Archive for 2009
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »Creepy Animated Map Of Wal-Mart Growth
[ Comments Off ]Posted on January 15, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Thursday, January 15th, 2009The creepy video featured here shows the virus-like expansion of Wal-Mart in the United States (much clearer full-size animated map here). We all know that Wal-Mart is huge, but did you know that their annual sales are greater than the GDP of Saudi Arabia? Or that they employ more people than live in Idaho? I’ve [...]
The creepy video featured here shows the virus-like expansion of Wal-Mart in the United States (much clearer full-size animated map here). We all know that Wal-Mart is huge, but did you know that their annual sales are greater than the GDP of Saudi Arabia? Or that they employ more people than live in Idaho? I’ve strangely never shopped at Wal-Mart, not because of snobbishness or political correctness, but probably more because of geography. Wal-Mart has a strategy (see When Wal-Mart Is Gone) of opening several stores in separate rural areas and later closing the stores to condense the traffic into a “super store”, leaving behind what is known in real estate as a Dark Wal-Mart. For some fairly balanced insight into Wal-Mart in general, see this How Stuff Works piece. For a more anti-Wal-Mart view see Ask Al – The Battlemart Blog at WalmartWatch.com Or check out the DVD Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
Valentine’s Day 2009
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on January 14, 2009 by admin in Holidays
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009Nothing says “I love you” like a mass-produced card written by a stranger
Don’t tell anybody, but I’m a hopeless romantic. Apparently though, there are a lot of people out there that are a little more cynical about things like Valentine’s Day. That lovely foil wrapped candy pictured here for instance? According to this source, it says “Crazy Diarrhea” on the wrapper. If you have a special cynical someone in your life, Despair.com has a unique selection of message candy sets. The “Dumped” collection includes messages like “U LEFT SEATUP”, “CELIB8 THX2U”, and “CALL A 900#”. Be My Anti-Valentine offers some bitter e-cards, pointing out that “Valentine’s Day is like herpes: just when you think it’s gone for good, it rears its ugly head once more. No wonder some people prefer to call it VD.” For a more fratboy-like vibe, this site has a collection that includes messages like “I Think Of You When I Masturbate” accompanied by a cute teddy bear image. Want to make up your own message? Try this simple candy heart generator, or if you can read through the Engrish, buy a Picture the Flower Art Color Painter and print your message directly on the roses you buy. Because nothing says “I love you” like a mass-produced card written by a stranger. Except weird messages printed on roses. Or maybe some Pink Hi-Top Chuck Taylors
Where’s That Other Shoe?
[ 3 Comments ]Posted on January 14, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009With all the recent economic and business news, I’ve been sitting patiently waiting for the other shoe to drop. Personally I’m hoping we land on both feet (I’m pretty sure I’m mangling a metaphor here), and that if we’re in for hard times we rediscover some sense of community and helping our fellow citizens. As [...]
With all the recent economic and business news, I’ve been sitting patiently waiting for the other shoe to drop. Personally I’m hoping we land on both feet (I’m pretty sure I’m mangling a metaphor here), and that if we’re in for hard times we rediscover some sense of community and helping our fellow citizens. As much as I love the possibilities created by our communication technologies – cell phones, web-based social networks, e-mail, twitter, etc. – I feel they sometimes do as much to isolate us as connect us. There’s nothing like a genuine fuel shortage to motivate ride-sharing and conversation. It’s pretty cool that the Obama camp is trying to mobilize a national service day in honor of MLK day, and I hope this kind of thing gets some traction. Bring on that other shoe!
Masturbatory Muzak & Pole Dancer Video Tutorials
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on January 14, 2009 by admin in Popular Media
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009The Death Of Irony Through Self-Produced Video
The video at left, an actual promotional video for Microsoft’s new product Songsmith, brilliantly and comically embodies a theory of mine. A long time ago I suggested that if plotted on a graph, the quality of available literature would follow a curve exactly inverse to the proliferation of literacy and the accessibility of desktop publishing tools. I think a random sampling of the shelves of any chain bookstore bears out my theory (as does the mere existence of books like Bright Shiny Morning
For Immediate Relief: Bush’s Final Press Conference*
[ Comments Off ]Posted on January 14, 2009 by admin in Politics
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009Press Release? No. Press Relief.
Watching Bush’s final press conference was kind of depressing. After 8 years of wanting to hate the man as an evil leader, you could suddenly see him for what he really is: a not terribly stupid, college-educated son from a wealthy and powerful family who was ill-equipped to lead the free world and probably knew it from the get-go. His tone throughout most of the conference was what one might call “wistfully relieved”. He still exhibited his tendency to come across as a little sociopathic, showing no remorse for his actions beyond how they may have been perceived historically or as bad policy timing. He displayed none of his familiar deer-in-the-headlights-while-waiting-for-the-soundbite-through-the-earpiece-shifty-eyedness. He was clearly speaking “on his feet”, as it were, presumably a safe move when one has barely a week left in office and is in fact already packed and heading off to the golf course. To me the single most notable thing was the appalling detachment he seems to have toward the country he led for eight years. It’s like he took the family Mercedes for a spin on a sunny day with bricks of cash and a reasonably happy family in the back seat, and brought it back a few years later fender-less, out of gas, broke, the family emaciated or dead, and is handing the keys back to dad with a blank look of “What? I brought it back before curfew like I said” on his face.
*Worst journalistic pun I plan to make this year.