Fun tid-bits from Wired Magazine - Sept. '07

It's hard to resist 'free,' so I recently upped my magazine quotient when American Airlines offered me the opportunity to score some free subscriptions in exchange for a languishing lot of frequent flier miles that I was never going to use.

I made bad selections, like Blender, which is far inferior to Spin, but also some good ones like the Wall Street Journal and Wired Magazine. It's the latter that has brought the most entertainment value. After several issues, my only regret is not to have subscribed sooner. It's like Popular Science (which I also subscribe to), but more fun and hip. To prove that point, I'll share a couple of fun articles from the Sept. issue.

Pecha Kucha: Get to the PowerPoint in 20 Slides Then Sit the Hell Down
Thank God for this article. As a marketing writer, I would like to hope that 20-slide, sub-seven-minute presentations would be adopted by business types around the globe. Unfortunately, I'm not that naive. Limiting the number of slides and time required to present them would have the sublime effect of forcing presenters to get to the point.

What's Inside: Snausages Snawsomes
Fortunately, my dog's diet is more or less limited to Eukanuba, Trader Joes dog biscuits and random meat scraps from a bbq dinner. After reading this article, I'm glad that the only time my dog has had "Snawsomes" is when it came free with a dog toy pack from Costco. Let's just say that "corn syrup" comes before beef, and the beef is most likely "skeletal or that which is found in the tongue, in the diaphragm, in the heart, or in the esophagus; with or without the accompanying and overlying fat and the portions of the skin, sinew, nerve and blood vessels." Thank you, Wired, for this valuable PSA. Just say s'no to Snawsomes.

Beware These Six Lamest Social Networks
This social commentary on social networks is right on the money. Short and sweet, but still able to produce a chuckle. My faith in humankind is weakened slightly knowing that this is a social network site for Thomas Kinkade, painter of lite.

I could go on and on with other fun articles, but I'll save that other posts. Plus, I've got to get cracking on Popular Science and Wall Street Journal and Esquire and Business Week and Spin and Newsweek and Consumer Reports and...yes, I have a problem.