm on Sunday, October 30. 

So, celebrate the SPIRITS of the season with us in Old Pasadena. You’ll have a frightfully good time.

All Kirk Sellman wanted was to play with his 3-year old again

For over a decade, Kirk had put up with numbness, first in his feet, then his legs and finally all of his lower organs. But for over a year, things were going south rapidly. He fell often and fell hard. He frightened his 3-year old, and was in fear for his life. When the neurologists and neurosurgeons at USC examined his CAT scan, they found a tumor that had compressed his spinal cord to the thickness of a ribbon.

Kirk relates this experience of facing the consequences of a thoracic vertebra 7 level schwannoma, and his treatment, a gross total resection of the tumor by neurosurgeon, Patrick Hsieh, M.D. Graphic scans show the extent of the damage done by the tumor and the relief that Doctor Hsieh and his team were able give Kirk. More than just the ability to stand, and walk and regain control of his body. He was able to rebuild his life and rejoin his family.

This is just one of thirteen videos that Pasadena Advertising Marketing and Design produced for the USC Keck School Of Medicine: true stories of normal, healthy people whose everyday lives were suddenly shattered by catastrophic medical emergencies no one could predict or prepare for.  The patients themselves tell their stories of survival with the help of their doctors: the neurologists, neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons of the Keck School of Medicine at USC.
This is the kind of information my wife and I wished we'd had when our daughter’s life was nearly ended by a brain hemorrhage in Scotland in 2007. We spent hours pouring over the Internet scouring all the information we could find on aneurysms and the treatment, coil embolization. Most of what we found was so arcane and technical that we could not truly grasp what was happening. We created these videos for people like us – people who need immediate answers, to urgent questions, in idioms they can easily understand.
With these videos at their fingertips, patients, friends and families dealing with life threatening neurological threats will finally have a place to turn for practical answers that they can understand.

These videos were conceived and produced by Tony Nino and Suzanne Marks at Pasadena Advertising Marketing Design.
The director and DP was James OKeeffe and the editor was Peter Bayer.