Cyber Tuesday

So Cyber Monday was all over the place today:
(I'm pretty sure one or both of these requires registration)
A Gimmick Becomes a Real Trend
(I don't know that I'm really convinced it's a "real trend" - I do think they've succeeded in getting people talking about it.)
Holiday shopping continues on Cyber Monday
and....
Yahoo’s Cyber Monday Meltdown

Wow, I'd be pissed if I had a Yahoo Store. Can you sue your shopping cart company if they lose you money?

Also? I said I hadn't heard the term before this year, but actually I bookmarked CyberMonday.com on del.icio.us last year. Obviously it didn't make much of an impression, though.


Remember "Baby Grace"? The toddler Jane Doe I was talking about a couple of weeks ago? Well, they finally found out who she is. It's a hugely depressing story and frankly, I wouldn't read it if I were you - I sort of wish I hadn't, except that it's a local story and I was bound to hear it all eventually, no matter what. The piece of it I wanted to touch on here, though, concerns how her mother and stepfather (who have apparently confessed to killing her) met: playing World of Warcraft. I'm expecting another round of hysteria about video game violence next, although I seriously doubt that that really had anything to do with it. (The news reports I saw originally just said they met "online.")


I went back to Matthew Yglesias' site to look for the article that was the reason I went there in the first place - and I still haven't found that one, but I found a factoid that's rather, well, alarming. And enlightening. Nearly 3/4 of all farm subsidies go to the meat and dairy industries? Wow.

He also points out elsewhere that there is such a thing as a Gucci baby carrier, at $850, seen recently on Gwen Stefani. And I mean, we're not talking about a stroller here - I gather from the parenting circles I intersect with that there a good many strollers that run into the hundreds of dollars. We're talking just a, well, backpack - or possibly frontpack, I am unclear on that point. (And I am not providing a link; I'm sure if you want to see the thing, it should be easy enough to find!) I don't really know why this annoys me so much; it's just... I don't know... such conspicuous consumption. I seem to recall getting worked up about a Prada diaper bag once, too. Apparently there's something about the intersection of babies and ridiculously-expensive designer gear that bothers me.



Um, ok.

( Yet another meme )