Creativ Zeit: November 2011

Sunday, 27 November 2011

Will Your Mall Be Tracking Your Cellphone Today?

Some shoppers looking for Black Friday deals will find a surprise waiting for them at the mall—sensors that track their every move.

Thursday, 24 November 2011

Black Friday Thursday: Will Shoppers Really Show Up at Stores on Thanksgiving Night?

One of the biggest stories to emerge this holiday shopping season is the expansion of Black Friday. In years past, retailers pushed the envelope by opening at 4 a.m., or even 3 a.m. the morning (if you want to call it that) after Thanksgiving. That’s just not cutting it this year, when many stores will open their doors to Black Friday shoppers at midnight, or, in the case of Walmart, at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night.

Toys R Us, which opened at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night of last year, decided it was necessary to open an hour earlier, at 9 p.m. on Turkey Day 2011. Most Toys R Us stores will remain open until 11 p.m. on Black Friday, making for a 26-hour shopping marathon.

Takeout’s Attempted Takeover of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has a long-standing tradition as the ultimate home-cooked holiday. But 14 million Americans are expected to dine out on Turkey Day, and another 16 million households will use ready-to-eat takeout foods for some or all of their “home-cooked” Thanksgiving dinner.

The cost of Thanksgiving dinner is rising: A traditional home-cooked feast for 10 costs just under $50, on average, up 13% compared to a year ago.

Dining out, of course, is even more expensive. Perhaps due to the sad state of the economy, fewer Americans are expected to eat the big meal at restaurants this year: Just 6% of the population (14 million people) will dine out on Thanksgiving, according to the Nation’s Restaurant Association, compared to 11% of Americans last year.

Black Friday 2011: Toys R Us, Target Thanksgiving hours spark protests

Black Friday shopping fever is close at hand, and several large retailers are attempting to get a leg up on the competition by opening on Thursday evening, much to the chagrin of some employees. As Bloomberg reported:
Anthony Hardwick says he resents working at Target Corp. on Thanksgiving and has garnered more than 37,000 signatures on an online protest petition.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/black-friday-2011-toys-r-us-target-thanksgiving-hours-spark-protests/2011/11/22/gIQAW2x4lN_story.html?tid=pm_business_pop

Black Friday 2011: Chain stores opening earlier and offering deeper discounts than in the past

Every Black Friday, there’s a staring contest between retailers and shoppers over price. This year, the stores may have blinked first.

Chains such as Toys “R” Us Inc. and Gap Inc. are opening earlier and offering more markdowns than ever on the day after Thanksgiving, said Mary Delk, a director at Deloitte Consulting. The result may be higher sales and lower profits for retailers over the holiday season.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/black-friday-2011-chain-stores-opening-earlier-and-offering-deeper-discounts-than-in-the-past/2011/11/23/gIQALgXRoN_story.html

Manolo Blahnik: This is what I try to do, make women feel like princesses

He's the Canary Islands' most famous export who made London his home and became a worldwide household name and national treasure in the process. His own life story reads like a fairytale, so who better to inspire fashion writer and bestselling author, Camilla Morton's latest fairytale collaboration?

http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/article/TMG8910678/Manolo-Blahnik-This-is-what-I-try-to-do-make-women-feel-like-princesses.html

Shakespeare 'could help doctors become better'

Reading William Shakespeare could give physicians a fresh insight into the links between emotion and illness, a retired doctor and scholar believes.

Dr Kenneth Heaton says many doctors fail to connect psychological problems with physical symptoms - and argues the playwright could help them do it.

He listed dozens of examples in which Shakespeare described these phenomena in his works.

"They could learn to be better doctors by studying Shakespeare," he said.

While traditional medical school training never strays far from the science of diagnosis and treatment, there has been growing interest in recent years in including courses on health-related art, history or literature as part of the curriculum.

Dr Heaton, from North Somerset, who studied Shakespeare after retiring from his post as a gastroenterologist, believes that a broader perspective could make it easier to understand the viewpoint and needs of a patient, particularly in general practice.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15862377

Do we still need travel agents to book our holidays?

Thomas Cook, the company that invented package holidays and which has been guiding and reassuring travellers for more than 150 years, is facing some serious head winds. Its long-serving chief executive resigned during the summer after the third profits warning of the year, and on Tuesday it announced that it is borrowing another £100 million to tide it over the difficult winter months. The news has sent shudders through an already nervous travel industry, and spasms of anxiety through anyone who has booked a Thomas Cook holiday.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8910460/Do-we-still-need-travel-agents-to-book-our-holidays.html

Tuesday, 22 November 2011

Airlines Segregating Tots in ‘Baby Ghettos’ (To Some Other Passengers’ Delight)

What’s worse than getting stuck in the dreaded middle seat of a plane? Having to endure a crying baby in the midst of an already unpleasant flying experience.

'Terminator'-Style Contact Lens Projects Info Before Your Eyes

Those info-streaming retinal displays from the Terminator movies may be closer to fact than fantasy, according to researchers at the University of Washington and Aalto University, in Finland, who are developing a computerized contact lens that could be used to display data — like emails and text messages — right in front of your eyes.

Sunday, 13 November 2011

World's largest dating event sees 20,000 Chinese search for love

On a sunny day on the outskirts of Shanghai on Sunday, 20,000 hopeful, curious and in some cases desperate Chinese gathered for the world's largest dating event.

But it would be misjudging the mood to say love was in the air.

Instead, in a business convention centre, a stream of pragmatic men and women briskly exchanged vital statistics and contact details.

Lonely hearts advertisements pinned on the wall gave a taste of the proceedings. "Reference: W004763, Name: Yao Qin, Height: 1.63m, Date of Birth: 07.1987," read one. "Lives in Shanghai, has a university degree, annual income 20,000 to 50,000 yuan."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8887090/Worlds-largest-dating-event-sees-20000-Chinese-search-for-love.html

Thursday, 10 November 2011

'Occupy' is most commonly used word in English language media, claims study

Repeated references to the Occupy Movement, which inspired protests outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London and in other major world cities, helped push the word into first place, researchers said.

As a noun, the term was also extensively used when referring to the “occupation of Iraq” and “Occupied [Palestinian] Territory”, the Global Language Monitor (GLM), a media analysis company.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8881273/Occupy-is-most-commonly-used-word-in-English-language-media-claims-study.html

Monday, 7 November 2011

V is for what? The meaning of the mask

Ask any actor, a mask is powerful. While the purpose of realism in acting is to strip away the pretence and make the actor expose their soul, on their face, for real - a mask does the opposite. It creates instant power and tension.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15373036

V for Vendetta masks: Who's behind them?

The sinister Guy Fawkes mask made famous by the film V for Vendetta has become an emblem for anti-establishment protest groups. Who's behind them?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15359735

Tintin: a homage to Hergé that is too adventurous

The new Tintin film is visually dazzling, but dazzle is not always the highest virtue in film-making, writes Charles Moore.

This review is late because I had not intended to write it at all. One look at the publicity stills for Steven Spielberg’s computer-animated film version of Hergé’s creation had convinced me that I would hate it. The film renderings of the characters looked like grotesque parodies of human beings, rather than the peaceful, beautifully drawn cartoons of the master. Research among fellow Tintin-lovers showed that this reaction was widely shared.

Our son, however, who is a much more learned Tintinologist than I, took a different view. Although the film was “far from perfect”, he said, it was “fully in the spirit of the original” and clearly composed by people who loved it: I should go. So, in order to prove that I am not in the 47 per cent of the adult population who regard the young as rude and frightening, I put on my 3D glasses, and went.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/8873503/Tintin-a-homage-to-Herge-that-is-too-adventurous.html

Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan, National Gallery in London: review

The Leonardo da Vinci exhibition opening this week is a great coup for the National Gallery, which has managed to gather under one roof the most stunning portraiture and sacred art by the world’s original Renaissance Man, writes Richard Dorment.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/leonardo-da-vinci/8870754/Leonardo-da-Vinci-Painter-at-the-Court-of-Milan-National-Gallery-in-London-review.html

Smartphone scams: Owners warned over malware apps

A national computer security campaign is urging smartphone users to do more to protect themselves from unwittingly downloading malware applications.

Get Safe Online says that there has been an increase in smartphone malware as the market has grown.

Criminals are typically creating Trojan copies of reputable apps and tricking users into installing them.

Once on the phone, the app can secretly generate cash for criminals through premium rate text messages.

Get Safe Online, a joint initiative between the government, police and industry, said it was concerned that users of smartphones, such as Android devices, were not taking steps to protect their devices.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15600697

Anonymous und Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes wollte das englische Parlament in die Luft sprengen, den König töten. Er war ein katholischer Terrorist. Vier Jahrhunderte später wurde eine weiße Maske mit seinem Antlitz zum Symbol der Web-Guerilla Anonymous. Eine Markengeschichte.

http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/netzpolitik/0,1518,795927,00.html

Zehn Tipps gegen Perfektionismus

Perfektionisten setzen sich und ihre Umwelt unter Druck. Dabei sind Menschen, die Fehler machen, beruflich erfolgreicher. Wir zeigen zehn Tipps für Imperfektion.