Anti-material.
Digital.
It’s this thing that, without power, is nothing.
Digital Cameras.
Digital Picture Frames.
Digital TV.
The Internet.
I went shopping yesterday. I was perusing the shelves at Bed Bath and Beyond, Marshall’s, Office Max, and Target. Everywhere was dead. Yes, the economy is poor at the moment, but people still need things. Right? I managed to leave four stores and only spend $40. I only bought from two of them. And my bank account is pretty high at the moment.
While in Bed Bath and Beyond, I was dumbfounded by the amount of pure crap that they sell. I went looking for an automatic coffee grinder. Right? Bed Bath and Beyond. Right? But no, they only had one coffee grinder. One. It wasn’t automatic. It was fifteen dollars. Instead, they have forty-five different shapes of silicone ice cube trays. They have the latest as-seen-on-tv wonder contraption that only performs one function: toasting your bread in a spiffy design. Are you serious? I want a coffee grinder. I’m willing to drop $100 for a nice coffee grinder. You don’t want my hundred bucks? Or anyone else’s who’s looking for a nice coffee grinder? I’m not spending a dime on the crap you’re trying to get me to buy on an impulse.
Given the economy, which I’ve already addressed in a brief sentence, this is my advice for all major retailers: Stop buying the impulse crap to sell. Nobody will buy the impulse crap. Because? It’s crap.
I thought my store was dead. I don’t shop much, which is my little subconscious contribution to the economic crisis, but I really was shocked that on a Saturday at around 5:00, I was the only person in Bed Bath and Beyond. I was the ONLY person in Office Max. My store isn’t doing so bad in comparison.
My store is equally as bad with the impulse crap. My favorite came recently. It’s a small metal train painted solid white. It comes with stickers that look like grafitti. It’s forty freaking dollars. Who, in corporate, in their right mind, oh my, WHO BOUGHT THAT TO SELL? In a bookstore. And we got about fifteen of them. (Makes me want to facepalm.)
So, anyway. Apparently, if you want a nice automatic coffee grinder, you have to shop online.
Right back to Digital, baby.
I bought my husband a little digital picture frame for Christmas. It wasn’t something I would ever buy for myself, but he’d said on several occasions that he thought those things were neat. I’m not entirely sure that he liked it, since I found a place to put it and I put the picture on it, but… that’s all aside. I was just sitting and looking at it and thinking how completely useless it would be without power. Then, I started thinking about a post-apocalyptic world:
“What’s this big box with metal pieces and wires connecting to a flat rectangular black panel?”
“What are all these wires connecting post to post along these passageways?”
“This civilization was so lazy that it would buy pre-prepared meals in a box.”
Etc.
Etc.
Ok, so that last one was a completely different rant, but I had to at least show you a peek at where my thoughts were about to go.