Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:06:48 GMT

Newspaper death roll

And so the death watch watch continues. With the New York Times on the edge, and with Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, which owns The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com, and Tribune Co., publisher of the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, more newspapers look like going under. Add to that the news that Hearst is planning to close or sell its San Francisco Chronicle newspaper unless it can cut more jobs. Pity the Chronicle reporters who had to file this report.

Unfortunately, it's going to get worse. As the Financial Times reported at the end of last year, Deloitte has put out research showing that the writing is on the wall for newspapers. The answer doesn't lie in online newspapers because they don't produce anywhere near the profit once enjoyed by print. Cutting staff is not the answer, according to that report. A better, if no less painful, solution might lie in reducing the frequency of the publication. If you want print, you might need to wait until the weekend.

Writing in The Times last year, mega blogger Andrew Sullivan says newspapers are done for. "You should take a moment to savour the piece of grubby newsprint in your hands this Sunday,'' Sullivan writes. "Because it is going to disappear far sooner than most analysts predict.

This is a significant problem for society because when reporting gets reduced, or is turned more vacuous, it becomes bad for democracy. On the other hand, there is a hunger for real news out there. The question is whether that will be enough to save the newspaper industry from its terrible economics. Posted by: leon      Read more     Source

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:59:05 GMT

10 Geeky Tricks For Getting Out Of Bed In The Morning

When your alarm wakes you up, is it hard for you to get up right away? Do you find yourself hitting the snooze button and going right back to sleep?

Then you"re just like me. Although there people who wake up bright-eyed, ready to start their day, most people need a little bit of help taking those first few steps.

Here are 10 tips how to get up early every day. Posted by: Gerard      Read more     Source

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:09:12 GMT

Happy Cloud!

A British artist releases a happy face shaped clouds high over the London sky!
Posted by: Fabrik      Read more     Source

February 24, 2009, 6:18 AM CT

Price gimmicks may affect choice

When shopping, we often find ourselves choosing between lower- and higher-cost items. But most people make a choice based on the first digit they see, as per a newly released study in the Journal of Consumer Research

"Shoppers pay a disproportionate amount of attention to the leftmost digits in prices and these leftmost digits impact whether a product's price is perceived to be relatively affordable or expensive," write authors Kenneth C. Manning (Colorado State University) and David E. Sprott (Washington State University).

In one experiment, Manning and Sprott asked participants to consider two pens, one priced at $2.00 and the other at $4.00. A penny decrease in the price of either pen lowered the price's leftmost digit. The researcher manipulated the prices and observed that when the pens were priced at $2.00 and $3.99, 44 percent of the participants selected the higher-priced pen. But when the pens were priced at $1.99 and $4.00, only 18 percent of the participants chose the higher-priced pen.

"The larger perceived price difference between the pens when they are priced at $1.99 and $4.00 led people to focus on how much they were spending and ultimately resulted in a strong tendency to select the cheaper alternative."

The scientists went on to study the impact of two "round prices" (such as $30.00 and $40.00) and two "just-below prices" ($29.99 and $39.99). "When we showed people these sets of prices, most perceived the two round prices to be more similar to one another than the two just-below prices. Based on the perceived price differences, we predicted that people would focus less on how much they were spending when presented with round prices, and as a result, a relatively large percentage of people would opt for the $40.00 option." The experiment supported their expectation. However, when buying a gift for a very close friend or when a purchase only involves a few dollars, the authors observed that rounding or just-below pricing had no impact on choice......... Posted by: Tom      Read more         Source

February 24, 2009, 6:17 AM CT

Don't skip that commercial

We all complain about commercials, and a number of people invest in technology to eliminate them. But a surprising newly released study in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that, contrary to popular belief, commercials improve television viewing in a number of cases.

"Eventhough consumers have difficulty predicting this, their enjoyment of television shows tends to gradually diminish during the viewing experience. That is, viewers adapt to the show, making every minute slightly less enjoyable than the prior one," write authors Leif D. Nelson (University of California, San Diego), Tom Meyvis, and Jeff Galak (both New York University).

The scientists conducted six studies where participants watched and reviewed either continuous or disrupted versions of programs. In the first study, participants watched an episode of the sitcom "Taxi." Eventhough the participants disliked the commercials, those who watched the show with commercials liked it better than those who watched it without. A second study observed that people enjoyed a short animated clip more when it was interrupted by a commercial than when it played continuously.

A third study observed that participants who watched an interrupted version of a nature documentary not only enjoyed the documentary more, but were also willing to donate more to a nature charity after viewing......... Posted by: Gina      Read more         Source

February 24, 2009, 6:12 AM CT

Consumers overestimate enjoyment of products

That fancy iPod or car with a sunroof might seem appealing when you're about to buy it, but chances are the enjoyment will be short-lived. As per a newly released study in the Journal of Consumer Research, enjoyment of products decreases over time, but people are not often aware of this process.

Authors Jing Wang (Singapore Management University), Nathan Novemsky, and Ravi Dhar (both Yale University), examine why predictions of future product enjoyment don't tend to match reality. "We show that consumers overestimate the long-term enjoyment from various products including toys, cars, stereos, iPods, and digital cameras when making a purchase decision, even though when asked directly, they seem to know that they will enjoy these products less over time," write the authors.

In one experiment, participants were asked to make a choice between two cars: a base model and the same care with a sunroof for an additional $900. "Before choosing a car, one group predicted how much they would enjoy the sunroof several months after purchase, while another predicted enjoyment at two points, both immediately after purchase and several months later, to simulate the progression of time," write the authors. "The latter group accurately expected their enjoyment of the sunroof to diminish over time, while the former group overestimated their enjoyment level for the sunroof several months after purchase"......... Posted by: Tom      Read more         Source

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:32:49 GMT

Vogue - March 2009 - Michelle Obama

Snagged this from Jezebel.

To be honest, I"m a little "meh" about the photo they chose but then this is American Vogue (which has never been accused of having much imagination when it comes to photo styling) AND Annie Leibovitz has been phoning it in for about a decade.

Still, I love the color of her dress and will be waiting with baited breath until this shows up in my mailbox.

I"ll reserve furthur judgement until I see this one in person. The image makes it look as though her head is weirdly Photoshopped doesn"t it?

I wonder if this issue will break their sales record the way Oprah"s cover did back in 1998. Posted by: Brigitte      Read more     Source

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:55:20 GMT

Oluchi Onweagba for Liu Jo "BottomUp" Jeans

This is an commercial for Liu Jo Bottom-Up jeans sure is....interesting. I guess the point is that the "shape enhancing" Italian jeans will give you a head turning black girl booty for a fraction of the cost of booty implant surgery.*

Well, as long as the booty you desire isn"t too large. I mean, Oluchi has a great figure but her butt isn"t exactly busting any seams.

*Afro wig not included

Liu Jo Posted by: Brigitte      Read more     Source

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:28:00 GMT

The Michael Jackson Auction

From April 22nd – 25th, 2009, an auction by Julien"s Auctions at the Beverley Hills Hilton will provide an unprecedented look into the private world of Michael Jackson.

Observer Music Monthly has obtained this exclusive preview of some of the items going under the hammer. Posted by: Gerard      Read more     Source

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:18:22 GMT

Fruitcake Lady

Sorry if I"m late to the party on this one (usually I"m early to parties cause I"m a loser), but I never watch Leno because I"m in bed by 10 every night and because he"s not at all funny.

However, the Fruitcake Lady is pretty good. Above is a montage of some of her best responses to viewer questions.

Scooped from Mitchell.

Posted by: Kevin      Read more     Source