A few years ago I saw a creative website submitted to Digg, as many are, called The Story of Stuff . You should check it out for yourself, but to summarize... the video shows you all the things you don't know about when it comes to that cheap crap you buy in stores. While some things are obviously bias towards some points of view, take what is said with that understanding, as you should all things. The video does point out one important thing that I have never really forgotten. As a population we are driven to spend money on consumer goods all the time. We have ads shoved in our faces so much that I don't think people really think about what it means to not be in some environment that isn't being brought to you by so-n-so. We are told to buy, shop, spend, borrow, and be happy with it.

But now that the economy has been nearly shaken to its foundations I found myself noticing something this year that I don't think people are noticing... as usual. Corporations are scared. They are scared shitless that people might actually wake up from the borrow and buy mentality to realize that saving more and spending less on crap they don't need might be a better idea. The ads I see now, don't just shove products and sales into your face this shopping season... they are begging, insisting, and just short of ordering you to go out and buy from them. The hidden messages I'm seeing with taglines like 'Happier Holidays', "now is the time to buy", or "cheer up and save".

I’m hoping the public will wake up and learn that last years technology, clothes, and the assortment of other products are just as good 2-3 years from now. Buying the latest and greatest is not always needed. I will fully admit that I am guilty of this too. When that new great tech product comes out, I feel the urge to upgrade. Let’s take the iPhone for example. I knew it was a cool product, but I also knew it needed some refinement. So unlike many people, I didn’t rush out to buy the brick that was outdated with the refined release a year later. I stuck with my 3 year old Razor phone until something better came out.

I hope, if anything, that what good comes out of this absolute catastrophe of unregulated greed, people will stop and think before buying something and say to themselves. “Do I really need to buy this right now?” By asking this, and the more responsible question of “What did it take to make this and how easily can this item be recycled into other things?” people can take power out of the hands of those who just want your attention and money.





Overall for 2008, this has been a rather amazing year for me in regards to a turn of events. The trip to Japan, a few changes at my old job, visiting friends at Otakon and then everything from September on... all pretty cool stuff given the last four years or so. If you had asked me this time last year if I would see all these things happen… my pessimistic side would have replied with “I doubt it.” But here I am…