Category Archives: Uncategorized

Oh, poop!: Composter turns Fido’s feces into garden gold

June 4, 2009 – 6:00 am

by Nissa Hanna WHAT’S HAPPENING Composters are gaining ground as gardeners recycle greenery and food scraps, but another ingredient — pet poop — can be more difficult to safely incorporate. The Samu, a robotic composter, is making sure that waste is saved for the garden. Created by the Japan-based Tohoku Kankyo company, the approximately 30-pound […]

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Students can now repay loans based on income level

June 3, 2009 – 6:00 am

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING The Project on School Debt recently announced an option for students carrying tuition debt. Starting in July 2009, grads will be able to adjust their repayment schedule to better align with their actual income (USAToday 5.19.09). The program is designed so that students with Stafford loans will pay no more […]

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We Are All Oprah Now

April 21, 2009 – 8:32 am

Hello! We ask you to please note that Iconoculture – the worldwide leader in consumer and cultural trends – has gone micro. Yes: We’re now offering a mix of content and wit via Twitter, just like Oprah. Follow us @iconoculture for a mix of links to Iconoculture blog content (yes, links to the VERY blog […]

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Spoiled rich kids? Wealthy parents have little faith in their heirs

March 11, 2009 – 6:00 am

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING The super affluent aren’t just worried about the economy; they’re worried about their kids’ incompetence with cash. In a survey of Americans with at least $1 million in liquid assets, just 20% said they believed their children would “keep their family’s wealth secure for future generations” (WSJ.com 2.10.09). Only a […]

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“25 Things” virtual chain letter swarms Facebook

March 4, 2009 – 6:00 am

by Paul Katz WHAT’S HAPPENING Is there such a thing as oversharing? Not according to the millions of Facebookers who are spreading around the personal minutiae via a “25 Things About Me” chain letter. The 25 Things note suggested users post random personal factoids and then tag other friends to do the same. The result? […]

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Podcast: Big Issues

March 2, 2009 – 3:33 pm

Are we becoming a socialist country? Is wealth being redistributed? Will there ever be a recovery? Derek Stubbs and Hans Eisenbeis bid a fond farewell to Christopher Keating. Download this week’s economic podcast here: Big Issues: Bottoms Up Week 20 37 min., 5 sec.

By Iconoculture | Also posted in Consumer Trend, Economic meltdown, Economy, Money/Spending | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Giving it up for Lent

February 25, 2009 – 11:32 am

by Abelardo de la Peña Jr. I didn’t consider myself an extremely active social networker. That is, until I took an online survey asking about they types of services I used on a regular basis. Facebook, check. Twitter, check. Flickr, check. YouTube, check (that’s where I upload videos of/or/about my grandkids). And on and on. […]

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Best of 2008: Attention Assist warns drivers that they’re getting sleepy

January 2, 2009 – 2:20 am

by Sarah Barker WHAT’S HAPPENING According to the National Sleep Foundation, half of Americans have driven drowsy and about 20% have actually fallen asleep at the wheel (DrowsyDriving.org 9.07). In response, Mercedes-Benz is developing an eye-opening monitoring system called Attention Assist (Gizmag.com 12.12.07). The system creates a driver’s profile based on normal steering patterns and driving behavior. If a driver deviates […]

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Credit counseling explodes as consumers get desperate

December 23, 2008 – 11:55 am

by Hans Eisenbesis WHAT’S HAPPENING One business that’s taken off like a rocket in this recession is credit counseling. The National Foundation of Credit Counseling says that calls to credit counselors are up 30% this year, and the month of October saw a 70% spike over last year (Blogs.WSJ.com/wallet 11.21.08). The NFCC, representing the nation’s […]

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Soirees pair parents with potential babysitters

December 22, 2008 – 5:39 am

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Finding a reliable babysitter can be tough. Sitter Soirees in Portland, Oregon, streamline the process with “speed-dating” sessions that bring parents and sitters together at informal gatherings held in family-friendly boutiques. Soiree founder Jen Fererro recruits potential sitters from local colleges and employment websites. The dozen or so who make […]

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Signature Dish: Focaccia

December 17, 2008 – 10:45 am

by Charlotte Beal Last week I got the most intense craving for homemade focaccia. This involves a bit more effort than buying one at Trader Joe’s, of course, which is why I gave myself permission to focus on focaccia as the main event and round out dinner with a simple salad, prosciutto and St. Andre […]

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For one brief shining moment…

November 12, 2008 – 5:36 pm

by Kate Muhl In short, there’s simply not a more congenial spot for happily-ever-aftering than here in Bamalot! Whoever coined Bamalot (New York Post?), they were NOT paid enough. It’s just a particularly apt and wonderful description of the breathless era consumers are entering as the Obamas transition into the White House. Despite the economy […]

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THE CHEER HEARD ROUND THE WORLD

November 11, 2008 – 2:21 pm

by Becky Sun After Barack Obama decisively won the presidency last week, it wasn’t only his domestic supporters who felt palpable excitement. Not only did the world follow this election as if it were their own, but a majority would have voted for Obama if given the chance. A CTV/Global and Mail poll showed that […]

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MULTIPLE PERSONALITY ORDER

October 29, 2008 – 9:43 am

by Josh Kimball I committed Twittercide the other day. And while I’m sure it was disappointing to the couple hundred Twitter followers who had gotten used to updates on what I ate for dinner (usually lasagna) or my level of exhaustion (high), I retired my account for many reasons — one of which was the […]

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Babies, repeat after me: ¡Hola!

October 29, 2008 – 6:33 am

by Derek Reveron WHAT’S HAPPENING A Spanish-language immersion program in the Washington, D.C. area is teaching Spanish to children as young as one year old. ¡Hola Baby! (Hello Baby) is attracting about 75 young children and their parents to each session at Mount Olivet Methodist Church in Arlington, VA (WashingtonPost.com 10.5.08). Instructor and founder María […]

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