Back to Nature Cookies

I tried "Back to Nature" brand peanut butter cookies from Whole Foods and they're great. Basically taste like Nutter Butters (a very, very good thing) but without all the crappy ingredients.

Survival of the Classic TV Commercial

Since I've had kids I've noticed how inappropriate some TV commercial placements are. It's difficult to try and watch a baseball game with a 5-year old when the commercials include movie trailers for "Inglorious Basterds" and "The Stepfather." I'm not complaining about the commercials themselves - George Carlin was right...if I don't like the show, I can change the channel - but there needs to be some level of consistency between the actual content (the show) and the interruptions inserted into it (the commercials). Put the horror movie trailers in with late night programming or other age-aligned shows like Melrose Place, or whatever, but don't put them in something that people will be watching with their kids.

Or, allow viewers to select their own tract of commercials to view. For example, families with kids could choose the "G" option and be assured that all the commercials shown while they're watching are OK for kids, while anyone else might opt for the "PG" or "R" (or even "X") option. Advertisers would be thrilled at this extra level of segmenting and I'd be able to watch the Yankees with my kids without having to skip all the commercials.

Big media folks need to remember that the viewer has a lot of power these days. I skip through all the commercials when I watch baseball with the kids, and I never even considered watching basketball with them because of the violence.

OK, so Verizon, Comcast, Time-Warner, etc....you have your work cut out for you.

Give Good Phone....PLEASE

Usability should apply not only to websites, but to phone calls as well. People's time is too valuable to be used up listening to touchy-feely talk from a company that already has your business. I don't want to hear, "It's a glorious day at Bank of America, and can you tell me to whom I have the pleasure of speaking with today?". I want to hear, "Bank of America, how may I help you?". And after they answer my question, I don't want to hear, "I'd like to take the time to thank you for being a Bank of America customer today. And since you're a valued customer, I'd like to ask if you'd be interested in.......". I want to hear, "Thanks for calling, have a nice day." Oh, and I definitely don't want to have to repeat my card number or zip code AFTER I've already punched it in on my phone. Yes, this stuff makes me cranky.

The Holy Grail of the Unconscious

As the master of the collective unconscious would have had it, I happen to be flipping through one of the two often-attempted, rarely mastered Carl Jung books sitting on the shelf late last week. Two days later, the Sunday New York Times Magazine featured a cover story on the pending release of The Red Book, a fabled and long awaited book from Jung's unreleased archives. Synchronicity

indeed.

Not unlike the great lost-then-found Beach Boys album Smile, the release

of Carl Jung's The Red Book has fans and critics the world over salivating. But while Smile was never actually completed until Brian Wilson returned to it some 30 years later, Jung worked off and on for 16 years and completed The Red Book around 1930. It has remained unreleased ever since. Sara Corbett's story provides an interesting overview, not only of the book and its history, but also of Jung's family and the legacy over which they preside.

James Maddock - Sunrise on Avenue C (music)

It seems strange to call James Maddock an artist to watch. He's been part of two great albums, spaced about 10 years apart. The first was with his band Wood (Songs From Stamford Hill), and the second, his solo debut, Sunrise on Avenue C. He's an artist who makes you wonder why you can still see him play in clubs and not concert halls, and be sure it won't be that way for long.

Sunrise on Avenue C exudes experience and quiet confidence beyond that of a typical debut from any artist. The second time I heard the title track it was out of context and I couldn't quite recall what song it was until the vocal started, but I was certain it was Tom Waits, Springsteen, or maybe Jeff Buckley. The song makes a triumph of a dreary morning-after on the lower east side so vivid you can feel promise, and the dampness of the streets. It could be the long lost sibling of Springsteen's "Meeting Across the River." Other stand outs include "Chance," "Straight Lines" (actually a Wood re-make), and "When the Sun Comes Out."

Check out James at http://www.myspace.com/jamesmaddockmusic and in the clips below.

Rock Turtleneck Scores Elvis Clip

Kudos to the crack staff over at one of my favorite blogs, Rock Turtleneck, for posting this fine, FINE clip of Elvis Costello doing "Man Out Of Time" on a 1982 Letterman show. This is one of my favorite Elvis songs and he doesn't disappoint. See the original post here

Clark Little, Surf Photographer

Clark Little's pictures are amazing. Search for "waves" or "surf" on Google and you'll find thousands of wonderful pictures, but his take it to the next level. He's releasing a new book, and from the looks of it, there appear to be only two relatively expensive, signed options available. You can also order prints from his site.

How To Lose Orders on Your Website

Every now and then you have an experience that lets you pinpoint the exact point at which a website lost your order. Here's how it happened with 800-Flowers.com.

I tried to order a plant, and when I logged-in, I realized the account had an old email address which I can no longer access. I tried to change it on the "My Account" page. Nuthin' doin'. There's no place to change my email address. In fact, there wasn't much I could change. I searched the help section, and the closest answer I got was that I had to email customer service with my old and new email addresses, in order to change the email associated with my "Fresh Rewards" program. Well, I guess that would have been helpful if I knew what that was, or if I wanted to wait a couple of days to place my order.

Next stop was ftd.com, where I placed my order.

Yoono Simplifies Your Online Life

Yoono is the first aggregator I've found that seamlessly brings together streams from my key social sites, including Facebook and Twitter. It also supports Flickr, Imeem, FriendFeed and others, but not LinkedIn. Each site's stream can be viewed individually, or you can see one all-inclusive list. You can also choose to view the stream itself, or a list of your contacts (friends) along with their latest status update. Other applications may offer more functionality, but Yoono's simplicity is part of its appeal.