Russian Sledges

Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day (1968)
Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film

SamMaggio has added a photo to the pool:

34 couples will be married on-air during the Grammys tonight while Macklemore performs his song "Same Love." It's like rain on your wedding day.

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jackb_guppy writes with word that "Legislation that would let students use computer programming courses to satisfy foreign-language requirements in public schools moved forward in the Kentucky Senate on Thursday." From the article: "Kentucky students must earn 22 credits to graduate high school, but 15 of those credits represent requirements for math, science, social studies and English — and college prerequisites call on students to have two credits of foreign language, [state senator David] Givens said. Meanwhile, Givens pointed to national statistics showing that less than 2.4 percent of college students graduate with a degree in computer science despite a high demand in the market and jobs that start with $60,000 salaries."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

“It creates this dialogue and gets people thinking. I feel like I have built something that works. I didn’t know if it was going to work at first, but it works,” said the Somerville resident behind the stenciling, who asked to remain anonymous.

sushiesque posted a photo:

sushiesque posted a video:

carsonfellis:

still working on wallpaper for our book room; trying to come up with a color scheme we can all live with

gorgeous, like everything she touches 

This house for sale in Sherwood, Oregon features an incredibly elaborate ridable miniature railroad that encircles the property. The railway (which can carry passengers) includes a trestle bridge, tunnel, and train storage warehouse. There’s also a barn containing a model railway museum.

photos via The Gardner Team and video via NWVideoTours

via Looney Listing, Boing Boing

kiggor:

Rejected by mother - cared by a golden retriever [via]

animals-riding-animals:

pigeon riding turtles

If anyone wanted to be the Iowa GOP's social media manager, our guess is that there will be a job opening approximately now.

We’re really excited for this year’s amaro project. Bartenders from Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle authored recipes for us. Ten new ones. It’s hard to believe that we could create ten new amaro that are different from the first seven we created, but they are all different.

Bad Lip Reading has created two hilarious bad lip reading parodies of the NFL (part one and part two). Quarterback Tom Brady tells a teammate that he “made some chicken rolls” and Peyton Manning mentions that “old folks and allergies” sure do gross him out.

Another Super Bowl, another Bad Lip Reading. No more kung fu!

Here is the original bad lip reading parody of the NFL from January 2013:

video via Bad Lip Reading

c. 1940s A Walnut Sideboard is used to display a collection of apothecary bottles | Purchased at Flair in New York City - Via

 

Lately on Serious Eats, they've been attempting to cook all sorts of things in a waffle iron. One that worked surprisingly well? Leftover pizza. Folded and reheated in a waffle iron, it becomes a pouch of greasy, cheesy, deliciousness. We're down, and totally ready to ditch the stovetop as our preferred reheat method for cold slices.

Today, I'm going to reveal to you a method that is superior to any of these. A method that converts stale, cold, lifeless pizza into a crisp-crusted, gooey-cheesed, brown-edged, stretchy, saucy, hand-held treat. A method so good that it'll make you want to order fresh pizza and let it go cold just so you can use it. And we're going to do it in the waffle iron.

Read More on Serious Eats
Photo by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

sushiesque posted a photo:

sushiesque posted a photo:

sushiesque posted a photo:

sushiesque posted a photo:

For the last six years, Mote Marine Aquarium staffers have had their manatees predict the winner of the Super Bowl. Only here's the thing. Buffett is 6-for-6. The 1,800-pound manatee has correctly picked the Super Bowl champion each time — the Giants and Steelers, Saints and Packers, Giants and Ravens.

Personal photo

One of the things we are taught in marketing class, is that everybody is a target. There is a product for every consumer. In other words, you and me are marketing targets, susceptible to certain products or messages in particular. Why is it important for us as consumer to realize, how does it help us make informed choices?

This reflection started during a conversation with a running partner of mine. He said he knew someone who "isn't a consumer". As a marketer, my instinctive answer was: everybody is a consumer. He explained himself by saying his friend was insensible to popular brands and hypes, and always bought the cheapest products. He may not be targeted by famous brands, but, by looking for the best bargain, he is a target: the "best deal consumer".

Being taught by my parents to shop smart and think before a purchase, I also made the mistake to think I was "immune to marketing" for some time. But people who think themselves as "smart shoppers" are a target, since some brands position their products as smart choices. Once I understood that, I asked myself: am I choosing this brand because it is *actually* a smart purchase, or because the company's marketing is telling me so? 

• The Nespresso Example

Let's take the example of Nespresso. I love this case because their marketing positioning is very clear: it is fine espresso coffee for city upper class connoisseurs who select quality products and enjoy a refined beverage with class. Their ambassador is George Clooney, classy as frack in a tailored suit, asking you "what else?" with his dark eyes and cute smile. Incidentally, Nestlé managed to multiply the price of coffee by 10 with their little capsule merdouilles.

But does an actual coffee connoisseur drink Nespresso? No. He buys coffee beans, grinds them right before brewing, and uses simple tools like a French Press or an Italian Moka Pot espresso maker. I am not a coffee expert, but I remember the best coffee I tasted in Italy, and it was not a Nespresso capsule.

I remember being tempted to buy a Nespresso machine some years back. But we studied the brand's case at school, and it made me realize I am their target, they made me want a Nespresso machine even though this wasn't actually the best product for my needs and taste. After realizing what image, messages and brand universe I am weak to as a consumer, it helped me discern marketing promises from my own actual criteria, and I didn't buy the Nespresso machine. Clooney is welcome to have a cup of coffee in my Parisian mini-palace anytime though.

• What's Your Consumer Profile?

There is a marketing universe for any field today. Back to my running partner (running makes me think, it seems), we were talking about running gear, and he came up with all sorts of brands, fabrics and "expert" material. I realized he was spending quite some money on running gear. He is a target for all the high performance sports brands. No matter what our values, hobbies or preferences are, there is a marketing universe ready to answer all our "needs".

The first step, as a consumer, is to understand what you are a target for. That way, you can find out what criteria, messages and universe you respond the most to, and why you are drawn to certain brands. Which doesn't mean you shouldn't buy from these brands, it just means you can keep that weakness in mind when pondering a purchase, and remind yourself to apply more concrete and objective criteria for purchase (may it be your budget, the object's quality, your values, ethical considerations...)

For example, I know I'm a typical "young city upper class white collar" target, but in the "alternative, green, organic, authentic and conscious" branch. As I showed with the chocolate from this New Guest post, I am weak to natural-looking products, authentic-designed packagings, messages around ethics and fair trade, local products, transparency. As a "minimalist", I am naturally drawn to brands that position themselves as simple, whether it is in terms of design/aesthetics or in terms of brand values.

• How To Use this in Your Purchase Habits

Unfortunately, knowing what you are a target of doesn't make you immune to marketing. Just like being aware of a brain bias doesn't remove it. You can be told about an optical illusion, your brain will still see it. It is the same for marketing strategies. They are very subtle and advanced today - through packagings, brand messaging, advertising, colour codes, ambassadors...

In other words, even if you manage to understand what you are drawn to and why, you will still be drawn to it. Then, what's the point? The point is, it still can make you think twice before purchasing something. Like me and the Nespresso machine. Fashion brands are a perfect example of brand universe and how we can be drawn to a brand because of its image despite the low price/quality ratio. (Yes, I'm looking at you, A.P.C., with your 80€ holed tops and 160€ pants which tear open at the hips). Maybe being aware of why you are drawn to certain brands can help avoid impulse purchases.

And sometimes, you will choose to buy the item anyway. But in that case, the purchase will be deliberate - you will make this decision while being aware of the biases you may have. For example, I am a sucker for Moleskine notebooks. Moleskine is another textbook example of good marketing. Despite the fact that the brand was created in 1997, their clever messaging managed to make us think it is the heir of the classic moleskine-covered notebooks that famous writers like Ernest Hemingway used, even though they have nothing to do with these notebooks whatsoever. The target is clear: upper class cultural elite. Their notebooks are darn expensive, by the way.

Despite the fact that their positioning is basically a communication screen of smoke, I have deliberately and knowingly decided to purchase Moleskine notebooks and planners anyway. I can afford it, and, to my experience, they still are the most practical and sturdy notebooks I have found so far. (I have a le Petit Prince notebook in my bag which I have been carrying around since summer 2012 and it is holding up like the first day of purchase, barring a couple of scratches).


In other words, knowing about how marketing works and your consumer profile helps you make more informed purchase decisions. Given the flood of choices we have in today's society, having a couple of extra tools to guide our decisions is more than welcome, don't you think? What about you, what field do you tend to spend more money on? What is your consumer profile?

I recently worked with a client who never wanted error messages like “an unexpected error occurred” or similar to be what his customers see when something goes wrong with the payment API. The client was short-tempered, and arguing seemed pointless and unappealing. The transaction failure message is now “Your transaction has failed successfully.”

A song praising Chinese president Xi Jinping’s everyman behavior has been composed in ode to his appearance at a small Beijing eatery late last year. The song will be officially released after the Spring Festival. Offbeat China has translated the lyrics: 

(accompaniment) Steamed buns store, steamed buns store

(solo) Here’s the story: A few days before the New Year

I walked into the steamed buns store for lunch

As I was lining up, somebody came in behind me

Look at him, with his robust figure, imposing bearing and ruddy appearance

Hey! Why does he look so familiar?

Surprised, the waiter headed forward

“Please take a seat, sir. I will bring anything you want to eat.”

The man smiled, and waved him off,

He stayed in line behind me, the last one in line

He ordered a set meal. It was only 21 yuan

Pork steamed buns, together with vegetables and pork liver stew

He stood in line with us. He paid for the meal himself

With both hands carrying the tray, he walked towards me

(accompaniment) Where did he sit?

(solo) Oh! Hey! Everybody! Everybody! What a coincidence! He sat right beside me!

He enjoyed his meal, even laughed and chatted with us

I hastily took out my phone to take pictures of people posing next to him

I hurried to Weibo to upload the pictures

The story went viral and netizens rushed to comment

Uncle Xi, warm-hearted man of the people,  the “president combo” is now famous

Uncle Xi, warm-hearted man of the people, our incidental encounter at the steamed bun store

Has warmed the hearts of the people in this harsh winter!

Has warmed the hearts of the people in this harsh winter!

Written by Abby · comments (0)
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