Walmart Prices vs. Living Wages

In the series “The Secret Life of a Food Stamp,” Marketplace reporter Krissy Clark traces how big-box stores make billions from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, aka food stamps. What’s more, the wages of many workers at these stores are so low that the workers themselves qualify for food stamps—which the employees then often spend at those big-box stores.

This video crunches the numbers on how much Walmart, the single biggest beneficiary of the food stamp economy, might have to raise prices across the board to help a typical worker earn a living wage.

Jesus Popcicles

"Each piece is a personal interpretation of some aspect of American life, be it celebratory, critical or simply observational. The exhibition intends to question what the American life is, whether real or perceived," according to a news release from the gallery.

His frozen cocktails stand as a symbol, he said, an invitation to "drink the Kool-Aid" that he feels so many religious zealots are stirring up. He hopes the Popsicles will remind the gallery's visitors to take their religions - whatever they may be - a little less seriously.

3D Printed Custom YOU Dolls

Thanks to the Japan-based company Clone Factory, you can give the gift of an unsettling plastic simulacrum formed deep within the uncanny valley. Blogger Danny Choo has a post up explaining the entire process, which involves multi-angle photography, face-mapping, and custom 3D printing. The cost of your very own pint-sized doppleganger is 138,000 yen or around $1,700, but the effect of it is priceless.

..via Geekosystem

Food Variety

As we've come to depend on a handful of commercial varieties of fruits and vegetables, thousands of heirloom varieties have disappeared. It's hard to know exactly how many have been lost over the past century, but a study conducted in 1983 by the Rural Advancement Foundation International gave a clue to the scope of the problem. It compared USDA listings of seed varieties sold by commercial U.S. seed houses in 1903 with those in the U.S. National Seed Storage Laboratory in 1983. The survey, which included 66 crops, found that about 93 percent of the varieties had gone extinct. More up-to-date studies are needed.

Smart Economics: Wrap the Naturally Wrapped and Triple the Price

I just do not understand the world. I don't. I can't. I get that people who comment online are at the exact same equivalent as me whining here, but nonetheless, what the hell goes through the brain of some people?

The health benefit of making fruit more available probably outweighs the cost of disposing of the wrapper. This a good example of free market innovation and jobs vs hysterical environmentalist pants wetting.. - John, Rockford, USA, 01/3/2011 23:38

Originating idea: Del Monte introducing individually wrapped bananas.

Sometimes you have to work a little harder for it......

.....Nutrition that is. Seriously what do some parents think when feeding their kids? 54 Retired Cereals.

I grew up in a repressed home. We weren't allowed sugar, made to eat good foods, etc. Plain Cheerios, Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes. Which explains why the only cereal I even recognize is Super Golden Crisp, and I can't even figure out why I even know that one.

Also, shame on Jaleel White, and who the hell advertises a free Wendy's Frosty on the back of a claiming proper daily vitamin intake?

This is why America is fat

Starbucks new Trenta size is larger than the average stomach capacity. Imagine a White Chocolate  Frappuccino Blended Creme in this size. It would be over 1200 calories. When I worked there people got the biggest drinks for their kids all the time.

I am Old

I am not a big radio fan. I listen to NPR and the local NPR affiliate music station, and rarely ever listed to any other channels, since they are all Clear Channel owned and haven't really ever changed much. I wasn't a fan of Nirvana in high school, still not a fan of it now.

This morning on the way to work, I flipped over to the Oldies station and was astonished to hear The Eurythmics Sweet Dreams (Are made of This). I would at least hope that the Oldies station would confine itself to play music that is at least older than I am, seeing as how I'm not yet even 30. Obviously, anything over 27 years, is now eligible to be considered an Oldie, mixed in with 60 year old music.

I can't even begin to understand

...but I can't stop laughing.

This is why I don't eat rice

Scanning Electron Microscope picture of a maggot. Dude, imagine that face every time you eat a mouthful of sticky rice.

Freeze 2.0

For the most politically-incorrect art show of the day,Freeze,by Florian Jenett and Valentin Beinroth. Guns made from ice, coke, licorice and food coloring.

Squishy

They always say sex sells, and brains are sexy......Fiat ad taking this concept literally.

Um...Yeah

So I just gave an encouraging talk to my contact lens, telling it that it should hold on and I wanted it to live.

I think I have problems......

AKA People Are Idiots

Facebook Wants to be Your One True Login

So maybe I'm a but behind on seeing this, possibly because I'm not a big fan of Facebook and never bother to sign in. A completely separate website writes an article about how Facebook wants to start being the log in for several other websites, such as Digg and Hulu, and all of these complete morons start trying to log into Facebook through RWW. The wonders of the internet age, when not bookmarking or realizing that you have to type in the website you are desiring to visit through the URL bar instead of using Google to find everything you need. Priceless.

My Day So Far

Self

...a frozen sculpture of the artist's head made from 4.5 litres of the artist's own frozen blood taken from his body over a period of five months. This work is repeated every five years and will result in a unique record of the artist aging.

Regretsy: Handmade? It looks like you made it with your feet

Umm....And Girls Gone Wild is Bad?

Olden times were as jacked up as modern