I realized the other day that a couple of companies have effectively created carefully branded ways of life by providing people with all the tools they need: from clothing and housewares to advice, entertainment, and even real estate. To get a deeper understanding of these brands, I decided to outline the major players in a [...]
These days we can buy prefab houses, meals, clothing, and cars. What about lifestyles? I realized the other day that a couple of companies have effectively created carefully branded ways of life by providing people with all the tools they need: from clothing and housewares to advice, entertainment, and even real estate. To get a [...]
While contemplating macarons and whoopie pies within the context of the cupcake trend, I couldn’t help but notice the disdinct lack of interest in cupcakes in Japan. This observation prompted me to search for Japan’s trendy desert of the moment, which turns out to be Taiyaki. Taiyaki is a fish-shaped treat consisting of a fried [...]
There are a lot of vegetarians out there that like meat (I am one of them) but choose not to eat it for moral or political reasons. What do these moral eaters do when Thanksgiving rolls around and they crave a large, stunning, chunk of meat to serve to their vegetarian buddies? I decided to [...]
Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of cool USB devices online. They seem to do everything, from drying your shoes to curling your eyelashes. But for how long have they been around? And who started producing them in the first place? Everything USB provides a good initial introduction: USB (or Universal Serial Bus) is a [...]
Maybe you’ve seen this commercial: Yeah yeah, it’s lame, but it’s also important: we’ve got a large aging population in the United States (and in many developing countries) that wants to maintain its independence- and its safety. How are we catering to them? Security of Elderly Singles Prominently marketed (as you’ve seen above) is Life [...]
San Francisco + Chocolate = ? Chances are, you answered Ghiradelli. If this is the case, you’re in for a treat- there is a lot more to the SF chocolate industry than you think. In the past decade or so, some fabulous gourmet chocolate companies have set up in the Bay Area, and they are [...]
“Beauty is not going anywhere. The idea that beauty is unimportant or a cultural construct is the real beauty myth. We have to understand beauty, or else we will always be enslaved by it.” -Nancy Etcoff Survival of the Prettiest
These days, sustainability is stylish. Everyone wants all-natural / organic / free range / grass fed /preservative free / non-GMO food. It’s healthy! It’s delicious! It’s safe! But what if you want to take this interest a step further? What if you want to discover where food really comes from and how the system works? [...]
