Archive for the ‘Consumer spending’ Category

I spent $600,000 on this diamond-encrusted blog entry

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

In a combination of the asinine and the obvious, the wealthiest of the wealthies are still spending like Richie Rich coupled with Bruce Wayne and Santa, according to this New York Times article. I call it asinine because it is. The article at one point describes an upcoming ritzy party at ...

R.I.P. Jethro

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

My favorite dog in the world has died. His name was Jethro and he was the sweetest, cutest, coolest little pup ever. He belonged to my friend Laurie and had a weird knack for playing when you wanted to play and resting when you wanted to rest. He was obliging, which ...

Hee hee. Spitzer.

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

It's Wednesday now and, on Monday, PBS' Frontline re-ran the truly excellent profile of the credit card industry. Granted, the interview with then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is a lot funnier now, but the episode was a truly horrifying and in-depth look at a really shady industry that bankrupts a ...

Screw bonds, buy crap!

Thursday, March 13th, 2008

A man named Fratto is telling you to buy a bunch of crap you wouldn't have otherwise (i.e. don't need). There. That's my anticonsumerist news for the day. Read it and get pissed. Oh, yeah. Fratto is the deputy press secretary and he's speaking on behalf of the US government. Move to Canada. We ...

I have a Made in the USA shirt!

Monday, March 10th, 2008

The ongoing process of me realizing that no one in the US makes a damn thing anymore is constantly stymied by reality. I'll find a small company that makes the greatest potato chips I've ever had or recall the trip to Iowa my family made when I was a kid to pick ...

How do I buy thee?

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace. Just think, instead of writing those famous lines, Elizabeth Barrett Browning could have just bought her husband ...

There’s gold in them thar portfolios

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

You know what really makes me feel good about the economic outlook? Financial experts hoarding gold. According to the Malaysian Star Online (and some other sources - I just chose the most exotic one), more financial experts are padding their portfolios with gold rather than stocks or cash. That's also the advice from ...

Spending and God

Monday, February 11th, 2008

OK, time to tick everybody off. How does anticonsumerism relate to the big G-O-D? Religion is a contentious issue, but I'll try to keep it light by putting a picture of handsome actor George Peppard somewhere in the entry. This isn't my issue. Matters of faith aren't under my purview - I blog about ...

The Kokoris package

Sunday, February 10th, 2008

This is more of an update. Please read the posting below for the main bit of today's news. It's got a picture of Michael Jackson in it. As is my Sunday wont, I settled down with the Chicago Tribune for the comics, the crossword and as much news as I can ...

Voudoun Economics

Sunday, February 10th, 2008

Normally, I resent when someone makes some headlines for coming up with a snappy, headline-friendly term for something completely random - Gen Y, frienvy and, to be honest, anticonsumerism spring to mind. It's sort of lazy journalism. But who can resist Zombie Debt? Yeah, I had to go with Thriller. It's sort of ...