Catalog Choice

Via Joel Spolsky, check out this handy online service that helps you cancel unwanted snail-mail catalogs: Catalog Choice. We've been trying it out for a few weeks, and while it's too soon to know if L.L. Bean will leave us alone, there's still something satisfying about these "unsubscriptions".

Give it a spin. It's easy; almost fun!

Onion: New Fig Newtons Ad Preys On Inherent Human Weakness

New Fig Newtons Ad Preys On Inherent Human Weakness

A television commercial for Nabisco's Fig Newton bars that debuted Friday preys on a wide range of innate human weaknesses, from greed and gluttony to the compulsive need for self-gratification in an otherwise cold and uncaring world, industry sources reported Monday.

..."It's a perfect, wholesome snack for any time of the day," the commercial eagerly announces, while the image of a young child—himself a physical representation of purity—tempts viewers with the prospect of recapturing their long-lost sense of innocence. "Fig Newtons are ooey-gooey great!"

"Go on, you deserve it!" the psychologically manipulative onslaught persists, at once addressing, encouraging, and currying feelings of inferiority and self-doubt that have been a mainstay of the human condition for the past 6,000 years.