Video Based on Thoughts

While we're not there yet, scientists are one step closer to reading a person's thoughts.  The video is absolutely amazing:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2393450,00.asp#fbid=Fd2LbXy14KD

Chinese Knockoffs

First a Chinese company completely copied an Apple store, including the trademark employee outfits.

Then they decided to roll out a copy cat Ikea 

But this one strikes a little too close to home: an unauthorized Angry Birds theme park.

Hipsters

While my disdain for hipsters is well known, (if you have a couple hours to kill check out Look At this Fucking Hipster and Hipster Puppies), I do have to admit they're ahead of the curve on a large number of trends.  While they generally focus on Americana, irony, moustaches and apathy, hipsters have helped shape everything from beer and food sales to sports and footwear.  Trends are tough to predict, but the underlying theme of "classic middle America" is certainly present in most of what hipsters seem to cling to.  For instance:

-Dodgeball and kickball are now played in cities nationwide, not just middle schools
-Cupcakes are a million dollar business (see the recent IPO of Crumbs bake shop- ticker: CRMB)
-A can of Pabst Blue Ribbon is sold in NYC bars for the price of a six pack in the midwest
-A grilled cheese shop recently opened on 53rd and 3rd (which is admittedly delicious)

The trend certainly isn't only recent however, as the Malcolm Gladwell book Tipping Point highlights.  Some "kids on the lower east side of Manhattan" (aka hipsters) started wearing the soon-to-be obsolete shoes known as Hush Puppies in 1994.  Within a year they were featured on the feet of fashion models and the company went from selling 30,000 pairs in '94 to selling almost 2 million pairs in '96 alone.

Bottom line is that it doesn't take long before the irony of doing something different takes it to the main stream.

The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

The Old Spice commercials of late are definitely unique and while I'd imagine they're not for everyone, they are certainly for their target market.   Old Spice and the ad co behind the campaign have received boat loads of praise over both the ads as well as how they rolled them out.  Using a strong social media presence, Wieden + Kennedy attracted attention by presenting the quirky ads in an easy to pass around format, allowing them to go viral almost instantly and turning Isaiah Mustafa (a one time NFL football player) into a very familiar face.

While W+K was behind many a late dinner in our household, they do know their stuff.  Just ask Dairy Queen whose ad co decided they liked the ideas so much that they were going to do their own.  

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

Good Reads: The Secret Life of Lobsters

Not exactly a recent release, but I just finished The Secret Life of Lobsters and was quite impressed.  Was exactly my type of book: non-fiction, man vs. nature, and more trivia (primarily involving lobsters and the ocean) than you could shake a stick at.  Most interesting piece of information I took away is that despite the general opinion that lobsters are being overfished (which is the impression I was under), lobstermen have had self imposed conservation techniques in place for generations.  It appears the real reason behind the volatility in lobster catches has more to do with ocean currents affecting a young lobsters ability to find shelter after each breeding season.  In fact, the number of broodstock females on the ocean bottom has actually been increasing in recent years and if it wasn't for the relative randomness of the currents there'd be much cheaper lobsters all around.

The Meanest Man in the United States...

The below is on the wall of the New York Athletic Club first floor men's room.

It reads:

"The Meanest Man

in the United States

occasionally visits this Toilet Room.

He always carries away as a souvenir, either a coat

hook, doorlock, or paper holder and often several of each.

He would take the marble slabs if they were not made fast.

We guarantee this man a warm reception

if we get hold of him.

Ford & Co.

Grand Union Hotel."

Not sure whether I enjoy the wording or just the fact that they actually had this chiseled into marble, but regardless it always gives me a chuckle when I'm in there.  No idea how it ended up in the bathroom of the Athletic Club though, would love to get to the bottom of that.