Frugalistas by Target

I've been seeing this commercial for Target the last few days and it's making me want to go shopping there. I think they are trying to coin a new word. Listen up for the term frugalistas!

Running Shoes

Has anybody seen or gone running with these funky shoes?

Cell Phones as the New Cigarette

BEFORE

When I was in college I recall students who smoked cigarettes were easily brought together; it was a quick and easy way to socialize with people you didn't know who had something in common with you. It gave you something to do when you had nothing better to do- I assume. By now we are all used to people moving through their daily lives with their cell phones glued to their face, but have you noticed that in those awkward social situations where people aren't talking to each other, they run to the comfort of their phones to text or browse the Internet? I'm guilty too. The other day I was waiting in line (for kogibbq tacos) and everybody who didn't have anybody to talk to just clicked away on the phones... I get it, you have so much to do, and so little time that it's efficient OR is it that you don't want to stare blankly into space? Then I was at a party and several guys were sitting around being anti-social doing the same. I wonder if anybody is pretend texting? I imagine in their minds they are saying "I may not have a lot of friends here, but I have a lot of friends in my phone and I'm going to prove it by texting them now". It has become the new safety net, and everybody can be part of it.

PS - This is not about smokers, this is about social awkwardness and how texting has helped save people in those moments. Yes, I understand that you real smokers out there smoke for "real" reasons that has nothing to do with giving yourself something to do.

AFTER

Information is Beautiful

I've been perusing around this website www.informationisbeautiful.net which is rather intriguing; it's a collection of visually appealing ways to display statistics which you could never imagine. It may give you a whole new perspective on the endless possibilities of sharing data beyond a line, bar or pie. The one I found cool was "The Billion Dollar Gram" which to me, dare I say it, is a neat pie chart. It displays the amount of dollars spent on different things in the media such as the war in Iraq, advertising, the illegal drug market and so forth - putting them all into perspective relative to one another. Here's a snippet of it...

This is the bio of David McCandless, the designer of this project.

"I’ve written for The Guardian, Wired and others. I’m into anything strange and interesting. These days I’m an independent visual & data journalist. My passion is for visualising information – facts, data, ideas, subjects, issues, statistics, questions – all with the minimum of words. I’m interested in how designed information can help us understand the world, cut through BS and reveal hidden connections, patterns and stories underneath. Or, failing that, it can just look cool!"

@mandifromblabby Tweets

I haven't read any reviews on Twitter yet, so now that I have tested the waters, I will share my opinion before I cloud my mind with the perceptions of others...

Likes:

1. It's best for following people, brands, companies, websites, authors and so forth that interest me and exclude my real life friends.

2. I enjoy being able to opt into texts, I feel like I'm friends with Dr. Oz because he texts me all the time but doesn't even know it, therefore I can ignore him and never "text" him back.

3. I like to keep an eye on Trending Topics to know what the world is thinking about.

4. I really like the Saved Searches feature. One of my saved searches is "Harley" so when I want to see what everybody on twitter is chatting about related to Harley, it's a quick and easy way to get a read on that.

Dislikes:

1. While re-tweeting is a very kind way to give credit where credit is due, for those that do it all the time you clutter the world of twitter and your ideas begin to feel unoriginal, therefore I no longer want to click on your links anymore. Please share your own ideas with me from time to time.

2. If anybody mentions you (not as a direct message) it's moved off your page by the time you blink so every time I have to go to click on @mandifromblabby on the right of the screen because it doesn't keep a count in the same way direct messages do (which is helpful)

3. Many people begin to write like robots and that is not going to get people to pay attention to you. For example: @BATMANONTHEBEAT @BeautyInTheHood #MixtapeMonday#MusicMonday P/O/P " #UPTOWN MUSIC"MIXTAPE,CLICK LINK 4 FREE DOWNLOAD http://short.to/m1l4 !!!

4. I don't like how you can't direct message somebody unless they are following you.

5. It would be useful to be able to track back to previous messages like you can with a string of emails. For example, @RockerRick says "I'm hungry" and I respond to the message by saying "@RockerRick for what?" however my friend @maryjaneolson sees this message on my page and has no idea what I'm talking about unless she inconveniently goes to @RockerRicks's twitter page to see what he said, which by then may have already changed.

6. If I go to "following" the list is sorted by the order in which you began following each person rather than alphabetically. How can I easily get to the person I want to without having to browse through my followers?

I'm hoping these are things that perhaps I have not learned about yet that have rather easy solutions. If they do, please free to be my help desk, along with sharing the things you do and don't like about Twitter.

Here are some of my favorite people I follow:

@mashable
@BestAt
@kogibbq
@DrOz

@PSFK

See Julie and Julia

There were only 2 things I did not enjoy about this movie...

1. Hearing people chew their food like cows

2. Being able to relate

Sure you can call it a girly movie, but it will make you think about your passions, what drive you, and what inspire you. Relating to a tantrum which makes no sense to most people, but makes all the sense in the world to you. Feeling like your kitchen is too small, and that you just want to cook more healthy, cheap, or enjoyable meals. Wanting to be inspired, and more importantly, inspire others. BLOGGING - writing when you are not a writer, and there may be many other more interesting people to listen to. Narcissism and talking to a web of people who may or may not be listening... and even if they are, they live in your household which means they can more easily listen to you in real life. Feeling enthusiastic and stuck at the same time, which is okay. Trying to find a path, and when you go down the wrong one, blaming it on something else... your day job or your small apartment, which makes complete sense at the moment, but only to you. I'm not sure this a sensible "review" but I'd give it 2 thumbs up.

I have a list of "43 things" that I'd like to accomplish one day... they gather dust on the pages of my idea book. Thinking about these 43 things inspire me. Sure you may call it an infatuation or just a phase; 8 glasses of water a day, piano, blogging, reading 12 books in 1 year, taking my multi-vitamin and so forth. If you know me, which I'm sure you do, you have laughed about this, without questioning your own list of 43 things.

Become a chef, move through your kitchen with grace, find something therapeutic, be childlike, go on a journey, express your passion, and be daring... learn to bone a chicken.

Epoc Can Read Minds

Detecting your expressions, understanding your emotions, and moving objects with your mind...

sounds like something from the future but it's here today. I just got around to reading the December 2008 edition of Inc. "How to Launch a Billion Dollar Idea" which introduced me to Tan Le, Emotiv co-founder which produced the Epoc headset. This technology can literally read your mind! While it seems to be making a dent in the video game industry (allowing gamers to move virtual objects) I imagine this product could make waves in the ocean of research. All brands dream of truly understanding consumers, and this could be the window into their brains. Imagine Brand X shows you a commercial with this contraption on your head. Perhaps the software can collect your expressions, capture your feelings towards their ad, and compile this data to form a true read on their ad. Often times people cannot express their true emotions, not because they mean to hide them, but because they are human. Maybe the Epoc could help lessen the gap between what people say and do. The article briefly mentions a similar company called EmSense which Coke used for making decisions about their Super Bowl ads. EmSense CEO Keith Winter says "The market research business is worth billions. It's an ocean. Gaming is a pond" and we all know gaming is a very large pond.

A Date With Redbox

I recently began using Redbox which is basically a DVD vending machine. Movies cost $1 as long as you return it the following day by 9pm. If you're late, they charge you a dollar a day; not too bad compared to a $5 movie from Blockbuster. So far I'm a fan because it's cheap and walking distance, however I'm not totally sold on the selection. There are action movies and major releases however they don't seem to rotate often. As long as people start to catch on, I'm sure they will be able to expand their selection. I believe you can also reserve your DVD online before picking it up. I'm looking forward to seeing where they go from here.

This got me thinking, will there ever be a technology that can quickly produce your DVD on the spot, allowing you to select anything you want? That would be cool.

Keep Your Eyes Open for Gypsters

Does anybody know what a Gypster is?

According to trendcentral.com a Gypster is "A person who dresses like a hybrid of a gypsy and a hipster" however according to urbandictionary.com a Gypster is "A snowboarder who adorns him or herself with numerous trinkets and flare dangling from tight pants and a leather jacket, most likely also sporting long hair and a dream catcher necklace." Perhaps it's just too new to define but I can't quite imagine this right now; haven't seem them lurking around Hollywood yet. I'm keeping an eye out for bohemian meets hipster meets dirty hippie.

Thank God for Simpler Times

For only $2.99 you can get a 6-pack of Simpler Times Beer from Trader Joe's. An added benefit... 6.2% alcohol by volume. Pretty good timing eh?