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Sasha Baron Cohen is killing off Borat, once and for all. For some people, this should have happened a long, long time ago.

Note: Sergio - Please don't cry.

Rochameau Fo Sho: Certainty in Rock-Paper-Scissors

I loved this link, courtesy of Freakonomics.com, on the psychology behind rock-paper-scissors, which is a game also known as rochambeau. Evidently, you should go with scissors every time. The logic? People expect their opponent to start with rock, so they strategically choose paper.

Can we get a game theory diagram on this one??

Obaminable Hope

I'm not endorsing any candidates here, but I liked the way this Rolling Stone writer added more of a story line to our next presidential election. Thanks to Chris Goldberg to pointing this out.

Derelique

Someone has finally taken Mugatu's artistic direction into functional clothes. Link courtesy of extratexture.com

Skiing in Minnesota

The Madness Behind The Method

Great video from PSFK.com about the founding of Method, a consumer brand differentiated by design and eco-friendliness. It goes to show that there's a great opportunity in even the must mundane and mature of product lines.

Dutch's Best Albums of 2007

I know it's a little trite, but the end of the year brings about a much needed necessity - the "best of" list. As a big music fan, I love to read about how other people view the quality of music over the prior twelve months. NPR has listed a ton of critics' lists here. Thanks to Siegl for the link.

My top 3?

# 3
Arcade Fire, Neon Bible





# 2
Wilco, Sky Blue Sky


# 1
The Shins, Wincing the Night Away

Vanity and Obesity: Living in Perfect Harmony

Congratulations, Nashville. You're now a city esteemed enough to be known as the 6th most vain and 7th most obese in America. 28% of you are obese, and there are 4.4. plastic surgeons for every 10,000 people. How on earth did you accomplish such irony? Bravo.

The George Mitchell Report

I think I can speak for all of us when I say that I'm really dismayed by the Mitchell Report on steroid abuse in Major League Baseball. Let's just hope that baseball can leave these dark days behind.

It was most shocking to see Roger Clemens' name on the list. Growing up on Boston, the Rocket was one of those players you pretend you are while playing neighborhood baseball. (I was just as ripped though.) It's a sad day when you find out one of your sports heroes is just a doped up meat-head.



The Onion did a good job of adding humor to this situation in August 2006 in an article entitled "Report: Your Favorite Player Took Steroids." The best part is where Bryant Gumble implicates Secretariat for doping.

Deep Thoughts - Google Style

Google just released their 2007 Zeitgeist - a compilation of reports on what we're searching for on the internet. The Zeitgeist - which is updated monthly - is one of my favorite reads, and gives you a glimpse of the collective human data acquisition experience.

My favorite chart from this year's version? The one below...

Zeppelin's Back

I was so excited to hear that living members of Zeppelin had reunited for a December 10th concert. I saw a few clips on the web - and I was going to post them here - that was until Warner Music had them all taken down. Thanks, Warner, for killing this buzz. Wah wah.

Most Awkward Commercial Ever

Pfizer has hit a new low. No, I'm not talking about their stock price. I'm talking about their advertising.

For the uninitiated, the spot (below) begins with the banal joviality of an Applebee's babyback rib commercial. We see five men, sitting in an old barn, playing their instruments, taking turns on vocals. If you think they're singing about serving food, you're very, very, very wrong.

After the first few bars, you realize they're talking about Viagra. That's when I start to cringe. Not because it's an ED commercial - there is an abundance of them out there - but because of the smiley, unreserved nature in which these men are singing to each other about Viagra.

For a second, I'm trying to realistically think how such an event could ever occur in real life. "Hey Bob, if you're not too busy fixing your car this weekend, me and the guys are going to start a jug band. Walt's got a great new piece on Viagra. Swing on by with your eight foot tall sting bass. Buh bye."

Did I mention that this also sullies the good work of the King?

Oh, Magical Bacon

Bacon, despite its modesty, is an ingredient that can really take a meal to the next level. Bacon and eggs? Check. Bacon wrapped filet mignon? Check. Bacon flavored chocolates? That may be pushing it a little to far.

Great Video

This video is pretty cool. Make sure you wait until he starts adding in the piano part.


Stop Motion Piano And Drums - Watch more free videos

Understanding the Realities of a "Weak" Dollar

Tyler Cowen, George Mason University economics professor and prolific economics blogger (Marginal Revolution) wrote a great piece for the New York Times for today's edition. I too have been tired of hearing about how a "weak" dollar is a sign of troubled times. See below for what a weak dollar really entails.

"Should we be happy with the low U.S. dollar?

from Marginal Revolution by Tyler Cowen

Here is my latest column:

A low dollar simply looks bad. We are, after all, used to judging ourselves against others — comparing our salaries with the earnings of our peers, and our homes with those of our neighbors. We’re used to thinking it is a big advantage to stand at the top of a numerical list.

But when it comes to currencies, a higher value neither brings national success nor predicts future prosperity. The measure of a nation’s wealth is the goods and services it produces, not the relative standing of its currency. Take a look at 1985-88, when the dollar lost more ground than in the last few years. Those were good times, and the next decade was largely prosperous as well.

Most of the piece is standard economics, not far from recent writings by Krugman or DeLong. The more interesting question is which measures of a national economy we, for reasons of pride, inefficiently attach too much importance to.

A second interesting question is: if we should not be worried about a low dollar, what should we be worried about? I see two answers at the current time. First, if a negative shock hits China, or perhaps some other negative shock hits the U.S. or Europe, we have precious little room to maneuver. Second, there remains some chance of a cascading credit crunch."

Like, keep it "like a secret"

Target has recently come under fire for some suspect marketing practices (see article here). Specifically, Target started a group of volunteer consumer advocates, the Target Rounders. These advocates would be tasked with peer to peer marketing of Target, with the promised compensation of various Target goods. In what looks to be an episode of managerial oversight, Target released a communication to these Rounders, essentially telling them to keep their association with Target "like a secret."

These disingenuous marketing practices are dangerous, especially when it comes to Generation Y, a group of individuals who live and breathe TRANSPARENCY. They're advertising their social footprint on Myspace and Facebook and baring their souls on their blogs. And, they expect companies (and political figures) to be as upfront about their practices as they individually are with their personal lives.



While programs like Target Rounders seem to be a great way to reach consumers in a media-fragmented, over-communicated marketplace, companies need to heed the caution of being honest and open with their consumers.