The Collec+ive has just wrapped another successful summer internship program. The lovely Jessica was incredible to work with and instantly became one of the family. We loved having her here and hope we were able to teach her useful things besides how to play golf, bowl and choose a hearty cabernet to compliment a Friday afternoon.  

Jessica we LOVE YOU!!! And a shout out to Diego (aka DINO) for his incredible management of and taste in selecting interns for the program. He should be good at it–after all, that’s how he started working with us. Remember the database nightmare, Diego??? And look at you now  – you’re producing (and starring in) Collec+ive Shorts (films, that is). Strange rungs on this career ladder, huh?  But that’s how things work here at The Collec+ive. Can you say Palme D’or? See you all in Cannes. You too, Jess! 

Posted by Patty Soffer under The Collec+ive & Uncategorized & Videos | 1 Comment »

Happy Sweet 16 Birthday…..to me! No I’m not turning 16, but my daughter is. My daughter is the best. Such a sweet young lady, gets all A’s and B’s in school, never gets into trouble, does her chores on time. A kid that deserves a big blow out party right? Well….uh…..sure. I told her that since she is such a great kid that I will do everything I can to make her party a success and a hit among her classmates.

So I figure, we’ll have about 15-20 people, we can have some music and maybe even some type of finger food like chicken fingers and fries right? WRONG!! This girl has 90 people on her invitation list. 90! 90?? There weren’t even 90 people at my wedding!!! Chicken Teriyaki? Beef Satay? Imported Cheese? Bruschetta and Vegetable Crudite Tapas??????  WHAT THE!!! Ok wait…maybe I fell asleep for 30 years and I am just waking up on the eve of her wedding. Hmmmm, the calendar sez August 2008. This can’t be.

Ok wait, maybe there is a “Sike” at the end, so I’ll keep reading.  

Oscar theme, formal affair, hors d’ oeuvres, a red carpet painted purple, and a tour bus?????  Ok the tour bus is absolutely out, sorry not gonna happen. And whats this about the paparazzi?? Ok this girl done lost her mind. That’s $65 a plate for 90 people which ain’t gonna happen, but for funs sake lets just do the math. Lets see thats $65………times 90………..carry the 1……..then subtract……ok $5,850.00. And that dosent count the DJ, the Limo, her dress, the invitations. This girl just loves to spend my money. Well, we’re gonna have to scale that down quite a bit.

I had no idea that my daughter Jeneissa was going to hit me like this for this party. What ever happened to the parties in your parents basement with the blue light? Or Chucky Cheese, aww man, that used to be my spot! The Chucky Cheese parties were the bomb, and all the kids wanted to go. C’mon, pizza and video games all day, you just can’t beat that. 

Time is running out, the party is in January. I might have to see Sweet Daddy for a Loan, or go to the race track and watch the ponies run (I did win 800 big ones at the Belmont Stakes this year).

Something has got to give. Who is going to blink first, the dad, or the daughter. Well, it’s going to be me cuz “she ain’t GOT no job man!” With 5 months to go, I could very well be pushing a shopping cart full of empty soda cans, or living out of a cardboard box. Hmmm, how much can I get if I sell all of my clothes.  

My daugher is going to have me naked and living in the street, but at least she will have a memorable Sweet 16 party. Maybe I can use the wrapping paper from her gifts to make a couple pairs of paper underwear. I’m gonna need it.

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There is no finer point in our lives when we can honestly say out loud, “That was amazing!”

We find ourselves in a world where it is hard to pat someone on the back without a hidden agenda. If it doesn’t come from us, then well, it just ain’t good enough.

Until now.

Behold the genius of advertising. Placement is everything.

If I were a leader, I’d call.

Posted by covergirl under Design & The Collec+ive & Uncategorized | No Comments »

How many decisions are made in the name of “love” or ”care” or “it’s for their own good?”

How often are peoples’ needs generalized? It’s like assuming everyone has the same shoe size. Believe me, one size does not fit all.

I just spent the day ( as I do most Sundays) with my aging parents, whom we moved from South Dakota to Florida a year ago. At that time, they were starting to fail, and since they lived very far away, we made the decision to move them near me, both for their sake and mine.

This was the right decision and the blessings are plentiful. 

My family and I put them in a lovely assisted living facility down the street where they feel safe and respected.

The care they receive has been stellar.

Until now.

Two weeks ago some genius decided to transfer my parents into a dementia wing. I am sure the intention was good. Yeah, they are forgetful about certain things, but my mom gets up every day, puts on her makeup and clean clothing (usually pink) and goes about her day. And dad does his thing, and whatever that is, it makes him happy. 

Now they are locked up with people who scream and cry and don’t know their own name. They’re separated from the general “population.” Eating in a sequestered dining room. “Enjoying” sequestered activities. Sequestered sequestered sequestered. Geez, did they kill someone and nobody told me?? 

Yes, they are old. But they are functional and have continued to be that way because of stimulation and interaction with other functional, energetic seniors. My dad has new friends! They love to hang out and talk. My mom plays bingo–and wins a great deal of the time. They love to go to hear music and dad likes to sit outside and watch the world go by.

Not any more. With everything else seniors have taken away, they’re not understanding why their freedom has been taken too. Neither do I. My dad is beside himself. And, I might add, PISSED! At 85, pissed is a good, healthy sign.

So this will continue over my hard dead cold body. 

I don’t care that they don’t remember what they ate for lunch. Or what day it is. Or that Lawrence Welk died 20 years ago but they still think he has a show on tv every Saturday night. I don’t care that for them, every day is groundhog day. I only care that they are safe and happy.

Why am I on this rant??? Because people who cannot act on their own behalf need us to really pay attention to what they need, not what others say they need. It’s all too easy to tuck older people away rather than deal with them. 

If you have anyone in your care, be their advocate. Human rights are the most basic of rights. Everyone deserves respect. Not everyone is capable of asking for it. 

Posted by Patty Soffer under Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

As you may have read in a previous blog post, we had the pleasure of hiring an intern for the summer.

Her name is Jessica, and she just recently graduated from FAU.  So, after 4 long years of college, the newly minted graduate decided it was time to celebrate her accomplishment with a graduation dinner party.

Jess was kind enough to ask me if i would be the DJ at her event.  Without hesitation, I accepted and the party was on.

Picture it…..circa August 2008 at the Holiday Inn @ Highland Beach.

As the crowd came in around 7ish, it seemed more like a cocktail hour than a party. While Maxwell’s easy listening voice filled the air with mello sounds, Smokey Robinson was just “Crusin.” Between Michael Jackson giving me “Butterflies” and the Isley Brothers just “Living for the Love” of me, I couldnt help but wonder…..when do we dance?

Finally, I decided that I needed to liven up the crowd, and speed up the tempo. I put on my party hat, and went to work. 

Alicia Keys opened the dance set with the “No One Reggae Remix” because of the crescendo in tempo.

I can always count on our Kimmy to set the party off, so I approached her, and told her to “Get this party started.”  If you don’t know Kim, she is the dancer of the agency and I knew that once she started to dance, everyone would follow her lead….and they did.  

By the time Jay-Z and Beyonce showed us how “Crazy in Love” they were the party was on. Dance floor packed, people singing along, I was officially rocking the house.  When Flo-Rida started telling us about the girls with the “Apple Bottom Jeans, and the Boots with the Fur” I knew I had them going.  

Then came Rihanna.  The Bajan songstress was put me in a state of Disturbia when the song started to skip. I was busy in my headphones cueing up the next song, so I didnt really hear the song skipping until I felt the glare of 50 sets of eyes burning through my chest. I took the headphones off and “It’s l..l..l..likkkk..kke the dddddarkness is the l…l…l…light…DDD…D..D..Dist..t…turrrr…b..bia” The little conductor in my brain started to scream SWITCH THE SONG, SWITCH THE SONG CHANGE IT NOW. “Do do do…do do do do do…do do do” Its a Semi Charmed Life. Thanks to Third Eye Blind for jumping in and saving the day.

Aside from the Disturbia skip, the grad party was a success, and everyone kept saying it was awesome, and most importantly the guest of honor was very happy and appreciative.

The Quad City DJ’s told everyone to “C’mon and Ride the Train” and a conga line formed and choo choo’d all through the ballroom. We were “Cha Cha Sliding” and “Cupid Shuffling” until they kicked us out of the building.

You can catch me next at my regular Sunday gig. Hooters on the Beach.

See you there, and ladies, be sure to bring your comfortable shoes, because I’m going to have your dancing feet aching by the time I get finished with you.

Fellas…..you just keeping holding up the wall. I know you’re too cool to dance, but a furious head nod is all the affirmation I need that I am jamming.

J BOOGIE

Posted by covergirl under Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

In 100º degree temperature, Boogie likes to show his true colors.
Go Giants!!!! 

Posted by daveskilove under Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Soffer Collec+ive Bowling Night was a fun evening.

Except for me   -  and Bobble. 

We almost lost him.

It was awful.

Bobble was safe and happy when I last saw him. I went to the men’s room and when I came back, he was laying on the floor, injured.

Somehow, mysteriously, Bobble fell.

(Funny how that happened when I wasn’t around. Hmmmmmmmm.)

“I knew I should have kept him at the office,” I said, after the tragic incident that left me teary.

“He just fell on his own,” said an eye witnesses.  ”It was an accident.”

OR WAS IT?

One witness, who wants to remain nameless, has this to say about the incident:

Click here to view CSI: Sparez

Fortunately, Bobble is recovering. But new circumstances point to foul play. 

Posted by daveskilove under The Collec+ive | 2 Comments »

25Live Concert

So I guess it all started back in high school, WHAM, how cool where they? Now, we have George Michael and he is still as hot as ever. Even though he has been through enough bad p.r., the crowd still loved him, I saw it all, from heterosexual couples in their 50s, 15 year olds with their parents, gay couples (I must say this was the majority) to single girls looking for trouble. This was a crowd Lincoln Road would envy. 

My friend and I had a blast, we danced the whole concert. My feet hurt today. Valerie and David were there too. Don’t know if they danced as much as I did. I certainly enjoyed this ‘me-time’, I felt refreshed, a teenager again and wanting to do it all over again. Maybe Madonna is next.

Posted by mammamia under Art & Music | No Comments »

The Soffer Collec+ive has always been on the cutting edge. Yes, we were there when erasable highlighters and sliced bread broke through the analog landscape. Now, we here at the “C+” are once again making strides.

The key truly is to understand everything, or as much as you can. Be the expert we say. And here we go again (sorry for the Whitesnake reference) learning what’s hip and new. So squint those eyes you meaty little vultures, because what you see above is what we know. Well, at least just a little bit of what we know.

Posted by covergirl under Art & Design & The Collec+ive | No Comments »