FLOP MOVIES: IT’S OUR FAULT

This summer featured a high percentage of failed blockbuster movies (The Hulk, Charlie’s Angels, Gigli, and lots more), and the industry has a new theory to explain why the movies flopped. No, it’s not poor quality, lack of originality, or a general failure to...

AMAZING HONDA COMMERCIAL

You’ve just gotta see the Honda commercial airing in the UK. Here’s a page where you can view the commercial in your browser – Flash required. It’s about 4Mb total, so it may be jerky or slow to appear on a dialup connection. Here’s an article about how the commercial...

AMERICA’S TWO BOOK MARKETS

Hillary Clinton’s memoirs had the highest opening day sales in the history of nonfiction. The fifth Harry Potter book will undoubtedly have the biggest launch ever for a work of fiction. But the publishing industry is in trouble and most publishers are struggling...

WAL-MART TAKES OVER THE WORLD

Every so often some business kowtows to Wal-Mart by changing the cover of a book or magazine or releasing an alternate version of a CD with family-friendly lyrics or the like. Those things seem strange to me, but it’s because I keep forgetting just how big Wal-Mart...

THE GREAT REBATE SCAM

Like most people, I’ve never liked rebates, but I take it seriously – I will pay more if that’s what it takes to avoid a rebate. Slate has a good article about the rebate game – why they’re offered, and what the manufacturers and retailers do to delay, trick...