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Times might be hard, but romance can still thrive. [more inside]
posted by mippy on Feb 2, 2012 - 52 comments

Comedian Louis CK on the Opie and Anthony radio show discussing consumers and commercialism: (part 1) (part 2) (part 3). [more inside]
posted by spoobnooble on Jul 8, 2011 - 35 comments

In 2006, LibriVox released a small collection of traditional Christmas Carols, sung by volunteers from around the world, all in the Public Domain. It was a neat idea. Then, years of silence, no carolers came. Now it's December 2009 and the carolers have returned, with a second larger collection of traditional carols. (orig LibriVox page. Project page.)
posted by stbalbach on Dec 19, 2009 - 7 comments

Time for Black Friday again and people just losing it and going fucking insane.
posted by Foci for Analysis on Nov 25, 2007 - 168 comments

Shaolin [Wiki] is having a difficult time lately. A combination of the silver screen and the small screen cemented the ancient school in most peoples' minds as a surefire way to kick ass most stylishly. Its introduction in the US has since been fraught with problems and complications, most notably in 1992 when a tour of Shaolin Fighting Monks returned to China minus one Shi Yan-Ming - who has since started the USA Shaolin Temple. Then the Chinese government tried starting their own Shaolin-approved schools. But various attempts haven't gone right either. What is the state of Shaolin now? Everyone's trying to make a buck in this game. You can buy anything from Shaolin Secrets in scroll form to the opportunity to "live the life of a warrior monk". Shaolin cachet is at a premium. Its name fame is such it's even ruining things back home. Immigration scams, ballet classes, Lollapalooza, the RZA? Can it get any worse? Now people are even saying one lone ninja can defeat a whole temples' worth of monks!
posted by stinkycheese on Sep 3, 2007 - 33 comments

Outrage in Deadheadland: fans are furious since the Grateful Dead pulled thousands of freely available concert recordings from Live Music Archive. Some threaten boycotts. Are the Dead really looking out for "Grateful Dead Values" or simply protecting their commercial interests? Have Deadheads been spoiled by free access to the music? Bassist Phil Lesh says he had no say in the matter, Barlow thinks it's "like finding out that your brother is a child molester," and heady bloggers are torn. Or is it all moot anyway? "The idea that they could stop people from trading these files is absurd... It's no longer under anyone's control. People have gigabytes of this stuff." (Previously on Mefi.)
posted by muckster on Nov 30, 2005 - 109 comments

Upside-Down Christmas Trees - Demand is growing. The media seems to have caught on to the trend...playing right into the hands of the sellers. Get yours today (if they haven't already sold out), for a mere $599.95. On one hand, it seems like a good space-saving idea. On the other, how much more commercial can Christmas get? "Target has three such upside-down trees on its website, touting their best attribute: 'Leaves more room on the floor for gifts!'"
posted by clgregor on Nov 10, 2005 - 67 comments

Won't somebody please think of the children? Oh, don't fool yourselves! Americans under the age of 12 now spend or influence the spending of $565 billion a year - up from $2.2 billion in 1968, and kid-spending has roughly doubled every ten years for the past three decades, tripling in the 1990s. Which means someone is always thinking of the children. The American Association of Pediatrics (pdf) cites this bludgeoning of kidvertising as creating in children "a fever for shopping and spending, swollen expectations about material needs, decreasing immunity to the assaults of advertisers, self-concepts defined by brands of clothing, and a rash of of debt by the time they leave college". [more...]
posted by taz on Sep 19, 2005 - 55 comments

Tis the Season -- a new short story from China Mieville, just in time for the Holidays™ ... Don't get me wrong. I haven't got shares in YuleCo™, and I can't afford a one-day end-user licence, so I couldn't have a legal party. I'd briefly considered buying from one of the budget competitors like XmasTym, or a spinoff from a non-specialist like Coca-Crissmas, but the idea of doing it on the cheap was just depressing...
posted by amberglow on Dec 23, 2004 - 14 comments

The perfect Christmas gift for the geek in your life. Or maybe you need something for your new niece or nephew? Then again, this site may have all the stuff on your gift shopping list.
posted by Doohickie on Dec 11, 2004 - 24 comments

Blog is dead. (via twodolla.org)
posted by mr_crash_davis on Mar 18, 2004 - 32 comments

My Creepy Valentine - ok, so some people find Valentine's Day somewhat creepy - not everyone likes a holiday that has a weapon wielding angel as a mascot. Not everyone warms to the cloyingly cute commercialism. Some people prefer that their romance has a bit more edge (not work safe!). And even for true romantics, the best of intentions can run amuck (flash). But if you do plan to celebrate, you'll have to act soon.
posted by madamjujujive on Feb 2, 2003 - 29 comments

Too little, too late? Commercial Alert's campaign to remove advertising from public schools, including "a $5,000 prize to the school that makes the best and most creative effort to remove advertising and commercialism from school premises." After unsuccessful campaigns against Channel One and junk food, the battle seems unwinnable.
(AdSlam link via Mothering.com, a great parenting resource)
posted by whatnot on Nov 9, 2001 - 27 comments

Aslan gets a makeover? (NYTimes link, reg. required, sorry.) Apparently Harper-Collins and the C.S. Lewis estate see a Harry Potter-style merchandising bonanza in the Narnian Chronicles -- if they de-emphasize that pesky Christianity, that is, and write a few more Narnia books, and produce some plush toys of the Narnian characters. I feel queasy.
posted by litlnemo on Jun 3, 2001 - 39 comments