if a tree falls

Placing products: Current pop-culture obsessions

It's been awhile since I did a post about placing products, so here's what I'm currently consuming:

On my computer screen: Jezebel.com. Addressing many issues with women's magazines and writing features that the hag mags wouldn't touch with a mile-long pole.

On my TV screen: Weeds, So You Think You Can Dance, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Big Love. Who says there's nothing on in the summer?

On the page: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Filling the Harry Potter void quite nicely.

On the wall: Behr satin finish for bathrooms and kitchens.

In my tummy: Borden cheese snack packs in cheddar. Healthier than chips and more protein than a hot dog (isn't that nuts?).

On my iPod: White Stripes Icky Thump, old(ish) Shins, Amy Winehouse

In my oven: Vanilla cupcakes from scratch (!!!), roasted potatoes, banana bread, pork chops

Rainy Sunday

Despite the fact that the ongoing extreme weather has created a lot of chaos, my rainy Sunday was blissfully uneventful. It was like a snow day without all the cleanup. Joe and I watched a lot of TV, played a lot of video games and did a lot of couch-sitting. Top five moments are below.

5 - Nancy Giles' call for a more diverse broadcast news media, in light of Imusgate. [CBS Sunday morning]

4 - Joe's Tiger Woods golf game victory dances. He and his avatar did exactly the same thing on some holes.

3 - SNL's digital short. Shia LeBoeuf did a really good job on the episode in general, but the use of Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" (first heard on TV on The O.C. at Caleb's funeral) was fantastic. Honorable mentions go to the Dakota Fanning show and "An intimate moment with Jessica Simpson and John Mayer."

2 - Super Paper Mario's old school gaming/new school controls approach. I played for three hours and could have gone on much longer without feeling like I was suffering from brain rot or general Nintendo-induced crankiness.

1 - Sydney Pollack as Johnny Sack's medically-trained prison confidante on The Sopranos. In one episode, he created a fantastic character.

Placing products

In my ears: Amy Winehouse "Back to Black"
The best kind of sad songs.

In my eyes: Eddie Izzard The Riches
The pilot was promising and I love that we have a weekly appointment with my favorite transvestite.

In my brain: Katherine Dunn Geek Love
I'm re-reading this instant classic and admiring its technique.

In my mouth: Healthy Choice Fudge Bars
Even better than full-fat fudgecicles

On my face: Neutrogena sunscreen moisturizer
For the part of me that is alarmed at the timely appearance of under-eye wrinkles.

On my screen:  kottke.org 
I didn't fully appreciate these widely-read observations until recently. Makes me proud to be a citizen of the forest.

Placing products: Current pop-culture obsessions

• Lily Allen. It's no secret that I'm an anglophile, and this is fun Brit pop that a girl can sink her teeth into.
• Trauma Center for the Wii. Take that, doctor friends.
• Wired magazine. After six months of subscription, I'm not only hooked, I'm converted.
• 30 Rock. Kenneth: "Do the right thing!" Tracy: "Lick her face!"

Memo From the Editor

I would like to retract my endorsement for Zicam cold remedy swabs as written about on Monday. I still believe that doses of zinc through the nose can help you shorten a small cold, but I also believe that the powers of karma have decided that even a joke about status and influenceis enough to put me in my lowly place (really, karma gods, I only have three readers). This has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that Joe spent the weekend sick. No, that's not it.

Last night my entire body was tackled by invisible germs the size of linebackers. They must have pummeled my face, because it is throbbing and filled with all kinds of gross fluids. My nose was their favorite target.

For the record, I don't believe that Zicam failed to cause this cold, but I do think that I failed in my blatant praise for the product. Eventually it delayed my illness, but it didn't prevent it altogether.

If the metaphors are mixed or the sentences unintelligible, please excuse me. I will be napping on the couch and glaring at the orange box on the coffee table.

Have you placed a product today?

I loved Ze Frank's response to a marketing company's pitch for product placement on his video podcast. ("I place products in places you couldn't imagine.") It made me think of a few product and media recommendations that I made to friends and family lately, and I thought I would share them here. BTW, I am not in any way being compensated for this post. This statement is necessary because of the lavish attention that I get from my three regular readers.

• Zicam cold remedy nasal swabs. I'm a big fan of zinc treatments for oncoming colds, and am convinced that I fought a couple of them off with Cold-Eeze before my wedding. But I got sick of the metallic taste and sugary grain it left on my teeth. The nasal swabs were icky at first-- you actually have to stick a wet Q-tip into your nose-- but easy and quick to use in the bathroom at work or every few hours at home. I can get colds once a month if I don't take care of myself, so these are a necessary addition to my backpack in the winter.
• Regina Spektor's latest album. She's everything as a songwriter and singer that I hoped Nelly McKay and Fiona Apple would be and after seeing this video for the song "Fidelity" I instantly became obsessed. I recommended the album to my friend Pete, and we gushed together over IM on Friday.
• Threadless.com. I caught a sale at the design-oriented online t-shirt shop right before Christmas, and had a great shopping experience and even better reactions to the gifts. My favorites are here and here.