The Linkage for Feb. 12th

Here’s a quick look at what I was reading online from Feb. 6th to Feb. 12th:

Ad agency behind new Pepsi logo has a high opinion of itself
The advertising world has been abuzz about "Breathtaking," a 27-page document purported to be the thinking behind Arnell Group's recent revamping of Pepsi's logo. Littered as it is with marketing jargon, images of yin-yangs, mobius strips and Da Vinci's Vitruvian man, you'll maybe wonder whether Michael Phelps wasn't the only one hitting that bong.
Tags: business advertising

MLB proves once again that it will license anything
Does MLB really need to have an official umpire shoe? Other than the umpires themselves, I think it's pretty safe to say that absolutely no one cares what's on their feet. And bonus: a blog devoted entirely to umpiring equipment and clothing.
Tags: baseball business stupid mlb

Sirius XM starts circling the drain a little faster
With bankruptcy pending and potential takeover by one of the two major satellite television companies, the future of Sirius XM is looking pretty bleak.
Tags: business xm

Philly transit sells passes with wrong city on them
Philadelphia's public transport system is selling one-day passes that will allow folks to get around town without driving during Philly Beer Week. One small problem: the graphic on the pass doesn't depict the Philadelphia skyline – it's New York.
Tags: stupid pennsylvania new_york

Play the old school Oregon Trail online
Need I say any more? This is the second version, not the original monochromatic version.
Tags: history computer apple video_games

Texas electricity rates soar under deregulation
Shock of shocks. Just like every other industry that's been deregulated, "competition" and the "open market" have meant substantially higher electric bills for most Texans.
Tags: government texas business

Putin denies dancing to ABBA
We know all know that Vladimir Putin is a big ol' scary former KGB agent who could kill us all in our sleep, but come on – everyone loves ABBA. Even macho hombres. He shouldn't be afraid to admit it.
Tags: russia funny music

Klington bat’leth used in Colorado robberies
I don't condone illegal activities such as robbing convenience stores, but at least this guy had the gumption to do it with some flair. On the down side, it looks like the bat'leth he's holding is some kind of miniature version and not a full-scale replica. I wonder if he knew what it was or just picked it up because it looked menacing.
Tags: colorado funny star_trek crime

Japanese fraud scheme adds a fun dollop of craziness
Sure, Bernie Madoff may have swindled folks out of $50 billion, but even he didn't have the guts to make up his own fictional currency. None of the newspaper articles I saw did a good job of relating just how dumb this whole thing is, but the wiki page does a fairly good job.
Tags: japan economics currency crime

Scientists suspect link between dam and Sichuan earthquake
Nearly nine months after a devastating earthquake in Sichuan Province, China, left 80,000 people dead or missing, a growing number of American and Chinese scientists are suggesting that the calamity was triggered by a four-year-old reservoir built close to the earthquake’s geological fault line.
Tags: china geology

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