Archive for June, 2009

Fewer Finer Things

What does the death of TV Pitchman Billy Mays mean for America?

Perhaps fewer excellent products, marketed directly to America’s hearths and homes.

In honor of Billy’s passing, here is Popular Mechanics on his 5 best products.

June 30, 2009 at 1:51 pm Leave a comment

Bad

I’m disappointed about Michael Jackson’s death. I’ve always hoped he would have a comeback.

For all his problems, his music was incredible. This is a music-focused memoriam.

June 25, 2009 at 10:09 pm 2 comments

¡Feliz cumpleaños Walkman!

I liked this retrospective on the now-30 year-old Sony Walkman. Check out this page to see more of that first, brave model. It was very expensive, at over $500 inflation-adjusted dollars!

I remember borrowing my dad’s enormous SPORTS Walkman. Not only did it play cassette tapes, but it also had an FM Tuner.

Then there were the exciting models that also had the 3 or 5 band equalizers and the MEGA BASS button. And then came the Discman, with models like this that could even be used IN THE CAR!

Still, for a long time, the Walkman was the most practical and attainable personal musical device. I think I owned this model, near the APEX of Walkman technology, enjoying Kris Kross and other great music.

Happy Birthday Walkman!

June 24, 2009 at 3:12 pm Leave a comment

Because We Care

We want our readers to be on the cutting-edge of fine infomercial sold items. I present…

THE WEARABLE TOWEL!

June 9, 2009 at 10:04 am 1 comment

The Lamentations of Lowry – Chapter 16: Truth in Advertising

A woman sued Cap’n Crunch, or rather Quaker Oats, on the basis that Crunchberries are not actual fruit!

Awesome.

The blog I linked to has a fantastic line:

Judge England also noted another federal court had “previously rejected substantially similar claims directed against the packaging of Fruit Loops [sic] cereal, and brought by these same Plaintiff attorneys.”  He found that their attack on “Crunchberries” should fare no better than their prior claims that “Froot Loops” did not contain real froot.

I tried to grow a froot tree once.

On a similar note, this is an interesting article about the history of Grape Nuts, which are neither grape nor nuts. It’s actually…BREAD. Burned, dried, smashed bread. It makes you manly too.

Has Grape Nuts ever been sued as was the Cap’n? I don’t know, but in posing the question on Instapundit, Ann Althouse prompted this historical bit from Eugene Volokh. Coca-Cola was sued for not actually containing significant amounts of coca, as in the plant from which cocaine is derived. From the Circuit Court’s 1914 opinion:

‘The use of a compound name does not necessarily * * * indicate that the article to which the name is applied contains the substances whose names make up the compound. Thus, soda water contains no soda; the butternut contains no butter; cream of tartar contains no cream; nor milk of lime any milk. Grape fruit is not the fruit of the grape; nor is bread fruit the fruit of bread; the pineapple is foreign to both the pine and the apple; and the manufactured food known as Grape Nuts contains neither grapes nor nuts.‘ …

We conclude that the name Coca Cola as applied to plaintiff’s product, while undoubtedly suggestive, is not so substantially and really deceptive as to invalidate the registered mark.

It’s the pause that refreshes.

June 6, 2009 at 11:51 am 1 comment

Happy National Doughnut Day

It is a very special holiday… a HOLE-liday!

This blog exists, largely, because of donuts.  The two founding members of this blog were also the founding members of Team Kreme, camping out to hail in the first Krispy Kreme in Utah Valley.   Tonight JL and Sara Francis are both in my heart.

Please, in the comments share your favorite donut establishments around this fine globe…

I’ll start out.

Krispy Kreme – the original glaze (a classic)

Dunkin Donuts – Boston Kreme (the worst thing about California is the lack of Dunkins when you really need them)

June 5, 2009 at 8:36 pm 5 comments


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