If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
This year I want to start a new tradition, a new movement to encourage cyber shoppers to become cyber givers as well. Together, we can turn Cyber Monday into one of the biggest days of online giving.
A heady mix of shopping, eating and entertainment options has turned malls across the U.S. into tourism magnets and coined the phrase "destination malls."
This week, Egyptians braved brutal beatings in Tahrir Square in search of democracy and freedom while Americans braved violence in Wal-Marts in search of cheap Black Friday appliances: #resetyourvalues. On the campaign trail, latest GOP frontrunner Newt Gingrich came under fire for using the word "humane" in a debate answer about illegal immigration and suggesting we should adopt a policy to avoid tearing apart families. Apparently, erring on the side of humanity doesn't sit well with "family values" voters. And, in a demonstration of the kind of real-time, crowd-sourced creative commentary only possible on the Internet, the UC Davis campus cop who heartlessly pepper-sprayed peaceful protesters became a viral meme, depicted spraying everyone from Gandhi to George Washington to a baby seal to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel God. It got so big, even the Hitler Reacts meme felt compelled to weigh in. Very meta. And wickedly funny.
The videos of Black Friday mayhem looks like footage of the day after the Apocalypse -- where people are fighting for the last shreds of necessities, except in this case it's discount towels.
Ensure your Cyber Monday shopping is as eco-friendly as possible by following these tips.
If you've ever gone over budget, purchased a gift you later regretted or impulsively purchased a $25 Christmas tree ornament, you're not alone. Shopping under pressure is rife with physical and mental landmines. Follow these five tips for a performance edge in shopping.
Adbusters and their fellow Occupiers see Americans -- or, in their own lingo, 'the 99%' -- as gluttonous, obese pigs. What a joyful holiday message.
Martin Luther King Jr. warned that a country in continuous war approaches spiritual death. I wonder if he realized that this extinction would play out in the nation's shopping malls.
What those who criticize and poke fun at the deal-starved camper don't consider is that many of them weren't there for the sport of Black Friday -- it's a necessity.
Why is there not a booming outcry about the creeping of "Black Friday" into Thanksgiving Thursday? Why are we letting greedy merchants steal this unique national family valued event from their clerks, stockboys, cashiers, and managers?
There is one difference about this holiday. I won't be visiting one of my favorite haunts today. This Friday, without Borders Books, is truly a Black one for me.
In this short but excellent space in time (known as "dead weeks" in the travel biz), much of the world (well, places you don't have to spend a ton of money to fly to) is your oyster. This is, for example, a fantastic time for domestic road trips, or visits to Mexico and Canada. Sometimes, the bargains are so seriously good, it's enough to make you want to cancel Christmas (and New Year's) and take your time off now.
What is something that you and I as Americans can do to become a little happier even as we wait and hope for our financial situation to stabilize? A few thoughts and situations come to my mind.
Remember, if your stress is related to debt be strong before you hit the computer for those pre-Black Friday deals or set your alarm for 3 a.m. to be there when the doors open.
I'm sitting this one out. I've felt the fever before. I've wanted to hit the stores and find those deals. Who doesn't want to be done with their Christmas shopping early and spend less money doing so?
Don't let all those tiny lights and tinsel cloud your vision this holiday season. Think sensibly about what a financial union means, and how your marriage could impact your earnings and your nest egg.
