Filed under "C" for "Consumerism"

I really need to stop reading biographies before I go to bed, because I was dreaming all last night that I was fighting the French off the coast of Egypt and now I'm really tired after having to reload cannon all night.

Anyway, so I was reading online about a pair of Americans who bought a Playstaion 3 and then proceeded to smash it to pieces in front of other people who were waiting in line to purchase their PSP3. Apparently the PSP3 is this year's must-need gaming console, and people have been lining up for it for about two years now. (In Japan, businessmen were paying homeless people to queue for them--not kidding)These two Americans said it was to study the reaction of the people waiting. They also bought a second PSP3 to auction off to pay for their shennanigans. I'm not really fussed about them smashing a gaming console: it must be nice to have that kind of money. Me, I'd rather take my $300 and light it on fire, or perhaps use it to, I don't know, educate children in Africa or something. You can see a video of this stunt on youtube.com.

I was also reading this week about a movement called "No Shopping Day" which is a response to the shopping frenzy that occurs in America the day after Thanksgiving. It was started by a Canadian artist, and has spread worldwide. People who are involved in this engage in harmless activities like handing out used shopping bags, or putting old sneakers in the shiny Nike display at the store. The point is to make people aware of their mindless consumerism and to have them stop and think about where their goods come from, the kind of impact they're having on the world and perhaps even why they feel the need to give gifts to all and sundry. I fully support these consumer-warriors, since mindless consuming is something I do not enjoy. I like shopping for presents, but I'm usually on vacation, thinking "oh, won't Grandma like this tablecloth...oh, I miss Grandma..." instead of "Grandma will like me more because I bought her something." National No-Shopping Day is the day after Thanksgiving in the US and this Saturday in Britain. (Britain, not having Thanksgiving, has no buffer between Halloween and Christmas, which means I've been suffering through Christmas commericals since the first of November.)

So, don't buy anything on Friday! (or Saturday!) Recycle something instead! We can all make a difference if we just work together! (and recycle your old bags!)