On M.I.A + the Superbowl + Bad Girls + More

Well I couldn't mention M.I.A (previous entry) without commenting on the whole Superbowl incident - her 'finger malfunction' :P where M.I.A flipped a camera/s the bird during her performance at the half time show with Madonna and Nicki Minaj.

I'm not read up on any statement she or her record label may have made but I can't help but think she did it perhaps to promote her new single 'Bad Girls'.

A few initial comments (as I said I'm not well read up on the story) on news stories about her obscene gesture stated that they had never heard of her....so it's been super effective in some regards :P

I've actually been a fan of M.I.A for years - I like Sunshowers, Galang, Boyz and obviously Paper Planes :) And seeing her live at the 2011 Big Day Out in Sydney Australia was a highlight.

Looking at the comments on the video I can't help but feel her particular genius is still flying over a lot of people's heads...or perhaps I am just interpreting everything wrong.

Of course there are sensitive people running off their mouths without really thinking about the message this honest and talented artist is conveying.

Also, the fact her 'Born Free' music video was banned from popularized and commercial websites is just another reason to like her :)

The sad truth about Australian Retail

Recently I've read speculative reports that 2012 will see mass lay off's in the Australian retail sector. The thought of this coming to fruition unsettles me. Why? Because I too believe that there is a good chance that this scenario may be experienced.

A local trade 'n' sell page on Facebook saw one individual listing for sale a copy of a particular SONY PS3 game for $75 (firm lulz) that they had only played once but didn't like, adding that they had only recently paid $109 for it.

See the thing is I can buy this on-line at a vendor I know of for $57.99...it's overseas of course but it does offer free shipping and secure payment methods. To those wondering if $109 for a game is a ridiculous claim...sadly, it might not be as Australian gamers suffer having to pay premium prices for pretty much everything gaming such as software and hardware (those following from the earlier days might remember THIS older post about Australian video discrimination when it comes to release dates and prices http://viewknowdo.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-it-sucks-to-be-aussie-gamer.html

Apple were (/are still??) doing something similar; read about that HERE 

If these offers are recognised by the surging numbers of people activating Android and iOS devices (especially over Christmas + Boxing Day Holiday's) and Facebook being a massive scale Bulletin Board System (BBS) chances are word will get out and become 'viral' as they say these days...which could be catastrophic to 'traditional' stores.

What's worse for retailers is so-called 'Smart Phones' capability to act as a sophisticated bar code reading  device that can potentially return price results from a number of stores advertising their price and categorizing them by parameters such as how has the cheapest price.

I guess the real winner where all this takes off, will be the consumer. The effects of everyone having everything they could ever want and need plus more? That's a little harder to predict this early :P 

Thanks for reading, if you know anyone that might enjoy this site please let them know about the place. 

Seeing as how my visitors like pictures here is one of Gil from The Simpson's with a timeless quote that may unfortunately be echoed by some retailers here in Australia. I do not own this image it is merely a URL so if you are the owner and have objections please speak with me...Using the work in good faith