Paul Sheldon pointed out to me a recent op/ed piece published in the New York Times by an Oregon high school senior, who tells of the many times in visiting college campuses that she heard the tour guide compare some aspect of the school to Hogwarts, which I understand is the imaginary school for apprentice […]
Read More… from The infantilization of the U.S.: more adults are behaving like children today.
Yesterday’s announcement that Citigroup is repaying the $20 billion it owes the federal government in TARP (aka “bailout”) funds rightfully focused on the news that yet another bank was returning the loan. Many new stories–but not all and none of the shorter ones–also mentioned the curious fact that Citigroup was going to sell $20.5 billion […]
Read More… from Buy Citigroup stock if you want to pay for executive bonuses.
Target is a very savvy marketing company, and like all large marketers, it conducts a lot of consumer research and pretests all its commercials. Yet after all of that, Target has come up with what I think is a very negative TV ad, one in which they get connected to a traumatic moment in the […]
Read More… from Target misses the target with a traumatic holiday ad.
I have been rereading the updated 1972 edition of Fernand Braudel’s The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, which originally appeared in 1949. Some of Braudel’s conclusions about economic and political trends of the 16th century resonate today. I’m just at page 470 (of about 1,200 pages!) and here’s what […]
Read More… from Some surprising lessons from the 16th century
Featured on a number of portals and websites lately has been a Bankrate.com article by Heather Boerner on four urgent home fixes people should make before they retire. The idea is that if you plan to stay in your home, as most people do, it’s better to make expensive one-time repairs such as replacing the […]
Read More… from Once again a reporter tells us that the best way to save money is to spend money.
Another low point in the endless and senseless coverage of a married professional golfer’s extramarital affairs was Maureen Dowd’s smarmy attempt to find a trend in the actions of Tiger Woods and White House social secretary Desiree Rogers who might (but might not) share some blame for party-crashers penetrating President Obama’s first state dinner and […]
Read More… from Maureen Dowd speaks in code and everyone understands what she means.
The low point of the unfolding coverage of Tiger Wood’s alleged multiple affairs has to be the December 4 article in the New York Daily News about the reaction of a man who would have been the father-in-law of one of Tiger’s purported playmates if the man’s son had not died in the 9/11 attack. […]
Read More… from The Daily News does a classic bait-and-switch using Tiger bait.
I saw another new Walmart commercial that seems to be based on the new realities of the great recession and the 21st century family. In this one, the announcer says that it costs $45 on average to take a family (of four?) out to dinner. Instead, the announcer suggests, with that Walmart mix of aggressive […]
Read More… from Walmart commercials are becoming the new reality TV
In reviewing the first four months of my blog, I have noted my tendency to pick on the New York Times. Why, you may ask? Even if you don’t care, read on and make me feel good: The Times is still the national newspaper of record and its articles end up in hundreds of other […]
Read More… from You always hurt the one you love: Why I pick on the New York Times.
In its lead story on the front page this past Sunday, The New York Times continues its recent policy of injecting old-fashioned racial attitudes into the continuing discussion of the struggles many face in the current recession. And again, the Times does it with photographs. The article, co-written by Jason DeParle and Robert Gebeloff, details […]