breakthesky.neti'll break the sky, for you and i are going nowhere.

Given the tragedy that has happened in Haiti, I think it is only appropriate to skip the mindless rambling about my life for today and link to Chris Sacca’s article “Six Ways You Can Help in Haiti” and Huffington Post’s list of ways to help the Haiti earthquake relief to promote awareness about all the different ways one can help those affected by the earthquake. Melissa and Stephanie also have posted links to information about ways to help in Haiti. Additionally, the LiveJournal community Help Haiti is hosting a fandom auction to raise money for aiding the region.

Personally, I am texting “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10USD to the Red Cross relief fund¹. It’s backed by the State Department and is an effortless way to donate and make a difference in the relief efforts.

Please keep all those affected by the earthquake in your thoughts and prayers.

1. This is only for those in the US but there are many other ways to help Haiti if you live in another country. [↩]

“Erection protection election, right here, right now! The best stimulus package Obama can offer! Hope isn’t a form of protection, so get these Obama condoms today!”

That was the cry of the street seller selling this personalized Obama three-condom selection and it attracted quite the stares from fellow passersby. He got a mixed reaction from people as the older crowd mostly shook their heads and walked away while the younger crowd struck up conversation with him before moving along their merry way. This guy was was quite the salesman, really, considering this three-condom deal cost $10USD, which is a total ripoff as anyone can get them cheaply at a store. He managed to make a few sales, my friend included (the condoms she bought are the ones pictured).

The condoms are ribbed and come in “tuxedo black.” While the condoms themselves aren’t anything special, this is definitely pretty unique packaging as I doubt people can come by Obama condoms at a regular store. Only in DC (well, perhaps in Chicago too) would you find personalized Obama condoms! Too bad he wasn’t selling any Palin ones as those might have reeled in more customers seeing as she promotes abstinence-only education :P

I wonder how Obama feels about having his very own “erection protection selection”…

This semester I am taking a microeonomics course as well as a Russian history course. So when I found Capitalism and Cows: an explanation of the economics of capitalism by using cows and countries/corporations, it resonated with me on more than one level because it can relate to at least two of my courses!

Here are some of my favorite examples:

A JAPANESE CORPORATION — You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon images called Cowkimon(tm) and market them world-wide.

A SWISS CORPORATION — You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION — You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 12 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

Yes, these statements about how various corporations would go about with cows in a capitalist way use stereotypes, but they are quite amusing!