i started reading mine last night

My Kindle is a magical device that receives the New Yorker every Sunday night. Magic! Efficiency from a magazine! Has the magazine industry ever considered that one of the reasons people no longer subscribe to magazines might be that by the time an issue has arrived in the post its been three weeks since it first appeared on news stands? Being able to read a magazine when it's current almost makes up for the lack of being able to flip directly to the movie review section/cartoons.

Peace of Mind

Here's a delightful post (reposted from The Happiness Project) about whether or not something should be considered clutter.

This works for clothes as well, although I'll add that if I haven't worn it within the past year and it's not a special occasion outfit then I can give it away. Alas, that rule hasn't helped me weed through the two dozen sweaters that I own.

Missing the Target on Halloween

I kind of like to watch commercials. Most of them are terrible but a few, like the wonderful Sony Brava commercial, are great short films. But it's not purely for the entertainment value... commercials tell us a lot about cultural assumptions as sales people are not known for their nuanced views of society and gender roles (women are attracted to pink and like shoes! men like boobs! daytime television viewers enjoyed being shouted at while watching their court tv thingies!)... Commercials also tell us about who the producers believe are watching or listening to their programs.

Anyway, I ended up watching Top Chef Just Desserts last night and thought, hey, apparently this is a show watched by homewives who stay up late. Besides learning that women are suppose to care about the softness of their hands and that sponges speak like southern bells (quoi?), I learned that Target thinks that awesomely detailed homemade Iron Man costumes don't compare with their mass produced official Target available one. Not only did the homemade Iron Man costume look so much cooler, but it would be guarantee the child wearing it to get more and better candy than the store bought one. There are two ways to win at Halloween, the first to is have an elaborately detailed outfit and the second is to be clever. The target one is neither.

I'm not the only person who has found this as appalling. Here's a nice take down on Slate.