Daily Dose of Common Sense

LG is doing a PSA campaign with James Lipton (of Inside the Actor’s Studio fame) warning teens to think before texting. I’m not sure it’ll work but kudos to LG for tackling the issue.

There are 4 ads, and Lipton’s beard plays an important role in each. This one is my favorite. Yes, Lipton says “tweets about his beets.”

[Via AdFreak.com]

Are you planning on getting up at the crack of dawn on Friday to snag some sales? The stores hope you will. The name “Black Friday” refers to the fact that retailers generally move into the black (in other words profitable) on that day. But, look deeper into the fine print on the sale items and you may decide to stay home instead.

Many stores pull some sleazy shenanigans to get customers in the door. Here are some things to look out for.

Limited quantities
Yes, those deals on the flat-screen tvs look too good to be true. The sales are real, but only for the first few people who can grab one. The stores knowingly limit the amount of items for sale–and there are NO rain checks. So, if there are four tvs available for the deal price and you are number five…so sad, too bad.

Sears has not officially revealed its Black Friday sales. However, the company confirmed to CNNMoney.com that two of its post-Thanksgiving deals include a Samsung 40-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for $599.99, “Only while quantities last, minimum three per store, no rainchecks.”

“Sure, you probably have more, but how do you put out a circular to millions of households and only have three?,” Dworsky asked.

Taking advantage of not-so-tech-savvy consumers
Stores knowingly offer the killer deals on lower-quality products, especially electronics, because consumers won’t know the difference. These have far less features than the standard models in a product line.

Dworsky cautions that retailers usually don’t advertise these models as derivatives. “There’s no way the average consumer will know that the TV model they are buying is not the standard one unless they are savvy enough to compare their model numbers,” he said.

The risk
A Black Friday stampede at Wal-Mart last year resulted in the death of an employee. This year, some stores have changed their policies to avoid chaos, either staying open throughout Thanksgiving night or giving numbers to those in early morning lines. However, not all stores have revised the “winner-take-all” atmosphere of Friday morning. If you’re in the market for one of the hot items, be prepared to hold your own against the masses.

Also, you risk getting up at THE CRACK OF DAWN to come home empty handed. Talk about presentus interruptus. That would be too depressing for words.

Me, I’ll be in bed at 5AM on Friday. I’ll wait for the Cyber Monday deals and shop in my pajamas.

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Too much, too soon. That’s my reaction to this ad from The Gap:

Actually, I’m not ready for holiday cheer. Not this early, and certainly not with this much enthusiasm. This ad makes me think I’ll never feel cheery again.

Can we just get to Thanksgiving without the holiday hoopla? We know gift-buying season is right around the corner and stores count on consumers opening their wallets to make their year-end profits (especially this year). But, with some stores putting out holiday decorations in August, we’re already feeling creeped out. Give us some space, retailers!

We have now learned that most of us are too lazy to even fast-forward through the commercials in our recorded programs. The NY Times said:

According to Nielsen, 46 percent of viewers 18 to 49 years old for all four networks taken together are watching the commercials during playback, up slightly from last year.

Even the networks are flabbergasted:

“It’s completely counterintuitive,” said Alan Wurtzel, the president of research for NBC.

Apparently, everyone over-estimated us. Experts say TV is a passive activity, which accounts for the reason why viewers sit through ads when they don’t have to.

I watch a lot of TV in the background while doing other things. Therefore, I’m not paying attention to either the show OR the commercials. You say waste of electricity; I say pleasant background noise. But, if I’m really watching a show (perhaps a 30 Rock or Mad Men episode), you better believe I skip the annoying commercials.

So, wake up and don’t waste your time! Skip the ads in your recorded shows. On average, you’ll save 18 minutes during each hour. It may not sound like a lot at first, but here are some suggestions on how to spend an extra 20 minutes in your day. (Write your own obituary? Really?)

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Here are some of our favorite brief Web stories from this week.

Some people had common sense.

• Science-Based Medicine has a great article on the dangers of homebirth with a midwife. It is the most dangerous form of planned birth in the U.S. As a friend on Twitter said, “Get to the hospital, hippy!”
• In an effort to encourage Californians not to drive so much, pay-as-you-drive insurance plans will now be offered there. If you’ve ever experienced their traffic, any reasonable measure to get fewer cars on the road gets a thumbs up.
• A Wisconsin woman called 911 to report herself as a drunk driver. She said she didn’t want to hurt anyone. We realize she never should have gotten behind the wheel in the first place, but at least she wised up. Most drunk drivers don’t have the cajones to report themselves; instead, they take their chances on the road.
• The two greatest SNL hosts ever–Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin–take over hosting duties for the 2010 Oscars. Smart choice by the producers, who must know that the show format is stale, stale, stale. Here’s hoping for a “Pete’s Schweatty Balls” sketch on awards night.

And, some did not.

• A company has released a $100 mobile device that connects only to Twitter. It doesn’t make phone calls or let you retrieve emails. Only Twitter. In case you didn’t know, you can get an iPhone at these prices, which will give you a whole lot more functionality.
• 53% of Maine voters denied gays the same rights as heterosexuals. Hey, Maine, you think gay marriage is immoral? Blag Hag said it best: Know what else is an abomination, Maine? Lobster.
• Because the airline industry is doing so well, United says “no” to track suits in first class. Shouldn’t they just be grateful that anyone can afford to buy a first class ticket these days?
• A man repeatedly saw Jesus’ image on his truck window. While many look to this as a sign, we think he just needs to wash his truck more often.

This is a great bit by the Daily Show on the fear-mongering surrounding the H1N1 vaccine. So much misinformation and so little time. But, as usual, the DS and Jon Stewart nail it. Enjoy, and get vaccinated when you can!

[Via RationalMoms]

No, this headline was not from The Onion. The readers of AskMen.com have voted Don Draper–of AMC’s Mad Men–the most influential man of 2009.

Handsome? Yes. Nice dresser? You bet. But most influential man?! This is a fictional character, people. How is he even in the running?

I love Mad Men. Don’t get me wrong. It’s an amazing show. However, Draper’s character isn’t exactly squeaky clean. He stole another man’s identity and began another life, where he fathered three children with a woman he hasn’t been faithful to. Yes, he’s an ad genius. That’s about all Draper’s character does right. Is this what some people aspire to these days?

Last year, the winner in the AskMen poll was Barack Obama. A real person who also happens to be the President. (He’s fallen to #3 on this year’s list.)

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[Thanks, Asylum]

The New York Times does a good job of calling Bill Maher to task for his ignorance and misinformation on the flu vaccine. Maher hosts a chat show on HBO and is usually known for his political commentary. But, lately he’s been spending a lot of time leading people astray about vaccines and the H1N1 virus.

He [Maher] said he did not believe that healthy people were vulnerable to dying from the new H1N1 virus. This contradicts statements from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that young, healthy people from ages 5 to 24 appear particularly vulnerable to this flu. About a third of the 76 children who have died of H1N1 since April have had no underlying health problems.

Here is Maher getting schooled by Dr. Bill Frist, a heart surgeon.

Do not listen to talk show hosts when considering your safety and health. Please talk to doctors and other health professionals. He may have a big mouth, but Maher may not be right. Get the facts for yourself.

I’m a big fan of TV. We recently got Verizon’s FiOS, which has a crazy amount of channels to choose from. So far, I love it. But, as I’m flipping through the guide, some completely ridiculous shows just jump out at me and beg to be commented on. So, here is our first installation of “shows lacking in any common sense whatsoever.”

Boooo!
It’s a ghost! No, wait–it’s just Medium and Ghost Whisperer. These two shows, which are shown back-to-back in what must the network must have dreamt up as “the crazy-chick block,” are based on the premise that ghosts are real. But, they’re not. No evidence of the paranormal has ever been proven. Sooooooooo…..??

That’s why shows like Psych and The Mentalist are so great. They present paranormal abilities as shams, and stress the use of careful observations to solve crimes.

TLC: W.T.F.?
TLC, originally started as THE LEARNING CHANNEL, has totally gone off the rails. Forget that they give Jon & Kate as well as the circus sideshow with 18 kids a platform. That’s bad. But, it’s shows like I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant, Your Kid Ate What? and Toddlers and Tiaras that really depress me. Is this really the best TLC can do?

While I haven’t watched these three shows, I’m pretty sure the titles tell me all I need to know. I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant. I find that hard to believe and feel very sorry for you and your kid. Your Kid Ate What? Let me guess. Was it really horrible, potentially dangerous, and embarrassing for you, the kid’s parent? So, you’re sharing that memory with the world because….?

Toddlers and Tiaras is just plain wrong. I don’t want to know about a fringe group that dresses up little girls in pageant gowns and Tammy Faye Baker makeup. Please, please, let me live in that ignorance bubble a little while longer. Oh, I can’t? Thanks a LOT, TLC.

Who watches this crap? I’m no TV snob, and will watch (according to my husband) just about anything. But I do draw the line at shows like these.

Tell me what you think. What shows do you think show a lack of sense?

Photo courtesy of Flickr: angelrravelor

Summer is officially over. With some stores putting up their Christmas decorations in August, it seems as if summer is getting the bum’s rush. Besides getting shorter, summer is changing before our eyes. There are some traditional summertime staples that are fighting for survival.

The Clothesline

Remember your grandmother hanging her wet laundry outside to dry? The practice started to go out of fashion a few decades ago. But in the recession, you might consider hanging your clothes outside instead of running your dryer. Not so fast, say many towns and cities who consider clotheslines an eyesore. The opponents worry about the reduction in property values if everyone starts putting their skivvies outside. So, across the country, folks are fighting for the right to air their dirty laundry.

And, who can blame them? Summertime electric bills are no laughing matter. So, in not running the dryer, a reduction in power use would add up over time:

More than 5% of electricity used in homes goes to power clothes dryers, according to a U.S. Department of Energy report that looked at energy use in 2001.

Besides, have you smelled clothes that have been drying in the sun on a clothesline? There’s a reason why fabric softeners and laundry detergents try to bottle that fragrance.

Ease up, community powers-that-be. A few clotheslines here and there does not mean the neighborhood is becoming a tenement.

The Ice Cream Man

The sing-song jingle of the ice cream man is a memory we all share from childhood. You heard it and you ran like hellfire to find the truck. Well, the ice cream man is taking a beating these days. First, parents complained about the song the trucks play. It was too loud, was played when the truck was stopped, or played after dark. Now, many parents are railing against the continued presence of the ice cream vendors, especially if it happens to be nearby some kids. (I hate to point out the obvious, but isn’t that the target audience?)

The bottom line is that some parents want those sweet treats as far away from their kids as possible. (Apparently, the word “no” is hard to say to some kids.) And, in the times of rampant childhood obesity, people are listening. However, “according to Mister Softee, its typical small vanilla cone is 170 to 190 calories.” A lot of other snacks are much worse for kids than that.

We understand your kids drive you crazy when the truck shows up. But, the ice cream man only shows up a few months out of the year. Don’t ruin it for the rest of us who want the occasional frozen treat.

Reruns

The lazy days of summer aren’t that, well, lazy anymore. TV is no exception. It used to be that you could catch up on all the shows you missed during the year. Forget to see a few episodes of The Love Boat? This was no problem because you could see them (usually starring Charo) again and again over the course of the summer.

Reality TV mostly dominates the summer line up now. So, instead of reliving my favorite 30 Rock episodes, I had to run screaming from More to Love. Or, when I might have had a chance to check out struggling shows like, “Dollhouse” or “Parks & Recreation,” I had to take a shower after seeing the ads for “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.” Yes, I have a DVR. But, it’s nice to flip around and catch an old episode of “The Office” or “Ugly Betty”. Catching up is all too rare in the new summer “reality” of TV.

Some scripted shows, like Mad Men, come back during the summer, too. So, while summertime used to be a time to forget about TV for a while, you really can’t anymore.

Photos courtesy of Flickr: Cyron, duluoz cats