Noooo!

Really lousy election results in the Netherlands yesterday, which will lead to months of haggling and, god help us, a socialist power.

Return of the Smug

Wednesday night’s football match brings us England vs The Netherlands. Not that anybody cares about the match, it’s the middle of november which means every player needs his energy to play for his own club twice a week. The next time these national squads have to play is somewhere in March, so they’re not really training or anything. The only one who seems eager to play is Clarence Seedorf, whose publicity stunt has seemed to work. Let’s hope his smug face can brighten this match.

Do they know it’s Christmas time?

In an effort to get consumers in a shopping spree before the holiday season, companies go out their way to make sure that you’ve made up your mind about what product to buy months in advance. This pre-holiday period has been dubbed Sepoctonocembre. Although it’s good for the economy, as a consumer I have always been appaled by this sort of slave-like mass consumption (click-whirr). Luckily I can look at it from a marketing perspective now.
One of the biggest Sepoctonocembre battles this year undoubtedly takes place in the gaming industry, where Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo all launch their new product. Interestingly, a new factor is taken into the equation: whether or not you own a High Definition TV. If not, you’re better of with Nintendo’s Wii. Or, if you’re really screwed, your kids want to have the Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or Sony’s Playstation 3 and you have to buy a new TV as well.